Yanzi people

The Bayanzi (or Yan, Yanzi, Yansi people) are an ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo who live in the southwest of the country and number about seven million. They speak Kiyansi Bantu language. The largest political unit is the chieftainship, of which there are about 120 under 3 traditional kings of which the most prominent is the Kinkie or Binkie King whose latest figurehead was Mfum' ngol' or Mfumu ngolo as pronounced by Europeans (translated as the Great or strong King) from kidzweme territory and recently his successor Mfum' Ntwàl Moka Ngol' Mpat', a harvard trained economist. The Bayanzi are matrilineal, so a child belongs to the clan of the mother. The Belgian colonial travelers first encountered them at Bolobo on the Congo River, as traders up and down the river. They employed them from 1883 as bodyguards mainly. Later the Bayanzi were forced to labor on the palm oil plantations and later used as clerks or translators.