1.1. The Location of Bende-land
According to the Rukwa Report by Rukwa Regional Office (2001), Rukwa Region has three administrative districts (wilaya), 21 divisions (tarafa), 82 wards (kata) and 385 villages (kijiji) (only the number of registered villages, but also unregistered villages exists).
| Districts (3) | Councilors (4) |
| Sumbawanga | urban rural |
| Nkansi | Nkansi |
| Mpanda | Mpanda |
Rukwa Region is located in the remote South-Western extreme of Tanzania between lakes Tanganyika and Rukwa. It occupies an area of 75, 250 sq. km between 5th and 9th latitude south and 30th and 33rd longitude east. It is one of the four regions which form the southern Highland zone. It is boarded by Zambia to the southwest, DRC to the west, Kigoma Region in the north and Tabora and Mbeya Regions to the northeast and southeast respectively. Mpanda District, in which Bende-land spreads, is found in the northern part of Rukwa Region.
Mpanda District within which Bende-land [kábhende]{1} is found has seven divisions, 29 wards, 135 villages. The number of households is 73,164. Bende-land spreads over three divisions and seven wards (2001 year). The following are the names of Divisions and Wards with the note of dominant tribes.
| Divisions | Wards | Dominant Tribes |
|---|---|---|
| Kashaulili | Kashaulili Nsemulwa Kawajense Shanwe Misunkumilo Ilembo | Fipa, Pimbwe, Ha, Nyamwezi, Bende, Tutsi, etc. |
| Kabungu | Mpandandogo Kabungu | Bende |
| Mwese | Mwese Katuma | Bende, Tutsi |
| Nsimbo | Nsimbo Urwira Mtapenda Ugala Kasokola Magamba Machimboni Stalike | Pimbwe, Bende, Tongwe, Rwira, Fipa |
| Mpimbwe | Mbede Mamba Usevya Kibaoni | Pimbwe |
| Inyonga | Inyonga Ilela Utende Ilunde | Nyamwezi, Rwira, Konongo |
| Karema | Karema Ikola | Bende, Holoholo, Taabwa |
Bende-land spreads mainly along two roads from Mpanda, i.e. one is from Mpanda to Karema, and the second is from Mpanda to Mwese (it reaches Lukoma, as in Map 1.). See the page "How to get Mahale NP".
Map 1.
There is some ambiguity of the border between Bende-land and Tongwe-land. Bende and Tongwe are very closely related tribes, which share almost the same language, although they call each language as theirs ([síbhendé] for Bende language, [sítongwé] for Tongwe language).
Bende people (people whose self-identification is Bende) are found in the area which is almost the same as
the spread of Mpanda District, on the other hand Tongwe people (people whose selfidentification is Tongwe) are found in two areas; one is out of Rukwa Region, i.e. the lakeshore of Tanganyika where belongs to Kigoma Region where is found today Mahale National Park), the other is the mountainous area between Mpandandogo and Uvinza, where spreads both Rukwa and Kigoma Region. The north border of Tongwe-land is the River Malagarasi, the west border is the Lake Tanganyika, and the east border is the River Ugalla, but the south border remains ambiguous, where must be the border with Bende-land. On this topic we will discuss later (in 1.2.5).
1.2. Who are Bende people?
1.2.1. The Earlier Literature
The population of Rukwa Region was 694,974 according to National Population Census of 1988. Within them the population of Mpanda District was 256,487. The population of Bende people is estimated to be about 27,000 by SIL-Tanzania (1999), although there is no census conducted by criteria of tribes.
Map 2.
In the written history very little data is available about Bende. Since there is little data of the history of Bende, we can only imagine that the history of Bende people might be related with the neighboring tribe, Fipa. According to Kimambo and Temu (1967, p.23), the first rulers of Fipa were recorded as MLANSI family who came from the southwest between 1675 and 1725. However, no description has been found about Bende people during this period.
The following description which is related with Bende in Kimambo and Temu (1967, p.77) is about the Ngoni invasions soon after 1840. As well as Fipa-land, the south and the west of the Kimbu -- Konongo, Bende, Pimbwe, Bungu, Nyiha -- were also deeply affected by the growth of long-distance trade, the spread of firearms, and the Ngoni invasions (see Map2).
The next historical incident of the period of the expeditions led further afield during 1870 -- 1884 by a Nyamwezi ruler MIRAMBO. The territory spread as far as Buha (i.e. Ha-land), Burundi (i.e. Rundi-land), to the west Vinza and Tongwe, to the south Pimbwe and Konongo, to the east Nyaturu, Iramba and Sukuma, and to the north Sukuma and Sumbwa (see Map 2., Kimambo and Temu, 1967, p.75). Among these tribes, Tongwe has had very close relationships with Bende as was mentioned before. We can imagine the description of Tongwe includes Bende. They suffered the similar fate until German invasions in 1890's.
The another note on Bende on this period is found in Stanley (1878), when he passed the today¡Çs Bende-Tongwe land, on the way of exploration to go to Ujiji to look for Livingstone. In his description the place is called as ¡Èkabendi¡Éwhich can be interpreted as [kábhendé], i.e. Bende-land in Bende language. (Itani, 1984)
1.2.2. Who are Bende people? In the interview with Mwami Beda
In 2001 "A Brief History of Bende told by Mtemi Beda" was recorded by Waters (2001). According Mtemi Beda (in Bende "Mwami". A Mwami is one of traditional chiefs of Bende and Tongwe-land), Bende History was told as following. (Waters 2001, translated and revised by Y.A.)
1) Origin
Bende is a small tribe living in Mpanda District, Rukwa. Bende-land spreads to the west end of the District. It is said that Bende came from Kigoma Region many centuries ago. Thus Bende people are originally from hunters of Ha people.
First Bende people arrived at the land which is called Ushambo, where is found between today's Mwese and Katuma.
Bende people can be divided into four groups according to clans.
[1] (m-wa){2} Tinta group: Bende people who came from Ibungu (Today's Mbeya Region).
[2] (m-wa) Tahya group: A group which came from Today¡Çs DRC.
[3] (m-wa) Jombe group: A group which came from Burundi passing through Mhambwe area where Kibondo town (Kigoma Region) is.
[4] (m-wa) Ng'ondo and Twambo: These groups came from Ha-land of Kigoma Region.
2) The Reins of Clans
Bende people used to live by small groups, each of which was ruled by Mwami. The ruled areas were Kabungu, Katuma, Mishamo and Kalya. These areas are divided by rivers.
3) Lives
Bende people originally did not have villages. They used to live far each other and move a lot. They did not live in one place for a long time.
4) Occupations
For Bende people, hunting and beekeeping and agriculture are the main occupations. In the dry season they burn the forest, and the rain season they begin to cultivate (fire-agriculture: annotated by Y.A.). Their main products are; maize, beans, sorghums, finger millets, peanuts and sweet potatos. In 1920's cassave (called muhogo mchungu) has been brought by a white man from Kigoma.
5) Chiefships
The characteristics of Bende people is their chief ships, whose chiefs are called [mwâmi (sg.), bhâ:mi (pl.)]. Mwami is a leader of whole matters of his people. Mwami's works are to offer prayers for the spirits, asking for relief of hunger, diseases, lack of rain and so on.
The areas of chief ships are following;
| Areas | Names of Mwami |
|---|---|
| Uhanda (Mpanda and the near) | Beda Fudikula Milambo |
| from Katuma to Usambwa | Mkanya |
| Katuma | Sipwela |
| Bhusyamba(from Katuma to Mpembe) | Lutangasya |
| Mishamo | Kulufya |
| Ugalla | Nsokolo |
| Utanda | Lukandamila Katambilila Msansya |
| Bugwe (Mwikango'mbe) | Lukandamila Kapalamsenga Pandashalo |
| Usimbili | Kabunda |
The data above are needed to be updated patry. As I(Abe, Y.) have interviewd in Bende land by myself, the newest data are as follows;
*In some areas Mwami has not been elected, and Mutwale does Mwami's work as an attorney. The Mutwale will be nominated as a Mwami when he comes to a head enough.
| Area | Name of the Chief |
|---|---|
| bhuhanda (Mpanda and the near) | Beda Fudikula Milambo(Mwami) |
| Bhutinta(from Katuma to Usambwa area) | Kasandalala(Mutwale) |
| Landamilumba(Katuma) | Kamaji(Mutwale) |
| Bhusyamba(from Katuma to Mpembe) | Lutangasya(Mwami, dead in 2001), nobody has been elected until today |
| Mishamo | Kulufya |
| Ugalla | Nsokolo |
| Bhutanda | Lukandamila Katambilila Msansya |
| Bhughwe-South(Mwikang'ombe) | Lukandamila Kapalamsenga Mpandashalo(Mwami, dead) |
| Bhughwe-North(Mwikang'ombe) | ? |
| Bhusimbili | Kabunda |
1.2.3. Who are Bende People? In the interviews with Bende people in Katuma village.
Their general recognition on the origin of Bende is that they are the mixture of some tribes, especially from Ha tribe, and some of them came over from Congo side of the Lake Tanganyika, although Congo origin people are more among Tongwe people.
Their impression on Bende and Tongwe is that they hold one same language and one same culture. They insist Bende and Tongwe people speak "almost" the same language, although Tongwe language has slight different vocabulary especially for foods.
e.g.) the difference in vocabulary in Bende (Bd.) and Tongwe (Tg.)
| beans | [munyé:gha](Bd.) [kabhê:nga](Tg.) |
| cassava | [múhoghó](Bd.) [mumbáti](Tg. vocabulary from Ha) |
| mortar | [î:tulí](Bd.) [sî:nyu](Tg.) |
One of the common cultures of Bende and Tongwe is the clan system (in Bende and Tongwe [múlahílo]). It tells us partly about their origins. Among Bende and Tongwe people, there are almost 20 clans, some of them are Ha origin, and others are Congo origin. More Bende are from Ha origin clans, and more Tongwe are from Congo origin clans. But in fact, there are also Bende people of Congo origin clans.
Clan names of each person are required to know in each community. At the time of traditional greeting [kúsesya], the younger claps hands in the squatting position, and the elder has to tell him/her [mwa <CLAN NAME>]. Another function of clans is that each clan has its taboo [músiló]. For example, clan "Múlonga" cannot eat giant-rats, and so on.
The clan names which were collected are following. Each clan of Congo origin is known from which tribe they came, although not all.
Múlahílo (* are dominant clans in Katuma village)
| Ha origin clans | Congo origin clans |
| Kabhúje Kálindo Kasá:la *Lúbhendé *Lúhinda Mpáhó *Mukwála{3} Mukasa Ndúbhúlá Nkólóngó Ntá:mbí |
Ikúnda *Mukwála Mulengo{4} Múlongá{5} Mujonga{6} Mutá:hia Mughánsa{7} Ngélá{8} |
Bende-land is divided into smaller "countries" [síhughó] in each of which a chief [mwâmi] ruled, although nowadays many chiefs are abolished or are not nominated by people any more. Near Katuma there spreads Bhusondo, Bhujombe and Bhusyamba (in which today's Katuma village is found). In Bhusondo a [múlahílo] [Lúbhendé] is dominant, in Bhujombe both [Ntámbi] and [Lúbhendé] are dominant, in Bhusiámba [Lúhinda] is dominant. It does not mean however that there must be a particular [múlahílo] in a country, but the dominancy of clans in each country is only the tendency.
1.2.4. Who are Bende People? In the Interview with a Tongwe Male (54 years) of Kisato village near Uvinza.
According to the informant, Bende and Tongwe people are even one same tribe. All of them were originally called Tongwe, but there arose a land (country) called the Bende-land [kábhendé], and people living there began to call themselves as Bende.
1.2.5. Analysis and Conclusions
Considering all the various versions of explanation, I conclude that there existed vast mountainous woodland, which spreads in the Kigoma-Uvinza-Mpanda-Katuma area. The whole area was probably called as Tongwe. The characteristics of this tribe are that they were tied together by almost 20 clans [múhahílo].
Map 3. The distribution of Bende and Tongwe
Tongwe people used to have a traditional religion, but at the time of Arab merchants' invasion many of them converted into Muslims, since Kigoma-Ujiji was the center of Arabic merchants. We can see Arab merchants' trace that Tongwe people tend to translate [mwâmi] as [sulutani](sultan), when they explain it, while Bende people translate it as "mtemi" (chief, king).
People who called themselves Bende probably have come out from Tongwe people. I suppose so, since Tongwe are divided into two groups today (I call them Tongwe A and B). Bende people might have developed their identity in the time of Catholic missionary from Karema to Mpanda, and in the time of Germany and British rules. This is probably the reason why Catholicism is dominant among Bende people today.
If we look at their language, Bende and Tongwe languages have a few differences in vocabulary (in vocabulary for foods; the impression of Bende people, see 1.2.3., in vocabulary for animals; Itani, 1984) and in my own survey some differences in conjugations were confirmed, but it may still be called as one language and has two varieties (dialects). If we look at their culture, Bende and Tongwe people hold same rituals and clan systems. There is no doubt that they have the same origin. Today, Tongwe have been completely divided into two, because of the development of Bende people and the invasion of Hutu and Tutsi refugees from Kigoma into Mishamo from the middle of 20th century. Tongwe B people are recognized by Bende people as "a part of Bende" although their identity is still Tongwe. The border of Tongwe A and Bende is almost same as the Regional border of Rukwa and Kigoma, i.e. the River Luega.
The reason of such confusion of Bende and Tongwe is supposed that the tribe has the plural chief system unlike other neighboring tribes such as Pimbwe, Fipa and Konongo. Each of these tribes has only one chief in one time, but among Bende-Tongwe, there have been plural chiefs from the old days. The system is supposed to cause the natural isolations of their one language and one culture.
2.1. The outline of Bende language (Kibende, Síbhende)
2.1.1. The classification
The Bantu Classification by Guthrie (Guthrie, 1967) classifies Bende as F.10 (F.12). According to his classification, the closest languages are Tongwe (F.11) and Fipa (F.13). But Fipa is also classified as M.13 by Bryan (Bryan, 1959). Actually it is supposed that Fipa is better to be classified as M.13, if we look at the linguistic factors, such as augment vowels of noun (Fipa has augment vowels in default forms of a noun, on the other Bende doesn't).
2.1.2. The number of speakers
Every publication shows slightly different numbers of speakers of this language, probably because of difficulty in conducting a survey. Bryan(1959) shows that the number of Bende speakers is 6,827, and Legere (1992) shows the number was 8,836 in 1948 and was 8,269 in 1967. The most reliable number is 27,000 indicated in Liddle and Liddle(1999) in the latest sociolinguistic survey.
2.2. Bende varieties
As we mentioned before, two varieties of the language are recognized. One is spoken inland of Bende-land, quite far from Lake Tanganyika, in the more mountainous area. The typical sample of the variety is spoken in Katuma village. We will call it Bende dialect. The other is spoken along the lake Tanganyika and from Mpandandogo to Uvinza. The typical sample of this variety is also called "Tongwe language", but we will call it Tongwe dialect. But there is still no general name for the Bende-Tongwe language.
The other varieties of Bende language are recognized according to generations. One is called "kibende ndani" and the other is "kibende cha kisasa". The former is spoken by elder generation and people of remote villages and recognized as more formal and traditional Bende language. The latter is spoken by younger generation and people of larger villages, and recognized that it holds many Swahili loan words.
Bryan, M.A. 1959. The Bantu Languages of Africa, Oxford University Press for the IAI, London
Guthrie, Malcolm. 1967. The Classification of the Bantu Language, Dawsons of Pall Mall, London
Itani, Jun'ichiro. 1984. 'Tongwe-zoku no sizenmura' /in/ Itani, Jun'ichiro and Yoneyama, Toshinao(ed.). Africa bunka no kenkyu, Academia shuppankai, pp. 699-728
Kimambo, I. N. and Temu, A. J.(ed.). 1969. A History of Tanzania, Kaspel Educational Publications, Dar es Salaam
Legere, Karsten. 1992. 'Language Shift in Tanzania' /in/ Brenzinger, Matthias (ed.), 1992. Language Death, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin
Liddle, D. and Liddle, K. 1999. 'A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Bende Language, Mpanda District, Rukwa Region'. SIL-Tanzania. Dodoma
Rukwa Regional Office. 2001. Rukwa Report
Rukwa Regional Statistical Abstract. 1991.
Waters, Tony. 2001. 'A Brief History of the Wabende Tribe, as told by Mtemi Beda. July 2001' (originally written in Swahili). unpublished.
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