Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Hema people

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The Hema, or Hima or Huma, are an ethnic group with about 160,000 members located in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular the Ituri region and Orientale Province, as well as parts of Uganda and Rwanda. The Hema are pastoralists and the preferential treatment given to them by Ugandan officials is blamed for igniting the recent Ituri conflict.

The northern Hema speak Lendu, the Nilo-Saharan language of the neighbouring Lendu people. The southern Hema still speak Hema, a Bantu language, and the closely related Hema dialect of Nyankore of western Uganda. Languages which are also related are such languages as Luganda and Lusoga. Most Hema are Christians.

References

Hema people Wikipedia