Manikongo
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Manikongo (also called Awenekongo or Mwenekongo) was the title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo, a kingdom that existed from the 14th to the 19th centuries and consisted of land in present-day Angola, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The manikongo's seat of power was Mbanza Kongo (also called São Salvador from 1570 to 1975), now the capital of Zaire Province in Angola. The manikongo appointed governors for the provinces of the Kingdom and received tribute from neighbouring subjects.[citation needed]
The term "manikongo" is derived from
Mwene is attested in very early texts, notably the letters of King
Subjects were required to prostrate themselves before the Manikongo, approaching him on all fours, and when time came for the Manikongo to eat or drink, an attendant would chime two iron rods, cueing them to lay face-down so that they could not see him do so.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Brásio, António (1952). Monumenta Missionaria Afriana. Lisbon: Agência geral do Ultramar. p. 298 (transcribed incorrectly as Muxuebata), 322 see Arquivo Nacional de Torre do Tombo, Corpo Crónologico, I-16-28.
- ISBN 978-0618001903.