Bantu Knots Origins

Bantu knots are also called Zulu knots you will see why as you keep reading.

Bantu originated from West Africa. It’s through many waves of migration that they spread through other parts of the continent!

Among the groups that were taken as slaves from Africa, Bantu comprised most of the African slaves. So sad to say, but many of you black sisters and brothers reading this might be of Bantu origins.

Bantu means “People” in many Bantu languages. I say Bantu languages because in Africa it’s common for many groups to speak a language with some variations. The same way someone in the Northern parts of the US might say or pronounce a few words differently from someone in the South.

A common characteristic of Bantu languages is that they use a stem form such as -ntu or -tu for 'person', and the plural prefix for people in many languages is ba-, together giving ba-ntu "people."

The word Bantu was first used by Wilhelm Bleek (1827-1875). Bleek was a linguist born in Germany.  His dad was a professor of Theology at Berlin University and Bonn University. Bleek graduated from the University of Bonn in 1851 with a doctorate in linguistic. He studied Hebrew before falling in love with African languages. He moved and lived in South Africa and spent most of his life there researching and investigating the languages. It’s in Cape Town that he met his wife Jemina Llyod.  His wife did with him much of his researches and continued alone after his death. He actually died in South Africa and was buried in Cape Town.  See!!! Now you know about the man who was the first to use the word BANTU!

Bantu groups had a specific division of tasks between men and women. The men worked as herdsmen, artisans and hunters. Women were in charge of the farming and housework and oftentimes worked as a team by organizing their tasks as a commune. This is actually very common in many ethnic groups throughout the continent!

Bantu comprises over 400 ethnic groups in Africa.From Cameroon (central Africa), Southern Africa, Central Africa and Eastern Africa. There are many variation to the Bantu language but they still maintained a few common  customs and languages.

In South Africa the term Bantu was used as a very derogatory word toward the Black South Africans especially during apartheid.

There are a whole lot of things to be said about Bantu in the context of Southern Africa. In Southern Africa the Bantu language was divided into two main groups the Nguni which included the Zulu and Xhosa language for example and the Sotho-Tswana. The Nguni were known to occupy the eastern coastal plain whereas the Sotho generally occupied the plateau (wow, so many childhood memories of my geography and history classes are rushing up in my brain as I am typing this). 

What's interesting on the subject of Nguni and Sotho is that Nguni changes in their pronunciation of Bantu words included the addition of click sounds!

In other parts of Africa Bantu it's not  seen as a derogatory term.

Another thing that's cool to know is that based on the regions where they lived people developped important skills.

It's the Bantu who reached the central rainforest regions while migrating away from the drying sahara who developped new agricultural techniques and plants notably in Zambia, they used advanced technologies during the iron age. They also brought the concept of cattle raising to regions that were unfamiliar with raising cattles.

One of the most fascninating fact to me growing up was the history of the Great Zimbabwe city. It was the capital of a major empire.  The city was known for its trade routes benefiting arabic traders of the Swahili coast. Even China was reported to trade there as well. The trade included goods such as gold, copper, ivory,animal hides, precious stones, metal etc.. Can you see how rich the continent has always been?

Nowadays Bantu is more referred to as a language group. There is now little need to refer to it as a specific ethnic group.  Did you know that the Swahili is a Bantu language? It’s not just spoken in Kenya as many people tend to assume. It’s actually considered the main language among  50 + millions people living in countries along Africa’s East Coast!

The Bantu in Somalia are originally from ethnic groups in what is today Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique. They were brought to Somalia in the 19th century as slaves.  In Somalia Bantu are an ethnic minority. They speak Somali as very few have kept the Bantu language. They may have darker skin than the lighter skinned Somali and rounder facial features.

The Bantu were brought to Somalia not because of migration but because of slavery in the 19th. When I think of Somali Bantu I am saddened by many of the unjust treatments they have endured especially during Somali Civil War. I am certain many of you had heard a few years ago of the Somali taking refuge in American cities because they were evicted from their lands and suffered from wars, persecution and famine.

In today's world, Bantu Knots are a fashion trend.