Also called the Kuba Confederation, the Kuba kingdom is an ancient state that existed in the current Republic of Congo. Chronologically, it existed between 1625 and 1900 and its capital was Mushenge. This territory and its people still exist today but constitute only one ethnic group of the DRC in Kasaï-Occidental and Sankourou.
Birth of the Kingdom
The Ba-Kuba, a Bantu people, are at the origin of the foundation of the Kuba kingdom. They were originally separate states. Under the leadership of the warrior Woto, they decided to unite in a confederation in 1625. Woto as its first king. The latter has the reputation of reincarnating in the body of his successors to the throne. He had, according to legend, a lifespan of 121 years. Among the peoples who came together to form the Kuba kingdom are the Luba, the Leele, the Pende, the Dengese and the Wongo. But also a dozen other Bantu States.
Heyday of the Kingdom
The kingdom of Kuba owes its apogee to the ingenuity of the various monarchs who succeeded one another at its head. First in the 1630s, King Shyaam a Mboul a Ngoong developed techniques for growing cassava, beans and tobacco. Thus the Kuba empire specialized in agricultural production and even became an exporter, which made it extremely wealthy and ushered it to a rich artistic production that was stimulated by the growing demand of the aristocrats and the royal court. These techniques emanated from the Bas-Congo. Kuba’s citizens were also taught weaving, embroidery, blacksmithing and wood carving.
Shamba Bolongolongo, 9th king of Kuba came with raffia weaving and wood carving to add to these practices. These skills as a result, made the people of Kuba a reference in the field of art in Africa. The Art practiced was in the form of statues, combs, razor holders, stylized make-up boxes, cephalomorph cups, dance masks, fabrics woven in raffia fiber and embroidered. Today, many art artifacts from the Kuba kingdom are stored in famous Western museums such as The British Museum (UK), the Dallas Museum of Art (USA), the Smithsonian Institution (USA), the Quai Branly Museum (France) and the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren (Belgium).
Decline of the Kingdom
Political instability in the Kongo region caused the fall of the Kuba kingdom. The Lubas invaded the territory and the Kuba authorities lost their sovereignty. Taking advantage of this tumultuous passage, the Belgians took over the kingdom and made it sink definitively in 1904. Faced with the fierce resistance of the Kuba people, the Belgians had to employ terrible methods such as the practice of cutting off hands.
