:''There is also a town in Taita-Taveta District called Taveta'' Taveta is the name of a tribe found in Kenya. It is also the name of the principal town in the land of the Taveta people, and the name of the surrounding subdistrict of

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The people of Taveta

The Taveta tribe is one of the Bantu tribes found in Southern Kenya in the Taita Taveta County. The people are sometimes referred to as the 'Wataveta', which is the plural name of the people in their own language, Kitaveta. It has been argued that the Taveta population is commingled with other tribes, notably the Taita,

Pare Pare may refer to: People with the name * Emmett Paré (1907-1973), tennis player * Pare, former member of Kotak, an Indonesian band * Pare Lorentz (1905-1992), American film director * Richard Pare (born 1948), English photographer * Paré, a ...

Chagga The Chaga or Chagga (Swahili language: WaChaga) are Bantu-speaking indigenous Africans and the third-largest ethnic group in Tanzania. They traditionally live on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and eastern Mount Meru in both Kilimanjaro Regi ...

Kamba Kamba may refer to: *Kamba people The Kamba or Akamba (sometimes called Wakamba) people are a Bantu ethnic group who predominantly live in the area of Kenya stretching from Nairobi to Tsavo and north to Embu, in the southern part of the f ...

and

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

. In addition, the inhabitants reveal migration occurred back and forth throughout the history of these groups, and the Taveta people should be viewed as a part of the bigger population inhabiting the entire Kilimanjaro Corridor. Because of their frequent contact with other tribes, most Tavetans are fluent in (Ki) Swahili as a second language, and may also acquire some

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

or other local languages. The Tavetans are subdivided into 5 clans namely Warutu, Wanene, Wazirai, Wasuya, and Wandigiri. The Wataveta inhabit mainly the lands between

Tsavo National Park Tsavo National Park may refer to: * Tsavo East National Park Tsavo East National Park is one of the oldest and largest parks in Kenya at 13,747 square kilometres. Situated in a semi-arid area previously known as the Taru Desert it opened in ...

and the

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

border, up to the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. Many Tavetans are occupied by commercial and subsistence farming, with the main cash crop being bananas and cotton, sugarcane, exotic and tropical fruits especially mangoes, avocados and many horticultural produce. Some work the local

sisal Sisal (, ) (''Agave sisalana'') is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The term sisal may ...

plantations, and a few take advantage of special local commercial activities like transport or cross border trade. The Taveta land and people won brief international attention during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when German and British colonial forces clashed there at the slaughter hill "Salaita". Author

Isak Dinesen Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...

(a.k.a. Karen Blixen) and the film ''

Out of Africa ''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the seventeen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called British East Africa. The book is a lyrical meditation on ...

'' describe this history. Most Tavetans practice some form of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, roughly thirty percent are affiliated with either the Anglican Church of the Province of Kenya, the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, or

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

churches. While Tavetans rarely profess

African Traditional Religion The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral rather than script ...

, old customs concerning healing or cursing are not unknown. Taveta is close to the Southeast African coast (Mombasa), and approximately ten percent of Tavetans practice Islam. According to Tavetan lore, the tribe was first exposed to Islam when Arab traders were crossing through their land and were impressed by their conduct leading to mass voluntary conversions. Melekinoi was a great leader among the Taveta.

Myths of the Taveta

The Taveta people believe the banana plant is native to their lands and traders who passed their lands took them along their travels distributing the tree around the world. The banana tree emerged from the grounds as a gift from the gods to a daughter of a chief in the Mzirai clan who pleased them and wasn't to be married off to any other clan.

References

External links

Kitamo Cha Kuomba
Portions of the Book of Common Prayer in Taveta (1894) digitized by Richard Mammana and Charles Wohlers {{authority control Bantu peoples Ethnic groups in Kenya Ethnic groups in Tanzania Indigenous peoples of East Africa