A pastoralist Bantu people of East Africa, primarily found in Uganda and Rwanda, traditionally known for herding cattle.
From Bantu languages; bah- is a Bantu plural prefix, hima likely refers to the pastoral/herding aspect. The term reflects both the people's self-identification and colonial administrative categorization.
The Bahima demonstrate how 'cattle wealth' shaped East African cultures—unlike industrial societies where land equals wealth, pastoral societies in Uganda measured status and power entirely in cattle numbers, creating a completely different economy!
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