Shona people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (10.7–11.8 million) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana | |
 Zimbabwe
|
10,700,000 or 11,560,000 |
 Mozambique
|
173,000 |
 Botswana
|
11,000 |
 Zambia
|
30,200 |
 South Africa
|
20,000 ? |
| Languages | |
|
Shona, English Second or third language: Portuguese |
|
| Religion | |
| Christianity, African Traditional Religion, Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Lemba, other Bantu peoples | |
| Shona | |
|---|---|
| Person | muShona |
| People | vaShona |
| Language | chiShona |
| Country | Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana |
The Shona (/ˈʃoʊnə/) are a group of Bantu ethnic group native to Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries. The main part of them is divided into five major clans and adjacent to some people of very similar culture and languages. Therefore, there are various interpretations whom to subsume to the Shona proper and whom only to the Shona family.
The Shona people are divided into Western Shonas (makalanga) and Eastern Shonas. Origins of the Western Kalanga come from the Rozvi State (Moyo). Ethnologue notes that the language of the Western Shona is mutually intelligible with the main dialects of the Eastern Shona, but counts them separately.
When the term Shona was invented during the Mfecane in late 19th century, possibly by the Ndebele king Mzilikazi, it was a pejorative for non-Nguni people. On one hand, it is claimed that there was no consciousness of a common identity among the tribes and peoples now forming the Shona of today. On the other hand, the Shona people of Zimbabwe highland always had in common a vivid memory of the ancient kingdoms, often identified with the Monomotapa state. The terms "Karanga"/"Kalanga"/"Kalaka", now the names of special groups, seem to have been used for all Shona before the Mfecane.
Dialect groups are important in Shona although there are huge similarities among the dialects. Although 'standard' Shona is spoken throughout Zimbabwe, the dialects not only help to identify which town or village a person is from (e.g. a person who is Manyika would be from Eastern Zimbabwe, i.e. towns like Mutare) but also the ethnic group which the person belongs to. Each Shona dialect is specific to a certain ethnic group, i.e. if one speaks the Manyika dialect, they are from the Manyika group/tribe and observe certain customs and norms specific to their group. As such, if one is Zezuru, they speak the Zezuru dialect and observe those customs and beliefs that are specific to them.
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Wikipedia