Bembe people

The Bembe are an ethnic and linguistic group based in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and western Tanzania. In 1991 the Bembe population of the DRC was estimated to number 252,000 and around 1.5 million in 2005 with no estimate available for the number of Bembe in Tanzania[1]

Not to be confused with Beembe tribe (Kongo).
Bembe people
Regions with significant populations
Democratic Republic of the Congo170,980[1]
Tanzania290,170
Languages
Bembe language, Swahili. Lingala, English, French
Religion
Christianity, Islam, Malkia Waubembe
Related ethnic groups
Bantu

Throughout 21st century the bembe people moved a lot in a cause of wars and a lot of them were displaced a lot of bembe people now live in Australia United States and other countries in Europe.

Location and demography

The Bembe (Babembe, Beembe, Cuabembe, Wabembe) originate from northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and western Tanzania. They are representative of numerous ethnic traditions including Lega, pre-Lega, Boyo-Kunda, and Bemba. They are a tough and proud people who absorbed other populations and their systems of thought in the process of carving out their current homeland in a time of widespread conflict and under economic pressure from European invaders and slave traders during the 19th century.

In Tanzania, some of the Bembe people have become a part of Manyema, and Swahili people due to culture and language loss. Originally natives of Kigoma region, the Bembe people of Tanzania have stretched throughout the country from their home land of Kigoma to the island of Zanzibar.

Cultural traditions

The Bembe people of Tanzania have lost their culture for the most part, and the Bembe language is slowly fading. Most of the youth under the age of 30 are unable to speak their mother tongue; instead, they use Swahili as their first language and follow Swahili culture and traditions.

A semi-nomadic people, who often settled in forest environments, the Bembe tended to abandon their small villages as the soil became less fertile. The women cultivated the crops and the men hunted and fished.[2]

See also

References
  1. Bembe, ethnologue.com.
  2. Stellaractive (2017-05-25). "Bembe People - Discover African Art". Retrieved 2020-05-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.