Ondonga
/ɤnˈdɔŋɡa/noun
A historical kingdom, people, and variety of the Oshiwambo language in northern Namibia and southern Angola.
Did you know?Ondonga is associated with one of the most influential traditional kingdoms among the Ovambo peoples, whose royal institutions still have cultural significance in Namibia.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Bantu period
Proto-Bantu
*o-
“A reconstructed noun-class prefix commonly associated with singular nouns in many Bantu languages; its presence helps explain forms beginning with o- in several southern African language names.”
Precolonial period
Ndonga
Ndonga
“The ethnolinguistic name associated with the Ndonga-speaking people and their kingdom; the precise lexical origin of the root is not securely established.”
Precolonial period
Ndonga
Ondonga
“The name used for the Ondonga polity and its people in the local linguistic tradition.”
19th Century
European records
Ondonga
“A recorded name for a powerful Ovambo kingdom in the region that is now northern Namibia.”
20th Century
English
Ondonga
“A proper name referring to the kingdom, people, language variety, and associated cultural tradition.”