The Pende originally lived in Angola, but around 1620, when the expanding Lunda Empire pressed them, they moved to what is the present-day DRC. In the DRC, they live in two groups, western and eastern, having some cultural differences but all belonging to the Pende. In 1885 the Chokwe arrived and subjugated the Pende. Soon after, the Belgian colonists arrived and subjected both tribes with forced labor and taxation. Their language is called Kipende or Phende. They are culturally similar to the neighboring Yaka and Suku tribes.
The Pende are agriculturalists growing millet, bananas, peanuts and maize. In some areas, sorghum is raised solely for offerings to the ancestors. It was once a part of the traditional diet, but it developed some kind of disease that apparently killed many people. The women do most of the field work and sell their produce in local markets. The men clear the fields, build the houses, and hunt and fish to supplement their diet. They keep goats, pigs, chickens, and a few dogs.
There is no central authority over all the Pende, but clans, each with its own chief, follow matrilineal lineages. They first lived in hamlets along or close to streams, but health authorities regrouped them into larger villages on the plateau to lessen exposure to tsetse files and malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Some Pende, however, divided themselves again into smaller groups following their lineage.
Their arts and crafts include sculpture and masks for festivals and rituals. The tribe is highly conscious of preserving its traditional values. Tukula powder made of ground wood gives an orangish-red color and is important to their idea of beauty. It is used on the skin and hair during ceremonies, and for anointing bodies before burial. Initiation ceremonies mark the transition from childhood to adulthood and include the circumcision of boys. Initiation is also an educational period in which children learn the social norms, responsibilities and skills ncessary for adult life in the tribe. They also learn how to weave their minganji, a head-to-toe costume made of raffia, and their gitenga mask, which has bulging eyes. Initiation now consists of a confinement of one month, down from past requirements of two to three years. It is led by the Kele, the iniatory master, and the nganga mukanda, and the other masters, who wear costumes consisting of animal skins, fangs, beads, bells, and feathers, and their faces painted red with tukula powder. During the ceremony, they cut their cheeks with a stick to demonstrate their power over pain. After the ceremony, they receive a grand welcome back home and perform a dance on very high stilts. Girls undergo a separate initiation called Kiwila. Funeral rites are also very important in their culture, since it is believed the body becomes the spirit of an ancestor, and spirits that have been abandoned can cause illness and misfortune in the family.
The Pende traditionally practice a kind of ancestor worship, believing that the ancestors (mvumbi) impact their daily lives. A small part of every meal but be reserved for them, thrown or pour unto the ground. They refer to God by three names—Nzambi, Kalunga, and Mawese. God is considered the Creator, the Great Chief, who is, however, far away and uninvolved in daily life. Today the majority of Pende claim to be either Catholic or evangelical but traditional beliefs still form a big part of their lives.
The Pende have suffered economically because of the deforestation of the plateau and particularly, the loss of oil palms. The problem is further exaberated by decaying infrastructure such as barely-passable roads, lack of electricity, inadequate schools and healhcare facilities. Spiritually, the Pende need a biblical understanding of the spiritual world that will lead them into a biblical lifestyle.
Pray that God will meet the physical needs of the Pende.
Pray that Christian leaders may have discernment in which traditions should continue and which should be left behind.
Pray they may grow in faith in God so that they lose their fear of spirits and of reprisals by ancestors.
Pray that the Pende church may grow in missionary concern for the lost and that God may lead them in sharing the gospel with those who have little or no gospel witness.
Scripture Prayers for the Pende in Congo, Democratic Republic of.
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| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
