Lovale people
The Luvale (also Lovale, Luena in Angola or Lwena ) are a matrilineal Bantu people, which is located in the east of Angola and western Zambia. They are counted for the large group of Lunda, even though they are the Chokwe closer. They are estimated at 20,000 members, the language Luvale to have 800,000 speakers.
The term is related to the Luena River Luena in conjunction, after the Angolan city of Luena is named.
Settlement patterns
The settlement area of the Luvale is preferably in the grassy plains ( chana ) in rivers and lakes, which are flooded in the rainy season and therefore are a good pasture for their cattle during the dry season. The shifting cultivation is the basis of the subsistence economy of the small village communities. It will be planted by women mainly maize, cassava, groundnuts, cassava, cabbage, and sugar cane. Is supplemented by food small animals, hunting and fishing as well as honey for the wine production of males.
Social organization
The social organization is based on matrilineal descent in preferred virilokaler residence; that is, the wife moves to the village of her husband and lives in a working and living community in the man's village. However, their common children are attributed to Matrilineage the woman. Can the wife of her husband divorced, she returns with her children back to the village of their Matrilineage. Live in the villages - due to the Virilokalität - especially sons of the same matrilineal descent group. The Chiefs of the family or village headman must be directly descended from the oldest woman of the most respected Mother lines. The individual lineages are traced throughout the genealogies, the oldest and thus leading Lineage represents the chief, he takes over the representation of the interests of the village to the outside. There are bride price ( lobola ) paid, which is only possible if the majority of men is able to pay for this; this in turn requires that a certain excess of food, pets etc. must be provided. The Luvale have only local chiefs.
Religion
The Luvale know God the Creator and Supreme Power, the Lalunga, along with a number of natural and ancestral spirits, the Mahamba. These spirits belong to an individual, a family or community. You to disregard leads to individual or collective misfortune. Evil spirits can be brought about Summoned by the shamans, which can only be solved by appropriate counter- incantations. To achieve this, the individual has the priest, the Nganga surveys, which reveals the client's problems. The prophecy is usually based on up to 60 objects in a basket, which are mixed and distributed. From the state of affairs of the Nganga indicates the cause of the disease.