Vira people

The Vira or Bavira people are one of the most numerous tribes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These people are located in the region of Uvira in the East of the country, on the northeast coast of Lake Tanganika at the border with Burundi. The Bavira are also known in the name of Benembuga in Kivira (Bavira language) which means "authentic Uvira citizens."

The current king of the Bavira is Lwegeleza III (Edmond). He succeeded his father Mwami Lenghe Rugaza, who was assassinated in 1997 in the violent disorder which took place after the liberation of the DRC by Laurent-Désiré Kabila.

To be a Muvira (the singular of Bavira), one must belong by birth to one of the fifty families (clans) founder of the tribe. No other consideration is valid in this traditional society. And as Bavira are patriarchal, the lineage of the father, not the mother as among the Jews, is the one that determines membership in the tribe.

Anyone whose family, to say the clan is part of many of these clans is Muvira, regardless of where they live now. And anyone whose clan is not this number of clans is not a Muvira whatever number of years that his family lives in the chiefdom of Bavira. The list of 51 clans that make up the people Bavira is just below.

Since 1645 years, are led by the Bavira Dynasty BeneLenghe . These last are from the last king of the dynasty of ancient Balabwe strain, Mbuti ' Ilunga, who died in Katanga in 1645. His son Lenghe Ilungha took control of the state. Thus, the term ' BeneLenghe means the descendants of Lenghe . It is from him that we began counting the kings of Bavira .

The case of Balabwe deserves explanation. Because there is the Balabwe the ancient strain and Balabwe the recent strain. The history of the Balabwe ancient strain is very long. It starts with the great king of kingdom theocratic of Bupemba known name Ilunga Kiluwe, also known in the name of Sango Wa Mpemba. This is the one that gave birth to the emperors of the second dynasty of the Luba Empire by his son, Prince Mdidi Kiluwe as tradition often recognized the name hunter.

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