Taita (alternative names are teita, teita, dabida, sagala ) is one of the Bantu-speaking peoples living in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania . According to some estimates, the total number is 300 thousand people. The language belongs to the Bantu group of the Niger-Kordofan family, they also speak Swahili. Dialects: Kisagala (Teri), Kidabiad. The related Taita peoples are Shambhala, Kamba (Balezin 1999: 388).
Content
Main Activities
The main occupation of Taita is manual farming (sweet potato, millet, legumes, cassava, bananas). Cattle breeding is also common - small and large cattle are bred. In addition to agriculture and cattle breeding, sewing with beads for women and woodcarving among representatives of the male half are also developed. The main agricultural tools of Taita are a digging stick and a wooden hoe (Olderogge, Potekhin 1954: 215).
Traditional Clothing
Traditional Taita clothing is a cloak of leather or fabric around the hips or thrown over the shoulder for men and, decorated with beads, an apron for women.
Religion
In the religious aspect, adhere to traditional beliefs. These include the cult of ancestors and the forces of nature (Balezin 1999: 389).
Housing
Taita settlements are quite compact, the sizes of which are quite diverse. The main forms of housing are round huts and rectangular houses with thatched roofs or lined leaves.
Social Organization
The traditional social organization is patrilineal birth. For the Taita people, as for most peoples of Tanzania, patrilocal marriage is characteristic.
Literature
- Balezin A. S. Taita // Peoples and religions of the world / Chapters. ed. V.A. Tishkov . M .: Big Russian Encyclopedia, 1999.
- Lviv E.S. Ethnography of Africa. / holes ed. Lvov E.S. - M .: Nauka, 1984. - 213 p.
- Olderogge D.A., Potekhin I.I. (Ed.) Peoples of Africa. - M.: Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1954.
Links
- An article about Taita on etnolog.ru (Russian)
- [1] (Russian)