How did the Chokwe help overthrow the Lunda empire?

The Chokwe people played a decisive role in the decline and eventual overthrow of the Lunda empire during the 1880s.12

The Chokwe were expert hunters of elephants and skilled collectors of valuable trade commodities, specifically wax and rubber. By participating in the international economy and engaging in this trade, they accumulated significant wealth and acquired firearms. Utilizing these accumulated weapons, the Chokwe launched incursions that eroded the power of the Lunda state, ultimately leading to its collapse.21

This shift in power was part of a broader economic transition in the region, where trade in products like ivory and rubber replaced the state-controlled slave trade as the dominant economic force. While the Chokwe were instrumental in the empire's internal collapse, the final dissolution of the Lunda state was completed by the arrival of Portuguese troops from the west and Belgian forces from the northeast, leading to the partition of the territory.21