Who are the BAYEKE ?

The BAYEKE are also known as the Basumbwa, who came from the Usumbwa region in Tanganika, modern day Tanzania. In Katanga they are commonly known as the Bayeke; however, they come from distinct families of the Busumbwa. Some of their clans are the following:

• Basabaga: Family of Kalasa Mazwiri, Ngelengwa Msiri, Mukanda Bantu, Kitanika, Kashiobwe, etc.
• Bafioma: this clan is spread throughout Katanga.
• Bagomba / Bashimbidi (Bashimbiri): Kamana Magulu Kukwezi, Mpande Mulindwa. The Bagomba are found in the village of Muvumbi near Bukama. Mulindwa along with other Bagomba are near Bunkeya.
• Bashirombo: Maternal clan of Msiri. His paternal grandmother Manena Lyahanze was a Mushirombo. Today the Bashirombo are in the village of Mutaka near Likasi
• Banzebe: They live in Nguba. They came from Lunzebe (Runzewe), a kingdom situated in the westernmost part of the Busumbwa. The Banzebe can also be found in Lutandula and Musanshya, north of Bunkeya.
• Bashikaba: They live in Shyonongo, north of Kinyama. They may have migrated from Bushirombo.
• Bashyetu: They are found in the village of Mokabe Kazadi, Nsamba Kilundu in the south of Bunkeya and Mulangale. They come from the kingdom of Bushyetu, a kingdom that was near Bulebe. Kapapa, the first wife of Msiri was also from Bushyetu. The Basale who live in Bunkeya, in Kalundu (Mwela Mpande) and in Kalala Ngombe also came from Bushyetu.
• Bahindi: They reside in Katanga near Nguba in the village of Bikondama, Dipeta and Shyonongo. Other Bahindi are in Bunkeya and are lead by Mwanangwa Mulandu.
• Basonge (emigrated from the Busonge in Busumbwa): They are located in the village of Mukembe, north of Bunkeya.
• Banyanyembe: In Bunkeya, there are some Banyanyembe. They came from the Bunyanyembe near Tabora. Around 1830, the Banyanyembe already traded with the region of Katanga. Kanfwa Inamizi, one of Msiri’s wives, was from this region of Central Unyamwezi. Their descendants today are the Birwana.
• Birwana: They are related to the Banyanyembe. (see above).
• Bayange: This is the clan of Mukonki and Magobeko. They are found mostly in Bunkeya in small numbers.

Where does the name Bayeke come from?

One day, a number of hunters from the Burombo, modern day Tanzania, stabbed a big elephant on the boundaries of Tanganika; however the elephant did not die. They followed the animal for days on end, thinking that it might collapse any time, since it was bleeding and leaving blood marks in its path. It is astonishing that they were able to walk all the way to the village of Ngandu-Besa, on the other side of the Lwapula, unaware that they had now entered the land of Katanga.

King Ngandu-Besa was Mulamba. He and his court were mystified. They asked the newcomers who they were, and they responded: “we are the Bayeke (hunters) who stabbed an elephant. Our land is the Busumbwa”. The Balamba, upon hearing this concluded that the newcomers were Bayeke. What they did not know is that the ‘buyege’ is a gathering of very courageous and brave hunters”. Ever since that day, all of the Basumbwa arriving in Katanga, even their descendants today, have been referred to as Bayeke.

All these different families, not without some infighting, were united under the leadership of Mwami Mwenda Msiri Shitambi Ngelengwa and became instrumental in the construction of his empire, the Bugaraganza in Katanga.