Chikunda, sometimes rendered as Achicunda, was the name given from the 18th century onwards to the slave-warriors of the Afro-Portuguese estates known as Prazos in Zambezia, Mozambique. They were used to defend the prazos and police their inhabitants. Many of the chikunda were originally chattel slaves, raised to the status of soldiers, traders or administrators of parts of the prazo as a client or unfree dependent.
The prazo system based on agriculture broke down as a result of drought and disease in the early 19th century and was replaced by a small number of virtually independent states in the Zambezi valley that were based on the trade in slaves and ivory. The name ‘’’Achikunda’’’ was then applied to groups of professional soldiers in these minor states, who were rewarded with a share of the profits of those trades. Although these minor states were mainly in Mozambique, a small number extended their influence into what are now parts of Zambia and Malawi.
The minor states in and around the Zambezi River valley were brought under closer Portuguese control as a result of the Scramble for Africa, which required colonial powers to bring territories they claimed under their jurisdiction, the doctrine of "effective occupation". Between 1891 and 1902, the Mozambique Company took control of this area and the former roles of the chikunda in securing slaves and ivory and providing internal and external security for those states became redundant, although many ex-chikunda were involved in the Barue uprising of 1917 to 1918 against the Portuguese government. A few communities along the Zambezi and Luangwa river valleys preserve their chikunda heritage, although most former chikunda have merged into their host communities.