chiefdom · Central and Southern Africa

Chokwe chiefdoms

1600 CE – 1920 CE (approx.)

Hunters, traders and artists of the upper Kasai whose 19th-century expansion overran the Lunda Empire and whose sculpture is world-famous.

Origins

The Chokwe lived as hunters and farmers in the highlands of north-eastern Angola, organised in chiefdoms whose rulers held titles derived from the Lunda Empire. Their traditions link the chiefly line to Lunda nobles who left the Lunda court around the 17th century.

Rule and society

Chokwe chiefs ruled small, autonomous territories rather than a single kingdom. In the 19th century the Chokwe became leading traders in beeswax, ivory and later wild rubber, buying guns and absorbing captive women and dependants, which drove rapid population growth and expansion. Their carvers produced celebrated masks such as Mwana Pwo and figures of the hero Chibinda Ilunga.

Decline and legacy

In 1887 Chokwe forces sacked the Lunda capital and briefly dominated the region. The collapse of the rubber trade and Portuguese and Belgian conquest brought the chiefdoms under colonial rule by about 1920. The Chokwe are now a major people of Angola, Zambia and Congo.

Lineage

Lunda Empire 1600 CE – 1887 CEChokwe chiefdoms

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Chokwe chiefdoms. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chokwe-chiefdoms
MLA
“Chokwe chiefdoms.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chokwe-chiefdoms. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Chokwe chiefdoms.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chokwe-chiefdoms.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Chokwe chiefdoms’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chokwe-chiefdoms (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻