Jita people
- for the village of Nepal see Jita, Nepal
The Jita are an ethnic and linguistic group based in Mara Region in northern Tanzania, on the southeastern shore of Lake Victoria. In 2005 the Jita population was estimated to number 205,000 [1]. Jita also do have many clans and to mention a few such as Rusori Clan, Batimba Clan and Bagamba Clan!
Rusori clans are believed to be the original jita in the sense that they were the first one to arrive in jita land and that is what they believe. These are different with other jita in terms of physical appearance. They are light skinned and very tall and long nose! They are also keep cattles and others do fish and hunting. They are almost the same with batimba and bagamba due to a serious intermarriage among them. Rusori clans trace their origin somewhere in Egypt and Sudan as Nubians from the nuba land. Though they are also regarded as bachwezi in bunyoro kitara and bahuma in batoro in Uganda after the disappearance of bachwezi to nowhere though some claim that others went to rwanda and karagwe in bukoba and others settled in Uganda as Nyankole!
Jita people are so proud of their culture. They speak dialects with Baruli who are from Uganda and others in Burundi, other dialects is also between the haya, Nyambo, Kerebe, Bakwaya and Zinza. Zinza are also from Uganda in Jinja and they are also part of Nyankole!
Many villages in jita land are also in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda such as Buruli, Rusoro, Bulinga just to mention a few!
Jita not all of them are Bantus but they speak a bantu language which is a suguti language after they arrived first time! For example, Rusori clans, Batimba clans and bagamba clans claimed to be the descendants of Kush and Hamitic! It has been said that many tribes in Mara Region are not regarded as bantu before and the moment they arrived in the region they chose to speak suguti language and others Mara Language! But Baruli are bantus.
Some of the clans were not eating fish and even chicken before arrived in jita land and it was regarded as abomination such as Rusori clan! But now days due to environmental issue they found themselves in the lake and life has changed and they have started eating fish and chicken. The same applies to Banyoro, batoro and Nyambo from karagwe. (Dissertation in the Mara Region)
Though other jita especially who are from Egypt and Sudan have a close links with Ibgo tribe in Nigeria by looking at their names. Jita names many begins with Chi and Chi means God in Ibgo and then having names like Chikere, Chijoriga, Chinyere and many of others! The same applies to ItESO tribe in Uganda which shares the names and small words of ibgo language! Probably that was the time of Bachwezi Kingdom where also there was an interference of Luo King in Bunyoro called Babiito and dats why many Luo names also look like ibgo names!
ReferencesIgbo
- Mdee, James S. (2008). Kijita: Msamiati wa Kijita-Kiswahili-Kiingereza na Kiingereza-Kijita-Kiswahili / Jita-Swahili-English and English-Jita-Swahili Lexicon. ISBN 9987-691-12-9.
