Kongo dia Nlaza
Encyclopedia
Kongo dia Nlaza was a little known kingdom that existed to the east of the Kingdom of Kongo
and was absorbed into Kongo in the late sixteenth century.
The kingdom is first mentioned among the titles of king Álvaro I of Kongo
in the 1580s as the "Seven Kingdoms of Congo Riamulaza". Presumably it was some sort of confederation of smaller entities that had existed in the area for some time. The area was renowned for the production of rafia textiles and palm cloth.
Seventeenth century sources mention "Momboares" as the center for textile production, and statistical information from the Portuguese colony of Angola
put its exports to that region alone as over 100,000 meters of cloth annually. The trade in cloth with this district was one of the largest trades for the Portuguese colony, and the cloth was used to pay its African troops.
Momboares can be analyzed as follows: Mu (class prefix for persons) bwadi (seven), Lusitanized and pluralized according to Portuguese rules. It is thus "the people of the seven [kingdoms of Congo Riamulaza]
When Kongo took over Kongo dia Nlaza it was integrated into the province of Mbata which led the expansion eastward.
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...
and was absorbed into Kongo in the late sixteenth century.
The kingdom is first mentioned among the titles of king Álvaro I of Kongo
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 1580s as the "Seven Kingdoms of Congo Riamulaza". Presumably it was some sort of confederation of smaller entities that had existed in the area for some time. The area was renowned for the production of rafia textiles and palm cloth.
Seventeenth century sources mention "Momboares" as the center for textile production, and statistical information from the Portuguese colony of 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...
put its exports to that region alone as over 100,000 meters of cloth annually. The trade in cloth with this district was one of the largest trades for the Portuguese colony, and the cloth was used to pay its African troops.
Momboares can be analyzed as follows: Mu (class prefix for persons) bwadi (seven), Lusitanized and pluralized according to Portuguese rules. It is thus "the people of the seven [kingdoms of Congo Riamulaza]
When Kongo took over Kongo dia Nlaza it was integrated into the province of Mbata which led the expansion eastward.