Bakongo
/bɑːˈkɒŋ.ɡoʊ/noun
A Bantu-speaking ethnic group and related cultural-linguistic identity centered in parts of Central Africa.
Did you know?Bakongo is a modern ethnonym tied to the Kongo cultural world of Central Africa, where names, titles, and spiritual authority were historically inseparable from kingship and ritual power.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial era
Bantu
*kongo
“Likely a regional or group name associated with the Kongo peoples and polity”
15th Century
Portuguese
Congo
“Portuguese rendering of the Kongo kingdom and its people”
17th–19th Century
European languages
Bakongo
“Ethnonym used for the people of the Kongo cultural-linguistic area”
Modern English
English
Bakongo
“A Bantu-speaking ethnic group in Central Africa”