Mbundu
/əmˈbʊn.duː/noun
A Bantu-speaking ethnic group of Angola, or the language traditionally associated with them.
Did you know?The Mbundu were historically associated with the powerful kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba, whose ruler Njinga became one of Africa’s most famous anti-Portuguese monarchs.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Bantu period
Proto-Bantu
Uncertain
“The deeper root of Mbundu has not been securely reconstructed; proposed explanations remain debated rather than established.”
Before the 16th Century
Kimbundu
Mbundu
“An indigenous ethnonym used among Kimbundu-speaking communities; its original lexical meaning is uncertain.”
16th–17th Century
Portuguese
Ambundu
“Portuguese records used Ambundu for the people living in and around the Ndongo region of present-day Angola.”
17th–19th Century
Kimbundu
Mumbundu
“A related singular form, traditionally understood as referring to an individual Mbundu person.”
Modern English
English
Mbundu
“The standard English ethnonym for the people, and sometimes a reference to their language, more precisely called Kimbundu.”