knowledge held sacred by elders is held secret to
outsiders and is only revealed to members worthy
to obtain it, usually in steps and phases. This
ensures the integrity of the body of wisdom
against malicious use by individuals not mature
enough to use it constructively. African secret
societies are as old as time itself and serve as the
fabric that gives Africa its unique characteristics.
Asar Sa Ra ImhotepSee alsoRites of Passage; Rituals
Further Readings
Butt-Thompson, F. W. (2003).West African Secret
Societies. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger.
Dieterlen, G., & Griaule, M. (1986).The Pale Fox
(S. C. Infantino, Trans.). Chino Valley, AZ: Continuum
Foundation. (Original work published 1965)
Fu-Kiau, K. K. B. (2001).Tying the Spiritual Knot:
African Cosmology of the Bantu-Congo—Principles
of Life and Living. Brooklyn, NY: Athelia Henrietta
Press.
James, G. M. (1954).Stolen Legacy. New York:
Philosophical Library.
Mbiti, J. S. (1970).African Religions and Philosophy.
London: Heinemann.
SONGO
The Songo live along the Lundu River in the fer-
tile Angolan plateau. In this area called Songo
country, near to Bola Cassache, the Songo have
existed for a considerable period of at least 500
to 700 years. They met the first Europeans who
entered their territory in the 16th century.
However, because of the slave trade, warfare, and
migration, it is difficult to find clear information
about the origins and ancestry of the Songo. More
than 90 different ethnic groups, speaking their
own languages, live in the vicinity of the Songo.
The HomelandIt is believed that the Songo and other people were
drawn to this plateau because of the fertility of the
land and the impressive rivers and streams, chief
among them the Lundu River. Two of Angola’s
most important rivers and valleys, the Kwanza
and the Kunene, converge at the homeland of
the Songo. Alongside the Kongo River, these
two rivers make a direct highway through the
Benguela Highlands into the Katanga region,
where there is an abundance of ivory, beeswax,
rubber, and copper. The largest populations who
occupy this region are the Luimbi, Songo, and
Luchazi. They appear to have similar origins
because of their common rituals, symbols, cus-
toms, traditions, and ancestry.Narrative Myth
According to the ancient narratives of the people,
the origin of the Bié of Ovimbundu, for instance,
is told to date back to the marriage of a hunter,
Viye, with a Songo princess, Kahanda. In another
version, the Ndulu claim that when their founder,
an elephant-hunter called Katekula-Mengo, and
his wife, Ukungu, came into the region, they
got permission from the local king to settle in
Kakoko. These narratives of origin are similar and
have given rise to comparable cultural forms in
terms of religion and respect for ancestors.
Most of the Songo live as fishers. Many of the
groups around them, such as the Luena, the Suto,
the Lozi, the Bondo, the Jaga, the Luimbi, the
Luchazi, and the militarily powerful Chokwe, came
into the area as agrarians and pastoralists. The
Songo people are related to a branch of the
Chokwe called the Imbangala. The Imbangala are
descendants of Kasanje Tembo, brother of Ndumba
Tembo, founder of the Chokwe, and Muzumbo
Tembo, founder of the Songo. These three brothers,
the Tembos, are three of the most important state
founders in the history of Africa because each
one created his own kingdom, while the empire
founded by Kibinda Ilunga can be traced at any
time from 1550 or even earlier to 1612.
At the turn of the 17th century, a group of Lunda
left the country under the leadership of Kinguri.
They were under the hegemony of a Luba king who
had seized the kingdom. They settled in the area of
Kwango and Kasai, but went farther west and
arrived in Songo country near Bola Cassache.
When they arrived in Bola Cassache, the king,
Kinguri, was assassinated by the local king named
Sungwe, who was the leader of the Mboluma
people. Kasanje, who called himself Kinguri’s622 Songo