Kerewe people

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The Kerewe (locally: Wakerewe) are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group based on Ukerewe Island in the Tanzanian section of Lake Victoria. They speak the Kerewe language

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Population

In 2012, the population of the Kerewe people was 345,147. [1]

Arts

The Kerewe of Ukerewe Island in Lake Victoria carved large wooden figures, about 3 feet (90 cm) high, which appear to have been effigies of deceased chiefs. Other examples of wood sculpture, including figures and masks, are known, some showing possible influences from the Luba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In general, however, this is an area in which other artistic mediums clearly dominate.

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Geography of Tanzania

Tanzania comprises many lakes, national parks, and Africa's highest point, Mount Kilimanjaro. Northeast Tanzania is mountainous, while the central area is part of a large plateau covered in grasslands. The country also contains the southern portion of Lake Victoria on its northern border with Uganda and Kenya.

Mwanza City in Mwanza Region, Tanzania

Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest city, after Dar es Salaam. It is also the second largest city in the Lake Victoria basin after Kampala, Uganda and ahead of Kisumu, Kenya at least in population size. Within the East African community, Mwanza city is the fifth largest city after Dar, Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kampala. It is slightly ahead of Kigali, Kisumu, and Bujumbura in the population of city proper limits. However, in terms of infrastructure, Kigali and Kisumu cities are way ahead of Mwanza. Mwanza city is also the capital city of Mwanza Region, and is administratively divided into two municipal districts within that Region - Ilemela and Nyamagana.

Ukerewe District District in Mwanza Region

Ukerewe District is one of the seven districts of the Mwanza Region of Tanzania. It is located on Ukerewe Island, Ukara Island and other neighbouring islands within Lake Victoria. The largest settlement and the district's administrative capital is Nansio. As of 2002, the population of Ukerewe District was 261,944. By 2012, the official population of Ukerewe District was 345,147.

Idjwi Island in Lake Kivu belonging to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Idjwi, or Ijwi, is an inland island in Lake Kivu which forms part of South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At 70 km (43 mi) in length and with an area of 340 km2 (131 sq mi), it is the second-largest lake island in Africa and the tenth largest in the world. Idjwi is roughly equidistant between the Congo and Rwanda, with 10 to 15 kilometres separating its western shore from the DRC mainland and a similar distance between its eastern shore and the coastline of Rwanda. The island's southern tip, however, lies only 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from a promontory of the Rwandan coast.

Mwanza Region Region of Tanzania

Mwanza Region is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions The regional capital is the city of Mwanza. Mwanza region is home to Ukerewe Island, the largest lake island in Africa as well as Saanane Island National Park, the smallest national park in Tanzania.

The Kara are an ethnic and linguistic group mainly based in the Ukerewe District, in the Tanzanian section of Lake Victoria. In 1987 the Kara population was estimated to number 86,000.

Aniceti Kitereza (1896–1981) was a Tanzanian Catholic cleric and novelist, born in 1896 on the island of Ukerewe, in Lake Victoria, in modern Tanzania. In 1945, he wrote the first novel in his native language, Kikerewe. Only in 1981, it was published in Swahili under the title Myombekere na Bugonoka na Ntulanalwo na Bulihwali.

Bugala Island

Bugala Island, in Uganda, is the tenth-largest lake island in the world. With an area of 275 km2 (106 sq mi), it is also the second largest island in Lake Victoria, after Tanzania's Ukerewe Island, and the third largest lake island in Africa, after Ukerewe and Democratic Republic of the Congo's Idjwi. It is a part of the Ssese Islands in the Kalangala District. The chief town is Kalangala.

Ukerewe may refer to:

Ukerewe Island Lake island in Mwanza Region, Tanzania

Ukerewe is the fifth-largest lake island in the world. With an area of 530 km2 (200 sq mi), it is also the largest island in Lake Victoria and the largest lake island in Africa.

Ukara Island Tanzanian island in Lake Victoria

Ukara is an island in Lake Victoria. Part of Tanzania, it is located 10 km north of Ukerewe Island, in the Ukerewe District, Mwanza Region. Also known as Bukara.

Kara, or Regi, is a Bantu language of Tanzania, spoken off Ukerewe Island in Lake Victoria. Jita–Kara–Kwaya are close to being dialects.

Kerewe, or Kerebe, is a Bantu language of Tanzania, spoken on Ukerewe Island in Lake Victoria, the largest inland island in Africa.

Williams mud turtle Species of turtle

Williams' mud turtle is a species of turtle in the family Pelomedusidae. The species is endemic to Africa.

<i>Iolaus violacea</i> Species of butterfly

Iolaus violacea, the violaceous sapphire, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, north-eastern Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and possibly western Mozambique. The habitat consists of Brachystegia woodland.

Gabriel Ruhumbika is a Tanzanian novelist, short story writer, translator and academic. His first novel, Village in Uhuru, was published in 1969. He has written several subsequent novels in Swahili. He has also taught literature at a number of universities, and is currently a professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Georgia in the USA.

MV Butiama is a passenger and cargo vessel which is operated by the Marine Services Company Limited of Tanzania since 1980.

Josephat Torner was a Tanzanian albino activist. He was featured in the documentary In the Shadow of the Sun.

Sinking of MV <i>Nyerere</i>

MV Nyerere is a Tanzanian ferry that capsized on 20 September 2018 while travelling between the islands of Ukerewe and Ukara on Lake Victoria. The Tanzanian government have declared that 228 people died as a result of the capsizing while 41 could be rescued. The capsized ferry was successfully righted, retrieved and unloaded more than one week after the disaster.

The West Nyanza languages are a subgroup of the Great Lakes Bantu languages spoken in Uganda, Tanzania and the DRC.

References

  1. "Government Census" (PDF). The United Republic of Tanzania . Retrieved 24 August 2021.

See also

Kerewe language