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Swahilis
The Swahili people ( sw, WaSwahili) comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the Zanzibar archipelago and mainland Tanzania's seaboard, littoral Kenya, northern Mozambique, the Comoros Islands, southwestern Somalia and Northwest Madagascar. The original Swahili distinguished themselves from other Bantu peoples by self-identifying as Waungwana (the civilised ones). In certain regions (e.g. Lamu Island), this differentiation is even more stratified in terms of societal grouping and dialect, hinting to the historical processes by which the Swahili have coalesced over time. More recently, however, Swahili identity extends to any person of African descent who speaks Swahili as their first language, is Muslim and lives in a town on the main urban centres of most of modern-day Tanzania and coastal Kenya, northern Mozambique and the Comoros, through a process of swahilization. The name ''Swahili'' originated as an e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swahilization
Swahilization or Swahilisation refers to one of two practices: * the cultural assimilation of local peoples in Southeast Africa into the Swahili people and their culture. * the post-independence promotion of the Swahili language by the governments of Southeast African former colonies as a national and official language, alongside a greater cultural assimilation policy of Africanization (see Julius Nyerere and ''Ujamaa''). Swahili was the language spoken throughout the coastal tribes of Eastern Tanzania before the arrival of the European settlers. During the 1800s, the slave trades led by Arab merchants led Swahili to become a 50% derivative from Arabic. In the 1960s, the new republic of Tanzania replaced all English education content in elementary schools by Swahili content in a move to erase the colonial past of the country. The middle schools and up were supposed to do the same by the year 2000. Julius Nyerere, who initiated this policy, translated himself Shakespeare's ''Julius C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic centre, Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site. Zanzibar's main industries are spices, raffia and tourism. In particular, the islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper. For this reason, the Zanzibar Archipelago, together with Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes referred to locally as the "Spice Islands". Tourism in Zanzibar is a more recent activity, driven by government promotion that caused an increase from 19,000 tourists in 1985, to 376,000 in 2016. The islands are accessible via 5 ports and the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mwani People
The Mwani people (Kimwani/Kiswahili: Wamwani; Portuguese: Muane) are a Bantu ethnic group primarily inhabiting the coastline of the Cabo Delagado Province of Mozambique. The Mwani people speak the Kimwani language, also known as the Ibo language, which is a Bantu language belonging to the Niger-Congo language family. They are often considered part of the Swahili cultural world as they have important connections with the East African coast (especially coastal Tanzania and Zanzibar) Ethnonym The ethnonym Mwani is commonly translated as "people of the coast" or "(at) the coast," referring to the coastal environment the Mwani live in. This ethnonym appears to be a loan translation of the term '' Swahili'', which has a similar meaning. In Kiswahili, Mwani means seaweed. The ethnonym Mwani can also be written as Muane or Mwane. Demography & Distribution In modern times, the Mwani number around 120,000-200,000 people and live mainly in Cabo Delagado Province. They make up 5. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa across the Mozambique Channel. At Madagascar is the world's List of island countries, second-largest island country, after Indonesia. The nation is home to around 30 million inhabitants and consists of the island of Geography of Madagascar, Madagascar (the List of islands by area, fourth-largest island in the world), along with numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 90 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of wildlife of Madagascar, its wildlife is endemic. Human settlement of Madagascar occurred during or befo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comoros Islands
The Comoro Islands or Comoros (Shikomori ''Komori''; ar, جزر القمر , ''Juzur al-qamar''; french: Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northwest of Madagascar. The islands are politically divided between the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign country, and Mayotte, an Overseas Department of France. Geography The Comoro Islands are located in the Mozambique Channel to the north-west of Madagascar and facing Mozambique. These volcanic islands, covering a total area of 2034 km2, are as follows: * Ngazidja (also known as ''Grande Comore''): the largest island of the Union of the Comoros, with its capital Moroni * Ndzuwani (also known as ''Anjouan''): part of the Union of the Comoros * Mwali (also known as ''Mohéli''): part of the Union of the Comoros * Mayotte (also known as ''Maore''): a French overseas department. Mayotte is composed of two islands, Grande-Terre and Petite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afro-Arabs
Afro-Arabs are Arabs of full or partial Black African descent. These include populations within mainly the Sudanese, Emiratis, Yemenis, Saudis, Omanis, Sahrawis, Mauritanians, Algerians, Egyptians and Moroccans, with considerably long established communities in Arab states such as Palestine, Iraq, Syria and Jordan. Overview South Arabia and Africa have been in contact commencing with the obsidian exchange networks of the 7th millennium BC. These networks were strengthened by the rise of Egyptian dynasties of the 4th millennium BC. Scientists have indicated the likely existence of settlements in Arabia from the people of the Horn of Africa as early as 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. The Afro-Arab Tihama culture, which originated in Africa, began in the 2nd millennium BC. This cultural complex is found in Africa in countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, as well as in neighbouring Yemen and the Saudi coastal plains. In the 1st millennium BC, Southern Arabs gained control ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bantu Peoples
The Bantu peoples, or Bantu, are an ethnolinguistic grouping of approximately 400 distinct ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages. They are native to 24 countries spread over a vast area from Central Africa to Southeast Africa and into Southern Africa. There are several hundred Bantu languages. Depending on the definition of "language" or "dialect", it is estimated that there are between 440 and 680 distinct languages. The total number of speakers is in the hundreds of millions, ranging at roughly 350 million in the mid-2010s (roughly 30% of the population of Africa, or roughly 5% of the total world population). About 60 million speakers (2015), divided into some 200 ethnic or tribal groups, are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone. The larger of the individual Bantu groups have populations of several million, e.g. the people of Rwanda and Burundi (25 million), the Bagandapeople of Uganda (10 million as of 2019), the Shona of Zimbabwe (15 million ), the Zulu of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barawani
The Bravanese people, also known as the Barawani, are a minority ethnic group inhabiting the city of Barawe of Somalia. Origins As their name suggests, the Bravanese hail from ''Brava'' (Barawa), a port town on the southeastern coast of Somalia. Barawa is one of the most diverse place in Somalia. The people of this Banadir coast have been mixing with people from all around the world for hundreds of years. Because of its location and distance from Asia, Middle East, Europe, and nearby Islands, Barawa was strategically located for trade while people also exchanged ideas, skills, other knowledge and culture. The regional population traces their origins Arabian (particularly Hadhrami, Adnani and Qahtani). Many Bravanese people are of Arab origin and therefore they tend to look very physically distinct from the vast majority of other Somalis. Their culture, food and music resemble those of other East African islands and the Swahili people. The Bravanese people are locally known as " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirazi People
The Shirazi people, also known as Mbwera, are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the Swahili coast and the nearby Indian ocean islands. They are particularly concentrated on the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Comoros.Tanzania Ethnic Groups East Africa Living Encyclopedia, accessed 28 June 2010 A number of Shirazi proliferated along the East African coast, most involving a named or unnamed Persian prince marrying a Swahili princess. Modern academics reject the authenticity of the primarily Persian origin claim.Horton & Middleton 2000: 20Bakari 2001: 70 They point to the relative rarity of Persian customs and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bajuni People
The Bajuni people are a Bantu ethnic group mainly residing on the Bajuni Islands and surrounding coastal areas between the port city of Kismayo and Mombasa area of Kenya and Somalia’s southern border. Overview The Bajuni principally inhabit the tiny Bajuni Islands in the Somali Sea. Many also traditionally reside in Kenya, mainly in Mombasa and other towns in that country's Coast Province.Abdullahi, p.11.Mwakikagile, p.102. The population's members trace their origins to diverse groups; primarily coastal Jareer a descendant of free or enslaved Bantus . And they trace their origins to the Khoisanoid hunter-gather groups, as well as later additions such as Arab, Persian and Somalis immigrants. Some also have Malay and Indonesian ancestry. The Bajuni follow the laws of Islam to conduct their affairs. Almost all are Shafite Muslims. Their lives revolve around the mosque and daily prayer. In the course of saying five prayers a day, they also wash at least five times. Every Musli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comoros
The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni. The religion of the majority of the population, and the official state religion, is Sunni Islam. As a member of the Arab League, it is the only country in the Arab world which is entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. Comoros proclaimed their independence on July 6, 1975. It is also a member state of the African Union, the ''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie'', the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Indian Ocean Commission. The country has three official languages: Chi Comori, French and Arabic. The sovereign state consists of three major islands and numerous smaller islands, all in the volcanic Comoro Islands with the notable exception of Mayotte. Mayotte voted against inde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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