Cazombo

Cazombo lies on the eastern bank of the Zambezi in eastern Angola, at one of the river's many crossing points on its long course from the highlands toward the Atlantic. The Zambezi flows through open woodland here, and the banks offered fish, water and fertile soil for gardens. The land rises gently away from the river into miombo woodland, where villages cleared fields and hunted game.

Lunda and Lovale peoples lived along this stretch of the river and in the country behind it. Chiefs controlled the river crossings and the paths that carried ivory, wax, cloth and captives toward the western trade. Their authority rested on lineage, ritual and the control of the river routes.