The Luba people, or Baluba, are one of the Bantu peoples of Central Africa, and a major ethnic group found in the south-central parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

They are widely distributed in this country, but are most concentrated in its Katanga, Kasai, and Maniema provinces.

The Luba people consist of many sub-groups with distinct Luba language dialects, of which three are main: the Luba-Kasai, Luba-Katanga, and Swahili languages.

The Luba people found an ancient culture by about the fifth century, and later a well organized, pre-colonial Kingdom of Luba in the Upemba Depression region of Central Africa.

They have developed the knowledge and means to extracts various metals from the rich mineral resources close to them, as well as the skills in wood carving, pottery, sophisticated metal objects, ivory artwork and jewelry.

Their success and wealth grow in relative isolation given their forested mountainous inland location, then attract traders, raids and wars in second half of the 19th century.

The Luba people are a victim of the slave and ivory trade, both to the Atlantic coast by Portuguese slave traders, as well as to the East African coast by Swahili-Arab slave traders particularly in the nineteenth-century