Akamba

Akamba

The traditional Kamba dance
Total population
(3,893,157 (2009 Census) )
Regions with significant populations
Kenya
Languages
Kikamba
Religion
Christianity, African Traditional Religion
Related ethnic groups
Kikuyu, Embu, Meru, Mbeere, other Bantu peoples

The Kamba or Akamba people are a Bantu ethnic group - or tribe - who live in the semi-arid formerly Eastern Province of Kenya stretching east from Nairobi to Tsavo and north up to Embu, Kenya. This land is called Ukambani which constitutes of Makueni County, Kitui County and Machakos County.

There is also a group of Kamba people in the South American country of Paraguay. There are two groups: Kamba Cuá and Kamba Kokue with the former being the most famous. Some sources claim that a group of 250 freed slaves who had kept their Kamba identity arrived in Paraguay in 1820 in the company of Jose Gervasio Artigas, an exiled general from Uruguay. Their population is now estimated to be 10,000 people. The Kamba Cuá are famous for their African traditional ballet that is described as the "central cultural identity of the Afro-Paraguayan community".

Sources vary on whether Kambas are the third, fourth or fifth largest ethnic group in Kenya. They make up to 11 percent of Kenya's population. They speak the Bantu Kikamba language as a mother tongue. The Kamba are predominantly based in Machakos, Kitui and Makueni Counties of Kenya. The total population of the Kamba stands at approximately 4.1 million. The Kamba are also called Akamba or Wakamba.

The Kamba are of Bantu origin. They are closely related in language and culture to the Kikuyu, Embu, Mbeere and Meru, and are concentrated in the lowlands of Southeast Kenya from he vicinity of Mount Kenya to the Coast. The exact place that the Kamba's ancestors migrated from after the initial Bantu expansion from Central Africa is uncertain.