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The Bantu communityThe Bantu community emerged around 2000bc at the border of Cameroon and Nigeria. The main Bantu states were found in central and eastern Africa. These areas were characterized by agriculture and iron ore mining. They were agriculturalist and this was the main reason why the expanded thereby forming different Bantu states. The Bantu groups were moving along the areas where inhibited by the proto-Bantu languages. The Bantu community was moving to areas that were fertile for agricultural activities in large groups where they settled and introduced agriculture.
The population of the Bantu was increasing at extremely fast rate and; therefore, they had to look for more arable land. The eastern languages of Bantu expanded to the north toward great lakes while the western languages move towards south. Language dispersal and creation of states was coupled with massive movement of people and settlement. The contact between languages and populations immensely affected the signal of expansion through isolation by distance. The use of similar tone pulled them together.
Groups to the modern central African forest have a majority of vocabulary outside Bantu origin. Most of their vocabulary is botanical share between pygmy groups. The proto-Khoisan speaking peoples occupy the arid region around the Kalahari Desert. They move to these regions because they were hunters and gatherers. The Khois attracted Sans who had clicking sound similar to their own. They moved together and settled along same areas.The iron technology played a fundamental role in the expansion of the Bantu estates in Africa.
Most of the Bantus were agriculturalist while some were hunters and gatherers. The eastern and western Bantu move to areas that they perceived had iron. The eastern Bantus were specialized in agriculture while the western were mostly hunters and gatherers. The eastern Bantus moved northward because there was a lot of iron ore and fertile lands for agricultural activities. Iron enabled them to do more agriculture that would enable them feed themselves. The population of these people increased steadily necessitating them to move further upwards.
The interaction of these farmers and the iron providers lead to the formation of different sub tribes of the Bantus. The Hazda and the Sandawe Bantus speak different Bantu language fro the Khoisan who moved south. The western groups who were agriculturalist but had vast interest in hunting and gathering moved south to look for areas with forest and wild foods. The iron would enable them to hunt and gather as well as in their agricultural activities. These groups settled in areas where they had proximity to the iron.
They settled in areas adjacent to the Kalahari. The main groups of the western Bantus were the Khoikhoi and the San who are identity in South Africa and Namibia where iron was readily available. The Bantu expansion in all areas of Africa was to acquire enormous land and be the leaders. They displaced people who occupied on lands that were fertile and who were not of the Bantu family. In most areas where they have settled, they have little interested on other activities other than agriculture.
The formation of the Bantu states was mainly influenced by agriculture. Iron development only influenced them to acquire more land in the states that they settled.Reference Development of the Bantu homelands and economic relations with neighbouring states. Pretoria: Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, 1967. Print.
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