Kamba people
The Kamba or Akamba people are Bantu peoples ethnic group who predominantly live in Kenya stretching from Nairobi to Tsavo and northwards to Embu, in the southern part of the former Eastern Province. This land is called Ukambani and constitutes Makueni County, Kitui County and Machakos County. They also form the second largest ethnic group in 8 counties including Nairobi and Mombasa counties.
Origin
The Kamba people are of Bantu origin and they are originally believed to have originated from the Congo Basin region of Central Africa before their migration to Kenya. They are also known as the 'Akamba People.' They are closely related in language and culture to the Kikuyu, the Embu, the Mbeere and the Meru of whom together they form the GEMA community, and to some extent relate closely to the Kambe and the Giriama of the Kenyan coast. The Kambas are concentrated in the lowlands of southeast Kenya from the vicinity of Mount Kenya to the coast.The first group of Kamba people settled in the present-day Mbooni Hills in the Machakos District of Kenya. This was in the second half of the 17th century, before spreading to Machakos, Makueni and Kitui Districts.
Some authorities suggest that they arrived in their present lowlands east of the Mount Kenya area of habitation from earlier settlements further to the north and east. Others argue that the Kamba, along with their closely related Eastern Bantu neighbours the Kikuyu, the Embu, the Mbeere and the Meru, moved into Kenya from points further south.
Distribution
Most of the Akamba people live in Kenya, and are concentrated in the lower eastern counties of Machakos, Kitui, and Makueni.According to the national census of 2019, there were 4,663,910 Akamba people in Kenya, being the fifth-most populous tribe in the country. Machakos is the most populous of the three Ukambani counties, with 1,421,932 residents. This is followed by Kitui then Makueni. They make up the second largest ethnic demographics in each of the urban city - counties of Nairobi and Mombasa as well as Taita–Taveta, Kiambu, Muranga, Kirinyaga, Kwale and Kilifi counties. They also form the third largest ethnic group in Embu, Garissa, Meru and Kajiado counties. In Embu county the Kamba live in Mbeere South region and in Taita–Taveta County they are mainly concentrated in the Taveta region. They share a border with the Maasai people and are literally separated by the Kenya-Uganda railway from Athi-River to Kibwezi. Up until late 20th Century the Maasai and the Akamba communities were involved in persistent cattle-rustling and pasture conflicts especially on the pasture-rich Konza plains. This attracted the interest of colonial government who created Cooperative Society and the later the establishment of Konza, Potha and Malili Ranches where the proposed Konza Technology City sits.
Kamba people outside of Kenya
Apart from Kenya, Kamba people can also be found in Uganda, Tanzania and in Paraguay. The population of Akamba in Uganda is about 8,280, 110,000 in Tanzania and about 10,000 in Paraguay.The Kamba people in the South American country of Paraguay form two groups: Kamba Cuá and Kamba Kokue with the former being the most famous. They arrived in Paraguay as member enslaved soldiers of a regiment of 250 spearmen, men and women, who accompanied General Jose Gervasio Artigas, in his exile in Paraguay in 1820. The Kamba Cuá are famous for their African traditional ballet that is described as the "central cultural identity of the Afro-Paraguayan community".
Language
The Kamba speak the Kamba language as a mother tongue. It belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Kikamba has no letters c, f, j, r, x, q and p in its alphabet.The Swahili language reveals closer ties to the Akamba mother tongue, this being due to the various interactions of the Akamba people with Arab traders for centuries.
Economy
Like many Bantus, the Akamba were originally hunters and gatherers but later became long distance traders because of their knowledge of the expansive area they inhabited. They also had good relations with neighbouring communities as well as excellent communication skills. They would go on to later adopt subsistence farming and pastoralism due to the availability of the new lands that they came to occupy.Today, the Akamba are often found engaged in different professions: some are agriculturalists, others are traders, while others have taken up formal jobs. The Kamba also practiced Barter trade with the Kikuyu, Maasai, Meru and Embu people in the interior and the Mijikenda and Arab people of the coast.
Over time, the Akamba extended their commercial activity and wielded economic control across the central part of the land that was later to be known as Kenya, from the Indian Ocean in the east to Lake Victoria in the west, and all the way up to Lake Turkana on the northern frontier. The Akamba traded in locally produced goods such as sugar cane wine, ivory, brass amulets, tools and weapons, millet, and cattle. The food obtained from trading helped offset shortages caused by droughts and famines experienced in their Kamba land.
They also traded in medicinal products known as 'Miti', made from various parts of the numerous medicinal plants found on the Southeast African plains. Maingi Ndonye Mbithi, commonly referred by his peers and locals as Kanyi, from Kimutwa village in Machakos was known for his concoction of herbs mixed with locally fermented brew with the ability to heal cancerous boils. The Akamba are still known for their fine work in wood carving, basketry and pottery and the products. Their artistic inclination is evidenced in the sculpture work that is on display in many craft shops and galleries in the major cities and towns of Kenya.
In the mid-eighteenth century, a large number of Akamba pastoral groups moved eastwards from the Tsavo and Kibwezi areas to the coast. This migration was the result of extensive drought and lack of pasture for their cattle. They settled in the Mariakani, Kinango, Kwale, Mombasa West and Mombasa North areas of the coast of Kenya, creating the beginnings of urban settlement. They are still found in large numbers in these towns, and have been absorbed into the cultural, economic and political life of the modern-day Coast Province. Several notable businessmen and women, politicians, as well as professional men and women are direct descendants of these itinerant pastoralists.
History
Colonialism and the 19th century
In the latter part of the 19th century the Arabs took over the coastal trade from the Akamba, who then acted as middlemen between the Arab and Swahili traders and the tribes further upcountry. Their trade and travel made them ideal guides for the caravans gathering elephant tusks, precious stones and some slaves for the Middle Eastern, Indian, and Chinese markets. Early European explorers also used them as guides in their expeditions to explore Southeast Africa, due to their wide knowledge of the land and neutral standing with many of the other societies they traded with.During the colonial era, British colonial officials considered the Kamba to be the premier martial race and sharp-shooters of Africa. The Kamba themselves appeared to embrace this label by enlisting in the colonial army in large numbers. After confidently describing the Kamba serving in the King's African Rifles as loyal "soldiers of the Queen" during the Mau Mau Emergency, a press release by the East Africa Command went on to characterize the Kamba as a "fighting race." These sentiments were echoed by other colonial observers in the early 1950s who deemed the Kamba a hardy, virile, courageous, and "mechanically-minded tribe." Considered by many officers to be the "best material in Africa," the Kamba supplied the KAR with askaris at a rate that was three to four times their percentage of the overall Kenyan population.'
The Kamba people successfully resisted an attempt by the British colonialists to seize their livestock in an obnoxious livestock control legislation in 1938. They peacefully fought the British until the law was repealed.Among the Akamba people, lack of rain is considered an event requiring ritual intervention. As a result, they perform a ritual rain making dance called Kilumi. It is a healing rite designed to restore environmental balance through spiritual blessings, movement, offering, and prayers. According to Akamba, Kilumi has been present since the very beginning of Kamba existence. This ritual emphasizes symbolic dance movements as a key force in achieving the goal of the ceremony. The heart of the dance ritual is its spiritual essence; in fact, it is the spiritual aspect that distinguishes the dances of Africans and their descendants worldwide. For this reason, it is important to understand the nature of rituals. Dance rituals take participants on a journey; they are designed to foster a transformation moving them to different states, with the ultimate goal of invoking spiritual intervention to resolve the problem at hand.
Akamba resistance to colonial "pacification" was mostly non-violent in nature. Some of the best known Akamba resistance leaders to colonialism were: Syokimau, Syotune wa Kathukye, Muindi Mbingu, and later Paul Ngei, JD Kali, and Malu of Kilungu. Ngei and Kali were imprisoned by the colonial government for their anti-colonial protests. Syotune wa Kathukye led a peaceful protest to recover cattle confiscated by the British colonial government during one of their raiding expeditions on the local populations.
Muindi Mbingu was arrested for leading another protest march to recover stolen land and cattle around the Mua Hills in Masaku district, which the British settlers eventually appropriated for themselves. JD Kali, along with Paul Ngei, joined the Mau Mau movement to recover Kenya for the Kenyan people. This movement took place between 1952 and 1960. He was imprisoned in Kapenguria during the fighting between the then government and the freedom fighters.