Bayei
Encyclopedia
The Yeyi, or Bayei, are Bantu
-speaking people of Ngamiland, Botswana
. The Yei immigrated to the area in the 18th century from the north, and lived in close cooperation with the San
people, or Basarwa, who had lived in the area previously. The Yeyi language
has been influenced by San languages.
in the 18th century, and were lead into Ngamiland by the skilled fisherman and hunter Hankuzi. When the baYei met the baKhakwe people, Hankuzi married one of their women, possibly as a guarantee of peace. A number of immigration waves followed. The baYei learned many of the baKhakwes survival skills, including new fishing techniques, while the baYei are credited with bringing the canoe buildning technology to Ngamiland.
The baYei also had connections to the Lozi in the north, and traded tobacco for iron with them. Iron was important in the baYei economy for producing spearheads and tools.
In the early 19th century the baTswana tribe known as baTawana arrived in the Ngamiland. After the arrival, many of the baYei became serfs, or batlhanka, of the baTawana. Initially the servitude was volountary in many cases, as it offered protection to attach oneself to a powerful household.
, ie. the inheritor of a kingdom is the son of a sister to the king.
The baYei believed in a creator god who lived among the humans. One day the god became angry with the humans for their wickedness and went to heaven. He does not interfere much in the world, except for throwing down the occasional thunderbolt. The baYei also venerate ancestor spirits.
Crops that are important for the baYei culture includes sorghum and tobacco.
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
-speaking people of Ngamiland, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
. The Yei immigrated to the area in the 18th century from the north, and lived in close cooperation with the San
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
people, or Basarwa, who had lived in the area previously. The Yeyi language
Yeyi language
Yeyi is an endangered Bantu language spoken by many of the approximately 50,000 Yeyi people along the Okavango River in Namibia and Botswana. Yeyi, influenced by Juu languages, is one of several Bantu languages along the Okavango with clicks...
has been influenced by San languages.
History
According to oral tradition, the baYei emigrated from the kingdom of the Lozi peopleLozi people
The Lozi people are an ethnic group primarily of western Zambia, inhabiting the region of Barotseland. Lozi are also found in Namibia , Angola and Botswana.-Name:...
in the 18th century, and were lead into Ngamiland by the skilled fisherman and hunter Hankuzi. When the baYei met the baKhakwe people, Hankuzi married one of their women, possibly as a guarantee of peace. A number of immigration waves followed. The baYei learned many of the baKhakwes survival skills, including new fishing techniques, while the baYei are credited with bringing the canoe buildning technology to Ngamiland.
The baYei also had connections to the Lozi in the north, and traded tobacco for iron with them. Iron was important in the baYei economy for producing spearheads and tools.
In the early 19th century the baTswana tribe known as baTawana arrived in the Ngamiland. After the arrival, many of the baYei became serfs, or batlhanka, of the baTawana. Initially the servitude was volountary in many cases, as it offered protection to attach oneself to a powerful household.
Culture
The baYei had a matrilineal successionMatrilineal succession
Matrilineal succession is a form of hereditary succession or other inheritance through which the subject's female relatives are traced back in a matrilineal line.-Systems:...
, ie. the inheritor of a kingdom is the son of a sister to the king.
The baYei believed in a creator god who lived among the humans. One day the god became angry with the humans for their wickedness and went to heaven. He does not interfere much in the world, except for throwing down the occasional thunderbolt. The baYei also venerate ancestor spirits.
Crops that are important for the baYei culture includes sorghum and tobacco.