Regions

Physical:
The Kongo Kingdom had spread over a vast area of land. From the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Kwango River in the east. From the Congo River in the north to the Loje River in the south. The land was located in the African states now known as Angola, Congo,and Zaire.

As so many rivers flowed in the kingdom, there was fertile soil in abundance. Also, the nearby grasslands made farming successful. Mbanza Kongo,the capital, was also surrounded by dense rainforests, and the ocean provided shell fish. As you can see, the Kongo kingdom had no problem with the food.

Most of the population of the Kongo Kingdom lived in the basin of the Congo river, with a gigantic area of 1,400,000 square miles! In the basin there were forests, marshes, swamps, lakes, and other smaller rivers that branched off the main Congo River.

Cultural:
The Kongo's believed that there were two worlds; one of the living,"nza yayi," and of the dead,"nsi a bafwa," divided by a body of water called the Kalunga. What that actually meant was that life and death are just a cycle that everyone has to go through; imitating the path of the sun. When the sun sets the living and the dead exchange day and night. They also believed that when the sun sets it symbolizes death and when it rises it symbolizes rebirth. Rising:beginning, rebirth, ascendency; maturity,responsibility Setting:handing on,death, transformation, midnight; existence in the other world,eventual birth

The people believed in the Dead, and they believed that everything great such as the gods are now dead. People thought that Nzambi Mpungu, the name of the great god, created this world. The Portugese tried very hard to convert people in the Kongo Kingdom to Christianity, and finally succeded.They set up missionaries to convert people from their own beliefs into Christianity.



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