The Matumbi 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 ...

ethnolinguistic group native to

Kilwa District Kilwa District (''Wilaya ya Kilwa'' in Swahili) is one of six administrative districts of Lindi Region in Tanzania. The District covers an area of . The district is comparable in size to the land area of the nation state of East Timor. Kilwa d ...

, Lindi Region in southern

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 ...

, who speak the

Matumbi language Matuumbi, also known as Kimatuumbi and Kimatumbi, is a language spoken in Tanzania in the Kipatimu region of the Kilwa District, south of the Rufiji river. It is a Bantu language, P13 in Guthrie's classification. Kimatuumbi is closely related to ...

. They are also the native inhabitants of the

Songosongo Songosongo is an administrative ward in Kilwa District of Lindi Region in Tanzania. The ward covers an area of , and has an average elevation of . According to the 2012 census, the ward has a total population of 3,056. The ward administers the w ...

island archipelago. Their homeland is also south of the Rufiji delta in southern

Pwani Region Pwani Region (''Mkoa wa Pwani'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The word "''Pwani''" in Swahili means the "''coast''". The regional capital is the town of Kibaha. The Region borders the Tanga Region to the north, M ...

Rufiji District Rufiji is one of the six districts of the Pwani Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by the Kisarawe and Mkuranga Districts, to the east by the Indian Ocean, to the south by the Kilwa District, Lindi Region and to the west by the Mor ...

. In 1978 the Matumbi population was estimated to number 72,000. They are the largest ethnic group in Kilwa District. The Matumbi Highlands are named after them.

Culture

The Matumbi are mainly farmers and the ones that settled on the coast and Songosongo Islands are fishermen. Crops grown by Matumbi include rice and coconuts. For livestock they raise goats and poultry. Like many groups in the world, the Matumbi are a

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

society. The Matumbi are adherents of Islam.

References

Ethnic groups in Tanzania Indigenous peoples of East Africa {{Tanzania-ethno-group-stub