Transcript Bantu Migration

By the Experts: Shilpa
Jais, Haley Fisher,
Signy Jackson, and
Walker Little
Block 3/4
Bantu Migration
The Move
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Where: All over Africa!
When: 1000 B.C.
What: Bantu Migration
How: Probably walking or camel
Why: No one knows!
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Population to big
Disagreements between people
Climate change
Find a better place
“It’s too hot!
Let’s move
somewhere
else!”
Time and Homeland
• Around 1000 B.C the Bantu Migration
began.
• Over a period of 1000 years, groups moved
away from their homeland which is now
Cameroon.
• Bantu Migration Map
Bantu Migration
• There are more than 60 million people who
speak Bantu as their native language.
• They live primarily in the regions that straddle the
equator and continue southward into southern
Africa where it is believed they migrated to.
• This migration continued until around the 3rd or
4th century AD.
Bantu Migration (cont’d)
• They are known as the Eastern Bantu and the Western
Bantu.
• The Eastern Bantu migrated to Zimbabwe, Mozambique
and down into South Africa.
• The Western Bantu migrated into Angola, Namibia, and
parts of Botswana.
• Currently the Bantu are known more as a language group
than as a distinct ethnic group.
• Swahili is the most widely spoken Bantu language and is
considered the lingua franca of around 50 million people
living in the countries along the east coast of Africa.
Bantu Migration (cont’d)
• Anthropologists have studied this phenomenon
and believe there are several possibilities for its
occurrence.
• It may have been due to a growing population
in ancient times, which increased the need for
more food.
• It was around this time that the banana, which is
native to Asia, was introduced in southern Africa.
• Another important occurrence in the history of
the Bantu is a split that created two major
language families.
Accomplishments
• This migration was the largest in
history.
• The Bantu people settled in subSaharan Africa
• They also influenced two-thirds of
African language.
Bantu Culture
• Most people were hunter-gatherers,
but the Bantu could harvest wild
plants, and tend animals.
• Bantu culture also included making
pots from clay. This is important
because it affected the way food was
stored and cooked.
Bantu Culture (continued)
• By the end of the first millennium divisions
had formed.
• Since there was now wealth, there was a
division between the rich and the poor.
• Likewise between men and women.
What’s the Big Deal?
• They were the first to develop
language and provides a clue when
tracing the developments in Africa’s
civilization.
• They were the first farmers and
cattle-keepers
• One of the greatest mass movement
of people in history
• Its on your CRCT
The Ethnic Groups of the
Bantu
• The ethnic groups of the Eastern Bantu include:
– Xhosa
– Zulu
– Kikuyu
– Shona
• The ethnic groups of the Western Bantu include:
– Herero
– Tonga
– Bunyoro
– Banyankole
Questions?
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