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Encyclopedia of African Religion

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Encyclopedia of African Religion

Molefi Kete Asante & Ama Mazama

Pub. date: 2009 | Online Pub. Date: January 26, 2009 | DOI: 10.4135/9781412964623 | Print ISBN: 9781412936361 | Online ISBN: 9781412964623| Publisher:SAGE Publications, Inc.

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Chokwe

Cbikukuango Cuxima-zwa

The Chokwe ethnic group is situated in northeast Angola with a close contact with Zambia, Congo, Botswana, and Mozambique. Chokwe constitute one of the most important ethnic groups in the Angola culture, among the Ovimbundu, Kimbundu, Bacongo, and Ngangela. The Chokwe people are descendants of the Bantu group, and their primary language is Chokwe, which originates from Bantu. The Chokwe traditional religious history is derived from the Lunda Empire or the “Mwata Yanvo” Muatianvuas, which had its heroic period, development, apex, and decline from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Hordas coming from East of Angola, led by their chiefs Chokwe-Lunda Tshinguri, Tshinyama, and others, settled near the source of rivers Cuango, Cassai, and Alto-Zambeze; these regions were already inhabited by the Bantu group before the Chokwe settlement. This entry looks at their religious beliefs and practices. The Chokwe have strong religious beliefs that are associated with their internal history ...

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