Population of the Luchazi people and their language

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Population of Luchazi people

According to the 17th edition of Ethnologue, large populations of 400, 000 live in Angola. But according to Encyclopaedia Britannica (Ethnic composition -2000), the Luchazi account for about 2.3% of the population of Angola (which translates into about 600,000). According to Ethnologue, there are about 46 ethnic groups in Angola. The pie chart below shows the Nine (9) main ethnic groups of Angola and 13.6 % other ethnic composition of Angola (courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica):
Ethnic composition of Angola (2000)

Although estimates of population in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Namibia and Zambia are speculative, the exact numbers are not known. Many during population census in these countries, registered themselves as Nyemba or Luena (Luvale) or members of other related tribes in their locality. The total population is estimated at 900, 000. The picture below shows the total population estimation by the Ethnologue (languages of the world).

Luchazi population estimation 

Population losses were considerable due to slave trade, famine and the civil war that followed after independence in Angola. Jill R. Dias writes (Famine and Disease in the history of Angola 1830 to 1930 - The Journal of African History, Cambridge University press, 1981), "periods of exceptionally irregular rainfall, lasting several years, were preceded or accompanied by plagues of locusts which caused famines at least once every decade... A series of drought and smallpox can be discerned in Angola, at least since the 17th century." During the Angolan civil war (1975–2002), it is estimated that the warfare killed about a half million people; famine and disease are estimated to have killed an additional half million people as well.

Luchazi language

Luchazi (Lucazi, antonym: Chiluchazi) is an indigenous Bantu language of Angola. It is also spoken in Namibia and Zambia. The language belongs to Ciokwe-Luchazi (K.13) class of the Niger-Congo language family (Language code: ISO 639-3 lch and Glottocode: lch 1239). The Language can also be referred to as Lujash, Lujazi, Lutchaz, Lutshase, Luxage, Ponda, and Chiluchazi depending on area.

Emil Pearson in his book entitled Luchazi Grammar states, “Luchazi is the principal language of the Ngangela group. The language spoken by Ngangela group are remarkably similar to each other. Some eighteen different tribal names may be found among them, but the linguistic differences are not that great. Linguistic divergences must have been at work during the centuries of movement, and it is rather remarkable that the differences between the dialects are not greater. The intermarriage, colonialism and modern civilisation have had a leavening influence”.

Luchazi language vitality

Ethnologue (languages of the world) writes, "Luchazi is a stable indigenous language of Angola. It belongs to the Niger-Congo language family. The picture below shows the language vitality of Luchazi by Ethnologue (languages of the world):

Luchazi language vitality 

According to Bible Society of Angola, the Chiluchazi New Testament was published in 1935. According to oral accounts, the publication of Chiluchazi New Testament resulted in one tribe to attack a Christian mission post and burn the Bibles, accusing the missionaries of promoting the Luchazi language. This tribe refused to use the Chiluchazi New Testament Bible and opted to use the Lunda-ndembu Bible. In 1963, the Holy Bible entitled Mbimbiliya ya ku Lela was finally published. And the Jesus film which was produced in 1979 has also be dubbed in Luchazi language.

And according to Bible society of South Africa, Luchazi language was used by the !Xuhn or San people (commonly known as Vasekele in Luchazi because of their copper-coloured skin) in their churches before the translation of the !Xuhn Bible in 2018. "About 4,000 San who live in Platfontein, near Kimberley in the Northern Cape, speak !Xuhn. The group is mainly from Angola and has been living in South Africa for more than 20 years. Almost 10,000 to 50,000 speakers of this language still live in Angola and Namibia.

The group in Platfontein has a school, a church and a radio station, but not a Bible. Scripture reading is read from the Luchazi (an Angolan language) and Afrikaans Bibles" (source: Bible society of South Africa website).

Axel Fleisch in his book entitled: Lucazi Grammar: A Morphosemantic Analysis, writes, “Although the number of Lucazi speakers is difficult to estimate, the language must be considered one of the major languages of southern central Africa. Several hundred thousand individuals use one of the intelligible Ngangela varieties. How many of them consider themselves Lucazi speakers is unknown. So far little has been published on the languages of south-eastern Angola.”

The Luchazi are further sub-divided according to their settlement areas in Angola. These are VaLuchazi lua ntunda (referring to the group settled up on high ground) and VaLuchazi lua ndonga (referring to the group settled in areas along the banks of the rivers). The vocabulary and pronunciation of certain words may differ between the Luchazi lua ntunda and the Luchazi lua ndonga, for example cihuti (country), cifuti (country), cinavala (aunt), tinavala (aunt), tenavala (aunt), mpanji (cousin) and mpangi (cousin); despite these differences, these words are accepted as Luchazi depending on the area. In some parts of Angola, there are some Luchazi people in Cuando-Cubango province that speak a hybrid form of Luchazi with vocabulary from Nyemba and Portuguese. Others in Biye and Moxico provinces speak a hybrid form with vocabulary from Ovimbundu, Chokwe, Luena (Luvale), Portuguese and other related neighbouring ethnic groups. In Zambia, some speak a hybrid form with vocabulary from English and other Bantu languages (especially those in North-Western province where the vocabulary is mixed with Luvale or Lunda. 

Chiyakayaka Chinganga, a Luchazi tribal elder speaking at a symposium on Luchazi history in 1971, said, "Some people criticize the Luchazi for marrying women from the tribes they found in Zambia, saying that if the Luchazi wanted to remain pure they should have brought with them women from Angola for them to marry"). In Namibia too, some Luchazi speak a hybrid form with vocabulary from Nyemba, Afrikaans, English and Portuguese. Therefore, what is Luchazi language today is not quite what it was many years ago, and it will not be the same again in few decades to come, although the name will be retained as a symbol of identity.

National geographic has written an article on it website entitled: "The shifting lives of the Luchazi people". The article highlights the conservation initiative by De Beers, through the Okavango Eternal partnership, to help secure protection for the Okavango Delta's headwaters. The Okavango Delta’s source waters begin in the rainy Angolan highlands, streaming down the Cuito and Cubango Rivers and converging at the southern Angola border to form the Okavango River, which continues flowing through Namibia and into Botswana. But these waters are threatened by climate change, as well as the pressures of development from growing populations.

The shifting lives of the Luchazi people - National geographic 


A blogger and creative thinker from the Nama clan of the Luchazi people; born from his mother with the lightning bolt. Went to school of life with the alligator and learnt the lessons of the crocodile. He is passionate about his culture and takes every chance to document traditions, customs, culture of the Luchazi people. His great grandfather, Muyemba, from the Nama clan came in with thunder and got out with thunder. And his great grandmother, Mpulu, from the Chungu clan was conceived in the clouds with thunder.

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