Côte d’Ivoire: Precolonial kingdoms: Kong existed for several centuries before Sekou Ouattara and his sons established a new dynasty there in the early 18th century. Kong lasted until 1897, when it was destroyed by Samory Touré, who was in the process of creating a new Muslim empire that included…

Qufu: …residence of Confucius’s descendants, the Kong family. Through the centuries the Kongs were the guardians of the temple complex and the administrators of the town of Qufu; the 76th lineal descendant of Confucius lived in the town before World War II. Lying outside the north gate of the temple enclosure…

Zisi was a Chinese philosopher and grandson of Confucius (551–479 bce). Varying traditional accounts state that Zisi, who studied under Confucius’s pupil Zengzi, taught either Mencius (Mengzi)—the “second sage” of Confucianism—or Mencius’s teacher. Texts dating to about the 2nd and the 4th

20th-century international relations: Decolonization and development: …military coup d’état led by Kong Le briefly returned Souvanna to power, but when Kong Le was in turn driven out in December 1960, he joined forces with the Pathet Lao in their strategic stronghold in the Plain of Jarres. Having secured the Laotian territory needed for infiltration and assault…

Henrik Hertz: …and Kong Renés datter (1845; King René’s Daughter), based on Provençal folklore. He was also a prolific writer of many kinds of verse. Unfortunately he often felt compelled to conform to his audience’s tastes in form rather than to meet his own artistic demands, and his reputation faded along with…

Mekong River: Physiography: …Bangfai, the Banghiang, and the Kong—which, with its affluent the San, drains a large area of southern Laos, central Vietnam, and eastern Cambodia. Forest degradation, which has resulted from lumbering, shifting cultivation, and grazing, is widespread in this region.

H.H. K’ung was a banker and businessman who was a major figure in the Chinese Nationalist government between 1928 and 1945. The son of an old merchant family, K’ung was educated in missionary schools in China and completed his education in the United States, where he received an M.A. in economics

Kingston 1970s overview: But Chinese-Jamaican businessman Leslie Kong, a former restaurateur, with his Beverley’s label, was initially more successful. His productions dominated the movie The Harder They Come (1972), and he organized Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion” session, which between them more or less introduced reggae to the world at…

Mekong River: Physiography: …Bangfai, the Banghiang, and the Kong—which, with its affluent the San, drains a large area of southern Laos, central Vietnam, and eastern Cambodia. Forest degradation, which has resulted from lumbering, shifting cultivation, and grazing, is widespread in this region.

Mekong River: Physiography: …Bangfai, the Banghiang, and the Kong—which, with its affluent the San, drains a large area of southern Laos, central Vietnam, and eastern Cambodia. Forest degradation, which has resulted from lumbering, shifting cultivation, and grazing, is widespread in this region.

John Goodman: Film career: …appeared in the action thrillers Kong: Skull Island,e Once Upon a Time in Venice, and Atomic Blonde. His later movies included Captive State (2019), in which aliens have colonized Earth and face a resistance movement.

Ganga dynasty: …ruler of the Western Gangas, Konganivarman, carved out a kingdom by conquest, but his successors, Madhava I and Harivarman, expanded their influence by marital and military alliances with the Pallavas, Chalukyas, and Kadambas. By the end of the 8th century a dynastic dispute weakened the Gangas, but Butuga II (c.

Gudmundur Kamban: Hadda Padda; filmed 1924) and Kongeglimen (1915; “Wrestling Before the King”)—are about the problems of love. In his subsequent plays, Marmor (1918; “Marble”) and Vi mordere (1920; We Murderers), as well as in his first novel, Ragnar Finnsson (1922), all of which are set in America, attention is focused on…

Denmark: Cultural institutions: …followed in 1748 by the Royal Theatre (Det Kongelige Teater), which remained under court patronage for a century. In 1848 it was taken over by the state, and it is now administered by the Danish Ministry of Culture. Besides a relatively large number of classical and modern Danish plays, the…

Copenhagen: …former centre of the city, Kongens Nytorv (“King’s New Square”), laid out in the 17th century. Buildings there include the Thott Palace (now the French Embassy) and the Charlottenborg Palace (now the Royal Academy of Fine Arts), both of the 17th century, and the Royal Theatre, built in 1874.

Denmark, country occupying the peninsula of Jutland (Jylland), which extends northward from the center of continental western Europe, and an archipelago of more than 400 islands to the east of the peninsula. Jutland makes up more than two-thirds of the country’s total land area; at its northern tip

Norway, country of northern Europe that occupies the western half of the Scandinavian peninsula. Nearly half of the inhabitants of the country live in the far south, in the region around Oslo, the capital. About two-thirds of Norway is mountainous, and off its much-indented coastline lie, carved by

Confucius was China’s most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, whose ideas have profoundly influenced the civilizations of China and other East Asian countries. Confucius was born near the end of an era known in Chinese history as the Spring and Autumn Period (770–481 BCE). His

konghou, Chinese multistringed, plucked instrument of the harp family. The sound box of a konghou resembles that of a pipa. On each side of the sound box is a row of bridges over which 36 to 44 strings are stretched. A device that is fixed to the bridges coordinates the two groups of strings in

Wole Soyinka: …as The Strong Breed (1963), Kongi’s Harvest (opened the first Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, 1966; published 1967), The Road (1965), From Zia, with Love (1992), and even the parody King Baabu (performed 2001; published 2002), reveal his disregard for African authoritarian leadership and his disillusionment with Nigerian society…

Zhuge Liang was a celebrated adviser to Liu Bei, founder of the Shu-Han dynasty (221–263/264). Zhuge, to whom supernatural powers often are ascribed, has been a favoured character of many Chinese plays and stories. Legend states that Liu Bei, then a minor military figure, heard of Zhuge Liang’s

Jiangmen, city in central Guangdong sheng (province), China. The city is situated on the west bank of the main channel of the Xi River, at the southwest corner of the Pearl (Zhu) River Delta, some 45 miles (70 km) from Guangzhou (Canton). It has excellent waterway communications and is the chief

Vajrapāṇi, in Mahāyāna Buddhist mythology, one of the celestial bodhisattvas (“Buddhas-to-be”), the manifestation of the self-born Buddha Akṣobhya. Vajrapāṇi (Sanskrit: Thunderbolt-Bearer) is believed to be the protector of the nāgas (half-man, half-serpent deities) and sometimes assumes the shape

Kongo, group of Bantu-speaking peoples related through language and culture and dwelling along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire, Congo (Brazzaville), in the north, to Luanda, Angola, in the south. In the east, their territory is limited by the Kwango River and in the northeast by

Kongo, former kingdom in west-central Africa, located south of the Congo River (present-day Angola and Democratic Republic of the Congo). According to traditional accounts, the kingdom was founded by Lukeni lua Nimi about 1390. Originally, it was probably a loose federation of small polities, but,

Kongo language, a Bantu language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Kongo is related to Swahili, Shona, and Bembe, among others. Kikongo is the name used by its speakers. There are many dialects of Kongo; San Salvador Kongo, spoken in Congo (Kinshasa) and Angola, has more

Japanese art: Esoteric Buddhism: …which consisted of two parts—the kongō-kai (“diamond world”) and the taizō-kai (“womb world”)—that organized the Buddhist divinities and their relationships in a prescribed gridlike configuration. The deities or spiritual entities portrayed in these paired paintings represent, in the kongō-kai, the realm of transcendent, clear enlightenment and, in the taizō-kai, the…

Vajrapāṇi, in Mahāyāna Buddhist mythology, one of the celestial bodhisattvas (“Buddhas-to-be”), the manifestation of the self-born Buddha Akṣobhya. Vajrapāṇi (Sanskrit: Thunderbolt-Bearer) is believed to be the protector of the nāgas (half-man, half-serpent deities) and sometimes assumes the shape

Central African Republic: The colonial era: The Kongo-Wara rebellion (1928–31) was a widespread, though unsuccessful, anticolonial uprising in the western and southwestern parts of the colony. After it was suppressed, its leaders were imprisoned and executed and populations of Central Africans were forcibly relocated to colonially designated villages where they could be…

hartebeest: One well-known variety, Coke’s hartebeest, or the kongoni (A. buselaphus cokei), of East Africa, is the plainest and smallest subspecies, measuring 117 cm (46 inches) high and weighing 142 kg (312 pounds). This subspecies is lion-coloured, with no conspicuous markings except a white rump patch; it has a…

Confucius was China’s most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, whose ideas have profoundly influenced the civilizations of China and other East Asian countries. Confucius was born near the end of an era known in Chinese history as the Spring and Autumn Period (770–481 BCE). His

Chinese literature: Poetry: …ballad of this period is Kongque dongnanfei (“Southeast the Peacock Flies”). The longest poem of early Chinese literature (353 lines), it relates the tragedy of a young married couple who committed suicide as the result of the cruelty of the husband’s mother. The ballad was probably first sung shortly after…

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), militant Kurdish nationalist organization founded by Abdullah (“Apo”) Öcalan in the late 1970s. Although the group initially espoused demands for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state, its stated aims were later tempered to calls for greater Kurdish

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), militant Kurdish nationalist organization founded by Abdullah (“Apo”) Öcalan in the late 1970s. Although the group initially espoused demands for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state, its stated aims were later tempered to calls for greater Kurdish

Stanisław Lem: …short novel Kongres futurologiczny (1971; The Futurological Congress), a hilarious satire on government and academic conferences. In a Kafkaesque turn, at a hotel in Costa Rica, a conference to propose solutions to overpopulation in a time of violence and terrorism soon dissolves into anarchy as the hotel’s water supply is…

Congress Kingdom of Poland, Polish state created (May 3, 1815) by the Congress of Vienna as part of the political settlement at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. It was ruled by the tsars of Russia until its loss in World War I. The Kingdom of Poland comprised the bulk of the former Grand Duchy of

Luc Jacquet: …Der Kongress der Pinguine (1993; The Congress of Penguins), about the effects of pollution and other human interference on the species. Jacquet established himself as a first-rate nature and wildlife cinematographer and also worked as a director and series editor. He returned with a film crew to Antarctica in 2003…

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), militant Kurdish nationalist organization founded by Abdullah (“Apo”) Öcalan in the late 1970s. Although the group initially espoused demands for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state, its stated aims were later tempered to calls for greater Kurdish

Kongs Fjord, inlet, Spitsbergen island (Norway), Arctic Ocean. Kongs Fjord is an arm of the Arctic Ocean measuring 16 miles (26 km) long and ranging in width from 4 to 9 miles (6 to 14 km). The head of the bay (southeast) receives the waters of the Kongsvegen glacier. Ny-Ålesund is located on the

Henrik Ibsen: First plays and directing: …own, and in Kongsemnerne (1863; The Pretenders) he dramatized the mysterious inner authority that makes a man a man, a king, or a great playwright. This one play was in fact the national drama after which Ibsen had been groping so long, and before long it would be recognized as…

Kongs Fjord, inlet, Spitsbergen island (Norway), Arctic Ocean. Kongs Fjord is an arm of the Arctic Ocean measuring 16 miles (26 km) long and ranging in width from 4 to 9 miles (6 to 14 km). The head of the bay (southeast) receives the waters of the Kongsvegen glacier. Ny-Ålesund is located on the

Kunlun Mountains: Physiography: …some of the highest summits—Mount Kongur, at 25,325 feet (7,719 metres), as well as Mount Muztagata, at 24,757 feet (7,546 metres). A major bifurcation occurs just south of the oasis town of Qiemo (Cherchen); there, the Altun Mountains branch in a northeasterly direction from the Arkatag Mountains at Mount…

Confucius was China’s most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, whose ideas have profoundly influenced the civilizations of China and other East Asian countries. Confucius was born near the end of an era known in Chinese history as the Spring and Autumn Period (770–481 BCE). His

Native American: The northern Pacific Coast: The Aleuts and the neighbouring Koniag mounted a spirited resistance against Russian incursions over the next 20 years but were outgunned. The Native Alaskan men who survived these early battles were immediately impressed into service hunting sea otters from light boats; their absences could range in length from days to…

Konibodom, city, northern Tajikistan, in the western Fergana Valley. The Konibodom oasis was best known for almonds, from which its name, Place of Almonds, is derived. The city dates back at least to the 15th century. Its economy is based on the processing of local agricultural products—cotton,

Chris Froome: …for the South African Team Konica Minolta. In 2008 he joined the South African-sponsored cycling Team Barloworld and competed in the Tour de France, finishing 84th. He came to the attention of British coach Rod Ellingworth, who was impressed by his climbing skills and willing to overlook his inexperience and…

Albanian literature: Konitza, a foremost polemicist, is the pioneer figure in Albanian literary criticism. As the publisher of the review Albania (1897–1909), he exerted great influence on aspiring writers and the development of Albanian culture. Noli is esteemed as a poet, critic, and historian and is known…

Zielona Góra: …the birthplace of the painter Tadeusz Konicz in 1733. Zielona Góra’s medieval town hall includes an 18th-century addition (housing a museum) and a 15th-century tower. The Feast of the Grape Harvest celebrates the history of the region as one of Europe’s northernmost grape-growing areas. Pop. (2011) 118,982.

Stanisław Koniecpolski was a military and political leader of Poland who won major victories against the Turks, the Tatars, and the Swedes. Appointed field commander of the Polish forces in 1619, Koniecpolski was captured during the Battle of Cecorą (Ţuţora; 1620) by the Turks and held prisoner at

Hans Werner Henze: The opera König Hirsch (1956; The Stag King) marked the beginning of a second period, in which Henze shed serialism (ordered series of notes, rhythms, etc.), revealing a freely inventive and eclectic style. This work showed Henze at maturity, though he was already well established in 1952, when he won…

Franz Grillparzer: …performed or published until 1825; King Ottocar, His Rise and Fall). Here the action is drawn from Austrian history, and the rise of Rudolph of Habsburg (the first of Grillparzer’s characters to avoid guilt and tragedy) is contrasted with the fall of the tyrant Ottokar of Bohemia, so that Ottokar’s…

König Rother, medieval German romance (c. 1160) that is the earliest record of the type of popular entertainment literature circulated by wandering minstrels. It combines elements from German heroic literature (without the grimness of the older tales) with Orientalisms derived from the Crusades. In

Robert Hamerling: …descriptions, suffers from theatricality; and Der König von Sion (1869; “The King of Zion”), a narrative of the Anabaptist movement of 1534. Hamerling’s other works include dramas, a novel, and autobiographical writings such as Stationen meiner Lebenspilgerschaft (1889; “Stations on My Life’s Journey”). His collected works (4 vol., 1900) were…

combinatorics: Systems of distinct representatives: The following theorem due to König is closely related to Hall’s theorem and can be easily deduced from it. Conversely, Hall’s theorem can be deduced from König’s: If the elements of rectangular matrix are 0s and 1s, the minimum number of lines that contain all of the 1s is equal…

Hradec Králové, town, north-central Czech Republic, at the confluence of the Orlice and Elbe rivers. The old town stands on a low outcrop of sandstone between the rivers; the new town is on the western bank of the Elbe. Hradec Králové lies at the crossing of old trade routes from the Baltic Sea to

Battle of Königgrätz, (July 3, 1866), decisive battle during the Seven Weeks’ War between Prussia and Austria, fought at the village of Sadowa, northwest of the Bohemian town of Königgrätz (now Hradec Králové, Czech Republic) on the upper Elbe River. The Prussian victory effected Austria’s

Karl Goldmark: …an Austro-Hungarian composer whose opera Die Königin von Saba (1875; “The Queen of Sheba”) was highly popular in the late 19th century.

Belgium, country of northwestern Europe. It is one of the smallest and most densely populated European countries, and it has been, since its independence in 1830, a representative democracy headed by a hereditary constitutional monarch. Initially, Belgium had a unitary form of government. In the

Kaliningrad, city, seaport, and administrative centre of Kaliningrad oblast (region), Russia. Detached from the rest of the country, the city is an exclave of the Russian Federation. Kaliningrad lies on the Pregolya River just upstream from Frisches Lagoon. Formerly the capital of the dukes of

Königsberg bridge problem, a recreational mathematical puzzle, set in the old Prussian city of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia), that led to the development of the branches of mathematics known as topology and graph theory. In the early 18th century, the citizens of Königsberg spent their days

Albertus University of Königsberg, institution of higher learning founded in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), in 1544 by Albert, the first duke of Prussia. At first drawing its enrollment mainly from Prussia, Poland, and Lithuania, the Protestant-affiliated university after the Thirty

Woody Allen is an American motion-picture director, screenwriter, actor, comedian, playwright, and author who is best known for his bittersweet comic films containing elements of parody, slapstick, and the absurd but who also made weighty dramas, often with dark themes and bleak landscapes

Sprechstimme: …in the melodrama Königskinder (1897; Children of the King), by Engelbert Humperdinck.

Maria Aurora, countess von Königsmark was a German noblewoman and mistress of Augustus II the Strong, elector of Saxony and king of Poland. She was for many years a powerful figure at the Saxon court. The beautiful and gifted daughter of an impoverished German nobleman in Swedish service, Countess

Philipp Christoph, count von Königsmark was the alleged German lover of Sophia Dorothea, who was consort to the Hanoverian electoral prince George (later King George I of England). Their supposed relationship led to Königsmark’s death and to Sophia Dorothea’s lifelong imprisonment. Born of a noble

Königssee, lake, in Bavaria Land (state), southern Germany. It lies just south of the town of Berchtesgaden, in a deep cut that is surrounded by sheer limestone mountains, within the Berchtesgaden National Park. Königssee is one of the most picturesque lakes in the Berchtesgadener Alps. It is 5

Brandberg: Königstein, its highest peak (and the country’s highest point), reaches an elevation of more than 8,200 feet (2,500 metres). Brandberg is known for its concentration of prehistoric rock art, including carvings and paintings. One of these, known as the White Lady, is especially famous. The…

Königswinter, city, North Rhine–Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. It lies in the Seven Hills (Siebengebirge), on the right (east) bank of the Rhine River, just southeast of Bonn. The Drachenfels (“Dragon’s Rock”), a hill 1,053 feet (321 metres) high, is crowned by a ruined castle built in

Coney Island, amusement and residential area in the southern part of the borough of Brooklyn, New York, U.S., fronting the Atlantic Ocean. Formerly an island, it was known to Dutch settlers as Konijn Eiland (“Rabbit Island”), which was presumably Anglicized as Coney Island. It became part of Long

Konin, city, Wielkopolskie województwo (province), west-central Poland, situated on the banks of the Warta River, 61 miles (98 km) east of Poznań city and 60 miles south of Toruń city. With close ties to the regional capital of Poznań, Konin is an important commercial centre in its own right. An

Japan: Beginning of the imperial state: …the throne a new emperor, Kōnin, who was less enthralled with Buddhism. Kōnin’s son, the emperor Kammu, who was of a similar mind, shifted the capital first to Nagaoka and in 794 to Heian (or Heian-kyō; present Kyōto) to sever connections with the temples of Nara and reestablished government in…

Philips Koninck was a Dutch painter of the Baroque period, celebrated for his panoramic landscapes. The influence of Rembrandt is paramount in the art of the earliest phase of his career, and it has often been supposed, probably incorrectly, that Rembrandt was his master. However, Koninck was

Philips Koninck was a Dutch painter of the Baroque period, celebrated for his panoramic landscapes. The influence of Rembrandt is paramount in the art of the earliest phase of his career, and it has often been supposed, probably incorrectly, that Rembrandt was his master. However, Koninck was

Mauritshuis, museum in The Hague especially noted for its Flemish and Dutch paintings from the 15th to the 17th century. The collection itself is called the Royal Picture Gallery, which has been housed since 1822 in a palace (1633–44) designed for John Maurice of Nassau, called the Mauritshuis. The

Rembrandt: Fourth Amsterdam period (1658–69) of Rembrandt: …Amsterdam Town Hall, now the Royal Palace, which had an extensive decoration program. This would contain a great number of large history pieces painted by different masters. Rembrandt was not invited, but his former pupil Flinck received the most prestigious of these commissions: he was commissioned to paint a series…

KLM, Dutch airline founded on Oct. 7, 1919, and flying its first scheduled service, between Amsterdam and London, on May 17, 1920. Until its merger with Air France in 2004, it was the world’s oldest continuously operating airline. Headquarters are at Amstelveen, Neth. KLM was founded by a group of

KLM: In 1928 Plesman also founded Koninklijke Nederlandsch–Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KNILM), the Royal Netherlands–East Indies Airlines, which in 1930 inaugurated regular flights from the Netherlands to Batavia (now Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies, a trip of 8,700 miles (14,000 km), until 1940 the world’s longest scheduled air route. KNILM merged…

Royal Dutch Shell PLC: …Koninklijke Nederlandse Petroleum Maatschappij (Royal Dutch Petroleum Company Ltd.) of The Hague and Shell Transport and Trading Company, PLC, of London. Below those two parent companies were subsidiary companies that operated around the world. The company’s principal American subsidiary was Shell Oil Company (SOC), founded in 1922. SOC is…

marine: …Marine in 1802) and the Koninklijke Nederlandse Corps Mariniers (1665), respectively. The United States Marine Corps, organized in 1775, has become the most famous organization of the kind, but other countries also maintain marine corps.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC, unified publicly traded petroleum corporation, one of the largest in the world, engaging in crude oil and natural gas exploration, production, refining, and marketing in more than 90 countries around the globe. The company also produces chemical feedstocks for many

Belgium, country of northwestern Europe. It is one of the smallest and most densely populated European countries, and it has been, since its independence in 1830, a representative democracy headed by a hereditary constitutional monarch. Initially, Belgium had a unitary form of government. In the

Netherlands, country located in northwestern Europe, also known as Holland. “Netherlands” means low-lying country; the name Holland (from Houtland, or “Wooded Land”) was originally given to one of the medieval cores of what later became the modern state and is still used for 2 of its 12 provinces

Konishi Yukinaga was a Christian general who spearheaded the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592. The son of a prosperous Sakai merchant, who was also an important official in the feudal administration of the noted warrior Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Konishi followed his father into Hideyoshi’s service; he

Albanian literature: Konitza, a foremost polemicist, is the pioneer figure in Albanian literary criticism. As the publisher of the review Albania (1897–1909), he exerted great influence on aspiring writers and the development of Albanian culture. Noli is esteemed as a poet, critic, and historian and is known…

Lee Konitz was an American jazz musician, a leading figure in cool jazz and one of the most distinctive alto saxophonists. Konitz attended Roosevelt University in Chicago and played alto saxophone in the Claude Thornhill band (1947–48), before settling in New York City. Influenced by pianist Lennie

Albanian literature: Konitza, a foremost polemicist, is the pioneer figure in Albanian literary criticism. As the publisher of the review Albania (1897–1909), he exerted great influence on aspiring writers and the development of Albanian culture. Noli is esteemed as a poet, critic, and historian and is known…

Japanese literature: Prose: Konjaku monogatari (early 12th century; “Tales of Now and Then”; partially translated into English as Ages Ago and as Tales of Times Now Past), a massive collection of religious stories and folktales drawn not only from the Japanese countryside but also from Indian and Chinese…

Ozaki Kōyō: …the novel Konjiki yasha (1897–1902; The Golden Demon), which portrayed the social cost of modernization when the power of money wins out over human affection and social responsibility. Kōyō’s guidance was eagerly sought by young writers. Two of his best-known disciples were the romantic-short-story writer Izumi Kyōka and the naturalistic…

Konkō-kyō: …was appointed by the deity Konkō (Bright Metal; new name for the formerly malevolent deity Konjin) to act as a mediator (toritsugi) between god and mankind. The mediator takes on the pain and sufferings of his followers and transmits them to god. Succession to the mediatorship is reserved for descendants…

Ruwenzori Range: The Amba and Konjo peoples of the lower eastern slopes are mainly cultivators of beans, sweet potatoes, and bananas.

Konkan, coastal plain of western India, lying between the Arabian Sea (west) and the Western Ghats (east). The plain stretches approximately 330 miles (530 km) from the Daman Ganga River north of Mumbai (Bombay) to the Terekhol River between Maharashtra and Goa states and Daman and Diu union

Citpāvan, caste of Brahmans in Konkan (the area of Goa) and Mahārāshtra state in western India. They rose to considerable eminence in Mahārāshtra as administrators during the rule of the peshwas of Poona (1713–1818), who belonged to that caste. The predominance among them of fair complexions and

Konkani language, Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-European language family. Konkani is spoken by some 2.5 million people, mainly on the central west coast of India, where it is the official language of Goa state. It is also associated particularly with the city of Mangalore (Mangaluru) in

Konkō-kyō: …was appointed by the deity Konkō (Bright Metal; new name for the formerly malevolent deity Konjin) to act as a mediator (toritsugi) between god and mankind. The mediator takes on the pain and sufferings of his followers and transmits them to god. Succession to the mediatorship is reserved for descendants…

Konkō-kyō, Japanese religious movement founded in the 19th century, a prototype of the “new religions” that proliferated in post-World War II Japan. The movement was founded in 1859 by Kawate Bunjirō, a farmer who lived in present-day Okayama Prefecture. He believed that he was appointed by the

Dagomba: …ethnic groups, among them the Konkomba and Chakosi.

Konkouré River, river, rising in the Fouta Djallon plateau of west central Guinea, West Africa, and flowing in a westerly direction to the Atlantic just north of Sangareya Bay. The river’s 188-mi (303-km) course is much broken by rapids and waterfalls (with drops ranging from 80 to 1,350 ft [24 to

Sri Lanka: Kandy and its struggle with European powers: …died under suspicious circumstances, and Konnappu Bandara enthroned himself, proclaiming independence from the Portuguese and taking the regnal name of Vimala Dharma Surya. The demise of Sitawake after Rajasinha’s death left Kandy the only independent Sinhalese kingdom.

Lena Dunham: …Dunham and her longtime collaborator Jenni Konner launched Lenny Letter, a twice-weekly e-mail newsletter about culture and politics; it closed down in 2018. Dunham also established (2016) Lenny, an imprint of the publishing company Random House that features fiction and nonfiction writing selected by Dunham and Konner. The two later…

African art: Bambara (Bamana): Masks of the Kono, which enforces civic morality, are also elongated and encrusted with sacrificial material. The Kore, which challenges immoral authority and hypocritical morality through sexually explicit gestures and buffoonery, once employed masks representing the hyena, lion, monkey, antelope, and horse but now is represented primarily through…