The Digo (''Wadigo'' in Swahili) are a

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

ethnic and linguistic group based near the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

coast between

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

in southern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and northern Tanga in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. In 1994 the Digo population was estimated to total 305,000, with 217,000 ethnic Digo living in Kenya and 88,000 (1987 estimate) in Tanzania. Digo people, nearly all

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

, speak the

Digo language Digo (''Chidigo'') is a Bantu language spoken primarily along the East African coast between Mombasa and Tanga by the Digo people of Kenya and Tanzania. The ethnic Digo population has been estimated at around 360,000 (Mwalonya et al. 2004), t ...

, called Chidigo by speakers, a

Bantu language The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages. The t ...

. They are part of the greater Mijikenda ethnic group of people which contains nine smaller groups or tribes, including the

Duruma Duruma is a settlement in Kenya's Kwale County Kwale County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. Its capital is Kwale, although Ukunda is the largest town. Kwale county has an estimated population of 649,931. Kwale is mainly ...

Giriama The Giriama (also called Giryama) are one of the nine ethnic groups that make up the Mijikenda (which literally translates to "nine towns"). The Mijikenda occupy the coastal strip extending from Lamu in the north to the Kenya/Tanzania border i ...

, and others.. The Digo in Tanzania are the native inhabitants of Mkinga and Tanga districts of

Tanga Region Tanga Region (''Mkoa wa Tanga'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Burundi. The regional capital is the mun ...

and are a major cultural group there.

Culture

Due to the growing influence of

Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of the Swahili people inhabiting the Swahili coast. This littoral area encompasses Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique, as well as the adjacent islands of Zanzibar and Comoros and some parts of Malawi. They speak Swah ...

, some Digo began converting to Islam in the 19th century. Islam soon spread further among the Digo and the majority were Muslim by the 1940s.

References

Mijikenda {{Tanzania-ethno-group-stub