The Luba or Baluba are one of the largest single ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire), numbering over 5.5 million and inhabiting the southern Katanga, Kasai, and Maniema regions. #Thread 
They speak a Bantu language called Ciluba or Tshiluba and are closely related to the Lunda. Around 12 percent of Luba are Muslims, due to contacts with Swahili-speaking peoples in the past century, while the remainder are nominally Christians observing many of their
traditional religious practices.
Origins of the Luba can be traced back to the eighth century with the emergence of small, agricultural states in the Katanga region. The Upemba Depression produced important items, but most important was copper that was used as both a ...
Origins of the Luba can be traced back to the eighth century with the emergence of small, agricultural states in the Katanga region. The Upemba Depression produced important items, but most important was copper that was used as both a ...
currency and a marker of social status. In addition, the abundance of fish allowed the population to grow. The growth of the small states provoked conflict with each other over vital resources, which caused a quick militarization of them.
The most powerful of the state, called Luba, was based around Lake Kisale, whose leadership was taken over by a people from the north called the Songye. Among the important changes brought by the Songye was the change to a matrilineal system of descent.
The Luba kingdom is called the First Luba Empire or the Kingdom of Upemba that lasted from around 1100 to 1450. It has been noted that there were in fact four states that did not combine into one but, from time to time, verged on empire status.
Luba influence was such that other kingdoms claimed real or fictive claim to Luba origins.
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