In older times, before about 1850, the term probably referred to elite lineages or descent groups (and their clients and slaves) who ruled the country.
In modern Kikongo usage, for example in clan histories, or publications such as Nkutama a mvila za makanda (Tumba 1934, 4th edition, Matadi, 1972), it refers to a matrilineal descent group.
While the Kikanga a Mvika was destroyed when its members sought to overthrow Garcia II (of the Kinlaza) in 1656–57, the other two became permanent contestants over the throne, being constantly named in documents throughout the eighteenth centuries.
Other potential kandas (though the term was not used for them) include some families who bore Portuguese surnames and passed their names on patrilinearly.
It is unclear how these named groups worked in the system of kinship and descent defined by kandas, which were, it seems larger and more flexible.