Menongue, formerly Serpa Pinto, is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
and the
capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
of
Cubango Province in
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
. The municipality had a population of 320,914 in 2014.
It is one of the four municipalities in Angola whose inhabitants are predominantly
Mbunda.
Menongue is the current
terminus of the
Moçâmedes Railway, from
Moçâmedes
Moçâmedes is a List of cities and towns in Angola, city in southwestern Angola, and the capital of Namibe Province. The city's current population is 255,000 (2014 census). Founded in 1840 by the Portuguese Angola, Portuguese colonial administr ...
,
and also home of the small
Menongue Airport
Menongue Airport () is an airport serving Menongue, a Municipalities of Angola, municipality in the province of Cubango Province, Cubango in Angola.
From 2008 to 2014 the expansion of their terminal building and lengthened.
The Menongue non-d ...
.
History
During the colonial period, the town was called Serpa Pinto, in honour of the namesake
Portuguese explorer
Portuguese maritime explorations resulted in numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese on journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European exploration, chronicling and mapp ...
.
Menongue was formerly the capital of
Cuando Cubango Province,
until it was divided into the provinces of
Cuando and Cubango in 2024.
Sports
FC Cuando Cubango, promoted to the 2018
Girabola
Girabola, or ''Campeonato Nacional de Futebol de Séniores Masculinos'', is the top division of Angolan association football, football. It is organized by the Angolan Football Federation.
The term "Girabola" () is a creation of the nationalist, ...
, the top flight of Angolan soccer, play in Menongue.
See also
*
Mbunda language
Mbunda is a Bantu language of Angola and Zambia. There are several dialects: Katavola, Yauma, Nkangala, Mbalango, Sango, Ciyengele ("Shamuka"), and Ndundu, all of which are closely related. Mbunda was one of six languages selected by the ''Insti ...
*
Mbunda people
*
Mbunda Kingdom
The Mbunda Kingdom (Mbunda language, Mbunda: or or ), sometimes called the Kingdom of Angola or Mbundaland, was an African kingdom located in western central Africa, in what is now southeast Angola. At its greatest extent, it reached from Mithi ...
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Cubango Province
Municipalities of Angola
Provincial capitals in Angola