Urua

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Map of the region around 1900

Urua was a kingdom of the Luba in the southeast of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo .

It was intersected by latitude 6 ° south and bounded in the west by Luvua ( Luapula ), the upper reaches of the Eongo , and in the east by Lake Tanganyika . According to tradition, this kingdom of the Luba was founded by Ilonga Mbili in the 16th century.

In terms of area, it was roughly the same as Great Britain and possessed great scenic beauties, plus an abundance of agricultural products which attracted traders from both the east and west coasts. Ivory , copper and slaves were the main export products. The ruler of most of the districts of Urua was a king named Kasongo in the 1870s . Famous throughout southern Africa were the Urua's underground apartments, which, according to the British explorer Verney Lovett Cameron , who stayed in Urua for a long time at the end of 1875, were located at Mkanna on the Lusira (9 ° south of Br.) And were even under this river dragged on. High and dry, they were supported by natural columns and arches made of white stone ( stalactites ); small streams ran through them, and many of the inhabitants - called Warua - had settled there with their goats.

The organization of this empire was partly similar to that of the Hima empire in Uganda : There was no real capital, as the king freely chose a new seat for his court and the design of his house did not rise above that of the rest of the population.

At the end of the 19th century, this dynasty was driven out by Belgian troops and Urua was incorporated into the Belgian Congo . However, a list of the kings has survived.

See also

literature

  • Pierre Bertaux (Ed.): Africa. From prehistory to the states of the present, (= Weltbild Weltgeschichte, vol. 32, NA der Fischer's world history), Augsburg 1998, p. 118ff.
  • Verney Lovett Cameron: Across Africa. Vol. 2 (German, Leipzig 1877, English Across Africa , 1876)
  • Paul Reichard: report on the trip to Urua and Katanga; in: Globus 48th volume, 1885, illustrated magazine for regional and ethnology with special consideration of anthropology and ethnology. Founded by Karl Andree. Edited in conjunction with experts by Dr. Richard Kiepert. Braunschweig, printed and published by Friedrich Vieweg and Son, pp. 23–26

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Joel Tyler Headley: The achievements of Stanley and other African explorers. Comprising all the late and really great achievements won in the exploration of the vast unknown region of equatorial Africa , Philadelphia, Springfield, Mass. 1878, p. 359