 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,000,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Kipengere Range, Makete | |
| Languages | |
| Kinga language, some Swahili [1] | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, traditional African religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Nyakyusa, Magoma, Wanji, Mahanji(disputed) |
The Kinga are an ethnic and linguistic group native to Mbeya Region and Makete District of Njombe Region, Tanzania, in the great Kipengere Range northeast of Lake Malawi. In 2003 the Kinga population was estimated to number 140,000. [2]
They are said to have originated from South Africa, then moved to Ruvuma, then finally settled in Makete Iringa. The Kinga are primarily agriculturists who cultivate millet, beans, bananas, cultivating bamboo for a strong good beer, and finally in 1905, growing wheat and potatoes. They inhabited the Kipengere Range to a height of 10,000 feet and maintained a moderate amount of cattle but mostly sheep and goats. The Nyakyusa, who are the Wakinga's closest neighbors, consider the Kinga to be distinct and different. According to them, the Kinga are warriors who were good enough to fight in the Konde Revolt against the Germans, and are eager to acquire Kinga iron implements in exchange for food, cattle's etc.
The Nyakyusa considered iron a scarce and precious commodity normally needing the secret skills of the Kinga smiths. With the invasion of the Ngoni [3] the Nyakyusa found their wood-tipped spears to be ineffective against tough shields and went to the Kinga for well-made iron-tipped spears. Iron, melting at about 2,804 °F, was heated to about 2,200 °F and then layered in charcoal until the slag drained off. The remainder was a solid spongy mass called bloom, which was then reheated and hammered in a forge with no guarantee of success. Each operation required the building of a new furnace with demands on charcoal, labor, and skills. The production of only three hoes or spears may have needed a ton of charcoal and a long apprenticeship. It also required a vast amount of wood. The Nyakyusa contributed by making the shields.
Kinga priests claimed they belonged to an ancient heritage, a line older than their chiefs. The priests also seemed to interpret subterranean water movement (much as a Rutengänger). The Nyakyusa would watch with fear and dismay as these pilgrims descended the mountain paths each year heading for 'Lwenbe's' shrine.
The Kinga were to be found in hidden areas, probably having been driven there by the Magwangwara Ngoni, and then the Wasangu, and even the Hehe, and were not easily located. They had little interaction with their neighbors, and felt comfortable only in their mountains. While they provided early warning posts against invasion of the Nyakyusa territory from the south and east, the Nyakyusa were not thankful, and generally held the Kinga in contempt.
Alexander Merensky describes them as having no particular physical type, their facial features and physique all being different. He thought them a mixed group of runaway slaves hiding in the mountains. Merensky found only one common characteristic: due to their mountain climbing the muscles on their legs were very well developed and they had acquired a distinct type of jogging while going up and down these heights.
Merensky, like the Nyakyusa, found them personally dirty and their homesteads of cylindrical and conical shaped huts disorderly and surrounded by hedges of thorn. Seemingly they were adept only at navigating their mountains and skillfully creating beautiful hoes, knives, iron spears, and a very pleasing beer from bamboo, which was plentiful in their area.
Kinga are found within Njombe region not but not Iringa, also is better to include a number of kinga name to be included in Swahili language
The Kinga speak the Kinga language almost exclusively at home. They usually know Swahili, but are not fluent. [4] 57,000 Kinga live in the Makete district, the rest in the Iringa Region of the Kipengere Range.
The Tumbuka is a Bantu ethnic group found in Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania. Tumbuka is classified as a part of the Bantu language family, and with origins in a geographic region between the Dwangwa River to the south, the North Rukuru River to the north, Lake Malawi to the east, and the Luangwa River. They are found in the valleys near the rivers, lake as well as the highlands of Nyika Plateau, where they are frequently referred to as Henga although this is strictly speaking the name of a subdivision.
Ludewa District is one of six districts in the Njombe Region in Tanzania, East Africa. Prior to 2012, the district was one of the seven districts of Iringa Region. The town of Ludewa is the administrative seat of the district. A hospital is located in the city. The district is bordered to the north by the Njombe Rural District and Makete District, to the southeast by the Ruvuma Region and to the southwest by the country of Malawi across Lake Nyasa.
The Nyakyusa are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group who live in the fertile mountains of southern Mbeya Region of Tanzania. They speak the Nyakyusa language, a member of the Bantu language family. In 1993 the Nyakusa population was estimated to number 1,050,000, with 750,000 living in Tanzania. Nyakyusa are marked as highly educated and eager agriculturists. The Nyakyusa are colonising people where success and survival depended on individual effort. Nyakyusa have managed to collect vast wealth from trade and agriculture than any tribe in Tanzania..
Iringa Region is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of 35,503 km2 (13,708 sq mi). The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Guinea Bissau. Iringa Region is bordered to the east by Morogoro Region and south by Njombe Region. On the west the region is bodered by Mbeya Region. Dodoma Region and Singida Region border Iringa on the north. The regional capital is the city Iringa for which the city is named after. According to the 2012 census, the region has a total population of 941,238. Iringa Region is home to Ruaha National Park, Tanzania's second national largest park.
Mbeya Region is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of 35,954 km2 (13,882 sq mi). The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Guinea Bissau. Mbeya Region is bordered to the east by Singida Region, Iringa Region and Njombe Region. The region is bordered to the south by Malawi and Lake Nyasa. To the north the region borders southern Tabora Region. Lastly, Mbeya is bordered to the west by Songwe Region. The regional capital is the city of Mbeya. According to the 2012 national census, the region had a population of 2,707,410.
The Kipengere Range, also known as the Livingstone Mountains, lies entirely in Njombe Region in southwest Tanzania at the northern end of Lake Nyasa. Near Lake Nyasa they are known as the Kinga Mountains. It is a plateau-like ridge of mountains running southeastwards from the basin of the Great Ruaha River in the north to that of the Ruhuhu River in the south, and forms part of the eastern escarpment of the East African Rift. The range is mostly clad in montane grasslands, renowned for their botanical diversity and displays of flowers, with montane evergreen forests mostly in stream valleys.
Makete District is one of the six districts of Njombe Region of Tanzania. Its administrative seat is the town of Iwawa. It is bordered to the north and west by the Mbeya Region, to the east by the Njombe District and to the south by the Ludewa District. It is divided into six divisions and 17 wards. Makete District was founded in 1979 with the policy of the Ujamaa. Before, this part of Iringa Region belonged to Njombe District. The district is known for growing apples due to the favorable climate.
Tukuyu, known as Neu Langenburg during the German colonial rule, is a small hillside town that lies about 36 miles (58 km) south of the city of Mbeya, at an elevation of around 5,000 ft (1,500 m) in the highland Rungwe District of southern Tanzania, East Africa. Tukuyu town has a moderate to cool temperature ranging from 10° C in May/June to mid 20°C in around November. The town and surrounding areas are green all year round due to the almost year-round convectional rains resulting from Lake Nyasa(Lake Malawi).Tukuyu town is divided into several wards include; Kawetere, Msasani, Bulyaga and Bagamoyo.
The Sangu, at times called Rori, are an ethnic and linguistic group based in the Usangu Plain of Chunya District of Mbeya Region, Tanzania. By 1907 the Sangu numbers were thought to be about 30,000. In 1987 the Sangu population was estimated to number 75,000.
The Wanji are an ethnic and linguistic group native to Makete District, in the Kipengere Mountains of Njombe Region and also native to Mbeya Region in southern Tanzania. In 2003 the Wanji population was estimated to number 28,000. wanji language is the composition of nearby languages like Sangu, Kinga, Nyakyusa, Safwa and Bena.
The Matengo are an ethnic and linguistic group based in Mbinga District, Ruvuma Region in southern Tanzania. In 1957, the population estimate was 57,000, while in 2010, the Matengo population was estimated to number 284,000. Their religious affiliation is to Christianity. Their Affinity Bloc is Sub-Saharan African. Their main language is Matengo, which is one of the Bantu languages.
The Magoma are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group based in the Makete District of Njombe Region in southern Tanzania. In 2003, the Magoma population was estimated to number 9,000.
The Kisi are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group from Makete District of Njombe Region, Tanzania, on the northwestern shore of Lake Malawi. In 2001 the Kisi population was estimated to number 18,000, of whom 10,200 spoke the Kisi language. They began using the Nyakyusa language as a second language only in 1900.
The Kipengere seedeater, also known as the Tanzania seedeater, is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found only in Tanzania specifically in Mbeya Region and Njombe Region. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forest and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tanzania:
Igurusi is an administrative ward in the Mbarali district of the Mbeya Region of Tanzania. In 2016 the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics report there were 24,573 people in the ward, from 22,296 in 2012.
Hehe, also known by its native name Kihehe[kihehe], is a Bantu language that is spoken by the Hehe people of the Iringa region of Tanzania, lying south of the Great Ruaha River. It was reported to have "Ngoni" features, that is, words of a Zulu-like language introduced when conquered by a Nguni or Zulu-like people in the early 19th century. However, other "Ngoni" speeches seem to have lost most of these distinctive features over the past 150-odd years, the language more resembling those of the neighbouring peoples. In 1977 it was estimated that 190,000 people spoke Hehe. There has been some Bible translation. Hehe may be mutually intelligible with Bena.
Njombe Region is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers a land area of 21,347 km2 (8,242 sq mi). The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of El Salvador. Njombe Region is bordered to the north by the Iringa Region and Mbeya Region, to the east by Morogoro Region, to the south by the Ruvuma Region and to the west by Lake Nyasa. The regional capital is the municipality of Njombe. According to the 2012 national census, the region had a population of 702,097.
The Mpanga-Kipengere Game Reserve is a protected area in Njombe Region of the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, East Africa. The reserve covers an area of 1,574 square kilometres (608 sq mi). The altitude ranges from 1,800 metres (5,906 ft) to 2,289 metres (7,510 ft). In addition to the preservation of wildlife the reserve is an important catchment for the headwaters of several rivers that feed into the Great Ruaha River and provide water for the Usangu wetlands.
The name Karonga War is given to a number of armed clashes that took place between mid-1887 and mid-1889 near Karonga at the northern end of Lake Malawi in what is now Malawi between a Scottish trading concern called the African Lakes Company Limited and elements of the Ngonde people on one side and Swahili traders and their Henga allies on the other. In the 19th century, it was referred to as the “Arab War”, despite few actual Arabs being involved. Although these conflicts predate formal endorsement of a British Central Africa Protectorate west of Lake Malawi in 1891, European involvement, both by the African Lakes Company and by Germans attempting to prevent Swahili slave trading around Lake Tanganyika in German East Africa, had upset the previous balance between the Ngonde and their neighbours and created the conditions for this conflict.
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