The Wolof constitute a large ethnic group inhabiting the West African country of Senegal, a former French colony, and Gambia, a former British colony. "Wolof" is the name by which the people refer to themselves, and it is also the name...

The Bemba are the largest ethnic group in the Northern Province of Zambia. Seventeen or eighteen ethnic groups in this general area of Zambia comprise the Bemba-speaking peoples, and they form with the Bemba a closely related culture...

The Zarma are the second-largest ethnic group in the Niger Republic, in West Africa, and they have close cultural affinities with the Songhay. Zarma villages are typically nucleated settlements made up of round mud or thatched dwellings...

The term "Tsimihety" usually refers to one of the eighteen or twenty tribes or ethnic groups of the Republic of Madagascar; however, Tsimihety possess neither political unity nor an ideology of unity. They are best described as an...

The Lozi consist of a number of interrelated ethnic groups located along the Zambezi River in Barotse Province of western Zambia. The term "Lozi" refers both to the Lozi proper and to those groups that have become subject to and...

"Wazaramo" is the preferred name for the people who live in the coastal area of Tanzania, in the vicinity of the capital city, Dar es Salaam. "Wazaramo" refers to the ethnic group, "Mzaramo" to an individual, and "Kizaramo" to the...

The Kikuyu, a major ethnic group of Kenya, numbered about 4.4 million in 1987, accounting for about 20 percent of Kenya's population of 25 million.The Kikuyu were originally hunter-gatherers, but they gradually adopted horticultural...

The Iteso comprise the second-largest ethnic group in Uganda and a significant portion of the non-Bantu-speaking minority in Kenya's Western Province. For the Iteso of Kenya, there are substantial studies of social organization, social...

The Hausa constitute the largest ethnic group in West Africa. The term "Hausa" actually refers to the language and, by extension, to its native speakers, of whom there are about 25 million. Agriculture is the main economic activity....

The Kanuri are the dominant ethnic group of Borno Province in northeastern Nigeria. They number over 3 million in Nigeria, about 500,000 in Niger, 100,000 in Chad, and 60,000 in Cameroon. They are called "Beri-beri" by the Hausa, but...

The Lango are one of the largest of the non-Bantu ethnic groups in Uganda. Since Ugandas independence, the Lango have become integrated into national political life. Music and dance are important aspects of Lango life; the finger piano,...

The Arab world is usually considered to be comprised of the following nineteen countries: Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Chad, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi...

Persians are an ethnic group defined primarily by language and location. The Persian language, also known as Farsi, which linguists classify in the Indo-Iranian Branch of the Indo-European Language Family, had about 23 million speakers...

The Iraqw are an agrico-pastoral people who live in north-central Tanzania. With the expansion of their territory, the Iraqw have come to interact and coexist with other ethnic groups. Maize is the staple crop of the Iraqw; it is...

The Afrikaners are descendants, to a great extent, of Dutch, German, and French Huguenot settlers, and, to a lesser extent, of English, Scottish, Irish, and other settlers of South Africa. The Dutch language of the first White settlers...

The Nyamwezi and Sukuma are two closely related ethnic groups that live mostly in the region to the south of Lake Victoria in west-central Tanzania. Beliefs in a High God are widely held but involve no special cult. Belief in witchcraft...

Ethnically, the Turks are a cultural group united by a common language, but the term "Turk" has no clearly defined racial significance; it can be properly applied to those communities historically and linguistically connected to the...

The ethnic identity of this Iranian minority group is derived from their religion, Zoroastrianism. They constitute only 0.18 percent of the Iranian population. The term "Zoroastrian" is taken from the name of their prophet Zarathushtra...

The Basseri are traditional pastoral nomads who inhabit the Iranian province of Fars and migrate along the steppes and mountains near the town of Shiraz. The Basseri are a clearly delineated group, defined by political rather than by...

The Yoruk are an ethnic-tribal grouping found widely throughout Turkey but primarily along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. The Yoruk are not linguistically distinct from most of the rural populations among whom they live. They speak...

"South China comprises the drainage basins of the middle and lower Yangtze River, the basin of the His Chiang (West River) in Kwangtung and Kwangsi; and the mountainous coastal provinces of Fukien and Chekiang. The division between the...