The Ngendelengo of Angola are a minority ethnic group of around 3,000 people who live in isolated mountainous areas of the Serra da Chela, in the south-west of the country. They are semi-nomadic herders, hunters and subsistence farmers.
Forest in the Serra da Chela.
Machetes are an essential part of their attire, which is completed by large crests worn as a hairstyle by unmarried young men and multiple topknots worn by women. The rest of their traditional culture includes two-storey granaries and bull worship rituals.
Young man with a traditional crest and machete.
Ecosystem and social organisation: charcoal and clans
Living in a forested environment has allowed them to develop a rudimentary charcoal business. They live in a tribal structure based on clans, led by the eldest man.
Girl carrying her doll on her back.
Art: dolls, totems and clay pipes
The Ngendelengo are skilled woodworkers. The men make ritual dolls from logs and the women decorate them with fur, leather ribbons and coloured beads. Small ceremonial wooden totems are a characteristic element of their art, as are their pipes, with a wooden stem and a clay bowl.
Woman smoking her wooden and clay pipe.
Architecture: two-storey houses built on tree trunks
Woodworking finds its greatest expression in their architecture. Their buildings stand on tree trunks driven into the ground: the lower level is home to the older generations and pregnant women, while the upper level serves as a storeroom and sleeping quarters for the younger members.
Ngendelengo house built on tree trunks.
Aesthetics: machetes, crests and ‘geisha-style’ topknots
They generally wear little clothing and carry machetes or spears. The women tie a string around their chest as a bra, and they often smoke tobacco in a pipe.
String worn around the chest as a bra.
What is unique about Ngendelengo culture is the way the women decorate their hair, with ‘geisha-style’ topknots. This practice is common among young women with small children.
Young woman with traditional topknots.
Religion: bull worship
Portuguese colonisation and missionary activity have barely affected them, which is why they still practise their African religion, centred on bull worship.
Protective amulet.
Challenges: deforestation, migration and inbreeding
Deforestation caused by the charcoal business could become a long-term problem, as the Ngendelengo depend on the forest and its resources to survive. Another challenge is the arrival on their land of farmers in search of a better future, a migration that could trigger conflicts. In addition, as a minority, they face a risk of inbreeding in the area.
You can learn more about this people on the Ngendelengo page of 101 Last Tribes.
© Photographs by Aníbal Bueno, taken during our trips to Angola.
Discover the tribes of Angola with the book ‘Last Tribes of Angola’
If you would like to learn more about these southern peoples before you travel, you can read Last Tribes of Angola, the result of a joint project by anthropologist Joan Riera and ethno-photographer Aníbal Bueno. Written in English and Spanish (bilingual edition) and illustrated with a wealth of photographs, drawings and maps, the book is a unique visual guide to the most remote tribes of south-west Angola.
Spain and Portugal, including the islands: buy the book from Exlibric
Rest of the world: buy the book on Amazon
Would you like to meet the Ngendelengo?
The Ngendelengo live in the forested mountains of the Serra da Chela, in the south-west of the country. If you would like to travel to Angola, on the destination page you will find our upcoming departures, what to see in the country and useful information to help you prepare.
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