Lenje people

Lenje people (also known as Bene Mukuni, Balenje, Balenge, Benimukuni, Ciina mukuna, Lenge, Lengi) is an ethnic group in Zambia. They are loosely bound with its spatial and cultural boundaries shifting, depending on whom you talk to. They live mainly in the Central province but also in Lusaka and Copperbelt province. It is not clear when they arrived to the area where they live today but they are believed to be among the first people to come to Zambia from the Cameroon region. It has been claimed that they have been in the area at least since the 17th century. The Lenje chiefdom comprises one senior chief and seven subordinate chiefs and chiefdoms. They are about 240 000 - 310 000, and are related to the neighboring Tonga people and have also been said to be related to the Twa (or Batwa, Awatwa) of the Lukanga Swamps.