1. Bantu Migration
Activating Map

2. Where do you think these words originated?
Banjo
bongos
Conga
Gumbo
Jenga
Jumbo
Kwanzaa
Mambo
Rumba
Safari
Samba
Zombie

3. Where do you think these words originated?
Banjo
bongos
Conga
Gumbo
Jenga
Jumbo
Kwanzaa
Mambo
Rumba
Safari
Samba
Zombie
Bantu

4. Bantu Vocabulary
Bantu- tribes of African peoples speaking a common Bantu language
Migration- a number of people and/or animals moving together from on location to another
Bantu migration- spread of language and knowledge throughout different populations and societies (usually through inter-marriage or by small groups moving to new areas).
Diffusion- the spread or transmission of elements or features of one culture to another culture
Push factors- a feature or event that pushes a person away from or encourages a person to leave their current residence
Pull factors- a feature or event that attracts a person to move to another area

5. Push Factors population increases
environmental stress- resources of support have diminished or become inadequate
Climate changes- expanding Sahara
Finding a better place to live

6. Waves of Migration One wave moved through east Africa
One wave moved through the center of the continent
Possible 3rd wave- Bantu ancestors of the modern Swahili mastered sailing technology and made canoes and boats that travel the Zambezi river
Slow but steady- people are not speeding across the landscape, they are moving slowly, gradually inhabiting areas that were good for farming and raising livestock

7. Bantu Migrations

8. Bantu Migration
Rather than arriving all at once like conquerors, the migrations were sporadic with small groups of people moving from one point to another.
It is not clear how the Bantu reacted when they came upon existing communities but it is likely that new groups merged with existing groups. Both groups took on parts of each other’s cultures and practices.
The Bantu were armed with superior weapons and their iron tools allowed them to plant crops and clear forests efficiently.
Historians believe there was social interaction, intermarrying and trade between Bantu communities.

9. Bantu Migration Bantu groups brought their ideas about government:
Styles of leadership- chieftaincy
Organizing campaigns for battles
Kinds of advanced religions- multiple gods

10. Evidence
Languages Languages spoken in some parts of eastern, central and southern Africa show similarities with languages originally spoken in West Africa.
Pottery Similar pottery technology and decoration in eastern, southern and western Africa.
Iron There is little or no evidence of iron tools in eastern and southern Africa before the arrival of the Bantu suggesting that new technology was spread by the migrants.

11. Iron Tools

12. Caution!
As with most areas of early African history there is a note of caution to be sounded when discussing the Bantu migration. There is even an argument for saying that it did not happen at all.

13. Caution!
"The question concerning whether or not the Bantu migration actually occurred will await further research. It's very easy to assume that we know so much. Actually we know so little because very little research has been done. So far there is a huge area in DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda where no field work has been done and these are areas that the Bantu peoples would have passed through." Dr Chapirukha Kusimba, Field Museum, Chicago.