Definition of Sukuma in English:
Sukuma
nounPlural Sukumas sʊˈkuːməsʊˈkjuːmə
1A member of a people inhabiting west central Tanzania.
Example sentencesExamples
- Many Sukuma suggest that this is a ‘respectful’ way for women to dance, because it does not include suggestive motion of the hips or legs.
- He first conducted demographic research among Pimbwe and Sukuma and later asked permission to study the Sungusungu.
- The parable of the Two Brothers, a popular story among the Sukuma of Tanzania, has interesting parallels with the Lucan Prodigal Son.
- National politicians and administrators commonly comment on the marked cultural differences between the Sukuma in Rukwa and the northern regions, reflecting our own observations of persistent traditionalism in Rukwa.
- Throughout Tanzania, the Sukuma are admired for the spectacular appeal of their dance performances.
- Sukuma in Kibaoni have larger herds of cattle than the Sukuma of Mirumba.
- First, Sukuma in Rukwa are more likely to wear gaudy combinations of Western clothes, traditional bracelets, and distinct black capes that symbolize and display their ethnicity and spiritual beliefs.
- Model 1 compares Pimbwe to ethnic groups other than Sukuma.
- In the study area, most of the organizational secretaries are from local non-Sukuma ethnic groups because few Sukuma are formally educated and able to write in Swahili.
- Sukuma dance figures were considered so shocking by early twentieth century catholic missionaries that many deemed all Sukuma dance ‘immoral.’
- The largest ethnic groups include the Sukuma (over three million), and the Chagga, Haya, and Nyamwezi (over one million each).
- Consequently, they have been less effective than the grass-roots Sungusungu operated by the Sukuma.
- With pre-existing institutions similar to Sungusungu, the Sukuma quickly created and spread the justice organizations to even distant migrant populations.
- The Sukuma of Rukwa adopted Sungusungu in 1982, shortly after it emerged in northern Tanzania.
- Few rules exist in Pimbwe society to motivate cooperation beyond the scope of the family or clan; thus, the Pimbwe were unable to mobilize Sungusungu participation as effectively as the Sukuma.
2mass noun The Bantu language of the Sukuma, related to Nyamwezi and having around 4 million speakers.
Example sentencesExamples
- The majority of the residents of Kwimba are Wasukuma from the Sukuma tribe and speak Sukuma along with Swahili.
- Translations.com offers professional language services in Sukuma and over 100 languages including enterprise scale translation and website globalization.
- Gwe is a dialect of Sukuma (3200000 speakers) spoken in northwest Tanzania.
adjective sʊˈkuːməsʊˈkjuːmə
Relating to the Sukuma or their language.
Example sentencesExamples
- Many Nyamwezi also speak English and the languages of neighboring ethnic groups, such as Kisukuma, the language of the Sukuma people.
- As a cultural medium based on the notion of spectacle, Sukuma performances presuppose interaction between performer and audience, observer and observed.
- Goldschmidt also tells, however, of a similar cultural effect: the extinction of traditional Sukuma baskets.
- Most frequently Sukuma figures are used to satirize character types (either in the opponent dance group or in the village), create narratives with invented characters, or simulate sexual relations.
- Within a year, the Sungusungu had spread to migrant Sukuma populations living in distant regions such as Rukwa where this research was conducted.