Álvaro I Nimi a Lukeni lua Mvemba was a Manikongo, or king of Kongo, from 1568 to 1587 and the founder of the Kwilu dynasty.
The Kingdom of Kongo was a kingdom located in central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo as well as the southernmost part of Gabon. At its greatest extent it reached from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Kwango River in the east, and from the Congo River in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. The kingdom consisted of several core provinces ruled by the Manikongo, the Portuguese version of the Kongo title Mwene Kongo, meaning "lord or ruler of the Kongo kingdom", but its sphere of influence extended to neighbouring kingdoms, such as Ngoyo, Kakongo, Loango, Ndongo and Matamba, the latter two located in what is Angola today.
Kwilu, also known as the House of Kwilu, was a kanda or royal lineage of the Kingdom of Kongo.
The Kimpanzu were members of the Mpanzu kanda also known as the House of Kimpanzu, one of the lineages from which the kings of Kongo were chosen during the 17th century and following Kongo's reunification under Pedro IV. They are remembered in tradition and are evoked in a proverb, still current in the 1920s Nkutama a mvila za makanda "Kinlaza, Kimpanzu ye Kinlaza makukwa matatu malambila Kongo".
The Kinlaza were members of the Nlaza kanda or House of Kinlaza, one of the ruling houses of the Kingdom of Kongo during the 17th century. It was one of the main factions during the Kongo Civil War along with the Kimpanzu and Kinkanga a Mvika kandas. They are remembered in tradition and are evoked in a proverb, still current in the 1920s Nkutama a mvila za makanda "Kinkanga, Kimpanzu ye Kinlaza makukwa matatu malambila Kongo".
Lukeni lua Nimi was the traditional founder of the Lukeni kanda dynasty, first king of Kongo and founder of the Kingdom of Kongo Dia Ntotila. The name Nimi a Lukeni appeared in later oral traditions and some modern historians, notably Jean Cuvelier, popularized it. He conquered the kingdom of Mwene.
Pedro I Nkanga a Mvemba was manikongo of the Kingdom of Kongo from 1543 until being deposed in 1545.
Pedro II Nkanga a Mvika was a ruler of the kingdom of Kongo during the kingdom's first conflict with the Portuguese colony of Angola. He was the founder of the royal House of Nsundi and could trace his descent to one of Afonso I's daughters.
Kanda in Kikongo is any social or analytical group, but often applied to lineages or groups of associated people who form a faction, band or other group. In Kongo documents written in Portuguese, or in older Portuguese accounts of Kongo it often is translated by "geração".
The Kinkanga, usually known as the Kinkanga a Mvika or House of Nsundi, was a royal kanda formed by King Pedro II, which ruled the Kingdom of Kongo from 1622 to 1631. While King Pedro II and his son Garcia I were the only other member of the faction or kanda to rule, it retained powerful members in provincial offices in the 1650s until its destruction in the 1670s. Despite this loss in prominence, they were remembered in tradition and are evoked in a proverb, still current in the 1920s Nkutama a mvila za makanda "Kinlaza, Kimpanzu ye Kinlaza makukwa matatu malambila Kongo".
Nkuwu a Ntinu was the fourth manikongo from the Lukeni kanda dynasty to rule the Kingdom of Kongo and reigned during the mid 15th century between c. 1450 and c. 1470.
Quinanga of Kongo was the second ruler or manikongo of the Central African kingdom of Kongo, from the Lukeni kanda dynasty. He was born around 1381 and the dates and events of his reign are not exact, but he ruled from around 1420 to around 1435, when he died. It is known that he was a cousin of the kingdom's founder, Lukeni lua Nimi.
Nlaza of Kongo was a manikongo from the Lukeni kanda dynasty and the 3rd ruler of the Central African kingdom of Kongo in the early 15th century. Little is known about him or his reign other than he was one of two cousins of Kongo's founder, Lukeni lua Nimi.
Henrique I Nerika a Mpudi was ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo from 1567 to 1568 and the last from the Lukeni kanda dynasty. Like his predecessor Bernardo I, Henrique died while on campaign at the frontiers of the kingdom. He was killed while fighting the BaTeke of the Anziku Kingdom.
Bernardo II Nimi a Nkanga was a manikongo of the Kingdom of Kongo who ruled from 12 August 1614 until August 1615. He was the son of King Álvaro II. Like the last two kings of Kongo, Bernardo II belonged to the Kwilu kanda or royal House of Kwilu.
Ambrósio I Nimi a Nkanga was a mwenekongo of the Kingdom of Kongo who ruled from
Álvaro V of Kongo, also known as Álvaro V Mpanzu a Nimi, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo for a short period in 1636.
Álvaro IV of Kongo, also known as Álvaro IV Nzinga a Nkuwu, was a ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo from 1631 to 1636.
Henrique III Mpanzu a Nsindi a Nimi a Lukeni was ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo from the Kivuzi branch of the Kinlaza house, who reigned from 1840 until 1857. Henrique came to power when he overthrew his predecessor, André II. This was with the support of the elector Ntinu Nsaku. Henrique did not manage to kill Andre II and King Andre continued to exercise power from Mbanza Maputu over some of the Kongo realm.
Kingdom of Kongo Kingdom of Vungu 
