| Revision as of 15:38, 12 April 2010 editDenverbabushka (talk | contribs)43 edits proofreading/correction← Previous edit | Revision as of 22:41, 12 April 2010 edit undoMiddayexpress (talk | contribs)109,244 edits clarifying date of first resettlements to U.S. cities & extent of co-mingling; c/e; fmttingNext edit → | ||
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| Unlike ], most of whom are ]ic herders, Bantus are mainly sedentary ]. Sharp physical differences also distinguish the two groups: Bantus have kinkier hair than the soft-haired Somalis, and are shorter, darker, and more muscular with broader features.<ref name="UNHCR"></ref><ref name="Menkhaus"/> | Unlike ], most of whom are ]ic herders, Bantus are mainly sedentary ]. Sharp physical differences also distinguish the two groups: Bantus have kinkier hair than the soft-haired Somalis, and are shorter, darker, and more muscular with broader features.<ref name="UNHCR"></ref><ref name="Menkhaus"/> | ||
| All told, there has been little co-mingling |
All told, there has been very little co-mingling between the two populations. Intermarriage is also extremely rare, and typically results in ] the few times it does occur.<ref name="UNHCR"/><ref>www.brycs.org/documents/ft_BRYCS0392.pdf</ref> | ||
| ===Post-1991=== | ===Post-1991=== | ||
| During the ], many Bantu were evicted from their lands by various armed factions of ]s. Being visible minorities and possessing little in the way of firearms, the Bantu were particularly vulnerable to violence and looting by gun-toting militiamen.<ref name="UNHCR"/> | During the ], many Bantu were evicted from their lands by various armed factions of ]s. Being visible minorities and possessing little in the way of firearms, the Bantu were particularly vulnerable to violence and looting by gun-toting militiamen.<ref name="UNHCR"/> | ||
| Fearing war and famine, tens of thousands of Bantus fled to refugee camps like ] in neighboring ] with most vowing never to return to Somalia. In 2002, the ] moved a large number of Bantu refugees 1500km to ] because it was safer to process them for resettlement farther away from the Somali border.<ref></ref><ref name="Refugee Reports"/> | Fearing war and famine, tens of thousands of Bantus fled to refugee camps like ] in neighboring ] with most vowing never to return to Somalia. In 2002, the ] (IOM) moved a large number of Bantu refugees 1500km northwest to ] because it was safer to process them for resettlement farther away from the Somali border.<ref></ref><ref name="Refugee Reports"/> | ||
| ===Resettlement in the United States=== | ===Resettlement in the United States=== | ||
| ] from ]-] to ], the ] Bantus were transported on from their ancestral homes in southeastern Africa to ], and ultimately, the route many of them took to reach ].]] | ] from ]-] to ], the ] Bantus were transported on from their ancestral homes in southeastern Africa to ], and ultimately, the route many of them took to reach ].<ref name="UNHCR"/>]] | ||
| In 1999, the ] classified the Bantu refugees as a priority and the ] first began what has been described as the most ambitious resettlement plan ever from Africa, with thousands of Bantus scheduled for resettlement in America.<ref name="OOA"></ref> |
In 1999, the ] classified the Bantu refugees as a priority and the ] first began what has been described as the most ambitious resettlement plan ever from Africa, with thousands of Bantus scheduled for resettlement in America.<ref name="OOA"></ref> In 2003, the first Bantu immigrants began to arrive in U.S. cities, and by 2007, around 13,000 Bantu people had been resettled to the United States with the help of the ] (UNHCR), the U.S. State Department, and refugee resettlement agencies across the country.<ref name="OOA"/><ref>http://www.somalibantu.com/Bantu%20Denvor.htm</ref> | ||
| Among the resettlement |
Among the resettlement destinations, it is known that ] received about 1,000 Bantus. Other cities in the Southwest such as ], ], and ] have received a few thousand as well. In ], ] and ] have seen an influx of Bantus numbering in the hundreds. Plans to resettle the Bantu in smaller towns, such as ] and ], were scrapped after local protests. There are also communities of several hundred to 1000 Bantus in cities with high concentrations of ethnic ] such as the ] area,<ref>http://www.mtn.org/Video/news/somalistory.html</ref> ],<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-21-somali-bantu-cover_x.htm</ref> ],<ref>http://www.somalibantu.com/</ref><ref>http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2003-06/a-2003-06-06-44-1.cfm?moddate=2003-06-06</ref> ],<ref>http://www.sbantucofsd.org/</ref> ],<ref>http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2008/may/somali_bantu_refugees_celebrate_mothers_day.aspx</ref> and ],<ref>http://www.theirc.org/news/somali_bantu_to_arrive_in_seattle.html</ref> with a notable presence in ].<ref>http://wiki.colby.edu/display/AY298B/About+Us</ref> The documentary film, ], chronicles this journey, with stories of Bantu refugees resettled in ] and ].<ref></ref> | ||
| ===Return to ancestral home=== | ===Return to ancestral home=== | ||
Revision as of 22:41, 12 April 2010
Ethnic group Bantu farmers near Kismayo. | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Somalia | |
| Languages | |
| Bantu languages | |
| Religion | |
| Animism, Islam, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bantu peoples |
The Somali Bantu (also called Jareer or Gosha) are a minority ethnic group in Somalia. They primarily reside in southern Somalia, near the Juba and Shabelle rivers, and are the descendants of people from various Bantu ethnic groups originating from what are modern-day Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique who were sold into Somalia as part of the Arab slave trade in the 19th century. Bantus are ethnically, physically, and culturally distinct from Somalis, and have remained marginalized ever since their arrival in Somalia.
Those Bantu are not to be confused with the members of Swahili society in coastal towns, such as the Bajuni, who speak the Bantu Swahili language.
All in all, the number of Bantu and other Negroid inhabitants in Somalia before the civil war is thought to have been about 80,000 (1970 estimate), with most concentrated between the Juba and Shabelle rivers in the south. However, recent estimates place the figure as high as 900,000 persons.
Etymology
The term "Somali Bantu" is an ethnonym that was invented by humanitarian aid-supplying agencies shortly after the outbreak of the civil war in Somalia in 1991. Its purpose was to help the staff of these aid agencies better distinguish between, on the one hand, Bantu minority groups hailing from Somalia and thus in need of immediate humanitarian attention, and on the other hand, other Bantu groups from elsewhere in Africa that did not require immediate humanitarian assistance. The neologism further spread through the media, which repeated verbatim what the aid agencies' increasingly began indicating in their reports as the new name for Somalia's ethnically Bantu minorities. Prior to the civil war, the Bantu were simply referred to in the literature as Bantu, Gosha, Mushunguli or Jareer, as they still, in fact, are within Somalia proper.
History
The Indian Ocean slave trade was multi-directional and changed over time. To meet the demand for menial labor, black slaves captured by Arab slave traders were sold in cumulatively large numbers over the centuries to Egypt, Arabia, the Persian Gulf, India, the Far East, the Indian Ocean islands, Ethiopia and Somalia.
19th and 20th centuries
From 1800 to 1890, between 25,000–50,000 black African slaves are thought to have been sold from the slave market of Zanzibar to the Somali coast. Most of the slaves were from the Majindo, Makua, Nyasa, Yao, Zalama, Zaramo, and Zigua ethnic groups of Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi. Collectively, these Bantu groups are known as Mushunguli, which is a term taken from Mzigula, the Zigua tribe's word for "people" (the word holds multiple implied meanings including "worker", "foreigner", and "slave").
Bantu slaves were made to work in plantations owned by Somalis along the Shebelle and Jubba rivers, harvesting lucrative cash crops such as grain and cotton.
In the 1840s, the first fugitive slaves from the Shebelle valley began to settle in the Jubba valley. By the early 1900s, an estimated 35,000 former Bantu slaves settled there.
The Italian colonial administration abolished slavery in Somalia at the turn of the 20th century. Some Bantu groups, however, remained enslaved well until the 1930s, and continued to be despised and discriminated against by large parts of Somali society.
The Bantus were also conscripted to forced labor on Italian-owned plantations since the Somalis themselves were averse to what they deemed menial labor, and because the Italians viewed the Somalis as racially superior to the Bantu.
While upholding the perception of Somalis as distinct from and superior to the European construct of "black Africans", both British and Italian colonial administrators placed the Jubba valley population in the latter category. Colonial discourse described the Jubba valley as occupied by a distinct group of inferior races, collectively identified as the WaGosha by the British and the WaGoscia by the Italians. Colonial authorities administratively distinguished the Gosha as an inferior social category, delineating a separate Gosha political district called Goshaland, and proposing a "native reserve" for the Gosha.
Contemporary situation
Profile
Bantus simply refer to themselves as Bantu. While some speak the Somali language, most still speak their ancestral Bantu languages (e.g. Zigua) or a Bantu version of the southern Somali dialect of Af-Maay.
The majority of Bantus have converted to Islam, which they first began embracing in order to escape slavery. Some have also recently converted to Christianity. However, whether Muslim or Christian, many Bantu have retained their ancestral animist traditions, including the practice of possession dances and the use of magic and curses. Many of these religious traditions closely resemble those practised in Tanzania, similarities which also extend to hunting, harvesting and music, among other things.
Unlike Somalis, most of whom are nomadic herders, Bantus are mainly sedentary subsistence farmers. Sharp physical differences also distinguish the two groups: Bantus have kinkier hair than the soft-haired Somalis, and are shorter, darker, and more muscular with broader features.
All told, there has been very little co-mingling between the two populations. Intermarriage is also extremely rare, and typically results in ostracism the few times it does occur.
Post-1991
During the Somali Civil War, many Bantu were evicted from their lands by various armed factions of Somali clans. Being visible minorities and possessing little in the way of firearms, the Bantu were particularly vulnerable to violence and looting by gun-toting militiamen.
Fearing war and famine, tens of thousands of Bantus fled to refugee camps like Dadaab in neighboring Kenya with most vowing never to return to Somalia. In 2002, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) moved a large number of Bantu refugees 1500km northwest to Kakuma because it was safer to process them for resettlement farther away from the Somali border.
Resettlement in the United States
In 1999, the United States classified the Bantu refugees as a priority and the United States Department of State first began what has been described as the most ambitious resettlement plan ever from Africa, with thousands of Bantus scheduled for resettlement in America. In 2003, the first Bantu immigrants began to arrive in U.S. cities, and by 2007, around 13,000 Bantu people had been resettled to the United States with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the U.S. State Department, and refugee resettlement agencies across the country.
Among the resettlement destinations, it is known that Salt Lake City, Utah received about 1,000 Bantus. Other cities in the Southwest such as Denver, Colorado, San Antonio, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona have received a few thousand as well. In New England, Manchester, New Hampshire and Burlington, Vermont have seen an influx of Bantus numbering in the hundreds. Plans to resettle the Bantu in smaller towns, such as Holyoke, Massachusetts and Cayce, South Carolina, were scrapped after local protests. There are also communities of several hundred to 1000 Bantus in cities with high concentrations of ethnic Somalis such as the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Columbus, Ohio, Atlanta, San Diego, Boston, and Seattle, with a notable presence in Maine. The documentary film, Rain in a Dry Land, chronicles this journey, with stories of Bantu refugees resettled in Springfield, Massachusetts and Atlanta, Georgia.
Return to ancestral home
Prior to the agreement with the United States to accommodate Bantu refugees, attempts were made to resettle Bantus in their ancestral homes in southeastern Africa. Before the prospect of emigrating to America was brought up, this was actually the preference of the Bantus themselves. In fact, many Bantus voluntarily left the UN camps where they were staying to seek refuge in Tanzania. Such a return to their ancestral homeland represented the fulfillment of a two-century old dream.
While Tanzania was initially willing to grant the Bantus asylum, the UNCHR did not provide any financial or logistical guarantees to support the resettlement and integration of the Bantus into Tanzania. The Tanzanian authorities also experienced additional pressure when refugees from neighbouring Rwanda began pushing into the western part of the country, forcing them to retract their offer to accommodate the Bantus.
Mozambique, the other ancestral home of the Bantu, then emerged as an alternative point of resettlement. However, as it became clear that the United States itself was prepared to accommodate Bantu asylum seekers, the Mozambican government soon backed out on its promises, citing a lack of resources and potential political instability in the region where the Bantu might have been resettled.
By the late 2000s, the situation in Tanzania had improved, and the Tanzanian government began granting Bantus citizenship and allocating them land in areas of Tanzania where their ancestors are known to have been taken from as slaves.
See also
Notes
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, v.20, (Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.: 1970), p.897
- ^ Tanzania accepts Somali Bantus
- ^ Refugee Reports November 2002 Volume 23, Number 8
- L. Randol Barker et al., Principles of Ambulatory Medicine, 7 edition, (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: 2006), p.633
- ^ Bantu ethnic identities in Somalia
- Gwyn Campbell, The Structure of Slavery in Indian Ocean Africa and Asia, 1 edition, (Routledge: 2003), p.ix
- The Somali Bantu: Their History and Culture
- Henry Louis Gates, Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, (Oxford University Press: 1999), p.1746
- Catherine Lowe Besteman, Unraveling Somalia: Race, Class, and the Legacy of Slavery, (University of Pennsylvania Press: 1999), p. 120
- Somali Bantu - Religious Life
- ^ Refugees Vol. 3, No. 128, 2002 UNHCR Publication Refugees about the Somali Bantu
- www.brycs.org/documents/ft_BRYCS0392.pdf
- ^ Out of Africa: Somali Bantu and the Paradigm Shift in Refugee Resettlement
- http://www.somalibantu.com/Bantu%20Denvor.htm
- http://www.mtn.org/Video/news/somalistory.html
- http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-21-somali-bantu-cover_x.htm
- http://www.somalibantu.com/
- http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2003-06/a-2003-06-06-44-1.cfm?moddate=2003-06-06
- http://www.sbantucofsd.org/
- http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2008/may/somali_bantu_refugees_celebrate_mothers_day.aspx
- http://www.theirc.org/news/somali_bantu_to_arrive_in_seattle.html
- http://wiki.colby.edu/display/AY298B/About+Us
- Rain in a Dry Land
- Somali Bantus gain Tanzanian citizenship in their ancestral land
External links
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In the U.S.:
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