Editing History of Zambia (section)

==Bantu (Abantu)==
{{Update|section|date=May 2025|reason=Dated scholarship}}
The Bantu people or Abantu (meaning people) are an enormous and diverse [[ethnolinguistic group]] that comprise the majority of people in much of [[East Africa|East]], [[Southern Africa|Southern]] and [[Central Africa]]. Due to Zambia's location at the crossroads of [[Central Africa]], [[Southern Africa]], and the [[African Great Lakes]], the history of the people that constitute modern Zambians is a history of these three regions.

Many of the historical events in these three regions happened simultaneously. Thus, Zambia's history, like many African nation's histories, cannot be presented perfectly chronologically. The early history of the peoples of modern Zambia is deduced from oral records, archaeology, and written records mostly from non-Africans.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Scott D.|title=Culture and Customs of Zambia|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/file%20uploads%20/scott_d._taylor_culture_and_customs_of_zambia_cbook4you.pdf|publisher=Greenwood Press|access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref>

===Bantu origins===
The Bantu people originally lived in [[West Africa|West]]/[[Central Africa]] around what is today [[Cameroon]]/[[Nigeria]]. Around 4000 to 3000 years ago, they began a millennia-long expansion into much of the continent. This event has been called the [[Bantu expansion|Bantu Expansion]], which was one of the largest human migrations in history. The Bantu are believed to have been the first to have brought [[Ferrous metallurgy|iron working]] technology into large parts of Africa. The Bantu Expansion happened primarily through two routes: one was western via the [[Congo Basin]] and the other was eastern via the African Great Lakes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bostoen|first=Koen|date=2018-04-26|title=The Bantu Expansion|url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-191|access-date=2020-10-27|website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History|language=en|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.191|isbn=978-0-19-027773-4}}</ref>

===First Bantu settlement===
[[File:Ba-Ila man.jpg|left|thumb|[[Ila people|Ila]] Headman's son in Southern Zambia, Cattle formed an important part of their society.]]

According to recent scholarship by Nicholas Katanekwa, the earliest Bantu people in Zambia were the "New Kalundu" culture, arriving from the west along the Zambezi valley from the fourth century CE. These groups are associated with Guthrie group R, as well as the ancestors of the Shona, Venda, ans especially Mbwela peoples.
The next Bantu people to arrive in Zambia came through the eastern route via the African Great Lakes.[[File:Ba-ila Village.jpg|thumb|Enormous [[Ila people|Ba-Ila]] settlement. These communities have been of interest to mathematicians due to their [[Fractal|fractal pattern]] design.]] They arrived later in the 1st millennium AD. Among them were the [[Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe|Tonga people]] (also called Ba-Tonga, "Ba-" meaning "men") and the [[Ila people|Ba-Ila]] and other related groups who settled around [[Southern Province, Zambia|Southern Zambia]] near [[Zimbabwe]]. According to Ba-Tonga oral records, they are believed to have come from the east near the "big sea".

They were later joined by the [[Tumbuka people|Ba-Tumbuka]] who settled around [[Eastern Province, Zambia|Eastern Zambia]] and [[Malawi]].

These first Bantu people lived in large villages. They never had an organised unit under a chief or headman and worked as a community and help each other in times of field preparation for their crops. Villages moved around frequently as the soil became exhausted due to using the [[slash-and-burn]] technique of planting crops. They also kept large herds of cattle which formed an important part of their societies.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-01-12|title=Ila|url=https://traditionalzambia.home.blog/tribes-of-zambia/early-bantu-settlers/ila/|access-date=2020-10-27|website=Zambia's Traditional History|language=en}}</ref>

The first Bantu communities in Zambia were extremely self-sufficient. Many groups of people who encountered them were very impressed by this self-sufficiency. The early [[Missionary|European missionaries]] that settled in [[Southern Province, Zambia|Southern Zambia]] also noted the extreme independence of these Bantu societies, one of these missionaries noted:[[File:Ingombe.jpg|thumb|[[Ingombe Ilede]] trading post in Southern Zambia.]]

<blockquote>"[If] weapons for war, hunting, and domestic purposes are needed, the [Tonga] man goes to the hills and digs until he finds the iron ore. He smelts it and with the iron thus obtained makes axes, hoes, and other useful implements. He burns wood and makes charcoal for his forge. His bellows are made from the skins of animals and the pipes are clay tile, and the anvil and hammers are also pieces of the iron he has obtained. He moulds, welds, shapes, and performs all the work of the ordinary blacksmith."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of South and South Central Africa, by H. Frances Davidson.|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37728/37728-h/37728-h.htm#CHAPTER_IXPART2|access-date=2020-10-29|website=www.gutenberg.org}}</ref></blockquote> [[File:Batonga women.png|left|thumb|[[Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe|Batonga]] fisherwomen in Southern Zambia. Women have and continue to play important roles in many African societies.]] [[File:Great-Zimbabwe-ruins-outer-walls-3-1200.jpg|thumb|Ruins of [[Great Zimbabwe]], [[Kalanga people|Kalanga]]/[[Shona people|Shona]] rulers of this Kingdom dominated trade at Ingombe Ilede.]]

These early Bantu settlers also participated in the trade at the site [[Ingombe Ilede]] (which translate sleeping cow in [[Chitonga|Chi-Tonga]] because the fallen baobab tree appears to resembles a cow) in [[Southern Province, Zambia|Southern Zambia]], at this trading site they met numerous [[Kalanga people|Kalanga]]/[[Shona people|Shona]] traders from [[Great Zimbabwe]] and [[Swahili people|Swahili]] traders from the East African [[Swahili coast|Swahili Coast]]. Ingombe Ilede was one of the most important trading posts for rulers of Great Zimbabwe, others being the Swahili port cities like of [[Sofala]].

The goods traded at Ingombe Ilede included: fabrics, beads, gold, and bangles. Some of these items came from what is today southern [[the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of Congo]] and [[Kilwa Kisiwani]] while others as far away as [[India]], [[China]] and the [[Arab world|Arab World]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Origins of trade - Zambia Travel Guide|url=http://www.zambia-travel-guide.com/bradt_guide.asp?bradt=1084|access-date=2020-10-28|website=www.zambia-travel-guide.com}}</ref> The African traders were later joined by the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] in the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pikirayi|first=Innocent|date=August 2017|title=Ingombe Ilede and the demise of Great Zimbabwe|journal=Antiquity|language=en|volume=91|issue=358|pages=1085–1086|doi=10.15184/aqy.2017.95|s2cid=158120419|issn=0003-598X|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The decline of Great Zimbabwe, due to increasing trade competition from other [[Kalanga people|Kalanga]]/[[Shona people|Shona]] kingdoms like [[Khami]] and [[Kingdom of Mutapa|Mutapa]], spelt the end of [[Ingombe Ilede]].

===Further Bantu settlement===
The third mass settlement of [[Bantu peoples|Bantu people]] into Zambia was of people groups that are believed to have taken the central-western route of the Bantu migration through the [[Congo Basin]]. These Bantu people spent the majority of their existence in what is today the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of Congo]] and are ancestors of the majority of modern Zambians.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-08|title=Luba|url=https://traditionalzambia.home.blog/tribes-of-zambia/second-bantu-invasion/luba/|access-date=2020-11-07|website=Zambia's Traditional History|language=en}}</ref> [[File:(Kibango) Luba peoples The Metropolitan Museum of Art.png|left|thumb|Seated female Staffs of office (Kibango), were displayed by [[Luba people|Luba]] kings. In Luba society, women's bodies were considered the ultimate vessels of spiritual power.]]

While it was previously speculated that the [[Bemba people]] or [[Bemba people|AbaBemba]] have a strong ancient connection to the [[Kingdom of Kongo|Kongo Kingdom]] through [[Kongo people|BaKongo]] ruler [[Manikongo|Mwene Kongo VIII Mvemba]] this, is not supported by evidence.

'''Luba-Lunda States''' [[File:Brooklyn Museum 76.20.4 Lukasa Memory Board.jpg|thumbnail|[[Lukasa]] memory board, was used by members of Mbudye (an association of [[Griot|groits]] in charge of maintaining Baluba history)]]

The Bemba, along with other related groups like the [[Lamba people (Zambia)|Lamba]], [[Lala-Bisa language|Bisa]], [[Senga people|Senga]], [[Kaonde language|Kaonde]], [[Swaka language|Swaka]], [[Nkoya]] and [[Soli language|Soli]], formed integral parts of the [[Kingdom of Luba|Luba Kingdom]] in Upemba part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and have a strong relation to the [[Luba people|BaLuba people]]. The area which the Luba Kingdom occupied has been inhabited by early farmers and iron-workers since the 300's AD. Over time these communities learned to use [[Fishing net|nets]], [[harpoon]]s, make [[dugout canoe]]s, clear [[canal]]s through swamps and make [[dam]]s as high as 2.5 meters.

As a result, they grew a [[Economic diversity|diverse economy]] trading fish, copper and iron items, and salt for goods from other parts of [[Africa]] like the [[Swahili coast|Swahili Coast]] and, later on, the [[Portugal|Portuguese]]. From these communities arose the [[Kingdom of Luba|Luba Kingdom]] in the 14th century.<ref name="metmuseum.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/luba/hd_luba.htm|title=Kingdoms of the Savanna: The Luba and Lunda Empires|access-date=2020-11-07|website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref>

The Luba Kingdom was a large kingdom with a [[Centralized government|centralised government]] and smaller independent [[chiefdom]]s. It had large trading networks that linked the forests in the [[Congo Basin]] and the mineral-rich plateaus of what is today [[Copperbelt Province]] and stretched from the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic Coast]] to the [[Indian Ocean|Indian Ocean Coast]]. The arts were also held in high esteem in the kingdom and artisans where held in high regards.<ref name="metmuseum.org"/> [[File:Mwata.jpg|thumb|Drawing of the ruler of Lunda, [[Kazembe|Mwata Kazembe]], receiving Portuguese in the royal courtyard in the 1800s]]

The [[Kingdom of Luba|Luba Kingdom]] literature was also well developed. One renowned [[Luba people|Luba]] genesis story that articulated the distinction between two types of Luba emperors as follows:

<blockquote>"[[Kongolo Mwamba|Nkongolo Mwamba]], the red king, and [[Ilunga Mbili|Ilunga Mbidi Kiluwe]], a prince of legendary black complexion. Nkongolo Mwamba is the drunken and cruel despot, Ilunga Mbidi Kiluwe, the refined and gentle prince. Nkongolo the red is a man without manners, a man who eats in public, gets drunk, and cannot control himself, whereas [Ilunga] Mbidi Kiluwe is a man of reservation, obsessed with good manners; he does not eat in public, controls his language and his behaviour, and keeps a distance from the vices and modus vivendi of ordinary people. Nkongolo Mwamba symbolizes the embodiment of tyranny, whereas Mbidi Kiluwe remains the admired caring and compassionate kin."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Luba {{!}} people|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Luba-people|access-date=2020-11-07|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref></blockquote> [[File:Lunda houses-1854.jpg|thumb|left|A drawing of Lunda houses by a Portuguese. The size of the doorways relative to the building emphasizes the scale of the buildings.]]

In the same region of Southern Congo the [[Lunda people]] were made into a satellite of the [[Kingdom of Luba|Luba empire]] and adopted forms of Luba culture and governance and thus became the [[Kingdom of Lunda|Lunda empire]] to the south. According to Lunda genesis myths, a Luba hunter named [[Tshibinda Ilunga|Chibinda Ilunga]] son of [[Ilunga Mbili|Ilunga Mbidi Kiluwe]] introduced the Luba model of statecraft to the Lunda sometime around 1600 when he married a local Lunda princess named Lueji and was granted control of her kingdom. Most rulers who claimed descent from Luba ancestors were integrated into the Luba empire. The Lunda kings, however, remained separate and actively expanded their political and economic dominance over the region.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/luba/hd_luba.htm|title=Kingdoms of the Savanna: The Luba and Lunda Empires|access-date=2020-11-29|website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref>[[File:Young-awemba-girls-1932-bemba.webp|thumb|Young [[Bemba people|Bemba]] girls. AbaBemba women made and adorned jewellery for beauty and belonging in their culture.]]

The Lunda, like its parent state Luba, also traded with both coasts, the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Indian Ocean]]. With ruler [[List of rulers of the Lunda Empire|Mwaant Yaav Naweej]] had established trade routes to the Atlantic coast and initiated direct contact with European traders eager for [[Atlantic slave trade|slaves]] and forest products and controlling the regional [[Copper|copper trade]], and settlements around [[Lake Mweru]] regulated commerce from the [[Swahili coast|East African coast]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The [[Kingdom of Luba|Luba-Lunda states]] eventually declined as a result of both [[Atlantic slave trade]] in the west and [[Indian Ocean slave trade]] in the east and wars with breakaway factions of the kingdoms. The [[Chokwe people|Chokwe]], a group that is highly related to the [[Luvale people|Luvale]] and formed a Lunda satellite state, initially suffered from the European demand for slaves but once the broke away from the Lunda State, they defeated the previous parent state and became notorious slave traders, exporting slaves to both coasts. The Chokwe eventually were defeated by the other ethnic groups and the Portuguese.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Azuonye|first=Chukwuma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ejao3vG6nfsC&pg=PA11|title=Chokwe: (Angola, Zambia)|date=1996-12-15|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc|isbn=978-0-8239-1990-1|language=en}}</ref>

This instability caused the collapse of the Luba-Lunda States and a dispersal of people into various parts of Zambia from the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. The majority of Zambians trace their ancestry to the Luba-Lunda and surrounding Central African states.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-08|title=Luba|url=https://traditionalzambia.home.blog/tribes-of-zambia/second-bantu-invasion/luba/|access-date=2020-11-30|website=Zambia's Traditional History|language=en}}</ref>

'''Maravi Confederacy''' 
[[File:Nyau-mask.webp|thumb|This type of elaborately feathered [[Nyau]] mask was used for the recall of spirits. It is called Nchawa.]]
In the 1200s, before the founding of the Luba-Lunda states, a group of Bantu people started migrating from the [[Congo Basin|Congo basin]] to [[Lake Mweru]] then finally settled around [[Lake Malawi]]. These migrants are believed to have been one of the inhabitants around the [[Upemba Depression|Upemba]] area in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of Congo]]. By the 1400s these groups of migrants collectively called the Maravi, most prominently among them was the [[Chewa people]], started assimilating other Bantu groups like the [[Tumbuka people|Tumbuka]].<ref name="Team">{{Cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=2018-12-26|title=The Maravi Confederacy|url=https://thinkafrica.net/maravi-confederacy/|access-date=2020-12-13|website=Think Africa|language=en-US}}</ref>[[File:Kalonga.jpg|thumb|left|The Kalonga of the [[Chewa people|Chewa]] today descends from the Kalonga (rulers) of the Maravi Empire.]]

In 1480 the [[Maravi|Maravi Empire]] was founded by the Kalonga (paramount chief of the Maravi) from the Phiri clan one of the main clans with the others being Banda, Mwale and Nkhoma. The Maravi Empire stretched from the [[Indian Ocean]] through what today is [[Mozambique]] to Zambia and large parts of [[Malawi]]. The political organization of the Maravi resembled the [[Kingdom of Luba|Luba]] and is believed to have originated from there, the primary export of the Maravi was Ivory which was transported to Swahili brokers.<ref name="Team"/>

Iron was also manufactured and exported. In the 1590s the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] endeavoured to [[monopoly|monopolize]] the Maravi export trade. This attempt was met with outrage by the Maravi of Lundu who released their WaZimba armed force. The WaZimba sacked the Portuguese trade towns of Tete, Sena and various other towns.<ref name="Team"/>

The Maravi are also believed to have brought the traditions that would become [[Nyau|Nyau secret society]] from the [[Upemba Depression|Upemba]]. The Nyau form the cosmology or indigenous religion of the people of Maravi. The [[Nyau]] society consists of ritual dance performances and masks used for the dances, this belief system spread around the region.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Maptia|title=The Secret Cult of Nyau Dancers|url=https://maptia.com/vlad_sokhin/stories/the-secret-cult-of-nyau-dancers|access-date=2021-01-03|website=Maptia|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108130415/https://maptia.com/vlad_sokhin/stories/the-secret-cult-of-nyau-dancers|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Maravi went into decline due to succession disputes within the confederacy, attack by the [[Ngoni people|Ngoni]] and slave raids from the [[Yao people (East Africa)|Yao]].<ref name="Team"/>

'''Mutapa Empire & Mfecane'''
[[File:Ngoni Chiefs.jpg|thumb|Three young [[Ngoni people|Ngoni]] chiefs. The Ngoni made their way into [[Eastern Province, Zambia|Eastern Zambia]] from [[KwaZulu-Natal|KwaZulu]] in South Africa. They eventually assimilated into the local ethnic groups.]]
As [[Great Zimbabwe]] was in decline. One of its princes, [[Nyatsimba Mutota]], broke away from the state forming a new empire called [[Kingdom of Mutapa|Mutapa]]. The title of [[Kingdom of Mutapa|Mwene Mutapa]], meaning "Ravager of the Lands", was bestowed on him and subsequent rulers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mwene Matapa {{!}} historical dynastic title, southern Africa|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mwene-Matapa|access-date=2020-12-31|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

The [[Kingdom of Mutapa|Mutapa Empire]] ruled territory between the [[Zambezi]] and [[Limpopo]] rivers, in what is now Zambia, [[Zimbabwe]] and [[Mozambique]], from the 14th to the 17th century. By its peak, Mutapa had conquered the Dande area of the [[Tonga people (Zambia and Zimbabwe)|Tonga]] and Tavara. The Mutapa Empire predominately engaged in the [[Indian Ocean]] transcontinental trade with and via the [[Swahili people|WaSwahili]]. They primary exported gold and ivory for silk and ceramics from Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mutapa|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Mutapa/|access-date=2020-12-31|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]}}</ref>

Like their contemporaries in [[Maravi]], Mutapa had problems with the arriving [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] traders. The peak of this uneasy relationship was reached when the Portuguese attempted to influence the kingdoms internal affairs by establishing markets in the kingdom and converting the population to [[Christianity]]. This action caused outrage by the [[Muslim]] WaSwahili living in the capital. This chaos gave the Portuguese the excuse they were searching for to warrant an attack on the kingdom and try to control its gold mines and ivory routes. This attack failed when the Portuguese succumbed to disease along the [[Zambezi|Zambezi river]].<ref name="Mutapa">{{Cite web|title=Mutapa|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Mutapa/|access-date=2021-01-01|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]}}</ref>

In the 1600s, internal disputes and civil war began the decline of [[Kingdom of Mutapa|Mutapa]]. The weakened kingdom was finally conquered by the Portuguese and was eventually taken over by rival [[Shona people|Shona]] states.<ref name="Mutapa"/>[[File:Litunga.jpg|thumb|left|Inside the palace of the [[Litunga]], ruler of the Lozi. Due to the flooding on the Zambezi, the Litunga has two palaces one of which is on higher ground. The movement of Litunga to higher land is celebrated at the [[Kuomboka|Kuomboka Ceremony]]]]

It is hypothesised by [[Julian Cobbing]] that the presence of early [[Ethnic groups in Europe|Europeans]] [[History of slavery|slave trading]] and attempts to control resources in various parts of [[Bantu languages|Bantu Speaking Africa]] caused the gradual [[militarization]] of the people in the region. This can be observed with the Maravi's WaZimba warrior cast who, once defeating the Portuguese, remained quite militaristic afterwards.

The Portuguese presence in the region was also a major reason for the founding of the [[Rozvi Empire]], a breakaway state of Mutapa. The ruler of the Rozvi, [[Changamire Dombo]], became one of the most powerful leaders in South-Central Africa's history. Under his leadership, the Rozvi defeated the Portuguese and expelled them from their trading posts along the Zambezi river.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rozwi {{!}} historical state, Africa|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Rozwi-historical-state-Africa|access-date=2021-01-02|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>[[File:Makishi.jpg|thumb|[[Makishi festival|Makishi]] dancer, found in [[North-Western Province, Zambia|North-Western Zambia]], represent spirits of a deceased who returns to assist the living]]

But perhaps the most notable instance of this increased militarization was the rise of the [[Zulu people|Zulu]] under the leadership of [[Shaka]]. Pressures from the [[English people|English colonialists]] in the [[Cape of Good Hope|Cape]] and increased militarization of the Zulu resulted in the [[Mfecane]] (the crushing). The Zulu expanded by assimilating the women and children of tribes they defeated, if the men of these [[Nguni people|Nguni tribes]] escaped slaughter, they used the military tactics of the Zulu to attack other groups.<ref name="Mfecane {{!}} African history">{{Cite web|title=Mfecane {{!}} African history|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Mfecane|access-date=2021-01-02|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

This caused mass displacements, wars and raids throughout Southern, Central and Eastern Africa as [[Nguni people|Nguni]] or [[Ngoni people|Ngoni]] tribes made their way throughout the region and is referred to as the [[Mfecane]]. The arriving [[Nguni people|Nguni]] under the leadership of [[Zwangendaba|Zwagendaba]] crossed the Zambezi river moving northwards. The Ngoni were the final blow to the already weakened [[Maravi|Maravi Empire]]. Many Nguni eventually settled around what is today Zambia, [[Malawi]], [[Mozambique]] and [[Tanzania]] and assimilated into neighboring tribes.<ref name="Mfecane {{!}} African history"/>

In the [[Western Province, Zambia|western part]] of [[Zambia]], another [[Southern Africa]]n group of [[Sotho-Tswana peoples|Sotho-Tswana]] heritage called the [[Kololo people|Kololo]] manage to conquer the local inhabitants who were migrants from the fallen [[Kingdom of Luba|Luba]] and [[Kingdom of Lunda|Lunda states]] called the [[Luyana language|Luyana]] or Aluyi. The Luyana established the [[Barotseland|Barotse Kingdom]] on the [[Barotse Floodplain|floodplains of the Zambezi]] upon their arrival from Katanga. Under the Kololo, the Kololo language was imposed upon the Luyana until the Luyana revolted and overthrew the Kololo by this time the Luyana language was largely forgotten and a new hybrid language emerged, [[Lozi language|SiLozi]] and the Luyana began to refer to themselves as [[Lozi people|Lozi]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lozi {{!}} people|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lozi|access-date=2021-01-02|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

At the end of the 18th century, some of the [[Mbunda people|Mbunda]] migrated to [[Barotseland]], [[Mongu]] upon the migration of among others, the [[Rulers of Mbundaland|Ciyengele]].<ref>'' The elites of Barotseland, 1878–1969: a political history of Zambia's Western Province'': a. Gerald L. Caplan, C. Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 1970, {{ISBN|978-0-900966-38-5}}</ref><ref>[http://www.bantu-languages.com/fr/zonek.html Bantu-Languages.com], citing Maniacky 1997</ref> The Aluyi and their leader, the Litunga Mulambwa, especially valued the Mbunda for their fighting ability.

By the late 19th century, most of the various peoples of Zambia were established in their current areas.