The Manikongo, or Mwene Kongo, was the title of the ruler of the

Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo ( kg, Kongo dya Ntotila or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' pt, Reino do Congo) was a kingdom located in central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the ...

, a kingdom that existed from the 14th to the 19th centuries and consisted of land in present-day

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

, the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. 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. The term "manikongo" is derived from Portuguese ''manicongo'', an alteration of the KiKongo term ''Mwene Kongo'' (literally "lord of Kongo"). The term ''wene'', from which ''mwene'' is derived, is also used to mean kingdom and is attested with this meaning in the Kongo

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adul ...

of 1624 with reference to the

Kingdom of Heaven Kingdom of Heaven may refer to: Religious * Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew) ** Kingship and kingdom of God, or simply Kingdom of God, the phrase used in the other gospels * Kingdom of Heaven (Daviesite), a schismatic sect, founded by Wil ...

. The term ''mwene'' is created by adding the personal prefix ''mu-'' to this stem, to mean "person of the kingdom". ''Mwene'' is attested in very early texts, notably the letters of King Afonso I of Kongo, where he writes, to Portguese kings

Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: *Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was ...

(in 1514) and

João III John III ( pt, João III ; 7 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious (Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1521 until his death in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the t ...

concerning the ''moenipango'' (''mwene Mpangu'') and twice concerning the ''moinebata''. ''Mani'' was used to mean not only "king" but also anyone holding authority, so provincial and sub-provincial officials also were called ''mani''. Afonso did not entitle himself Manikongo, but rather ''rei de congo'' (king of Kongo). Subjects were require 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.

References

Kingdom of Kongo Kongo people Monarchy {{government-stub

See also

References