Konjo people

Konjo people
Bakonzo
Rwenzururu flag
Traditional wear of the Bakonzo
Total population
1,464,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Rwenzori Mountains of southwest Uganda
 Uganda1,118,000
 DRC346,000
Languages
Konjo, English
Religion
Christianity, Islam and Traditional African religions
Related ethnic groups
Nande people and other Bantu peoples

The Konjo, BaKonzo (pl. Bakonzo, sing. Mukonzo), or Konzo, are a Bantu ethnic group located in the Rwenzori region of Southwest Uganda in districts that include; Kasese, Bundibugyo, Bunyangabu and Ntoroko districts.[2]

The Bankonzo are also known as the Bayiira or Banande or Abanyarwenzururu and they are composed of 14 Clans and different totems. (Ebihanda 14 ebyaba'yiira n'emitsiro).[2][3][4]

They speak the Konjo language and practice traditional religions, Islam and Christianity. Konzo speakers also live on the Western slopes of the Rwenzori range in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[5][2][6]

Numbering 850,646 in the 2014 census, they live on the plains, hills and mountain sloping up to an altitude of 2,200 meters in the Rwenzori Mountains.[7] Traditionally agriculturalists[8] and animal husbanders, they farm yams, beans, sweet potatoes, peanuts, soy beans, potatoes, rice, wheat, cassava, coffee, bananas, Cocoa and cotton, while keeping goats, sheep, and poultry.[9][2][10][8][6][11]

  1. ^ "Konzo people group in all countries | Joshua Project".
  2. ^ a b c d "What a name tells you about a Mukonzo". Monitor. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Bakonzo Hold Talks Over Rwenzururu". New Vision. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  5. ^ "Konjo: A language of Uganda", Ethnologue (accessed 7 June 2009)
  6. ^ a b "Bakonjo-Bamba People- Rwenzori National Park". 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  7. ^ "The Bakonjo and Bamba". Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  8. ^ a b "Basongora-Bakonzo wrangle: A looming tribal bloodbath?". Monitor. 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  9. ^ "The Impact of Adventism on Bakonzo Culture". encyclopedia.adventist.org. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  10. ^ "Bakonzo cry foul as army's Rwenzori operation bites". Monitor. 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  11. ^ "The return of Rwenzururu; the kingdom of the hills". The EastAfrican. 2009-11-14. Retrieved 2023-03-25.