YIRUNG, CHIBIND

Chibind Yirung (folk hero, who may have flourished circa the 17th century), the reputed founder of the Lunda (Aruund) state, is described by tradition as a hunter from the land of the Luba. Thus, he closely resembles Mbidi Kiluwe and Mwamba Ciluu, also hunters from the east who supposedly founded the Luba and Kanyok states. Stories of these hunter chiefs seem very old and may date back to before 1600.

PHOTO CAPTION: Chibind Yirung SOURCE: EA Library

According to legend, Chibind Yirung left the Upemba area in the Luba territory, traveling west to the Nkalanyi (upper Mbuji) Mayi region, where he set up camp on the banks of the nearby Kasidishi stream. There he traded game to the Lunda in exchange for bamboo wine. Soon, however, Chibind Yirung was discovered by a Lunda nobleman, Nchakal Makal, who introduced the stranger at the court of Queen Ruwej. Queen Ruwej fell in love with the hunter and married him over the objections of her brothers, Chigud and Chiyam.

The brothers’ wrath grew even more when once — during her menstrual period, when she was ritually unable to function as queen—Ruwej gave Chibind Yirung her “Rakam” and a sacred bracelet symbolising royal power. Despite the new political authority he had acquired at the Lunda capital, Chibind Yirung still had to use force to subdue the surrounding chiefs of the land, who were held in high esteem by the common people.

Although Chibind Yirung’s victories allowed him and his descendants to introduce strict rules of protocol and etiquette at the court and to reorganise Lunda socio-political structures, his actions also led to the widespread dispersal of Lunda-related people in Central Africa. Angered by Queen Ruwej’s acquiescence to the newcomer, her two brothers left the Lunda heartland: Chigud to found the great commercial state of Kasanje in Angola; Chiyam to rule the Lwena in what are now Congo and Zambia. Legend says that Chibind Yirung and Ruwej had no children.

At Ruwaz, Chibind Yirung married a Mukachilund girl, Kamong Lwaz, who bore him three children. The oldest, Yav a Yirung, became the founder who gave his name to the Ant Yav (plural of Mwant Yav) dynasty. Traditional sources do not agree on how Chibind Yirung met his end. Some people contend that he was chased from the Nkalanyi region; others believe that he died and was buried on the right bank of the Kasidishi River.

The folk hero, Chibind Yirung is credited with bringing a new order to the Nkalany region. The Lunda believe it was this reorganisation and revitalisation which enabled them to rise from anonymity and play an important role in the history of Central Africa.

NDUA SOLOL KANAMPUMB