This province's 223 thousand square kilometers are in east central Angola. The entire area is plateau with the highest spots along the west central border, the north center and the northeast. The Zambezi(1) River system covers all the lands with two exceptions: on and near the north border is the Cassai(2) and in the southwest corner are headwaters of the Cuito(3). The Zambezi proper flows into the provinces' northeast and then curves around to exit south. This part of the river receives the Luena, which originates in the northwest and flows east. Other tributaries like the Lungue-Bungo, which flows through the center, and the Cuando, which forms a part of the southern boundary, join the Zambezi beyond Angola.
Less than 400 thousand people live here (2007) and there is no majority first language. About 17 in 20 speak languages of the Chokwe-Luchazi group, most notably: Luvale(4) by just under half of Moxicans; and the closely related dialects of Luchazi, Mbunda and Mbwela by more than seven in 20. Lunda, spoken by about one in ten, is the remaining important language.
Perhaps the majority follow various indiginous religions, with Christians constituting the balance. These local religions likely include a deus otiosus, place-centered and ancestral spirits, and specialists in understanding and influencing the spiritual world. Among Luvale fishers are, or were, rituals connected with seasonal fish poisonings. The expedition members, men and women, may not have sex with each other during the expedition, and when obtaining the poison from its plant source, all but the principal "lay down on their backs and writhe as a symbol of the dying and wriggling fish."(5)
The administrative capital, Luena, is--by a slight margin--the largest town, with more than 20 thousand people (2007).(6) It is loocated near the source of the Luena River and is served by road, rail and air.
Bantu-speaking people moved into the area in the last two millennia.
Christianity arrived after the Portuguese conquered western Angola and spread inland, along with other missionaries.
northwest
northeast
east
south
west
(1) Called the Zambeze in Angola. It is Africa's fourth longest.
(2) Called the Kasai in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Just before joining the Zaïre (Congo) in that nation, it becomes the Kwa.
(3) The Cuito is part of the Okavango (Cubango, Kovango) system. While this system normally ends in a swamp, during floods the swamp spills over into the Zambezi system. Nonetheless it is not considered part of that system.
(4) Called Luena (Lwena) in Angola.
(5) Lawrence W. Henderson, Angola (Cornell Univ. Pr., 1979).
(6) Some web sources estimate much higher numbers, alleging the infusion of refugees as the cause.