The Wanda are a Bantu ethno-linguistic group based in

Mbeya Region Mbeya Region (''Mkoa wa Mbeya'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Guinea Bissau. Mbeya Region is borde ...

and southern Rukwa Region of

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 ...

. The Wanda population was estimated to be 24,000 in 1987, having increased from 5,745 in 1931, 7,677 in 1948, and 9,477 in 1957.Wanda: A language of Tanzania, at Ethnologue
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Language

The Wanda's native

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...

is also called Wanda.

Linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

s group Wanda with Fipa, Lungu, Nyamwanga, Pimbwe, and Kuulwe as dialects of a single

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

. Most people also speak some Swahili.

Political system

Following

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

occupation, the Wanda came under

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rule, and the northern

chiefdom A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...

of Uwanda was abolished, being incorporated into the Fipa chiefdom of Lyangalile. The chief was always called ''Mwene'', and was generally related to others in the group. The ''Mwene'' was greeted with clapping hands and the phrases "You are the only one" or "Guard us well".

Customs

As with many of the peoples of southwest Tanzania, in

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

ceremonies the groom carried a bow in his right-hand and an arrow in his left "to pierce any man who seduces your wife". At a chief's burial a grave is dug inside the chief's hut, but only after a whole sheep is buried. The chief is placed in a sitting position on his royal stool, with a brightly colored bird's feather placed in his hair. The main crops of the Wanda were

finger millet ''Eleusine coracana'', or finger millet, also known as ragi in India, kodo in Nepal, is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semiarid areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and self-pollinating specie ...

, sorghum, sesame,

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...

s, and

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

. These crops were cultivated on ridges. Iron tools and weapons were not produced by the Wanda, these being traded in, mostly from the Fipa. The Wanda worshipped

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

, certain large trees, and the

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...

s of certain chiefs.

References

* Bauer, Andreus. (Raising the Flag of War) * Willis, Roy G. (Fipa and Related Peoples) 'Ethnographic Survey of Africa' Ethnic groups in Tanzania {{Tanzania-ethno-group-stub