&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Question_book-new.svg){kind=small} | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2022) |
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Initiation_ritual_of_boys_in_Malawi.jpg) 9- to 10-year-old boys of the waYao tribe participating in circumcision and initiation rites (March 2005). | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,800,000 (2020)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Malawi | 2,321,763 (2018)[2] |
 Tanzania | 630,000 (2017)[3] |
 Mozambique | 450,000 (2020)[4] |
| Languages | |
| Chiyao, Kiswahili | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bantu peoples | |
| Person | 'Myao |
|---|---|
| People | WaYao |
| Language | chiYao |
| Country | Uyao[5] |
The Yao people (or WaYao) are a major Bantu ethnic and linguistic group living at the southern end of Lake Malawi. They played an important role in the history of Southeast Africa, notably in the 19th century. The Yao are a predominantly Muslim-faith group of about two million, whose homelands encompass the countries of Malawi, the north of Mozambique, and the Ruvuma and Mtwara Regions of Tanzania. The Yao have a strong cultural identity, transcending national borders.
- ^ "Tanzania Language Focus: What Do You Know About the Language Spoken in Tanzania?".
- ^ "2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census". www.nsomalawi.mw. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ "Yao". Ethnologue. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ "About the Yawo People – The I Am Yawo Project". Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ Steere, Edward (1872). "On East African Tribes and Languages". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 1: cxliii–cliv. doi:10.2307/2841297. JSTOR 2841297.