Nangombe ya Mangundu is the founding ancestor of the Aawambo (Ovambo) people in the shared Owambo-Herero origin tradition. A son of Mangundu, he migrated from the east (traditionally from the region of the great lakes) with his brother Kathu; at the great Omumborombonga tree in the Ondonga area the brothers separated, Kathu leading the pastoral Ovaherero onward while Nangombe and his followers settled the fertile Cuvelai floodplains of Ovamboland. His name, built on the word for cattle, reflects the pastoral wealth of his descendants, and the Owambo kingdoms traced their clans back to him.