Nyamwezi
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The Nyamwezi (originally and also Wanyamwezi) are the second largest of over 120 ethnic groups in Tanzania. They live in the northwest central area of the country, between Lake Victoria and Lake Rukwa. The term Nyamwezi is of Swahili origin, and translates as "people of the moon". The name was given to them by the coastal people indicating that the Nyamwezi came from the west (where the new moon is first seen). The Nyamwezi have close cultural ties with the Sukuma people, their homeland is called Unyamwezi, and they speak Nyamezi (also known as Kinyamwezi), although many also speak Swahili and / or English.
History
According to oral tradition, the Nyamwezi are thought to have settled in west central Tanzania (their present location) some time in the 1600s. The earliest evidence comes from the Galahansa, and confirms their presence there in the late 1600s. They were once fisherman and nomadic farmers due to the poor soil quality of the area. Their travels made them professional traders, and by 1800 they were taking caravans to the coast to trade in Katangan copper, wax, salt, ivory, and slaves. Arab and Indian slave and ivory traders reached the Nyamwezi by 1825. They also started to acquire guns, and establish regular armies, with some intra tribal wars and some conflicts with Arabs on the coast throughout the 1800s.From 1860-1884, the Nyamwezi were ruled by a military leader and Mtemi (king) named Mirambo. He blocked the Arab trade routes for a time, but his empire broke up soon after his death in 1884.
German colonists controlled Tanzania from the late 1800s, calling it German East Africa. Britain took control after World War One, and conducted a campaign of forced relocation of Africans to make way for white farmers.
Demographics
With the establishment of German East Africa in the 19th century, Moravian Church missionaries arrived in the Lake Malawi region of Tanganyika. Today, the Moravian Church In Western Tanzania (MCWT) has about 80,000 Nyawezi adherents and many continue to evangelize among the Sukuma people.As of 1989, there were about 1.5 million Nyamwezi. About 926,000 Nyamwezi speak a language of the Bantu phylum, classified as the Sukuma-Nyamwezi Group of Bantu. They are predominantly subsistence farmers and cattle herders.
Culture
The Nyamwezi are known for their humorous songs which are played on a stringed cowherd's harp. Their staple food is bugalli, a porridge made from grains and served with meat and vegetables. Coffee and tea are common, as are alcoholic drinks made from fermented corn or sorghum.Most follow a traditional religion, despite attempts by Islam and Christianity to make converts, with some limited success. A powerful god revealed in facets called Likube (High God), Limatunda (Creator), Limi (the Sun) and Liwelolo (the Universe) is believed in, but ancestor worship is a more frequent daily practice. Offerings of sheep or goats are made to ancestors, and the help of Likube is invoked beforehand. Spirits also play an active role in Nyamwezi religious life, with mfumu, witchdoctors, or diviners, playing the role of counsellor and medical practitioner. Bulogi (witchcraft) is a powerful force in Nyamwezi culture, with cults forming around (for example) possession by certain types of spirit. The Baswezi society recruits people possessed by the Swezi spirit.
External links
- [Sukuma/ Nyamwezi Language Page], African Studies Center at Michigan State University
- [Smithsonian Global Sound], Greeting and installation songs for chiefs of the Nyamwezi people from Tabora district, Tanzania
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