The Chokwe were once one of the twelve clans of the great Lunda Empire of 17th-and 18th Century Angola. They were
initially employed by Lunda nobles, eventually became independent when they refused to continue paying tribute to the Lunda emperor. Their successful trading and abundant resources caused them to be one of the wealthiest groups in Angola As wars and conflicts grew during the colonial era of the 19th and 20th Centuries, both from Europeans from their west and the Swahili-Arabs from their east, the Chokwe’s influence in the region began to wane. By the 1930s, the Portuguese brought a complete end tothe dominance of the Chokwe people in the region.Highly charged with power and considered sacred, chikunga is used during investiture ceremonies of a chief and sacrifices to the ancestors.