The Ikuhane language is a Bantu language spoken in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

. It is also known as Subia and spoken by the Ikuhane people in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

History

The language is called Chikuhane and it gets its name from the second known Subia King, Ikuhane, who reigned from 1575 – 1600. Under his leadership, the people migrated southwards and settled along the

Cuando River The Cuando River (or Kwando in the non-colonial spelling) is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia's Caprivi Strip and into the Linyanti Swamp on the northern border of Botswana. Below the swamp, the river is called t ...

which is also named the Ikuhane River in his honour. A single Ikuhane person is referred to as Muikuhane while many Ikuhane people are referred to as Baikuhane. The prefix Mu- is singular and the prefix Ba- is plural. However, Baikuhane are popularly known today as the

Subia people The Ikuhane people, also known as the Subiya or Subia, are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group who are native to Southern Africa, primarily Namibia. They form part of Namibia’s Zambezi people and are also found in large numbers in Botswana and Zam ...

. The

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

Subia came from neighbouring people and it is derived from the word ‘subila’ which means light in reference to their light skin complexion. A single Subia person is referred to as Musubia while many Subia people are referred to as Basubia or Masubia. The language is called Chisubia.

Subia text

ChiSubia: Kakuli IREZA ava saki ahulu inkanda, mane avahi Mwanakwe yenke, ili kuti yense yo zumina Kwakwe keta afwe kono kave nivuhalo vusamani. Johani 3:16 English: For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten SON, that whoever believes in HIM should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

References

Languages of Botswana Languages of Namibia Languages of Zambia {{Bantu-lang-stub