Bemba people by Virgile

Bemba people

The Bemba also called Awemba or Bemba in the past belong to a large group of Bantu people mainly in the Northern, Luapula, Muchinga and Copperbelt Provinces of Zambia.
They were the first to come to Zambia in 1328 and they are one of the largest ethnic group in Zambia.

 They lives in villages of 100 to 200 people and numbered 250,000 strong in 1963.
There are over 30 Bemba clans, named after animals or natural organisms, such as the royal clan, "the people of the crocodile" (Bena Ng'andu) or the Bena Bowa (Mushroom Clan).
The language spoken by this people is the Ichibemba. It resembles the Bantu language of East Africa for example, Kaonde, Luba … In Zambia, Ichibemba is spoken mainly in the northern and eastern provinces and has become the most spoken language in the country and in Africa.7

Many Bemba are slash-and-burn agriculturists and grow, manioc, cassava and finger millet which is their main crop.But many Bemba are also breeders of sheep and other animals. And other Bemba work in the country's major mining industries. The Bemba started working for the mining industries in 1940. At first it was the lambas people who worked in these industries but not being numerous enough the Bemba. And at that time the Bemba work as cooks, servants or cleaners and other jobs like them.
At the begining the word "Bemba" means at the beginning a large expanse like the sea but now the meaning of the word has been changed and it designates people of Bemba origin wherever they live.