The Nyamwezi (also Wanyamwezi) are the second largest ethnic group in Tanzania. They live in the northwest central area of the country, between Lake Victoria and Lake Rukwa. The term Nyamwezi is of Swahili origin, and roughly translates as, "people of the moon". The name was given to them by the coastal people, indicating that the Nyamwezi came from the west. The Nyamwezi have close cultural ties with the Sukuma people.

History

The Nyamwezi were once fisherman and nomadic farmers due to the poor soil quality of the area. Their travels made them professional traders, and by 1800 they were taking caravans to the coast to trade in Katangan copper, wax, salt, ivory, and slaves. Arab and Indian slave and ivory traders reached the Nyamwezi by 1825.

From 1860-1884, the Nyamwezi were ruled by a military leader and Mtemi (king) named Miramboo. He blocked the Arab trade routes and was able to carve out an empire among the Sukuma and Nyamwezi. The symbolic strength and self-determination of Miramboo continues to survive in the political imagination of the Nyamwezi to this day.

Demographics

With the establishment of of German East Africa in the 19th century, Moravian Church missionaries arrived in the Lake Malawi region of Tanganyika. Today, the Moravian Church In Western Tanzania (MCWT) has about 80,000 Nyawezi adherents and many continue to evangelize among the Sukuma people.

As of 1989, there were about 1.5 million Nyamwezi. About 926,000 Nyamwezi speak a language of the Bantu phylum, classified as the Sukuma-Nyamwezi Group of Bantu. They are predominantly subsistence farmers and cattle herders.

Culture

The Nyamwezi are known for their humorous songs which are played on a stringed cowherd's harp.

External links

• Sukuma/ Nyamwezi Language Page, African Studies Center at Michigan State University
• Smithsonian Global Sound, Greeting and installation songs for chiefs of the Nyamwezi people from Tabora district, Tanzania