Orungu

The Kingdom of Orungu (c. 1700–1927) (Portuguese: Reino da Orungu, French: Royaume d'Orungu) was a small, pre-colonial state of what is now Gabon in Central Africa. Through its control of the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was able to become the most powerful of the trading centers that developed in Gabon during that period.

The Kingdom of Orungu is named for its founders, the Orungu, a Myènè speaking people of unknown origin. Most scholars believe they migrated into the Ogooué River delta in the early 17th century from the south. This is further backed up by the fact that the Orungu seemed to have been heavily influenced by the Kingdom of Loango or at very least its BaVili traders. During this period of migration, the Orungu drove another Myènè speaking people, the Mpongwe, toward the Gabon Estuary in an effort to dominate trade with Europeans. The scheme was successful, and a prosperous kingdom emerged at Cape Lopez.

The Orungu Kingdom was made up of some 20 clans. One of these clans held the line to succession as king, while the others exercised control over maritime commerce coming from the interior. The kingdom was unique in an area where the basic political unit was a clan ruling a village via a kind of collective leadership. The Orungu cast this aside for a single monarch, which their tradition maintains was descended from a legendary figure called the Mani Pongo The titles of the kingdom's political offices were adopted from the kingdom of Loango as well as a sense of clan hierarchy. These institutions likely moved with the Orungu from the Chilongo district in Loango. The king's title, Agamwinboni, seems to have its origin among the Orungu themselves and does not borrow from the "mani" prefix attached to kingdoms like Loango and Kongo.

The kingdom of Orungu developed a broker culture thanks to their position on the coast. In the 17th century, the Dutch dominated the coastal trade and ivory was the major export. The Orungu were a metal-working and boatbuilding culture, which allowed them to dominate the riverine trade. Maritime commerce was divided among the non-royal clans and included trades in Ivory, beeswax, dyewood, copal and ebony. By the start of the 19th century, the tiny but wealthy kingdom was able to import slaves from the interior.

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