Lenje people (also known as ''Bene Mukuni, Balenje, Balenge, Benimukuni, Ciina mukuna, Lenge, Lengi''
) is an ethnic group in Zambia. They are loosely bound with its spatial and cultural boundaries shifting, depending on whom you talk to. They live mainly in the
Central province but also in
Lusaka
Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...
and
Copperbelt
The Copperbelt () is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the southern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining.
Traditionally, the term ''Copperbelt'' includes the ...
province. It is not clear when they arrived to the area where they live today
but they are believed to be among the first people to come to Zambia from the Cameroon region.
It has been claimed that they have been in the area at least since the 17th century. The Lenje chiefdom comprises one senior chief and seven subordinate chiefs and chiefdoms.
They are about 240 000
- 310 000
and are considered to be part of the Bantu, Central-South people cluster within the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc.
They are related to the neighboring
Tonga people and have also been said to be related to the
Twa
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...
(or ''Batwa, Awatwa'') of the
Lukanga Swamps.
Subsistence
Travellers who visited Lenje in the beginning of the 20th century writes that they were mainly farmers but hunting and fishing was also important.
[{{Cite book, last=Rosen, first=Eric von, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDcNAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA30, title=Från kap till Alexandria: reseminnen från svenska Rhodesia-Kongo-expeditionen, date=1913, publisher=A. Bonniers, pages=30, language=sv] Present day Lenje are generally subsistence farmers growing maize during the rainy season and vegetables during the dry season, They burn charcoal as well as keep a few cattle, goats, chickens etc. Some, especially those closer to the edge of the Lukanga swamp, fish or are involved in fish trade.
References
Ethnic groups in Zambia