Pende people

Pende people

Pende mask in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin
Total population
c.250,000
Regions with significant populations
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Languages
Kipende

The Pende people (singular: Mupende; plural: Bapende), also known as the Phende people, are an ethnic group in the south-western Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Pende are divided into two cultural groups: the Eastern Pende and the Western Pende who are distinct but consider themselves part of the same ethnic group. The number of people who consider themselves to be ethnically Pende is estimated at over 250,000.

The Pende speak their own language (Kipende) and are particularly known for their artistic works. They are considered to be culturally similar to the Yaka and Suku peoples who live in neighboring areas.

The Pende are divided into two distinct cultural groups: the Western Pende and the Eastern Pende. However, both groups see themselves as part of the same ethnic group. There is no centralised political authority and Pende society is organised around extended family groups rather than through chiefly authority.

Much like the Yaka and Suku peoples, the Pende originally lived in the strip between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cuanza River, in modern-day Angola. They migrated to their current region of the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo in around 1620 as a consequence of the expansion of the Kingdom of Lunda. In around 1885, the powerful Chokwe ethnic group began expanding and gained control over the Eastern Pende but this period was brought to an end by the arrival of European colonists and the creation of the Congo Free State.

Between May and September 1931, the Pende revolted against Belgian colonial rule in Kwilu, killing a colonial tax collector. The revolt was quickly suppressed by the colonial authorities but was one of the largest revolts in the Congo during the Interwar.