The Sonde people are found in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo. The Ethnologue describes their location as Southeastern Bandundu Province, Feshi Territory. Another source, however, reports that they live in the Kasaï province, which is a savannah area.
Like most ethnic groups in DRC, the Sonde are a Bantu people, a term deriving from linguistic classification terms. The Bantu peoples migrated east, west and south out of Central Africa sometime around the time of Christ, or a little before. No information was found about the specific history of the Sonde people.
CPPI reports a population of 142,092. The Ethnologue reports 96,000 in 2002. Another source reports the population as "over 150,000. This source also reports that the Sonde ar farmers. The Sonde people are one of the many Bantu groups in Central Africa. The name is spelled Soonde in some sources. The Sonde people are reported to be small in stature. Sources say they are friendly to outsiders.
The Ethnologue classifies the Sonde language as a Bantu language in the Yaka group, and comments that the name Kilua may also be related to this peple and language. Some sources spell the name of the language Kisonde, keeping the common Bantu grammatical prefix ki, which indicates "language of." The Gospel Recording Network calles the language Kilua-Kisonde.
CPPI reports the Sonde as Roman Catholic with no evangelical believers. No details could be found from sources on the status of religion or Christian faith related to the Sonde people.
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