Mongu is the capital of Western Province in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and was the capital of the formerly-named province and historic state of

Barotseland Barotseland (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mubuso Bulozi'') is a region between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe including half of north-western province, southern province, and parts of Lusaka Province, Lusaka, Central Province, Zambia, Central, ...

. Its population is 179,585 (2010 census), and it is also the headquarters of Mongu District. Mongu is the home of the

Litunga The Litunga of Barotseland (Zambia, in Zambia) is the King of the Barotse people. The ''Litunga'' resides near the Zambezi River and the town of Mongu, at Lealui on the floodplain in the dry season, and on higher ground at Limulunga on the edge of ...

, King of the Lozi people (currently Lubosi Imwiko III).

History

The town's original name was ''mungu'', a Lozi word in reference to a growth and production of pumpkins. Mongu was the capital of

under the Lozi kings from the 18th century until 1911. Under British rule, it was declared a district under the name Mongu-Lealui by Hubert Winthrop Young, the Governor of Northern Rhodesia. Following Zambia's independence in 1964, Mongu was established as a rural council and upgraded to its status of District Council in 1980. Today Mongu remains a predominantly rural urban community with the majority of business found in

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

Geography

Mongu is situated on a small blunt promontory of higher ground on the eastern edge of the 30-kilometre-wide Barotse Floodplain of the Zambezi River running north–south, which in the

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

floods right up to the town. The city is 15 kilometres from the river's main channel, to which its small harbour is connected in the dry season by a 35-kilometre route via a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

and a meandering channel. The whole region is flat and sandy, with the dry land generally no more than 50 m higher than the floodplain.

Demographics

Mongu is the home city of the Lozi (or ''Barotse'') people, who speak a language derived in part from that of the Makololo, related to the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n Sesotho language. The Lozi ruler, the

, has a dry season

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

12 km north-west at Lealui on the floodplain, and a flood season palace on higher ground at Limulunga, 17 km north. The Kuomboka ceremony marks the court's transfer between the two locations. At the end of the 18th century, a significant number of Mbunda from

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 ...

settled here.

Climate

Mongu has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Aw''). The area has an annual average rainfall of 945 mm falling in the rainy season from late October to April. The flood usually arrives by January, peaks in April and is gone by June, leaving a floodplain green with new grass on which a population of about 250,000 moves in to graze a similar number of cattle, catch fish and raise crops in small gardens. Mongu is hot from September to December, with a mean maximum for October of 35.4 °C, and cool from May to August, with a mean maximum in June of 26.9 °C and a mean minimum of 10.3 °C.

Ecology

Three

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

s are represented in Mongu and its vicinity: the floodplain comprises Zambezian flooded grasslands, while the higher dry ground is a

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

of Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands and Cryptosepalum dry forests. To the east the soil is very sandy and there are many pans which dry out in the dry season, and beyond the Lui River no surface water is available so this zone of scrubby miombo woodland is practically uninhabited as far east as the Luampa River.

Economy

Mongu lies at the end of the 590-km Lusaka–Mongu Road from

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

. The road to Kalabo called the Barotse Floodplain causeway was completed and opened in 2016. It is also at the end of the M10 road, which connects it to

Senanga Senanga is the capital of the Senanga District, which is located in the Western Province, Zambia, Western Province of Zambia. The town is situated on the eastern bank of the Zambezi River, at the southern end of the Barotse Floodplain. It lies on ...

, to the Katima Mulilo Border with

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and to Livingstone. The city is known for basket and carpet

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

. It produces the best mango and fish in the country, especially the tiger fish. Mongu is also a major rice growing region of Zambia. It is also home to a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

and a

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

, while among the several shopping places and social places, the town has a large market and an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

. Mongu Airport is mainly used by the Zambian Air Force and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

to transport Angolan Refugees back to Angola. The town is also the location of the Nayuma Museum.

References

:General references :Camerapix (1996). "Spectrum Guide to Zambia." Nairobi: Camerapix International Publishing. . :Terracarta/International Travel Maps, Vancouver Canada: "Zambia, 2nd edition", 2000.
Google Earth
has high-resolution photographs of Mongu. :http://www.barotseland.com/ {{coord, 15, 16, 39, S, 23, 7, 55, E, region:ZM_type:city, display=title Populated places in Western Province, Zambia Provincial capitals in Zambia Barotseland Zambezi River