À partir de XVIIᵉ siècle
Upper Tshikapa and upper Kasai, west of the Luba heartland
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Chokwe were a Central African people whose nineteenth-century expansion involved movement from small high-density areas around the upper Tshikapa and upper Kasai into open forest. Some Chokwe left villages to hunt elephants and gather honey and wax, while women with agricultural knowledge, particularly of cassava, established cultivation on poor soils. Their society also absorbed Lunda women and other dependents, illustrating broader patterns of captive assimilation in the matrilineal belt.
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Le récit
In the nineteenth century, many young Chokwe left villages in the small high-density areas of the upper Tshikapa and upper Kasai. They moved into the open forest, where they hunted elephants, established hives, and collected honey and wax. Their dispersal was connected both to economic opportunities and to a desire to escape the burdensome authority of village chiefs.
Chokwe expansion depended on the complementary skills of men and women. Chokwe women who accompanied the migrants used their knowledge of plants, especially cassava, to cultivate poor soils that would have been difficult for less adaptable agricultural systems. Some of these women came from Lunda settlements along tributaries of the Luembe, Tshikapa, and related rivers.
The assimilation of Lunda women into Chokwe society formed part of a wider pattern in the matrilineal belt. Descendants of female captives belonged to their father’s group rather than their mother’s clan, a distinction associated with the status of free-born people. The process shows how migration, agricultural adaptation, captivity, and incorporation shaped Chokwe social development.
À partir de XVIIᵉ siècle
Upper Tshikapa and upper Kasai, west of the Luba heartland
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Chokwe were a Central African people whose nineteenth-century expansion involved movement from small high-density areas around the upper Tshikapa and upper Kasai into open forest. Some Chokwe left villages to hunt elephants and gather honey and wax, while women with agricultural knowledge, particularly of cassava, established cultivation on poor soils. Their society also absorbed Lunda women and other dependents, illustrating broader patterns of captive assimilation in the matrilineal belt.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
In the nineteenth century, many young Chokwe left villages in the small high-density areas of the upper Tshikapa and upper Kasai. They moved into the open forest, where they hunted elephants, established hives, and collected honey and wax. Their dispersal was connected both to economic opportunities and to a desire to escape the burdensome authority of village chiefs.
Chokwe expansion depended on the complementary skills of men and women. Chokwe women who accompanied the migrants used their knowledge of plants, especially cassava, to cultivate poor soils that would have been difficult for less adaptable agricultural systems. Some of these women came from Lunda settlements along tributaries of the Luembe, Tshikapa, and related rivers.
The assimilation of Lunda women into Chokwe society formed part of a wider pattern in the matrilineal belt. Descendants of female captives belonged to their father’s group rather than their mother’s clan, a distinction associated with the status of free-born people. The process shows how migration, agricultural adaptation, captivity, and incorporation shaped Chokwe social development.
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