 suggests that the origin of the word is possibly from Kikongo kalunga '(Angolan) for lake, sea, ocean', Laman 1936, 207; but also in senses 'proper name' and 'in the depths, right at the bottom,
in the heart of the earth'.Patrick also notes Bettelheim (1979, 323), as quoted in Ryman (1984, 84), that "kalunga is also the name of an underworld deity and/or the home of this god".This false etymology is easily disputed, however.