.jpg) | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,488,691 (Kenya)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Kenya  Tanzania | |
| Languages | |
| Mijikenda • Swahili • English | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Pokomo, Chonyi, Digo, Giriama, Jibana, Swahili, other Bantu peoples |
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Mijikenda ("the Nine Tribes") are a group of nine related Bantu ethnic groups inhabiting the coast of Kenya, between the Sabaki and the Umba rivers, in an area stretching from the border with Tanzania in the south to the border near Somalia in the north. Archaeologist Chapuruka Kusimba contends that the Mijikenda formerly resided in coastal cities, but later settled in Kenya's hinterlands to avoid submission to dominant Portuguese forces that were then in control.[2] Historically, these Mijikenda ethnic groups have been called the Nyika or Nika by outsiders. It is a derogatory term meaning "bush people."
The nine Ethnic groups that make up the Mijikenda peoples are the Chonyi, Kambe, Duruma, Kauma, Ribe, Rabai, Jibana, Giriama, and Digo. The Digo are southern Mijikenda while the others are northern Mijikenda.[3] The Digo are also found in Tanzania due to their proximity to the common border.
- ^ "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ Gilbert, Erik; Reynolds, Jonathan T. (2008). Africa in World History: From Prehistory to The Present. Pearson Education, Limited. p. 229. ISBN 9780136154389.
- ^ Sperling, David Colton (1988). "The growth of Islam among the Mijikenda of the Kenya coast, 1826 - 1933". Strathmore University. p. 29. Retrieved 16 December 2013.