Lwalwa history can be traced to the 17th century, when they had contact with the Lunda people and others in what are today Angola and DRC. They are of Kete origin. They are somewhat isolated, accessed by few roads. The Lwalwa of DRC are found between the Kasai River and the Lweta River near the Angola and DRC border.
Theirs is a farming and hunting society. Women farm; men hunt, individually or in groups. But during harvest, both men and women harvest. Village heads may be either men or women. Despite matrilineal descent, the children belong to the father. The Lwalwa are known for their carved masks. Originally carved for religious initiation ceremonies, they are increasingly carved for art collectors, worldwide and are found in major museums.
Prior to Christianity they had traditional beliefs in a High God and a separate all-knowing creator god, under which were ancestral and nature spirits of the hunt who were venerated. Ancestors were appeased if the hunt was poor. Divination occurred to ascertain what in the past had caused problems in the present. Today most of the Lwalwa are nominally Christian. However, there is syncretism with traditional religion and a lack of discipleship and Bible teaching, mostly due to a lack of literacy and few Christian materials to read or listen to.
The Lwalwa have health, education, and communication needs. They also have spiritual needs. In health, they need sanitation, clean safe drinking water, maternal and child medical needs. In education, they need increased literacy in their own and the national languages. Communication needs focus on infrastructure, especially roads to access markets, That said, out migration is a problem, possibly due to soil depletion.
Religiously, they need discipling. To that end they need village leaders to be more open to teachers. They need more roads to more villages. The people and teachers need Christian literature and oral Christian media in their language to combat syncretism.
Pray for community development: health, communication, roads, literacy. Pray that more villages will open to disciplers and that discipleship movements begin. Pray for more Christian literature and doctrinal ministry. Pray for revival.
Literature
Journal of African History; 101 Last Tribes - Ethnographic Profile of the Lwalwa. Museum catalogues of masks.
Scripture Prayers for the Lwalwa in Congo, Democratic Republic of.
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
