Cabinda

Diogo Cão was the first european navigator arriving in Cabinda and establishing commercial connections with the local Ntotilas (King) of the kingdom of Congo, where he left an inscription and the Portugese Coat of Arms.

He was received with great pomp and circumstance by Ntotila of Mbanza who wanted to become a Christian and expressed his wish of establishing commercial relations with Portugal.

Throughout the centuries, Portugal had claimed, in several occasions, the historical right to the ownership of the territories of Cabinda and in 1723 expelled and destroyed the fleet of English pirates with the help of King Ngoyo.

In 1784 it was the time for the French to attack the Portuguese in the Santa Maria de Cabinda Fortress. However, in 1786 they officially recognized the Portuguese sovereignty over the coast of Cabinda.

It bounds on the Atlantic Ocean, on Congo Brazaville (Kouilou and Niari) and on the Democratic of Congo (Lower Congo-Miombe) on the North and Northeast, on the Democratic Republic of Congo (Muanda/Lower Congo)on the South and Southeast.

The Bakamas, a resident group in the hills of Tchizo, in the city of Cabinda, represent the local culture and a traditional dance. Cabinda has 500 thousand inhabitants.

The “tchicumbi” is a ritual that symbolizes the time when a young woman is allowed to date (when she becomes 15) and involves several traditional acts.

The monument to the Treaty of Simulambuco, in the city of Cabinda, and Chinfuca, in Vila de Lândana (Cacongo), stating the arrival of the Portuguese and that determine the reigns of Loango and Makongo are of historical and tourist interest.

Cabinda is one of the richest districts in freshwater rivers in the continent. The most important river is Cabinda and other rivers meet in the Maiombe. Cabinda is situated under the Equator line and has a tropical climate with two seasons; the dry season (from May to September) and the rainy season; the temperature is humid and high (from September to April). However, in the outskirts the trends register high temperatures and frequent equatorial rains. The climate is tropical and humid, with annual rainfall averages rounding 800mm. The average annual temperature varies between 25 and 30º Celsius.

Cunene

Cunene (or Kunene) means, in the local language, “right side” and refers to the right side of the river.

Its last king, Kwanyama, the famous Mandume, confronted the military power of the Portuguese, defending his territory, on the first decade of the 20th century.

The province of Cunene was founded on the 10th July 1970 and, unfortunately, its ancient history is not very well-known.

Historians refer that the Bantu people who now live in the territory would have probably come from Eastern Africa and created districts, more or less centralized where, from the 19th century onward, the trade of ivory and slaves flourished, leading to, among other things, the entry of fire weapons.

It was also from then on that the territory became craved by the Portuguese, English and Germans and, later on, also by South-Africans.

It was already under the South-African administration of the colony of the African Southwest (former name of today’s Namíbia) that in 1926, the border of Angola was established in the South, along a straight line between the Kubango and Cunene Rivers.

Meanwhile the Portuguese had conquered the last Bandu kingdom that became part of the Angolan territory – the Kwanyama – after the famous battle of Môngua. Probably, in the minds of the Angolans, that’s why Cunene is still connected to Kwanyama. However, Kwanyama only represents a sub-group of the ethnolinguistic group of the Ovambo, who also live in the north of Namíbia, which explains why it was divided by the borderline.

These ethnic and cultural factors, the morphological continuity of the territory, the climate similarities, the sharing of the waters of the Cunene river and the recent history explains why the economic and social life of the populations of the province of Cunene is, nowadays, very influenced by Namíbia and, particularly, by the populations of the north of that country. The learning of new techniques and skills such as masonary, metalworkering, electricity, driving, among others, are a result of such an influence.

Besides the Ovambo, represented in Angola mainly by the Kwanyama and Ombadja, there are other people from different ethno-linguistic groups living in the area.

Besides them and, in order of importance, are the Vahumbi (or Nyaneka-Humbi, as some authors call them), who traditionally inhabited the province of Huíla but are represented in the Cunene by some subgroups like the Vandonguena, Vahinga and Vahanda. They are also dedicated to agriculture and pastoral activities and related to the Ovambo, distinguishing themselves by their language, cultural features (festivities, rituals, dances), the way they dress, and the use of different techniques (construction, agriculture).

In the southwest area of the province (Kuroca and Kahama) there are also subgroups of the Vahelelo group (Va-ximba, Va-ndimba and Vakuvale), who are mainly shephards.

Also in the 19th century, the Chokwe populations arrived in the territory, that later became the Ngangela and, in the last decades, mostly after the beginning of the civil war, so did the Ovimbundu,.

All these populations are essentially dedicated to farming and the latter, as you will see further on, also to commerce. Some millions of people of non-bantu groups also inhabit the Cunene and are mainly dedicated to hunter-gathering activities.

Like in all of Angola, the original population was constituted by Khoisan (in current language often called “Bushmen”) whose territory was progressively occupied by bantu people, during a migration that invaded the region between the 16th and 17th centuries. Due to its geographical and ecologic conditions, this region never really became densely populated. However, in the 18th century, the Kwanyama had managed the right people to constitute a very stable political group (a “kingdom” in the colonial terminology).

In the 19th century, under the rush of the “European race into Africa”, the southern and northern areas of the Cunene River caused the interest not only of Portugal, but also of England and Germany. Germany was granted, by the Conference in Berlin, the territory of today’s Namíbia that bounds on Cunene river on the north. At the time, Portugal, that hadn’t taken much interest in that area, rushed to conquer the northern area of the river, only managing to succeed in the mid-1920s, after a strong resistance on the part of the Kwanyama. The fact that the Cuane River thus became a bound between two colonies of two different colonial powers didn’t prevent the population of Ovambo, divided by this line, from maintaining close boundaries with their congeners, on the other side of the borders.

This bond has lasted, with more or less intensity, until today. The inhabitants of the province didn’t get very involved in the fight for the Independence of Angola and in the final phase of the occupation the Kwanyama made a greater effort than Portugal, in the development of their area, for example, by opening more schools. Ever since their Independence the population of the province has been under a process of social and political insertion which varies a lot from group to group.

The climate in Cunene is semi-desert, tropical, dry and mega-thermal with an irregular rainfall which does not exceed the 600mm p/year. The annual average temperature is 23ºC, which varies along during the day. The highest concentration of rainfall, which is very irregular, takes place between the months of December and April..

Bié

Bié is the precise spot that defines the centre of the country.
The year 2000 celebrated the 440th anniversary of the date when Father Gonçalo da Silveira arrived in Bié.
1560 was the highlight of the portuguese colonial expansionism in search of new political and economical horizons that would strengthen its authority as a state.

In 1771, when D. Inocêncio de Sousa Coutinho was Vice-Governor, he founded a town on the hill of Bié named Amarante on the same place where today the city of Kuito is flourishing.,.

According to history, the Portuguese began to find interest in Bié in 1772, having in that same year appointed Joaquim Rodrigues its first Vice-Captain, Judge of the Province of Bié, who established himself in Ekovongo, formerly Embala, the main city in the region.

With around 1.794.387 inhabitants spread among the 9 towns that constitute the province, it records a maximum of 88 inhabitants per square kilometre in Kuito and a minimum of 5 inhabitants per square kilometre in Nharéa. Andulo is the most populated town following Kuito and Kunhinga (formerly Vouga) the least populated. This province occupies an area of 70.314 square kilometres and offers a plain terrain, with an average altitude of over 1000m (over 1.500 in the SW quadrant), inserted in two kinds of landscape – the Planalto Antigo and the Alto Kwanza.

Its population is divided into four main ethnic groups of Bantu origin, having the Kibalas or Ngaias, from the Kimbundus, settled in Calussinga, the Songas in the north, the Bailundos and Bienos, descendents of the Mbundus, in Andulo and Nhârea and Chingar, Kunhinga, Katabola and Kamacupa.

The Nganguelas, the Luimbis or Luenas from Kwanza settled in the banks of the Kwanza river and the Ambuilas in Tchitembo, whereas the east line of the Province, from north to south, is inhabited by Kiokos. This landscape is divided by several important watercourses that define the hidrographic regions of Kuanza, Kibango, Luanda, Kutato, Cuiva Kuquema, Ngumbo, Cuchi, Cunhiga, Kunje and Kune.

The climate in the region is mild and humid with annual isotherms that vary between 19º and 21º, making the area especially adequate for a florishing farming development. It has two distinct seasons and none of the so-called dry-season that one can witness in most of the Angola regions. The warm or rainy seasons are between October and April with trends of rainfall between 1.000 and 1.400 mm, being less intense in the months of October, January and February. The dry season spreads from May to September and the average temperature in the coldest month varies between 18ºC and 25ºC.

The primitive vegetation landscape is quite varied in the areas subject to culture, and it is formed by the phytogeographic complex “open forest – panda Woods; Savana with bushes, with long extensions of herbaceous comunities of the high plains also known as high “anharas” (angolan portuese)

Bengo

A province in the north of Angola founded in 1980 after the division of Luanda by the Council of the Revolution. Besides being new in the geographical map, the history of Bengo is linked to that of S. Paulo de Luanda, due to its proximity to the capital city of the country.

Bengo became a part of the contemporary history of Angola, as the birthplace of the first president of Angola, António Agostinho Neto and of other renowned nationalists who fought for the independence of the country. Spread throughout an area of 41000 square kilometers and over 460 000 inhabitants, the province of Bengo in northern the coastal area of the country, and it comprises 5 municipalities:
Dembos Kibaxe (or Quibaxe), Ambriz, Bula Atumba, Dande, Dembos, Icolo and Bengo, Kissama, Nambuangongo, Pango Aluquém, where its capital city, Caxito, is located.

This province surrounds the capital of Luanda, bordering the ocean in the west, the provinces of Zaire and Uíge on the north, Northern Kuanza on the east and South Kwanza on the South. Its capital city, Caxito is located 55 kilometres north of Luanda. Although there are several rivers that cross the province, Kwanza River is the most important in the country. On rainy seasons the river banks become submersed.

Besides sheltering a great variety of sea birds (flamingos, pelicans, cranes, ducks, among others), Bengo has a rich and varied fauna that includes animals such as Antelopes, wild pigs, elephants, monkeys, and exotic birds.

Benefiting from a favourable coastline, fishing in Bengo, at the barra do Dande and Ambriz, on the northern side, means great catches of lobsters and shrimps, and on Cape Ledo, in the south on a wide range of fish. On the beaches in this region it is still very common to see the sea turtle. In the south area of Bengo lies the famous Kissama National Park with an extension of 9.600kilometres.

Considered a priority area for the development of national tourism, the historical monuments in this province, located in the district of Muxima, are very well-known, and the Fortress and the Church, built during the times of the Portuguese Conquests, that hold the same name are the landmarks of the past history of the people in this region.

Bengo is a mandatory passage point, whether you are going south, north, or travelling to the centre by road or by sea. Tourism finds its highlight the Kissama National Park, the special Reserve of Mumbondo, the Coutada do Ambriz and long beaches, such as Pambala besides other areas of tourist interest. Having a privileged location, close to the capital and the ocean, this province will have a brilliant future as a tourist destination. Most of the population is Ambundu and the main economy of the population is based in agriculture and fishing. The most spoken language in this province is Kimbundo.

Benguela

Benguela. Its magic lies on a long story that goes back to the years 1601s when the first portuguese disembarked at Cow’s Bay, drawn by a supposedly animal abundance.

Driven by the legends about the existence of rich mines of silver and copper Manuel Cerveira Pereira founded São Filipe de Benguela, on the 17th May 1617 which would eventually become an important to Angola’s inland and a big centre for traffic of salves.

In the mid-20th century, the small capital was overcome by the city of Lobito, due to its more favourable portuary conditions. There was an increase on in the trade of merchandise brought on by the colonies. The small amount of dry fish and the salt produced by the village were a great contribution to those comercial trades with products that came from the highlands such as cereals, rubber, sisal, castor oil, yucca, ivory objects, and cattle, among others.

 Benguela began to be considered as the most important port, second to Luanda. It was the arrival and departure point of the big comercial caravans that established the comercial trades It was a new beginning and new cities and villages began to emerge. The Benguela myth of “City mother of cities” changed with the birth of the cities of Catengue, Caimbambo, Cubal, Ganda, Alto Catumbela, Quinjenje, Cuma, Longonjo, Lepi and Caála Huambo, later on, Nova Lisboa thanks to Norton de Matos.

Heading inland, towards the east, there was a non-stop growth reaching Bela Vista, Chinguar e Silva Port (now Kuito). One of the most precious contributions of this breakthrough was a construction of international value, implanted rail by rail along thousands of kilometers, opening roads, and choosing the best and most effective areas for the population to settle.

This undertaking was the Benguela railway. The need for a port and the extraordinary conditions offered in the ancient Catumbela das Ostras originated Lobito, its port and city. It reafirmed the importance of colonization which started in Benguela and spread into over 1300 kilometres of Angola’s territory, from the coastline to the border of Luau. According to the legend, Benguela, the Angolan city of the Red Acacias, the eternal beauty of this massive and sui generis tree that lies in its fantastic color can, in fact, be considered, nowadays, the land of samba and Carnival.

A library, still not well explored will, in time, show what this lovely city has to offer to the world. The climate is tropical and semi-desert in the south, whereas in the north of the province it is tropical humid and moderately rainy in the inner underplateau line. The highest temperature is 35ºC, averaging 24,2º and the lowest 10,4º, the relative humidity 79% and the yearly average rainfall is 286mm.