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6 unusual facts about Nguni people


Balete people

The Balete people, traditionally called the Bamalete, or baMalete, are a Southern African Tswana people of Nguni descent.

Bantu peoples in South Africa

As the southern groups of Bantu speakers migrated southwards two main groups emerged, the Nguni (Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele, Swazi), who occupied the eastern coastal plains, and the Sotho–Tswana who lived on the interior plateau.

The Nguni use the Beehive house, a circular structure out of long poles, which is covered with grass.

South Africa's Bantu speaking communities are roughly "divided" into four main groups: Nguni, Sotho–Tswana, Vhavenda and Shangana Tsonga, with the Nguni representing the largest group.

Nguni people

In Malawi and Zambia, they speak a mixture of languages of the people they conquered such as Chewa, Nsenga and Tumbuka and their original language, Zulu.

Tlokwa tribe

Other commonalities included a style skin cloaks called dikobo, dense and close village settlements larger than those of 'Nguni' peoples, and a tradition of building in stone in less grassy or wooded regions.



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