Segeju people

Segeju
Asagidzu[1]
Total population
<25,000 (2012)[2]
Regions with significant populations
 Tanzania18,688 (1969)[3]
 Kenya8,000 (2012)[2][a]
Languages
Segeju, Digo, Swahili[3]
Religion
Predominantly Islam[5]
Related ethnic groups
Dhaiso, Kamba, Mijikenda, Shirazi, Swahili, other Bantu peoples[1]
  1. ^ In Kenya, the Segeju are considered a part of the Digo people on official censuses. As such, the true number of Kenyan Segeju is unknown.[4][2]

The Segeju (Swahili: Wasegeju; Mijikenda: Asagidzu) are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group mostly based in Tanzania's Tanga Region (particularly Mkinga District) and Kenya's Kwale County.[1][5] Most Segeju reside in the small coastal strip between the Tanzanian city of Tanga and the Kenyan-Tanzanian border. However, some Segeju have migrated to urban areas in other parts of Tanzania or Kenya (e.g. Mombasa), in hopes of better employment opportunities and quality of life. Segeju migration to urban areas often results in severance of community ties, leading to a lack of transmission of important cultural traditions and language.[4][1]

In 2012, the Segeju population was estimated to number fewer than 25,000,[2] with fewer than 7,000 speaking the Segeju language.[3][6] The Segeju have kinship relations with the Digo people, who are part of the nine tribes of the Mijikenda.[4] Additionally, the Segeju have affines with the nearby Swahili and Shirazi.[1] As a result, many Segeju have adopted the Swahili and Digo languages as mediums for wider communication.[3]

  1. ^ a b c d e Walsh, Martin (1 January 2013). Gearhart, Rebecca; Giles, Linda (eds.). "The Segeju Complex? Linguistic evidence for the precolonial making of the Mijikenda". Contesting Identities: The Mijikenda and Their Neighbors in Kenyan Coastal Society. Africa World Press: 22–51 – via ResearchGate.
  2. ^ a b c d "At the margins of Kenya's democracy | Pambazuka News". www.pambazuka.org. 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  3. ^ a b c d "Did you know Segeju is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  4. ^ a b c "Staying Segeju: Young Activist Researchers from an Indigenous East African People Fight Forced Integration Campaigns among Swahili Coast Communities". www.culturalsurvival.org. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  5. ^ a b "AFRICA | 101 Last Tribes - Segeju people". www.101lasttribes.com. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  6. ^ "Segeju". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2022-08-08.