Kuba Kingdom
The Kingdom of Cuba, specifically the Cuban Federation, was a composite of about 20 ethnic groups, all Bantu peoples of Central Africa. Your largest ethnic groups were the Bushoong that Ngeende, the Kete, the Shoowa and Pyaang.
Geography
The capital of the Federation was Nsheng, located in the center of their settlement area between the rivers Kasai, Sankuru and Lulua, in the present province of West Kasai Maniema in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Until the second half of the 19th century became the Federation, undisturbed by the processes of colonization in the west, an area of a little over 100,000 km ², comparable to the size of the German Democratic Republic, with about 150,000 inhabitants.
History
The Kingdom of Cuba was formed as a great empire on the southern edge of the equatorial forest area where exceptional wealth of resources in the combination of forest, savannah and waters favored the emergence of dense and stable populations.
The age of Chiefs
The area was gradually settled speaking Mongo groups, who advanced from the area between the Sankuru and the Lokenye, and mingled with the living further south, belonging to the western Bantu language group Kete. From the mixing of several small communities emerged. They lived in autonomous communities, often gerontokratisch by a council of elders, isolated out of a sole leader, but whose dominions seldom exceeded a single village. After the immigration, about 1500, but possibly earlier, allows for the first time to speak in the true sense of the Cuba.
How far back does the history of this company, can be due to lack of sources not definitely say, traditionally dating back to about the Cuba in the middle of the sixth century, their mythical founding father is Woot.
The Age of Kings
The Kingdom of Cuba developed in the first quarter of the 17th century, when Shamba Bolongongo united the various chiefdoms. Among the princes came regularly to heir disputes. Nevertheless, the Empire remained stable until the end of the 19th century. Based on a diverse environment and culture that ruled the aristocracy of the dominant central ruling family of Shyaam distant regions and subordinate peoples and established institutions of exceptional complexity also. These included for example an independent judiciary. The Cuba unfolded one characterized by craftsmanship and refinement lifestyle, among other things showed up in the skill of the weavers and wood carvers that manufactured consumer goods for everyday life. Oratory, dispute, poetry and conversation were developed in the non-literate society refined arts.
Probably remained in the kingdom despite the association a cultural diversity preserved. In the 18th century three different creator deities were worshiped here: Mboom, worshiped speaking of the Mongo immigrants from the north, Ngaan, deity of the native Kete and Ncyeem apoong ( Nzambi Mpunga ), perhaps from the Congo region by the founder king Shyaam had been brought.
A special feature of Baquba is that here, in contrast to almost all other African societies south of the Sahara, in the period between the 17th and 19th century disappeared the family model of polygyny and exclusively practiced by the leaders was further. This led to a huge drop in the bride price and a much younger age at marriage of men than in surrounding societies.
Because of its relatively inaccessible location in the south of present-day Congo, off the Congo River, Cuba remained of the slave raids of the Europeans and Arabs largely spared in the 18th and 19th centuries. On a military base, it could do without.
Since the 1880s, the Belgians had been trying to find in the realm of Cuba access, but their gifts were always rejected and King Kot aMbweeky aMileng threatened with beheading each intruder. 1892, however, came the African-American Presbyterian missionary William Henry Sheppard first foreigner in the capital before, because of his black skin color he was alive and he was four months living among Cuba. At this time the Cuban Empire encompassed an area of approximately two-thirds the size of Belgium and about 150 000 inhabitants.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the empire was unstable and collapsed finally at the following Leopoldine and later Belgian colonial rule.
Presence
Today, Cuba woodland planters and live in the southwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Arts and Culture
To her remarkable art that was subject to the influence of the Congo Empire, include king pictures of wood. This court art is rückdatierbar to 1600. Striking helmet masks, ceremonial objects, Raffiagewebe and numerous ancestral figures are also included.