Grammatica Elementar do kimbundu ou Lingua de Angola

The language is described, as far as our knowledge went in 1883, at page 393, vol. II, of my «Modern Languages of Africa» (Trübner London). It was called Bunda or Mbundu, or in Native parlance Ki-Mbimdu. It belongs to the Western branch of the great South African, or Bantu, Family of languages, and is one of great importance, being the Lingua franca of the region. In 1697 P. Dias, a Jesuit, published a Grammar of the language under the name of Angola. The Capuchin monk Cannecattim published at Lisbon in 1804 a Dictionary and in 1805 a Grammar, which passed through a second edition in 1859.