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Place in Society

Social Structures

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Many Bantu refugees can trace their origins back to ancestors in southeast African tribes who were enslaved in the 18^th century by agents of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. These ancestral tribes include, among others, the Makua and Yao of southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique; the Ngindo of southern Tanzania; the Nyasa of southern Tanzania, northern Mozambique, and northern Malawi; and the Zaramo and Zigua of northeast Tanzania. Other southeast African tribes represented among the Bantu refugees include the Digo, Makale, Manyawa, Nyamwezi, and Nyika.

The Bantu slated for resettlement, especially those who fled the once forested Juba River valley, are politely referred to as Wagosha ("people of the forest") or Jareer (term used to describe Africans with hard or kinky hair). Derogatory terms to describe the Somali Bantu include adoon and habash, which translate as "slave." Some Somalis also call the Bantu ooji, which in Italian means "today" and refers to the Somali's perception of the Bantu as lacking the ability to think beyond the moment. The Bantu refugees generally refer to themselves simply as the Bantu. Those who trace their origins to an east African tribe refer to themselves collectively as Shanbara, Shangama, or Wagosha. Those Bantu refugees with very strong cultural and linguistic ties to southeast Africa refer to themselves as Mushunguli or according to their east African tribe, such as Zigua. In Bantu languages, such as Swahili, people from the Zigua tribe are called Wazigua, while a single person from that tribe is called Mzigua. The word Mushunguli may have evolved from the word Mzigua.

Most scholars believe that the Wazigua are the founders of Goshaland along the Juba River, a safe haven for runaway slaves. Late in the 19^th century, Egypt, Zanzibar, Italy, and Britain recognized this haven as an independent entity. Although other gama (autonomous communities) later existed in Goshaland, the Wazigua remained as an autonomous society with a distinct political structure. That is probably why the Goshaland people are generally known by the name of their founders, the Wazigua. Until the 1920s, the Bantu people of Goshaland were divided into nine gama groups, which constituted the core of their confederation. They are Makale, Makua, Molema, Mushunguli (Zigua), Ngindo, Nyamwezi, Nyassa, Nyika, and Yao. Later, some of these groups were either assimilated into the indigenous Bantu/Jareer of the Shabelle River or incorporated into other Somali clans such as Biamal, Garre, Jiido, Shiqaal, and so on.

Prior to the civil war in Somalia in the late 1980s, the Zigua (Wazigua), who have maintained their ancestral southeast African culture and language more than any other ex-slave Bantu group, were also referred to as the Mushunguli. Since many Bantu groups in pre-war Somalia wished to integrate into the dominant clan structure, identifying oneself as a Mushunguli was undesirable. Once in the refugee camps, however, being a Mushunguli became desirable as resettlement to Tanzania and Mozambique was predicated on proving a connection to an east African tribe. In this regard, some Bantu refugees with ex-slave ancestry, whether or not they maintained their ancestral language and culture, adopted Mushunguli identification and Swahili language use to differentiate themselves from the other Somali Bantu groups. In order to avoid confusion for refugee resettlement professionals, however, the term Bantu will be used throughout this report.

The Bantu, therefore, have had to settle for the lowest and most undignified occupations.

Place in Society

Although there are today no reliable statistical sources, the Somali population is estimated at about 7.5 million people. Of that figure, the entire Bantu population in southern Somalia is estimated at about 600,000, and those with strong east African identification are estimated at a fraction of that number. The Bantu people are ethnically and culturally distinct from the Somali nomads and the coastal people, who generally disdain agriculture and value a tribal lineage system that does not include the Bantu.

Since independence in 1960, Somali governments have promoted the false notion that Somalia is a homogeneous nation, a claim reinforced by some Somali nomadic scholars and non-Somalis as well. The myth of homogeneity falsely represents Somalia's dominant nomadic culture and tradition as the nation's only culture and tradition. Somalia, in fact, is made up of diverse communities. Indeed, some experts estimate that up to one third of all Somalis are minorities, representing a variety of cultures, languages, and interpretations of the dominant Sunni Islamic religion.

The Bantu people's predominant Negroid physical features are distinct from those of the Somali nomads and give them a unique identity. Among the physical features used to differentiate the nomads from the Bantu is hair texture—jareer (kinky hair) for the Bantu people, and jilec (soft hair) for the non-Bantu. People with such features are subjected to a variety of discriminatory practices. They are often excluded from political, economic, and educational advancement. The Bantu, therefore, have had to settle for the lowest and most undignified occupations.

Excluded from mainstream Somali society, many Bantu have retained ancestral social structures.

Social Structures

Some Bantu populations still maintain the tribal identities of their ancestral country of origin. However, unlike the nomadic Somalis, who consider clan affiliation and tribal identification sacrosanct and critical to survival, most Bantu people identify themselves by their place of residence, which, for those with strong cultural ties to Tanzania, often corresponds to their ceremonial kin grouping. The Bantu slated for resettlement in the United States, therefore, place much less emphasis on Somali clan and tribal affiliations than do the non-Bantu Somalis who have been resettled in the United States. Other Bantu who lived in the vicinity of nomadic Somali clans (particularly those residing outside of the lower Juba River valley) integrated into the Somali nomadic clan system, which provided the Bantu with protection and a sense of identity with the nomads.

Discrimination against the Bantu in Somalia largely prevented them from intermarrying with other Somali groups and thus receiving the protection those clan affiliations normally bring. As the scholar Lee Cassanelli explains,

In Somali society, married women traditionally have served to link the clans of their fathers and brothers, to whom they always belong, with their husbands, to whom the children always belong. Most of the nomadic clans practiced some form of exogamy—marriage outside the clan—to help strengthen alliances with "outsiders." Wives were exchanged even between clans and clan sections that were prone to fight over water and pasture. These ties helped mediate disputes between clans, since there were always families with in-laws on the other side  who would have an interest in the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Discrimination against the Bantu was not confined to marriage alone, but engulfed every aspect of their lives. As a marginalized group, the Bantu lacked true representation in politics and access to government services, educational opportunities, and professional positions in the private sector. This exclusion also resulted in economic development policies and resource allocations that did not take into account Bantu wishes and priorities. The Bantu's lineage to slavery relegated them to second-class status—or worse—in pre-war Somalia. This overt discrimination also carried over to the Kenyan refugee camps, where the Bantu continued to experience discrimination from the other Somali groups.

Excluded from mainstream Somali society, many Bantu have retained ancestral social structures. For many of the Bantu from the lower Juba River valley, this means that their east African tribe of origin is the main form of social organization. For these Bantu, smaller units of social organization are broken down according to matrilineal kin groupings, which are often synonymous with ceremonial dance groupings. Bantu village and community composition normally follows the Bantu's east African tribal and kin groupings.

Many Bantu from the middle Juba River valley have lost their east African language and culture. These Bantu have attempted to integrate, usually as inferior members, into a local dominant Somali clan social structure. Like the Bantu from the lower Juba River valley, the Bantu from the middle Juba River valley also regard their village as an important form of social organization. Although Bantu with strong cultural and linguistic links to southeast Africa have been known to level sarcasm against those who attempted to assimilate into the dominant Somali clan culture and language, there is no real hostility between them. In fact, the war and refugee experience have worked to strengthen relationships between the various Bantu subgroups.

The Cultural Orientation Project--http://www.culturalorientation.net, for more information contact sanja@cal.org
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