At least two groups of people in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

are described as the Yombe people. They reside primarily 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 ...

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

and

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 ...

. Adept at crafts and art, the men are involved in weaving, carving, and smelting, and the women make clay pots. Popular figures include the ''Nkisi nkonde'' and female '' phemba'' statues.

Distribution

In 1981 there was an estimated 15,000 people of the Yombe, living in an area of . Yombe is one of the six foreign groups who invaded

Tumbuka people The Tumbuka (also known as Yombe, Kamanga, Senga, Tonga and Henga) are a group of Bantu peoples, Bantu peoples found in Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

, with others living in the

and

. This group refers to people among the Kongo.

Economic practices

The Yombe are primarily involved in agricultural production, growing crops such as plantains, maize, beans, manioc, peanuts, and yams. Though they grow primarily for food supply, they also sell their crops at the market. Goats, pigs and chickens are raised and fishing is practiced on the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

. Adept at crafts and art, the men are involved in weaving, carving, and smelting, and the women make clay pots.

Cultural and religious practices

The artistry of Yombe figurines and statues is well known, usually objects of prestige, kings seated on the throne, or female '' phemba'' (maternity) statues. ''Nkisi nkonde'' figurines, masks and drums are also made for ceremonies. Their funerary figures are renowned for their realistic depictions. The supreme deity of the Yombe is Ngoma Bunzi, who hails from an unreachable realm called Yulu. He is contacted via Nzambi a Tsi (earth spirits) and

Simbi A Simbi (also Cymbee, Sim'bi, pl. Bisimbi) is a Central African water and nature spirit in traditional Kongo religion, as well as in African diaspora spiritual traditions, such as Hoodoo in the southern United States and Palo in Cuba. Simbi ha ...

(river spirits). The Yombe people build shrines as memorials to prominent ancestors, such as village chiefs who has special powers. The Yombe people of northern Zambia believe that people have three different identities: biological, social, and spiritual. Their social standing affects the type of funeral which might be given.

References

External links

{{authority control Bantu peoples Ethnic groups in Zambia Ethnic groups in the Republic of the Congo Ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ethnic groups in Angola