Total population | |
---|---|
2,000,000 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Tanzania (Arumeru District, Arusha Region) | |
Languages | |
Rwo | |
Religion | |
| |
Related ethnic groups | |
People of the Kilimanjaro Corridor. |
Person | Mmeru |
---|---|
People | Wameru |
Language | Kimeru |
The Meru (Wameru in Swahili), also known as the Va-Rwa (Rwa being the root word), are a Bantu ethnic group native to the slopes of Mount Meru in Arusha Region. The Meru people share the same name with the Meru people of Kenya, but they are completely different ethnic groups each with their own unique history and identity.
The Meru people are said to have arrived to the slopes of the great mountain around 800 years ago coming from the Usambara Mountains in Tanga Region. According to the inhabitants, migration occurred back and forth throughout the region, and the Meru people should be viewed as a part of the bigger population inhabiting the entire Kilimanjaro Corridor. Upon arriving at the southeastern slopes of Mount Meru they were met by the hunter-gatherer group called the Koningo whom they absorbed into Meru society. The waMeru are known for their intensive agricultural practises. [1]
Today many descendants of Meru people still live in their homeland and Mount Meru and Arumeru District are named in their honor. Upepo wa kisulisuli is named after UMALEE in meru language.
Meru may refer to:
Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha Rural District. Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley, Arusha City has a temperate climate. The city is close to the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Lake Manyara National Park, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount Meru in the Arusha National Park and is thus considered the safari capital of the world.
Meru is a town in eastern Kenya. It is the headquarters of the Meru County, and the seventh largest urban centre in the country. Meru forms a municipal council with a population of 240,900 residents.
The Chaga or Chagga are a Bantu-speaking indigenous Africans and the third largest ethnic group in Tanzania. They traditionally live the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and eastern Mount Meru in both Kilimanjaro Region and eastern Arusha Region. Their relative economic wealth comes from favorable fertile soil of mount Kilimanjaro and successful agricultural methods, which include extensive irrigation systems, terracing, and continuous organic fertilization methods practiced for thousands of years.
Mount Meru is a dormant stratovolcano located 70 kilometres (43 mi) west of Mount Kilimanjaro in southeast Arusha Region, Tanzania. At a height of 4,562.13 metres (14,968 ft), it is visible from Mount Kilimanjaro on a clear day, and is the fifth-highest of the highest mountain peaks of Africa, dependent on definition.
Arusha Region is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. Its capital and largest city is the city of Arusha. The region is bordered by Kajiado County and Narok County in Kenya to the north, the Kilimanjaro Region to the east, the Manyara and Singida regions to the south, and the Mara and Simiyu regions to the west. Arusha region is home to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region is comparable in size to the combined land and water areas of the United States state of Maryland.
United World College East Africa (UWCEA) is an independent international school in Tanzania, and a member of the United World Colleges movement. Established in 1969 as International School Moshi, the school is based on two campuses on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru near the city of Moshi, the capital of the Kilimanjaro region in north eastern Tanzania.
Arusha National Park covers Mount Meru, a prominent volcano with an elevation of 4566 m, in the Arusha Region of north eastern Tanzania. The park is small but varied with spectacular landscapes in three distinct areas. In the west, the Meru Crater funnels the Jekukumia River; the peak of Mount Meru lies on its rim. Ngurdoto Crater in the south-east is grassland. The shallow alkaline Momella Lakes in the north-east have varying algal colours and are known for their wading birds.
Monduli District is one of the seven districts of the Arusha Region of Tanzania. It is located in the northeastern section of the country. It is bordered to the north by Longido District, to the east by Arusha Rural District, to the south by the Manyara Region and to the west by Ngorongoro District and Karatu District. The town of Monduli is the administrative seat of the district. According to the 2002 Tanzania National Census, the population of the Monduli District was 185,237. By 2012, the population of the district was 158,929. The population decreased, as Longido District was split off.
The Rwa, also known as the Wameru, are an ethnic and linguistic group located around Mount Meru in the Arusha Region of Tanzania. In 1987 the Rwa population was estimated to number 90,000.
The Arusha people are an ethnic and indigenous group based in the Arusha Region of northern Tanzania. The Maasai regard the Arusha people as one of their sub-sets and part of the Maasai society. The Arusha people are not to be confused by Arusha residents who are Tanzanian people of different ethnic backgrounds that are born and reside within the borders of the Arusha Region.
Makumira is a small town located in Poli ward of Meru District in Arusha Region of northern Tanzania. It lies on the slope of Mount Meru, the fifth-highest mountain in Africa. Makumira is about 16 kilometres from the city of Arusha on the main road, A23. The neighboring villages are Tengeru and Usa River.
The Embu are a Bantu people inhabiting Embu county in Kenya. They speak the Embu language as a mother tongue. To the south of Embu are to be found their cousins, the Mbeere people. In essence Embu county encompasses the ethnic Kîembu dialect, from whom the Embu county's name derives, and the Kimbere dialect spoken by their Mbeere counterparts who inhabit the lower reaches of the county. Historically, both were just referred to as the Embu people. To the west, Embu neighbours are the closely related Kikuyu in Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Kiambu, Muranga and Nyandarua counties. The Meru people border the Embu to the East.
Meru District Council is one of the seven districts councils of the Arusha Region of Tanzania. Meru District council is bordered to the north by Longido District, to the east by Kilimanjaro Region, to the south by Manyara Region, and to the west by Arusha Rural District and Arusha Urban District. The administrative capital of the council is Usa River.
Dendrosenecio meruensis is one of the East African giant groundsel, this one is endemic to the slopes of Mount Meru. Once they were considered to be of the genus Senecio but since then have been reclassified into their own genus Dendrosenecio.
The Koningo are an extinct Tanzanian ethnic and Linguistic group that lived on the slopes of Mount Meru in present day Arusha City District, Meru District and Arusha District of Arusha Region. They were described as a Hunter-gatherer society that preexisted the Wameru people in the 17th century.
Mount Loolmalasin is a mountain located in the Ngorongoro District of the Arusha Region, Tanzania. It has a peak elevation of 3,682 metres (12,080 ft) above sea level. It is, after Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, the third-highest mountain in Tanzania if Kilimanjaro's three peaks are considered to be one mountain. Mount Loolmalasin is the second tallest mountain in Arusha Region and the tallest point in Ngorongoro District. The mountain also is the source of Simiyu River, which flows west to Lake Victoria in Simiyu Region.
Arusha District Council is one of the seven districts of the Arusha Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by Longido District, to the east by Meru District, to the south by Kilimanjaro Region, and to the west by Monduli District. It surrounds Arusha City.
The Murutu people were a community that, according to the oral literature of the Meru people of Kenya, inhabited regions of the Swahili coast and the Kenyan hinterland at various times in history.