Cabinda (city)

Cabinda, also known as Chioua,[2] is a city and a municipality located in the Cabinda Province, an exclave of Angola. Angolan sovereignty over Cabinda is disputed by the secessionist Republic of Cabinda. The city of Cabinda had a population of 550,000[3] and the municipality a population of 624,646, at the 2014 Census. The residents of the city are known as Cabindas or Fiotes. Cabinda, due to its proximity to rich oil reserves, serves as one of Angola's main oil ports.[4][5]

For other uses, see Cabinda (disambiguation).
Cabinda
Chioua
Municipality and city
Official seal of Cabinda
Seal
Cabinda is located in Angola
Cabinda
Cabinda
Location in Angola
Coordinates: 5°33′36″S 12°11′24″E
Country Angola
Admin. divisionCabinda province
Founded1883
City Status1956
Area
 • Total2,273 km2 (878 sq mi)
Elevation
24 m (79 ft)
Population
 (mid 2020)[1]
 • Total739,182
 • Density330/km2 (840/sq mi)
ClimateAw

History

The city was founded by the Portuguese in 1883 after the signing of the Treaty of Simulambuco, in the same period as the Berlin Conference. Cabinda was an embarkation point for slaves to Brazil.

There are considerable offshore oil reserves nearby.

Geography

Cabinda is located on the Atlantic Ocean coast in the south of Cabinda Province, and sits on the right bank of the Bele River.[4]

According to the Köppen climate classification, Cabinda is a tropical savanna climate.

It is 56 kilometres (35 mi) north of Moanda (Congo-Kinshasa), 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Congo River estuary and 137 kilometres (85 mi) south of Pointe-Noire (Congo-Brazzaville).[6]

Districts

The city of Cabinda is divided into three districts, or comuna:

  • Cabinda, the city seat, with 88.6% of the population the city
  • Malembo, with 3.1%
  • Tando-Zinze, with 8.3%[7]

Education and science

Cabinda is home to two public higher education institutions, namely the 11 de Novembro University and the Higher Institute of Education Sciences of Cabinda. In addition, it has campuses of the Lusíada University and the Private University of Angola.

Culture

The city's population has a distinctive culture from its way of dressing and eating to traditional rituals, especially Chicumbe and celebrated ceremonies of Bakamas do Tchizo,[8] a traditional ritual that enables the interaction between the living and the occult spirits of the gods and the ancestors, thus ensuring the reconciliation between the dead and the living.[9]

Language

Since Portugal colonized Cabinda later than the rest of Angola, Portuguese, the official language of Angola, is not yet widely spoken, although Portuguese speakers are rapidly growing in number. Portuguese is used mostly in official or administrative settings. It is Ibinda, a Bantu language, that is the primary language of both the city and province of Cabinda.[5]

Transport
See also: Cabinda Airport

In 2012, a proposed railway connection to the main Angolan system has to cross territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[10]

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "Angola: Administrative Division (Provinces and Municipalities) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2021-04-15. Population of provinces and municipalities in Angola
  2. LaGamma, Alisa (2015). Kongo – Power and Majesty. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  3. Citypopulation.de Population of the major cities in Angola
  4. "Cabinda". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  5. "Cabinda" (in Portuguese). Luanda, Angola: Info-Angola. 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  6. Google. "Cabinda (city)" (Map). Google Maps. Google.
  7. "Region 1: Cabinda". Postcode Query. 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  8. "Cidade de Cabinda comemora 52 anos" [Cabinda city celebrates 52 years] (in Portuguese). Governo da Província de Cabinda. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  9. "Uma excursão virtual a Cabinda" [A virtual tour to Cabinda] (in Portuguese). Teia Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  10. "Cabinda", Portugal: Diccionario Historico...., Lisbon: Joao Romano Torres, 1906, hdl:2027/gri.ark:/13960/t6m081q3b, retrieved 2022-05-01

Bibliography
Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article "Cabinda".
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