In Angola, people inhabiting the tree-studded grasslands of the Bié Plateau are the Ovimbundu. The origins of the Ovimbundu are Bantu populations who drifted in from the North, over the last millennium, and formed local/regional groups which slowly became political units and foci of social identity: M’Balundu, Sele, Wambo, Bieno and others.
They speak Umbundu, a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo language family. Ovimbundu numbered about four million at the turn of the 21st century. The Ovimbundu were formerly traders with other African peoples and with the Portuguese. Each trading caravan had a professional leader and diviner.
Trade agreements linking the independent chiefdoms led to the development of regional specialization, such as metalwork and cornmeal production. Towns’ markets allow for exchange of domestic produce by barter or cash. In precolonial times, ruling lineages organized large periodic open-air markets called fieras.
In the Ovimbundu society, blacksmiths make hoe blades, ax heads, adzes, saw blades, brass bracelets, knives, and wood carving tools such as gougers and borers. Woodcarvers make human and animal figurines, musical instruments, domestic implements and utensils, pipes, and snuff boxes.
Also, an Ovimbundu household usually comprises the male head, his several wives, and dependent children. While the household (onjo) consists of man, his wife (or wives), children, and other related or unrelated dependents. The household is the unit of production and consumption.
