Songo

Ana Monteiro-Ferreira

The Songo live along the Lundu River in the fertile Angolan plateau. In this area called Songo country, near to Boia Cassache, the Songo have existed for a considerable period of at least 500 to 700 years. They met the first Europeans who entered their territory in the 16th century. However, because of the slave trade, warfare, and migration, it is difficult to find clear information about the origins and ancestry of the Songo. More than 90 different ethnic groups, speaking their own languages, live in the vicinity of the Songo. It is believed that the Songo and other people were drawn to this plateau because of the fertility of the land and the impressive rivers and streams, chief among them the Lundu River. Two of Angola's most important rivers and valleys, the Kwanza and the Kunene, converge at the homeland of the Songo. Alongside the Kongo River, these two ...

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