The Waata (Waat, Watha), or Sanye, are an Oromo-speaking people of Kenya and former hunter-gatherers. They share the name Sanye with the neighboring Dahalo.[2]
| Waata | |
|---|---|
| Sanye | |
| Native to | Kenya |
| Region | Lamu District, Tana River |
Native speakers | 20,000 (2019 census)[1] |
| Latin (limited use) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ssn |
| Glottolog | waat1238 |
| ELP | Sanye |
The current language of the Waata may be a dialect of Orma or otherwise Southern Oromo. However, there is evidence that they may have shifted from a Southern Cushitic language, a group that includes Dahalo.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Waata at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ^ Ville, Jean-Luc (1995). "The Waata of Tsavo-Galana: hunting and trading in their semi-arid coastal hinterland". Kenya Past and Present (27): 21–27.
- ^ Martin Walsh, 1992/1993. The Vuna and the Degere: Remnants and Outcasts among the Duruma and Digo of Kenya and Tanzania. Bulletin of the International Committee on Urgent Anthropological and Ethnological Research 34/35: 133–147.
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