Cahenda

Cahenda was one of the Dembos chiefdoms in the hills northeast of Luanda. Its rulers governed Kimbundu-speaking communities amid the competing claims of Kongo, Matamba and Portuguese Angola. During the late seventeenth century Cahenda grew in influence as nearby Mbwila weakened. In 1686 its ruler used support from Angola to take over the neighbouring polity of Mutemo a Kinjenga. Written correspondence became part of the political life of Cahenda's rulers as they dealt with other powers.