Shambala

(also, Washambala, Sambara), a people living in Tanzania. According to a 1975 estimate, the Shambala, together with the related Zigua (Zigula), Bondei, Kwere, and Doe peoples, number more than 650,000. Their language belongs to the eastern group of Bantu languages. The Shambala practice ancestor and nature worship; Christianity and Islam are also widespread. The Shambala engage chiefly in land cultivation, growing sisal, maize, coffee, and yams and other vegetables; many have left their farms to seek work in economically more developed areas.