Bakongo

a people living around the lower reaches of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) and in the border regions of Angola and the People’s Republic of the Congo. Their combined population was 3.2 million according to a 1967 estimate. They speak Kikongo, one of the Bantu family of languages. The majority of Bakon-go retain local traditional beliefs, although some are Christians. Around the 14th century the Bakongo formed the ethnic nucleus of the early feudal state Kongo. The Bakongo retain a matrilinear kinship structure. Their chief occupations are hoe farming (cassava, bananas) and crafts. There is seasonal migration of agricultural workers to industrial employment.