Imbangala
Encyclopedia
The Imbangala or Mbangala were 17th century groups of Angola
n warriors and marauders who founded the kingdom of Kasanje.
during the reign of Alvaro I
.
In the 1960s, it was proposed that oral traditions of the Lunda Empire suggested that both groups of Jaga marauders originated in the Lunda Empire and had fled it during the 17th century. Another theory is that the Imbangala were a local people of southern Angola originating from the Bie Plateau
or the coastal regions west of the highlands.
The first witness account of the Imbangala, written by an English sailor named Andrew Battell, who lived with them for 16 months in around 1600–1601, places them firmly in the coastal regions and highlands of modern Angola
, just south of the Kwanza River. Their leaders told Battell that they had come from a place called "Elembe" and that they had originated from a "page" in its army. Battell's story was published by Samuel Purchas
partially in 1614 and fully in 1625.
) or armed camp. Instead, they replenished their numbers by capturing adolescents and forcing them to serve in their army. In methods reminiscent of modern child soldier recruitment, the young captives were often forced to kill and eat people, consume considerable alcohol and could not be admitted to full membership until they had killed an enemy in combat. Cannibalism, ritual human sacrifice and torture were all featured in what seventeenth century observers called the "quixilla laws" (from Kimbundu kixila, or prohibition) by which the Imbangala were said to live.
Their military capacity and ruthlessness made them appealing to Portuguese colonists in Angola who had been fought to a standstill in their war against the Angolan kingdom of Ndongo during the first period of colonial rule (1575–1599). Despite professed disgust at their customs, Portuguese governors of Luanda
sometimes hired the Imbangala for their campaigns, beginning with Bento Banha Cardoso in 1615 but most notably following Luis Mendes de Vasconcelos's 1618 assault on Ndongo. Mendes de Vasconcelos operated with three bands of Imbangala but soon found that they were not disciplined enough to serve the Portuguese. Kasanje's band in particular, broke free of Portuguese control and began a long campaign of pillage that eventually established them in the Baixa de Cassange region of modern Angola along the Kwango River. This band would become the modern Angolan ethnicity that calls itself Imbangala (and ceased the militant customs of its predecessors in the late seventeenth century).
Another band, Kaza, actually joined Ndongo and opposed the Portuguese, though it would eventually betray Ndongo's Queen Njinga Mbande in 1629, thus frustrating that queen's attempt to preserve Ndongo's independence from a base on islands in the Kwanza River. After Njinga's short lived attempt to join with Kasanje in 1629-30, she went to Matamba and there formed her own (or joined with another) Imbangala band led by a man known only as "Njinga Mona" (Njinga's son). Though reported to be an Imbangala herself (supposedly taking an initiation rite that involved pounding up a baby in a grain mortar), Njinga probably never really became one.
(Wambu) or Bailundu
(Mbailundu). In all these areas, their customs tended to moderate in the eighteenth century, cannibalism was restricted to ritual and sometimes only to symbolic occasions (for example in the nineteenth century Imbangala groups in the central highlands still practiced a ritual known as "eating the old man").
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n warriors and marauders who founded the kingdom of Kasanje.
Origins of the Imbangala
The Imbangala were people, possibly from Central Africa that appeared on the scene in Angola during the early 17th century. The origins of the people are still debated. It is generally agreed upon that they were not the same Jagas that attacked the Kingdom of KongoKingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in what are now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
during the reign of Alvaro I
Álvaro I of Kongo
Álvaro I Nimi a Lukeni lua Mvemba was a Manikongo , or king of Kongo, from 1568 to 1587.-Biography:Álvaro's father was an unknown Kongo nobleman who died, leaving his mother to remarry to King Henrique I. When Henrique I died fighting on the eastern frontier, he had left Álvaro as his regent...
.
In the 1960s, it was proposed that oral traditions of the Lunda Empire suggested that both groups of Jaga marauders originated in the Lunda Empire and had fled it during the 17th century. Another theory is that the Imbangala were a local people of southern Angola originating from the Bie Plateau
Bié Plateau
The Bié Plateau or Central Plateau of Angola is a plateau that occupies most of central Angola. The elevation of the plateau is from 1,520 m to 1,830 m....
or the coastal regions west of the highlands.
The first witness account of the Imbangala, written by an English sailor named Andrew Battell, who lived with them for 16 months in around 1600–1601, places them firmly in the coastal regions and highlands of modern Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, just south of the Kwanza River. Their leaders told Battell that they had come from a place called "Elembe" and that they had originated from a "page" in its army. Battell's story was published by Samuel Purchas
Samuel Purchas
Samuel Purchas , was an English travel writer, a near-contemporary of Richard Hakluyt.Purchas was born at Thaxted, Essex, and graduated at St John's College, Cambridge, in 1600; later he became a B.D., and with this degree was admitted at Oxford in 1615. In 1604 he was presented by James I to the...
partially in 1614 and fully in 1625.
Imbangala and the Portuguese
The Portuguese took an interest in the Imbangala about the time that Battell first lived with them. Battell went to their country in company with Portuguese merchants who were buying their war captives to sell as slaves. At the time of their contact, the Imbangala were acting as marauders whose primary interest seemed to be pillage the country, especially in order to obtain large quantities of palm wine, which they produced by a wasteful method of chopping the tree down and tapping its fermented contents over a few months. The Imbangala did not permit female members to give birth, allegedly exposing all the children born in their kilombo (Portuguese quilomboQuilombo
A quilombo is a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin, Quilombolas, or Maroons. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos were escaped slaves and, in some cases, a minority of marginalised Portuguese, Brazilian aboriginals, Jews and Arabs, and/or other non-black,...
) or armed camp. Instead, they replenished their numbers by capturing adolescents and forcing them to serve in their army. In methods reminiscent of modern child soldier recruitment, the young captives were often forced to kill and eat people, consume considerable alcohol and could not be admitted to full membership until they had killed an enemy in combat. Cannibalism, ritual human sacrifice and torture were all featured in what seventeenth century observers called the "quixilla laws" (from Kimbundu kixila, or prohibition) by which the Imbangala were said to live.
Their military capacity and ruthlessness made them appealing to Portuguese colonists in Angola who had been fought to a standstill in their war against the Angolan kingdom of Ndongo during the first period of colonial rule (1575–1599). Despite professed disgust at their customs, Portuguese governors of Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
sometimes hired the Imbangala for their campaigns, beginning with Bento Banha Cardoso in 1615 but most notably following Luis Mendes de Vasconcelos's 1618 assault on Ndongo. Mendes de Vasconcelos operated with three bands of Imbangala but soon found that they were not disciplined enough to serve the Portuguese. Kasanje's band in particular, broke free of Portuguese control and began a long campaign of pillage that eventually established them in the Baixa de Cassange region of modern Angola along the Kwango River. This band would become the modern Angolan ethnicity that calls itself Imbangala (and ceased the militant customs of its predecessors in the late seventeenth century).
Another band, Kaza, actually joined Ndongo and opposed the Portuguese, though it would eventually betray Ndongo's Queen Njinga Mbande in 1629, thus frustrating that queen's attempt to preserve Ndongo's independence from a base on islands in the Kwanza River. After Njinga's short lived attempt to join with Kasanje in 1629-30, she went to Matamba and there formed her own (or joined with another) Imbangala band led by a man known only as "Njinga Mona" (Njinga's son). Though reported to be an Imbangala herself (supposedly taking an initiation rite that involved pounding up a baby in a grain mortar), Njinga probably never really became one.
Later fate
Other bands were integrated into the Portuguese army serving as auxiliary soldiers, under their commanders and cantoned within the Portuguese territory. As the seventeenth century wore on, these and other bands were either annihilated by one or another of the political states such as the one formed by Njinga in Matamba. One rogue group of Imbangala set down roots and formed the kingdom of Kasanje. South of the Kwanza in the original homeland of the Imbangala, they continued operating much as before for a least another half a century but even there they gradually formed partnerships with existing political entities such as Bihe (Viye), HuamboHuambo
Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa , is the capital of Huambo province in Angola. The city is located about 220 km E from Benguela and 600 km SE from Luanda. The city's last known population count was 225,268...
(Wambu) or Bailundu
Bailundu
Bailundu was the largest and the most powerful of the traditional Ovimbundu kingdoms in Angola....
(Mbailundu). In all these areas, their customs tended to moderate in the eighteenth century, cannibalism was restricted to ritual and sometimes only to symbolic occasions (for example in the nineteenth century Imbangala groups in the central highlands still practiced a ritual known as "eating the old man").