Nkutama a mvila za makanda
Encyclopedia
Nkutama a mvila za makanda is a "Catalogue of Praise Names of Clans" in the Kikongo language compiled and edited by Father Jean Cuvelier
comprising a list of about 500 Kongo
clans in alphabetical order. The list was compiled by Cuvelier between 1926 and 1934 when he was inspector of schools for the Redemptorist Order in the Belgian Congo
. The entries typically give the name of the clan, its praise name or mvila, as well as its traditional itinerary and sometimes additional information drawn from its traditions. Often Cuvelier specified the village where he collected the tradition as well.
Cuvelier's personal papers, now housed at the Catholic University at Leuven
(or Louvain) in Belgium, contains a considerable number of his original manuscripts from which the book was published, normally in school notebooks entitled "Mvila".
The book was first published in 1934 at the mission's press, and a second edition was brought out under the same name in the missionary newspaper Kukiele in 1944. This second edition was not complete, but contained information and clan names not found in the original edition. A third edition also appeared, although its location and circumstances are not known. Following Cuvelier's death in 1962, his colleague Joseph de Munck
brought out a fourth edition in 1972, which contained all the changes of the earlier ones, as well as a slightly reorganized format.
Jean Cuvelier
Jean Cuvelier was a Belgian Redemptorist missionary and bishop of Matadi in Belgian Congo from the late 19th century until his death in 1962. Cuvelier was notable for his interest in the history of the Kingdom of Kongo, which he saw as a route to evangelization in his time...
comprising a list of about 500 Kongo
Kongo people
The Bakongo or the Kongo people , also sometimes referred to as Kongolese or Congolese, is a Bantu ethnic group which lives along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire to Luanda, Angola...
clans in alphabetical order. The list was compiled by Cuvelier between 1926 and 1934 when he was inspector of schools for the Redemptorist Order in the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
. The entries typically give the name of the clan, its praise name or mvila, as well as its traditional itinerary and sometimes additional information drawn from its traditions. Often Cuvelier specified the village where he collected the tradition as well.
Cuvelier's personal papers, now housed at the Catholic University at Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
(or Louvain) in Belgium, contains a considerable number of his original manuscripts from which the book was published, normally in school notebooks entitled "Mvila".
The book was first published in 1934 at the mission's press, and a second edition was brought out under the same name in the missionary newspaper Kukiele in 1944. This second edition was not complete, but contained information and clan names not found in the original edition. A third edition also appeared, although its location and circumstances are not known. Following Cuvelier's death in 1962, his colleague Joseph de Munck
Joseph de Munck
Joseph de Munck was a Belgian Catholic Priest of the Redemptorist Order noted for his historical research relating to the Old Kingdom of Kongo. In many ways de Munck was the successor to Jean Cuvelier, whose work with documents and oral traditions made him one of the great historians of the kingdom...
brought out a fourth edition in 1972, which contained all the changes of the earlier ones, as well as a slightly reorganized format.
External links
- http://www.nekongo.org/akongo/docs/langue_culture/nkutama_mvila_makanda.pdf Nkutama a mvila za makanda (1934 edition) in PDF format