Bangweulu Batwa
Bangweulu Twa, or the BaTwa of the Bangweulu swamps, are one of several groups of Twa living in Zambia.[1] Others are Kafwe Twa and Lukanga Twa. They are also known by the names BaTwa[2] or Abatwa.[3] While other Twa groups that are scattered across equatorial Africa are described as pygmy groups and averaging about 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) in height, the Bangweulu Twa are described as taller and at least partly of Bantu origin[4][5] but they may be the descendants of former hunter-gatherer groups.[6][7]
After the coming of various outside Bantu groups to the area, groups of Twa moved to swamps and marsh land territories in Zambia.[8] In descriptions from the early 20th century Bangweulu Twa are said to live off the land, they had no domestic animals but cultivated around ant-hills and on other raised patches. Through trade with inland neighbours they got meal and grain.[4][9]
Eric von Rosen and the Bangweulu Twa
[edit]Eric von Rosen visited the Twa during his expedition in Bangweulu during 1911 and 1912 and calls them the "Swamp people".[10][9] Von Rosen collected ethnographica and took photographs which are today in Sweden at the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm and the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg.
After 1912
[edit]After von Rosens expedition the Lake dwellers have been steadily moving to the main land. Sleeping-sickness did play an important part in this process.[11][8]
References
[edit]- ^ "AFRICA | 101 Last Tribes - Twa people". www.101lasttribes.com. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ Haller, Tobias (2010-07-15). Disputing the Floodplains: Institutional Change and the Politics of Resource Management in African Wetlands. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-18537-1.
- ^ Musambachime, Mwelwa C. (1994). "The Ubutwa Society in Eastern Shaba and Northeast Zambia to 1920". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 27 (1): 77–99. doi:10.2307/220971. ISSN 0361-7882. JSTOR 220971.
- ^ a b Campbell, Dugald (1914). "38. A Few Notes on Butwa: An African Secret Society". Man. 14: 76–81. doi:10.2307/2788618. ISSN 0025-1496. JSTOR 2788618.
- ^ Jeffreys, M. D. W. (1953). "The Batwa: Who Are They?". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 23 (1): 45–54. doi:10.2307/1156032. ISSN 0001-9720. JSTOR 1156032. S2CID 143142336.
- ^ "Lawrence Barham - University of Liverpool". www.liverpool.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ Breton, Gwenna; Barham, Lawrence; Mudenda, George; Soodyall, Himla; Schlebusch, Carina; Jakobsson, Mattias (2020). "The "BaTwa" populations from remote areas in Zambia retain ancestry of past forager groups".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b "Twa". Zambia's Traditional History. 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
- ^ a b Rosen, Eric von (1916). Träskfolket; Svenska Rhodesia-Kongo-expeditionenes etnografiska. Smithsonian Libraries. Stockholm, A. Bonniers förlag.
- ^ Rosen, Eric von (1912). Från Kap till Alexandria; reseminnen från svenska Rhodesia-Kingo-expeditionen. Robarts - University of Toronto. Stockholm A. Bonniers.
- ^ Crabtree, W. A. (1917). "Lake Bangweulu and Its Inhabitants". Journal of the Royal African Society. 16 (63): 216–226. ISSN 0368-4016. JSTOR 715627.