NKONGOLO

Nkongolo, a Luba folk hero, (who may have lived in the earlier 16th century), was the legendary Mulopwe (chief) who supposedly laid the first foundations of the Luba empire. Scholars view Nkongolo as the symbol of a dynasty which ruled before the mid-1500s, rather than a specific historical individual.

In Luba legend, Nkongolo stands as a foil for later rulers, who developed highly complex patterns of government and courtly ritual. According to Luba oral tradition, Nkongolo was the son of Kiubaka-Ubaka and Kibumba-Bumba, the original parents of the Luba peoples. Nkongolo subjugated lands east and west of the Lualaba River before settling his capital at Mwibele, on the banks of Lake Boya. Nkongolo, whose name means “rainbow,” is reputed to have had pale (“red”) skin and, as a child, may have been dedicated to the serpent, which is associated, in the Bantu universe, with the rainbow.

Nkongolo was a very brutal ruler. On the familial level, his life was licentious, and he had incestuous relations with his two half-sisters, Bulanda and Ma-bela. Unaware of proper chiefly etiquette, he ate in public, laughed with his mouth open, and crudely neglected to file his teeth to a point.

During the course of his reign, an eastern hunter, Mbidi Kiluwe, visited Nkongolo’s domain. This hunter is represented in tradition as the bearer of a superior civilisation. He married Nkongolo’s two half-sisters, but was not able to remain in Luba territory for long because of the conflict which arose between himself and Nkongolo. After Mbidi Kiluwe’s departure, his wife Bulanda bore a son, Ilunga Mbidi, later known as Kalala Ilunga.

When he grew to manhood, Ilunga Mbidi proved to be such a great warrior that Nkongolo made him a general. The ruler then used his nephew to lead military expeditions and to enlarge the frontiers of the Luba state. Ilunga Mbidi’s success caused Nkongolo to fear the young man as a serious rival. Thus, he sought to eliminate Ilunga, who fled but returned later at the head of a powerful army.

He then had little trouble defeating his uncle, whom he had executed. Power then passed to Ilunga, regarded by the Luba as the founder of their system of government and as the father of the Luba chiefly family.

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