Manikongo

Manikongo (also called Awenekongo or Mwenekongo) was the title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo, a kingdom that existed from the 14th to the 19th centuries and consisted of land in present-day Angola, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The manikongo's seat of power was Mbanza Kongo (also called São Salvador from 1570 to 1975), now the capital of Zaire Province in Angola.

The manikongo appointed governors for the provinces of the Kingdom and received tribute from neighbouring subjects.

[citation needed] Mwene is attested in very early texts, notably the letters of King Afonso I of Kongo, where he writes, to Portuguese kings Manuel I (in 1514) and João III concerning the moenipango (mwene Mpangu) and twice concerning the moinebata.

Afonso did not entitle himself Manikongo, but rather rei de congo (king of Kongo).

The Manikongo giving audience to his subjects and Portuguese visitors