The Kilukeni were members of the Lukeni kanda

Kanda (lineage)

Kanda In Kikongo any social or analytical group, but often applied to lineages or groups of associated people who form a faction, band or other group. In Kongo documents written in Portuguese, or in older Portuguese accounts of Kongo it often is translated by "geração"...

 or House of Kilukeni, the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Kongo

Kingdom 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...

 from its inception in the late 14th century until the 1567 with the rise of the House of Kwilu. The Kilukeni were springboard for most of the major factions that battled for control of Kongo during its civil war

Kongo Civil War

The Kongo Civil War was an internal conflict between rival houses of the Kingdom of Kongo. The war waged throughout the middle of the 17th and 18th centuries pitting partisans of the House of Kinlaza against the House of Kimpanzu...

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Etymology

In KiKongo the language of the kingdom of Kongo, the name of the kanda is Lukeni. It is taken from the first name of the founder of the kingdom, Lukeni lua Nimi

Lukeni lua Nimi

Lukeni lua Nimi was the first king and founder of the Kingdom of Kongo Dia Ntotila. The name Nimi a Lukeni appeared in later oral traditions and some modern historians, notably Jean Cuvelier, popularized it...

. Lukeni lua Nimi ruled around the 1390s before the throne was handed down to his cousins.

History

Beginning with the reign of Nkuwu a Ntinu, a son of Lukeni and the last non-Catholic mwenekongo, the throne passed from father to son. Occasionally there were usurpations, but the crown stayed within the lineage of the founder until 1567 when a king from the region of Kwilu

Kwilu

Kwilu, also known as the House of Kwilu , was a kanda or royal lineage of the Kingdom of Kongo.-Origins:Prior to the rise fo the Kwilu kanda, the Kilukeni kanda or House of Lukeni had ruled Kongo since its inception around the end of the 14th century. After the death of King Henrique I, power...

, 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...

 ascended after the last of the Kilukeni died in battle against the Anziku Kingdom

Anziku Kingdom

The Anziku Kingdom, also called the Teke Kingdom, the Tyo Kingdom or Tio Kingdom, was a pre-colonial West Central African state of modern Republic of Congo.-Origins:...

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See also

• Kingdom of Kongo
  Kingdom 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...
  
  
• Kimpanzu
  Kimpanzu
  The Kimpanzu were members of the Mpanzu kanda also known as the House of Kimpanzu, one of the lineages from which the kings of Kongo were chosen during the 17th century and following Kongo's reunification under Pedro IV.-Origins:...
  
  
• Kinkanga
  Kinkanga
  The Kinkanga, usually known as the Kinkanga a Mvika or House of Nsundi, was a royal kanda formed by King Pedro II, which ruled the Kingdom of Kongo from 1622 to 1631...
  
  
• Kongo Civil War
  Kongo Civil War
  The Kongo Civil War was an internal conflict between rival houses of the Kingdom of Kongo. The war waged throughout the middle of the 17th and 18th centuries pitting partisans of the House of Kinlaza against the House of Kimpanzu...
  
  
• List of rulers of Kongo