At the time of the eastward expansion of the Luba Kingdom under King Ilunga Sungu around 1800, Hemba people were living in a territory bounded by the Lukuga River in the north, the Luvua River in the south and the Lualaba River to the west.
During the period of Luba dominance that followed the eastward expansion under Luba king Ilunga Sungu around 1800, bambudye secret societies were introduced among the Holoholo and other peoples, propagating oral traditions of the Luba royal family.
Luba forces raided this territory and penetrated as far as the region of Kalemie at the source of the Lukuga where it exits the lake.
•
Ilunga Sungu (died c. 1810) was a ruler (Mulopwe) of the Kingdom of Luba in what is now the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Around 1800, in the second half of the rule of the Luba Emperor Ilunga Sungu, Luba forces launched raids over the Lualaba that at one point reached as far as Kalemie.
This refers to the location of the court of Ilunga Sungu at Katende.