Tribes of Africa

Baganda tribes are called as Kings Men because of the significant role of their king-the Kabaka in their political, social and cultural institution. The Kabaka ruled over a hierarchy of chiefs who collected taxes in the form of food and livestock. All of the portions received are distributed through the hierarchy, eventually reaching the Kabaka’s palace in the form of taxes.

Yakö, also spelled Yako or Yakurr, people of the Cross River region of eastern Nigeria; they speak Luko, a language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family. The Yakö are mainly yam farmers; subsidiary crops include cocoyams (taro), corn (maize), okra, and pumpkin. The main cash crop is palm oil. The Yakö occupy compact villages divided into wards, each containing several patrilineal cl...

Tanzania’s largest tribal group is the Sukuma, a Bantu group of around 5.5 million people that lives in the north of the country and around the southern shores of Lake Victoria. The name “Sukuma” actually means “north” and is used in reference to the “people of the north”. While the majority live in rural areas, some also inhabit cities, particularly Mwanza and Shinyanga where they’ve adapted to m...

Mbembe, is a group of people living along the middle Cross River in Nigeria. Numbering about 100,000 in the late 20th century, they speak the language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family. The Mbembe cultivate yams, rice, cocoyams (taro), and cassava. In modern times wage laborers generally clear the fields and cultivate the yams. The land is either followed after one year or plante...

The Iraqw are a Cushitic-speaking (a branch of the Afroasiatic language family) tribal group that live in the Arusha and Manyara regions of Tanzania, just south of the famous Ngorongoro Crater. There are around 350,000 believed to be living within the country and they are renowned for their sharply defined features. While many safaris often travel through Iraqw territory, they tend to be shy peopl...

Ndebele, also called Transvaal Ndebele, any of several Bantu-speaking African peoples who live primarily in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces in South Africa. The Ndebele are ancient offshoots of the main Nguni-speaking peoples and began migrations to the Transvaal region in the 17th century. The main group of Transvaal Ndebele traces its ancestry to Musi, or Msi, who, with his followers, diver...

The Hadzabe are one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes in the world, with just 1,200-1,300 believed to live in Tanzania today. Rather than keeping livestock and tending the land, they spend their days hunting and foraging for food, maintaining a simple diet that’s changed little throughout the centuries. They inhabit caves and establish simple dwellings around Lake Eyasi, just to the sou...

The Damara, also called Daman or Damaqua, are an ethnic group who make up 8.5% of Namibia's population. They speak the Khoekhoe language and the majority live in the northwestern regions of Namibia, however they are also found widely across the rest of the country. They have no known cultural relationship with any of the other tribes anywhere else in Africa and very little is known of their origin...

The first settlements of the Himba people can be traced back to the early 16th century when they crossed the Angolan border and chose Kaokoland (nowadays called Kunene region) as their new homeland. At that time, the word Himba did not exist because they had not yet separated themselves from the Herero tribe. At the end of the 19th century, Namibia was plagued by a relentless bovine epidemic. Most...

The Ghomara are a group of tribes in northern Morocco, living between the rivers Oued Laou and Ouringa, east of Chefchaouen and south of Tetouan, in the Western Rif. The river Tiguisas runs through their territory. Originally, Ghomaras was a Berber tribal group belonging to the Masmuda confederacy. While most have shifted to speaking Arabic, a minority continue to speak the Berber Ghomara language...

Baganda tribes are called as Kings Men because of the significant role of their king-the Kabaka in their political, social and cultural institution. The Kabaka ruled over a hierarchy of chiefs who collected taxes in the form of food and livestock. All of the portions received are distributed through the hierarchy, eventually reaching the Kabaka’s palace in the form of taxes.

The Banyankole is located in south-western Uganda. The Mugabe [king] was an absolute ruler. He claimed all the cattle throughout the country as his own. Chiefs were ranked by the number of cattle they possessed.

Tutsi, also called Batusi, Tussi, Watusi, or Watutsi, ethnic group of probable Nilotic origin, whose members live within Rwanda and Burundi. The Tutsi formed the traditional aristocratic minority in both countries, constituting about 9 percent and 14 percent of the population, respectively. The Tutsis’ numbers in Rwanda were greatly reduced by a government-inspired genocidal campaign against them...

The Ijaws are a collection of people that are indigenous to the Niger Delta in Nigeria. And owing to the affinity they have with water, a good number of them are found as migrant fishermen in camps as far west as Sierra Leone and as far east as Gabon. With a population of over fourteen million, the Ijaws are unarguably the most populous tribe inhabiting the Niger Delta region and arguably the four...

The Igala are one of the many ethnic groups attributed to Nigeria’s cultural diversity. They are the 7th largest ethnicity in Nigeria. The Igala Kingdom was so large, it expanded down to the Benue and Niger rivers. Today, the Igala are found in the present-day local governments of Dekina, Bassa, Ajaka, Ofu, Ibaji, Lokoja, Ajaokuta, Omaha, Ankpa, Olamaboro, and Idah of the present-day Kogi state. I...

Bekwarra is a tribe of people domiciled in a 306 sq2 of land mass with unique and rich cultural practices like every other tribe in the paradise state. With a population of about 150,000 (2006 census), it boasts as one of the most populated local government area in the state. They have a unique language called Bekwarra. The word Bekwarra is both a name of a tribe, their language and a name of a lo...

The Afemai, also spelled Afenmai, are an ethnic group living in the northern part of Edo State south geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Afemai people occupy six local government areas of Edo state: Etsako West, with headquarters in Auchi, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Owan East, Owan West and Akoko Edo. These make up the Edo-North Senatorial District.

The Suri are an Agro-pastoral people that inhabit part of the Suri woreda, West Omo Zone of the South Western Ethiopia peoples regional state in Ethiopia, while the other live partly in neighbouring South Sudan. Suri is a collective name for three groups of – Suri Chai, Timaga, and Suri Baale –they are politically, territorially culturally the same. They all speak "South East Surmic" languages wit...

Hamar people are a community inhabiting southwestern Ethiopia. They live in Hamer woreda a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations. They consist of over 46,532 people. They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle.

The Kalabari is a tribe of the Ijaw people of Rivers state living in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Kalabari people are ijaw speaking settlers who came from the Bini fringes of Ijaw land from the lineage of a man called Mein Owei.

The Afizere people are an ethnic group that occupy Jos East, Jos North, parts of Jos South Local Government Areas of Plateau State and parts of Toro and Tafewa Balewa local government Areas of Bauchi state, Nigeria. The Afizere are speakers of Izere Language. they are surrounded by the Berom to the west, Mwaghavul in Mangu to the south, Anaguta people to the northwest.

Situated in the present day Rivers and Akwa Ibom state, the Adoni people are a part of the Ijaw tribe and known to be related to the Annang, Ibibio and Efik people of Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State in Nigeria. According to some historians, evidence of traditional history shows that the Andoni are descended from Ayama the son of Tara (Tarakiri) who was left with Kala-Okun at Igbedi creek.

The Igede culture is perhaps one of the most fascinating cultures in Nigeria. Exceptionally proud of their native heritage, the Igede people have preserved many of their ancestors' traditions, a number of them present in their a mixture of elaborate traditional tales, artistic expressions, music, and varied cultural elements. Like any other society, Igede people reveal their customs, traditions, b...

anda, also called Baganda, or Waganda, people inhabiting the area north and northwest of Lake Victoria in south-central Uganda. They speak a Bantu language—called Ganda, or Luganda—of the Benue-Congo group. The Ganda are the most numerous people in Uganda and their territory the most productive and fertile.

Mpondo, also spelled Pondo, group of Nguni-speaking peoples who have for several centuries occupied the area between the Mtata and Mtamvuna rivers in Eastern province of South Africa. The Mpondo homeland formed one of the largest parts of the former Transkei (until 1994), an independent republic that was established under the South African government’s policy of apartheid but was dissolved and rei...