Sukuma people
 |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (8.9 million(2016) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Tanzania | |
| Languages | |
| Sukuma | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Nyamwezi, other Bantu peoples |
| Sukuma | |
|---|---|
| Person | Nsukuma, Musukuma |
| People | Basukuma, Wasukuma |
| Language | Kɪsukuma |
| Country | Busukuma |
The Sukuma are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the southeastern African Great Lakes region. They are the largest ethnic group in Tanzania, with an estimated 8.9 million members or 16 percent of the country's total population. Sukuma means "north" and refers to "people of the north." The Sukuma refer to themselves as Basukuma (plural) and Nsukuma (singular). They speak Sukuma, which belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo family.
The Sukuma live in northwestern Tanzania on or near the southern shores of Lake Victoria, and various areas administrative districts of the Mwanza, southwestern tip of Mara Region, Simiyu Region and Shinyanga Region. The northern area of their residence is in the famous Serengeti Plain. Sukuma families have migrated southward, into the Rukwa Region and Katavi Region, encroaching on the territory of the Pimbwe. These Sukuma have settled outside Pimbwe villages.
The Sukumaland is mostly a flat scrubless savannah plain between 910 and 1,220 metres (3,000 and 4,000 ft) elevation. Twenty to forty inches (51 to 102 cm) of rain fall from November to March. High temperatures range from 26 to 32 °C (79 to 90 °F) while lows at night seldom drop below 15 °C (59 °F). Population is very spread out among small farm plots and sparse vegetation.
As with the Nyamwezi, all members of the five groups in 'Greater Unyamwezi' identified themselves as Wanjamwezi to those outside of the 'greater' area, but among themselves used Sukuma, Konogo, and so on. The Wasukuma call themselves, Sukuma, (Northerners) when speaking to Nyamwezi, but use Nyamwezi when speaking to anyone else. It can be called the Nyamwezi-Sukuma complex, for while never united, they were very closely related in attitude and way of life. Like most of their neighbors they were an ethnic group divided into many smaller groups. Some claim they were a Nyamwezi people who had moved northwestward to escape Mirambo's raids with the result that game and tsetse re-occupied the deserted area.
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Wikipedia