Kingdom of Orungu
Encyclopedia
The Kingdom of Orungu was a small, pre-colonial state of what is now Gabon
in West 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.
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
.
s. 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
.
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.
, played only a minor role in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade compared with the Niger Delta
, the Loango coast or the coast of Angola
. The export of slaves only became significant in the last 3rd of the 18th century. At the start, the kingdom was a purchaser rather than sellers of slaves, which they bought with ivory. Other than slave imports, the kingdom of Orungu also imported iron. By the 1760s, the Orungu were trading in slaves through which the agamwinboni was able to grow rich via taxation on the Nazareth River and San Mexias River. Still, the trade in Orungu territory paled in comparison with its southern neighbor. In 1788, Cape Lopez and the Gabon estuary were exporting around 5,000 slaves per year in contrast to the 13,500 per year exported from Loango's coast. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Fernan Vaz Lagoon south of Cape Lopez supplied large numbers of slaves to the Orungu Kingdom. By the mid 19th century, most prominent coastal groups such as the Mpongwe were not selling their own people. The Orungu, however, often sold debtors, sorcerers, adulterers and cheats to the Portuguese slavers. In 1853, the Orungu monarchy under King Ombango-Rogombe agreed to abandon the slave trade. In fact, they simply moved the trade upriver and tried to continue the trade secretly. The trade lasted until the 1870s as illicit slavers sent people from further up the river to Portuguese
buyers on the coast.
without it. This caused the kingdom to disintegrate and in 1873, King Ntchengué signed a treaty granting the French a post on Orungu territory. In 1927, the French had colonized the remnants of the kingdom.
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West 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.
Origins
The Kingdom of Orungu is named for its founders, the Orungu, a MyènèMyene language
Myene is a cluster of closely related Bantu varieties spoken in Gabon by about 46,000 people. It is perhaps the most divergent of the Narrow Bantu languages, though Nurse & Philippson place it in with the Tsogo languages...
speaking people of unknown origin. Most scholars believe they migrated into the Ogooué River
Ogooué River
The Ogooué , some 1,200 km long, is the principal river of Gabon in west central Africa. Its watershed drains nearly the entire country of Gabon, with some tributaries reaching into the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea....
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
Kingdom of Loango
The Kingdom of Loango, also known as the Kingdom of Lwããgu, was a pre-colonial African state from approximately the 15th to the 19th century in what is now the Republic of Congo. At its height in the seventeenth century the country stretched from Cape St Catherine in the north to almost the mouth...
or at very least its BaVili traders. During this period of migration, the Orungu drove another Myènè speaking people, the Mpongwe
Mpongwe
The Mpongwe are an ethnic group in Gabon, notable as the earliest known dwellers around the Estuary, where Libreville is now located.The Mpongwe language identifies them as a subgroup of the Myènè people of the Bantus, who are believed to have been in the area for some 2,000 years, although the...
, toward the Gabon Estuary in an effort to dominate trade with Europeans. The scheme was successful, and a prosperous kingdom emerged at Cape Lopez
Cape Lopez
Cape Lopez is a 55 km-long peninsula on the coast of west central Africa, in the country of Gabon. It separates the Gulf of Guinea from the South Atlantic Ocean, and is located at latitude -0.63° and longitude 8.7° . Lying in the delta of the Ogooué River, it shelters the seaport of Port-Gentil...
.
Government
The Orungu Kingdom was made up of some 20 clanClan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
s. 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
Kingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in what are now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
.
Economy
The kingdom of Orungu developed a broker culture thanks to their position on the coast. In the 17th century, the DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
dominated the coastal trade and ivory
Ivory trade
The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, Asian and African elephants....
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.
Slavery
The Gabon coast, like that of CameroonCameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, played only a minor role in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade compared with the Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...
, the Loango coast or the coast of Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
. The export of slaves only became significant in the last 3rd of the 18th century. At the start, the kingdom was a purchaser rather than sellers of slaves, which they bought with ivory. Other than slave imports, the kingdom of Orungu also imported iron. By the 1760s, the Orungu were trading in slaves through which the agamwinboni was able to grow rich via taxation on the Nazareth River and San Mexias River. Still, the trade in Orungu territory paled in comparison with its southern neighbor. In 1788, Cape Lopez and the Gabon estuary were exporting around 5,000 slaves per year in contrast to the 13,500 per year exported from Loango's coast. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Fernan Vaz Lagoon south of Cape Lopez supplied large numbers of slaves to the Orungu Kingdom. By the mid 19th century, most prominent coastal groups such as the Mpongwe were not selling their own people. The Orungu, however, often sold debtors, sorcerers, adulterers and cheats to the Portuguese slavers. In 1853, the Orungu monarchy under King Ombango-Rogombe agreed to abandon the slave trade. In fact, they simply moved the trade upriver and tried to continue the trade secretly. The trade lasted until the 1870s as illicit slavers sent people from further up the river to Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
buyers on the coast.
Culture
Despite their reputation as the most prominent slave traders in the region, some visitors to the kingdom left favorable reviews of the region and its people. John Newton visited the area in 1743 and remarked that they seemed "the most humane and moral people I ever met with in Africa; and they were the people who had the least intercourse with Europe at that time". This must not have remain true for very long. As time passed, the Orungu took on European dress and customs. However, the Orungu people held strongly to their traditional beliefs and were hostile to European missionaries. As a result, few gained western educations thus limiting their influence in colonial administration or post-colonial politics of Gabon. Today the Orungu are one of Gabon's smaller ethnic groups numbering around 10,000 people.Decline
The fall of the Orungu Kingdom was directly tied to the fall of the slave trade. The king had become dependent on it and was unable to maintain the custom of royal patronageRoyal patronage
Royal patronage may refer to*Royal patronage in arts, commerce, etc.*Patronato real*Padroado...
without it. This caused the kingdom to disintegrate and in 1873, King Ntchengué signed a treaty granting the French a post on Orungu territory. In 1927, the French had colonized the remnants of the kingdom.