The Kamba people speak Kikamba language which is a Bantu language belonging to the larger Niger-Congo language phylum. It is currently spoken by over 6 million people. In Kenya, Kamba is majorly spoken in four (3) out of the forty-seven (47) Counties of Kenya. These counties are Machakos, Kitui and Makueni. The Machakos variety is considered the standard variety of the three dialects and has been used in the translation of the Bible and in basic level education; Malela of Machakos, Kikilungu of Makueni and Thaisu of Kitui.
About 5000 people speak Kikamba of (Thaisu) in Tanzania`s Tanga Region, Muheza district, east Usambara mountains north base, Bwiti and Magati villages.
The Kamba language has lexical similarities to other Bantu languages such as Kikuyu, Meru, and Embu.
Its dialects are Masaku, Mumoni, North Kitui, South Kitui. Lexical similarity: 67% with Gikuyu ,66% with Embu, 63% with Chuka, 57%–59% with Kimîîru.
The Akamba are a very diverse group. Some groups claim that it takes a while to understand the dialects of other groups. Below is a selection of terms employed by the Akamba people to refer to others within the ethnic group.
- i) The Akamba of Usu call the kitui Akamba – A -Thaisu
(ii) The Akamba of ulu call the A-kamba near Rabai, A-Tumwa and ma-vilambua
(iii) The Akamba of kilungu call other Akamba – Evaau
The Maasai call the Akamba – Lungnu and the coastal people call the Akamba – Wauma-nguo due to their scanty dress.
Hobley, a colonial administrator thought that “The Akamba are probably the purest Bantu race in British East Africa.” Since it is known today that the Akamba wondered far and wide in what is present day Tanzania, intermingling with the Wanyamwezi and the Wapare, Hobleys view may be taken with a pinch of salt.
Krapf who was the first white man to see the Mt. Kenya, courtesy of the Akamba, was the first European to interact and study their language and culture from within. He noted that the Akamba slaughtered a cow in a manner that was alien to him. He reported that:
“In the evening Kitetu slaughtered a cow to entertain the villagers; first the feet, then the mouth of the beast, were bound; the nostrils were stopped up, and so the poor animal was suffocated. I had not known that this was the usual way in which the Wakamba slaughtered their cattle.” (Wakamba is plural in Kiswahili. They would refer to themselves as Akamba and a single one as Mukamba).