Vungu

Vungu, also called Bungu, was a Kongo-speaking kingdom on the Mayombe forest coast west of the Congo River. In the thirteenth century it headed a coastal confederation with Ngoyo and Kakongo. In 1337 its ruler was Nzima Nimi.

Kongo tradition made Vungu the dynasty’s original home: around 1390 Nimi a Nzima married the heiress of Mbata, founding the Kingdom of Kongo. King Afonso I mentioned Vungu in a letter in 1535. In the 1620s Jaga driven out of Kongo moved north with Loango’s backing and occupied Vungu.