Archive for the 'Mbeya People Groups' Category
The Sangu
Author: Dana
The tenth and last people group in the region we’ll be working is the Sangu. Here is information on them taken from www.thetask.net.
About 99% of the Sangu people follow traditional religion. Neither Islam nor Christianity has penetrated in places away from the main roads. Some people may follow one of these religions, but likely have not given up their own traditional practices either. The Sangu are a very proud people and do not easily receive anything new from the outside.
In many areas there are no churches at all. The church leaders are very exhausted in their work of evangelism and church planting. They appreciate any help they can get to draw their people to Jesus. Bible Translation is one way to help to reach the Sangu with God’s Word in the language they understand.
Geography and Climate: The area is extremely dry for about 8 months of the year and then the plains are flooded during the rainy season.
Population: 75,000
Cultural Information: The Sangu people are the original pastoral inhabitants of the vast area of flatlands towards the southern end of the Great Ruaha River System. More recently a large rice project sponsored by the Chinese was introduced. Some of the Sangu people have learned the art of planting rice from them and now have their own smaller rice paddies. The Sangu also plant millet and maize but often experience hunger. Some own cattle, goats, and sheep. During the rainy season flooding is common; rains are sometimes so strong that the rice gets completely flooded. In the dry season water supplies may be up to twelve kilometers away. The villages are far apart, spread over an immense area. Even the individual homesteads are at a distance from each other with people living quite independently of one another. Most houses in the Sangu area are built of mud and sticks or mud bricks. Generally each village has a school, but many of the children in the more remote places do not get to attend.
Very few Sangu have received higher education and there are very few Sangu pastors and evangelists.
read comments (1)The Kinga
Author: Dana
The Kinga people are the ninth group (there are ten total) in my “Mbeya People Groups” series. Click on the “Mbeya People Groups” link under categories to see the rest. This information is taken from www.thetask.net.
The Kinga
The Kinga people live high in the mountain ranges to the northeast of Lake Malawi. A Kinga New Testament was published in 1961. It is not easily readable by this generation and also no longer available. So their desire to have the Bible in their language is very strong, especially for the younger generations.
Geography and Climate: Savannah and gallery forest
Population: Approximately 140,000. It is estimated that there are about 55,000 Kinga speakers in the Kinga speaking area and up to 140,000 Kinga speakers in the whole of Tanzania.
Cultural Information: Even though many Kinga are subsistence farmers, the Kinga are business people who travel extensively. They can be found in all the bigger towns and cities in Tanzania and are known for their good business skills. Due to the altitude they farm cold-resistant crops such as potatoes, wheat, peas, maize, and other crops. There is also a large wood industry in the area.
Diet and Health: The health situation in the Kinga speaking area is generally good. The temperate climate and the high altitude mean that people have sufficient nutritious food and little problems with malaria or other tropical illnesses. However, the water supply is not always good and HIV/AIDS is a very big problem due to the extensive traveling.
Economic Status: The education level is relatively high. Many Kinga who are farmers or work for the government or the church still have some business on the side.
Religion: Christian, traditional religion
The Kinga Church: The churches in the area are very open to the idea of Bible translation into their language. The Lutheran church even has started a “Kinga day” where the worship services are held in Kinga. Other churches are the Catholics, Baptists, and some Pentecostals. In the Mbeya cluster project the different denominations are working together to develop the Kinga language and translate the Bible into it.
The churches have requested a new meaning-based translation of the New Testament, which uses a new orthography and modern Kinga, and the translation of the Old Testament. The Kinga (together with Bena) is also the closest language and have the vision to help with the next related Bantu Cluster: Pangwa, Manda and Kisi languages, for which we already have received requests from some of the church leaders.
History: The Kinga were reached by Lutheran missionaries over a hundred years ago and as a result, most call themselves Christian.
The Bena
Author: Dana
The eighth group (of ten) we will be working with in Tanzania is the Bena. This information is taken from www.thetask.net.
The Bena are one of Tanzania’s largest people groups. They live high in the mountains in the southwestern part of Tanzania in Iringa Region. At an altitude of about 2000 metres, they cultivate potatoes, wheat, rye, maize and other cold weather resistant crops.
The Bena love their language and have a strong desire to see it written. A few years ago they formed a language board and tried to collect words for a new dictionary. For various unfortunate reasons, they did not succeed in their efforts. When they heard about Wycliffe personnel’s linguistic work in Mbeya, they immediately requested to join the cluster project. That they send their people long distances to participate in teh workshops is indicative of how strongly they want to develop their language.
Population: 670,000
Economic Status: Many of the Bena people are well educated. They are known for their good schools and their relative economic prosperity within Tanzania.
Religion: Christian and Tranditional Religion
The Bena Translation Team: The translation team exists of people from the Lutheran, Anglican, and Free Pentecostal churches.
The Bena Church: The churches in the area are very interested to get Bena Scriptures and the larger denominations are all members of the Bena language board. They even decide who will attend the workshops and ensure that the translators have enough money to travel to Mbeya. They contribute significantly to the project by assisting the teams at a local level. The churches want the Bible in the most prestigious and widely spoken dialect in order to strengthen the church and help with evangelism.
The Nyakyusa
Author: Dana
The seventh group in our series of minority languages we’ll be working with in Mbeya, Tanzania is the Nyakyusa. This information is taken from www.thetask.net.
The Nyakyusa
The Nyakyusa New Testament was published in 1966 and a complete Bible in 1996. However, the translated Scriptures are not widely used largely because the writing system is difficult for people to read. Few people of this generation have learned to read and write Nyakyusa.
When the churches learned about the Mbeya-Iringa Cluster Project they requested the opportunity to join in order to get a translated Bible in a writing system that meets their needs. The Nyakyusa community has many well-educated people and also many highly theologically qualified pastors, who are able to work in literacy and Bible translation.
Population: 500,000+
Cultural Information: The Nyakyusa are traditionally farmers as they live in a very fertile area. Bananas are used a lot in their daily diet.
Religion: Christian, traditional religion
History: The first Nyakyusa writing system was similar to the German writing system, because it was developed by German missionaries who first translated the Bible and other materials. The whole Bible was revised and reprinted in 1996 by the Bible Society of Tanzania, using this same system which is different enough from the writing system of the national language, Swahili, that it is difficult for this generation to read. Few people of this generation have learned to read and write in Nyakyusa and the Nyakyusa Bibles are not widely used in Tanzania.
The Ndali
Author: Dana
I have been giving you information on each of the ten language groups we’ll be taking the Scriptures to in Tanzania. The sixth group in our series is the Ndali. To see the first five click on the Mbeya People Groups category on the right sidebar.
The Ndali 
The Ndali people believe a Ndali Bible would make a major difference in their spiritual and church life and would help this third generation Christian community in discipleship and teaching. The church leaders expressed that they see a lack of depth of understanding of the faith and their congregations are not able to make sufficient use of the Swahili Scriptures. Church leaders believe that the greatest challenge in the Ndali church is that people do not have a depth of Christian committment. Therefore they believe that a meaning-based translation of the Bible in today’s language will be needed.
The Ndali live in an area which crosses the Tanzanian-Malawi border. Much of their homeland is mountainous and the Ndali have perfected farming on very steep slopes. They love their language and want to see it developed. The people have been praying for years to have the Bible in their own language and are excited about how translated Scriptures will make a difference in their lives.
Population: 370,000. About 300,000 live in Tanzania while 70,000 live in Malawi.
Cultural Information: The Ndali are farmers, cultivating maize, millet, beans, cassava, bananas. They also own cattle, goats, sheep and poultry.
Religion: Christian, traditional religion. Christianity has been in the Ndali area for about one hundred years. The communities are largely churched and close to 100% of the Ndali would identify themselves as Christians. There are many educated as well as theologically educated Ndali. The Moravian Church is the largest denomination followed by the Roman Catholic Church. These two denominations account for about 90% of the Ndali speakers.
The Ndali formed their own language board years before the Mbeya-Iringa Cluster Project was started. Understandably, they are more than happy to get the help they need to develop their language. The church leaders in the area recognize the need to translate the Bible into their language. They have been praying for a long time to receive the Scriptures so partnering with them is truly an answer to prayer. A Ndali Bible would make a major difference in their spiritual and church life!
The Sawfa
Author: Dana
The fifth people group from the Mbeya, Tanzania region where Jonathan and I will be working is The Safwa. This article is from www.thetask.net. To see the first four people groups, click on the ‘Mbeya People Groups’ category on the right sidebar.
Many Safwa live in fear of the many occult groups and do not know what it means to be protected by Jesus Christ. Because of this, there is much enthusiasm among the Safwa about the translation work that is happening in their language. Pastors are especially excited about the hope of transformed lives that a Bible translation in their heart language will bring. The community is vastly supportive of the project; they value their language highly and are anticipating having the Word of God, which is the power of God giving freedom for those living in fear.
Geography and Climate: Mountains reach to over 2,700m with Safwa villages found from the plains up to the highest elevations. At 2,100m there are frosts in June and July. The rainy season, November-April, receives 90% of the year’s rainfall and during this time many of the roads are impassable to vehicles.
Population: Approximately 200,000
Cultural Information: Farmers of maize, rice, sunflowers, cassava, wheat, peas. Cash crops include cotton, potatoes, and coffee. Livestock is raised for subsistence and bride wealth and consists mostly of cows, goats, and sheep. The young men often go to find jobs in Mbeya town to supplement their income. The money they earn from farming would not be enough to live on. Most houses are of mud brick with either grass or corrugated iron roofing.
Religion: Traditional religions, about 50% Christians. Non-Christians are very open to the Gospel but also to joining occult groups.
Safwa Translation Team: The team has people from the Moravian Church, Free Pentecostal Church, and Evangelical Church.
The Safwa Church: There is strong desire for a Safwa Bible in both the community and among church leaders. Pastors are very enthusiastic about the project and they hope it will bring a major change to the way people live in the region. The manner in which they support their language team and the project shows their vision for God’s Word in their mother tongue.
The Vwanji
Author: Dana
Here’s the fourth group of people in the Mbeya region where we’ll be working. This article is from the Uganda-Tanzania website, www.thetask.net. Click on the ‘Mbeya People Groups’ category on the right sidebar to view the first three.
The Vwanji language is still very alive. They have tried to start a Bible translation project several times, but failed due to lack of knowledge and funds. Now that they are properly equipped the people are excited and highly motivated to see the Scriptures translated into their language.
(Vwanji, Tanzania)
Geography and Climate: Savannah, gallery forest
Population: 28,000 – 60,000
Cultural Information: The Vwanji are mainly farmers who grow potatoes, wheat, peas, maize, and other crops. The people don’t travel much and are regarded as friendly, unassuming, helpful and hospitable. The Vwanji community is a close-knit and cohesive group.
Economic Status: A long history of missionary presence there has resulted in a relatively high level of education.
The Vwanji do not have a strong vision for language development and only some interest in mother tongue literacy. However, there is a very strong desire for a Vwanji Bible translation.
The Translation Team: The team is made up of people from different churches—Lutheran and Pentecostal—who work together to translate the Word of God. Rev. Aaron M. and Mr. Steven N. (not pictured) are excited about what God is going to do through the newly translated Vwanji Scriptures.
The Vwanji Church: The main church in the area is the Lutheran Church. A Pentecostal church has also entered the area recently. Both churches have a strong desire for a Vwanji Bible translation and are willing to cooperate to make this happen. So the Bible translation ministry also is a major, key factor in bringing churches together!
History: Lutheran missionaries evangelized the Vwanji about hundred years ago and most Vwanji are professing Christians although there are still are many who follow traditional religion. The main church in the area is the Lutheran Church. The other denominations present in the area are the Catholic Church and some Pentecostal churches with small congregations.
The Nyiha
Author: Dana
The Nyiha are a large people group. A New Testament was published in 1913, but it is no longer available, nor is it easily read these days because the language has changed over the years. The Nyiha have a growing church but many also follow traditional religion. They would rejoice to have a Bible in their own language.
Geography and Climate: The land where they live is dry, flat savanna.
Population: 250,000
Cultural Information: Traditionally weavers, iron workers, hunters, and some own cattle, goats and poultry. The Nyiha grow cash crops of maize, millet and coffee. There are some big coffee farms in the area which were operated by foreigners about 50 years ago. Some of these first coffee farmers translated agricultural books into the Nyiha language.
Language Group Information: There are quite a few Nyiha who have higher education and see the need of having the language developed. The farmers are very excited when they hear about the project and can hardly imagine that there is help available for their mother tongue.
People from many other people groups are now also living in the traditional Nyiha homeland. This mix of people has encouraged even faster language change than in other parts of the country.
In order to reach out and evangelize the pockets of unreached Nyiha and to strengthen the Church a new Nyiha Bible translation is necessary. Nyiha want to read and understand the Bible in modern language that will speak to their hearts and will be able to transform individual lives and the Nyaiha community as a whole.
Religion: Christian, Traditional
The Nyiha Church: The Nyiha have one hundred year old church history, where Moravian, Roman Catholic, and Lutheran Churches are the largest in the area.
The Malila
Author: Dana
Here is information on another group from the Mbeya region. Information has been taken from the Uganda-Tanzania website: www.thetask.net. Please prayerfully consider adopting one of these people groups for yourself by praying for them and following their progress as we update you from the field.
The Malila
The Malila live high in the mountains in the Mbeya Region of Tanzania. Their culture and language are well-preserved and the Malila are proud of their heritage. They place a high value on hospitality and are known to go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that guests are properly taken care of.
One of the customs for those who follow the traditional beliefs is to carry the bodies of their deceased to all the places they went while they were still alive. It is believed that this provides someone who has died with a proper chance to say goodbye.
The Malila are warm, hospitable people. They are excited to get the Word of God in their mother tongue.
Location within Country: Mbeya Region, about 40 km southwest of the town of Mbeya.
Geography and Climate: Savannah and tropical forest. They live high in the mountains where the temperature can drop to 42° F. The climate is perfect for farming -they have moisture in the form of dew all year round.
Altitude: 2000m
Population: 70,000
Malila fields stretch as far as the eye can see.(Mbeya, Tanzania)
Cultural Information: The Malila have been somewhat isolated from other groups due to the geographic location, which is not easily accessible, but the area is rich agriculturally. The Malila are very hard working. Their fields stretch as far as one can see, and all their work is done by hand. Their crops consist of: maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, beans, millet, and some wheat. Cash crops include coffee and pyrethrum. Due to adequate rainfall the people can harvest up to three times per year. They have enough food for their daily lives and get money from selling their harvests in Santilya, a local market town.
Health: There is very little malaria due to the high altitude but diarrhea is a large health concern for the Malila people.
Religion: Christian, traditional religion. There is a growing church in the Malila area but many pastors are having difficulty preaching from a Swahili Bible. They often preach in Malila but cannot read the Bible in Malila as it does not exist. They are longing for the Word of God in their language. Now work has begun in order to help them to get it. Strong evangelistic efforts in the region by the churches have resulted in numerous Christians.
The Translation Team: These committed translators are from the Evangelical and Baptist churches.
 Rev Lukas M |
 Rev Jonas M |
The Literacy Team:
 Mr. Juliasi M |
 Mr. Bahati M |
The Malila Church: There was an overwhelming consensus among the church leaders that the Malila Bible is wanted and that they themselves would use it. A strong motivation is the lack of Swahili proficiency. Most churches use Malila regularly in their services but find it difficult, especially in worship, since the Bible can only be read in Swahili. Even those who did not know Malila themselves said that they would have the Malila Bible read and used in church, for evangelism, and even in their home. There is definitely a strong support from church leaders to having and using Malila Scriptures.
History: No previous language development has been attempted in Malila.
The Bungu
Author: Dana
There are 10 different people groups in the Mbeya cluster project. I want to give you a glimpse of each group. Here is the first one. (Information taken from www.thetask.net – Uganda-Tanzania branch website.) Please prayerfully consider adopting a people group for yourself by praying for them and following their progress as we update you from the field.
The Bungu
The heat was intense in the small, half roofed church. You could barely even see the mud floor, there were so many people packed inside. The atmosphere was charged as a group of young people danced, singing praises in typical Bungu styles. The crowd’s excitment was contagious and nearly the whole service was spent in singing praises except at the end when the prayer items were presented. The power of God was moving as they sang the choruses.
God does not care about economic status, the size of a people group or the level of a person’s education. The Bungu are loved by God, even though they are a small people group who are very poor and have little education. The Roman Catholic Church has quite a strong presence in the region, having been around for almost a century. Nearly all Bungu would claim to be Catholic although they continue to practice their traditional religion.
The Bungu people are nearly unreached with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Before they joined the Mbeya Cluster Project there was nothing written in their language. The evangelical church presence is small but church leaders in the Bungu area really want the Bible to be translated into their language and will be greatly empowered by getting the Bungu Scriptures. The language workers love Jesus and are committed to Bible translation but they face many obstacles and challenges.
Location within country: Chunya District of Mbeya Region
Geography and Climate: Semiarid. The Bungu live on the eastern end of Lake Rukwa among the hills, plains, and ridge-like escarpments of the Rift Valley. It is reported that the lake is expanding in size and becoming more shallow, due to erosion. In the dry season the Bungu area can be reached by car from Mbeya in 2-3 hours. During the rainy season the roads may be impassable.
Population: 36,000
Bungu boat on Lake Rukwa. (Bungu, Tanzania)Cultural Information: The Bungu mainly live in mud homes with grass roofs. Many of the Bungu are trap fishermen while others farm or raise cows, pigs, goats or chickens. The main cash crop is cotton in the plains and in the mountainous areas one can find tobacco. The foods they grow are rice, corn/maize, millet and cassava. Millet is used for food and also to make the local beer that people often drink in the afternoons.
Economic Status: The Bungu are not very wealthy and have little education. They live on farming and fishing. The infrastructure of the area is rather poor. There is one Catholic hospital, one secondary school and a small petrol station in the largest village of the Bungu area. There are gold mines in the area, which have brought in people from various other language groups.
Religion: Traditional religion, Catholic
The Bungu believe in a creator God and sacrifices on Mt. Kwimba are very important. The Roman Catholic church has a strong presence in the area and has been around for about a century. Nearly all Bungu would claim to be Catholic although many continue to practice their traditional religion.
A chief explained the Bungu religion in this way: “There are similarities between the traditional religion and Roman Catholic Christianity. The Bungu pray to their ancestors like the Catholics pray to the saints. The old religion has also a sort of trinity, a creator God, his son and the force of God. The only difference is that this son did not come to earth. Discipline is through witchcraft, that is, people obey, when they fear they may be disciplined by witchcraft.”
There are a few Lutheran and Moravian churches. In recent years the Tanzanian Assemblies of God entered the Bungu area, but this church is still very small. The Moravians started work in the area in 1977 and have three small churches. Although almost everyone belongs to the Catholic Church, traditional religion is still practiced by a large portion of the people. Many Bungu people are unreached with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Translation Team: The translation team has people from the Tanzanian Assemblies of God and from the Moravian Church.
 Mr. Braundi K |
 Mr. Emanuelly K |
 Mr. Oscar K |
The Bungu Church: With the exception of the Catholic church, the leadership of other churches working in the Bungu area want to have the Scriptures translated. They recognize that many Bungu do not speak Swahili well enough to understand the Bible. The church leaders say that a translation project will help to open up the area for Christ.