Ovimbundu

Ovimbundu

Infobox Language
name=Umbundu
nativename=Ovimbundu
states=ANG
speakers=4.6 million
familycolor=Niger-Congo
fam2=Atlantic-Congo
fam3=Volta-Congo
fam4=Benue-Congo
fam5=Bantoid
fam6=Southern
fam7=Narrow Bantu
fam8=Central
fam9='R'
fam10=South Mbundu (R.10)
iso1=|iso2=umb|iso3=umb

The Ovimbundu are an ethnic group consisting of traders, farmers, and herders who live on the Bié Plateau of central Angola. They speak both Portuguese and the Bantu language of Umbundu. As the largest ethnic group in Angola, they make up 37 percent of the country's population.cite web |url= https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ao.html |title= Angola|accessdate=2007-02-12 |format= |work= World Factbook Online|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency] Many Ovimbundu follow Christianity; however, some still retain practices from African traditional religions.

The Ovimbundu once were traders with other African peoples and with the Portuguese. Each trading caravan had a professional leader and diviner. Trade agreements that had linked the independent chiefdoms led to the development of regional specialization; including metalwork and cornmeal production. Large-scale trading activities declined with the suppression of the slave trade and the construction of the Benguela Railway in 1904.

The Ovimbundu were a main force behind the UNITA rebel army. Huambo and Kuito, the two largest cities of Ovimbundu territory, were completely destroyed in the bloody Angolan Civil War between 1992 and1994.

References

Further reading

* Heywood, Linda. (2000). "Contested Power in Angola, 1840s to the Present". (A scholarly political history of the Ovimbundu).

External links

* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=umb Ethnologue report]
* [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/436083/Ovimbundu#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=Ovimbundu%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia Ovimbundu Britannica Online]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • OVIMBUNDU — ou MBUNDU Originaires du sud ouest du Congo, les Ovimbundu (ou Mbundu) sont connus dès le milieu du XVIIe siècle; leurs principaux royaumes sont ceux de Ndulu, de Mbailundu, de Bihé, de Wanbu, de Ciyaka, de Ngalangi et de Kakonda, chacun étant… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ovimbundu — Ethnische Karte Angolas, Siedlungsgebiet der Ovimbundu ist dunkelblau gekennzeichnet Die Ovimbundu (Singular Ocimbundu, Adjektiv und Sprachbezeichnung Umbundu; koloniale Fehlbezeichnung gelegentlich Bunda)[1] sind die größte Volksgruppe Angolas… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ovimbundu — Plantilla étnica de Angola en 1970 (Area de los ovimbundu marcada azul) Los ovimbundu (singular ocimbundu, adjetivo umbundu) son una etnia bantu de Angola. Constituyen el 37% de la población del país y tienen como lengua el umbundu. Sus subgrupos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ovimbundu — /oh vim boon dooh/, n., pl. Ovimbundus (esp. collectively) Ovimbundu. Mbundu (def. 1). * * * Bantu speaking people of central Angola. Numbering about 4 million, the Ovimbundu provided the major popular support for Jonas M. Savimbi and the… …   Universalium

  • ovimbundu — o mbundu Pueblo de habla bantú del centro de Angola. Ascienden a unos 4 millones de personas. Los ovimbundu constituyeron el principal apoyo popular de Jonas Savimbi y la Unión Nacional para la Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA). Antiguamente… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Ovimbundu — O•vim•bun•du [[t]ˌoʊ vɪmˈbʊn du[/t]] n. pl. dus, (esp. collectively) du. 1) peo a member of an African people of S central Angola 2) peo the Bantu language of the Ovimbundu …   From formal English to slang

  • Ovimbundu-Schwert — Angaben Waffenart: Schwert Verwendung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ovimbundu — Ovimbụndu,   Bantuvolk in Angola, Mbundu …   Universal-Lexikon

  • ovimbundu — ovim·bun·du …   English syllables

  • ovimbundu —  adj. D un peuple de l Angola …   Le dictionnaire des mots absents des autres dictionnaires

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”