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The People of the Okavango
The delta is home to five ethnic groups of approx. 100 000 people with their own identity and language.
The Hambukushu – the Wayeyi – the Dxeriku are bantus who traditionally engaged in mixed economies of millet/sorghum agriculture; fishing, hunting, and the collection of wild plant foods; and pastoralism.
The Bugakwe and Xanekwe are bushmen who have traditionally practiced fishing, hunting, and the collection of wild plant foods.
Bugakhwe utilized both forest and riverine resources whilst the Xanekwe foused mainly on riverine resources.
The Hambukushu, Dxeriku and Bugakwe are present along the Okavango River in Angola and in the Caprivi strip of Namibia.
There are small numbers of Hambukushu and Bugakwe in Zambia.
Over the past 150 years or so Hambukushu, Dxeriku, and Bugakwe have inhabited the Panhandle and the Magwegqana in the northeastern Delta.
Xanekwe have inhabited the Panhandle and the area along the Boro River through the Delta, as well as the area along the Boteti River.
The Wayeyi have inhabited the area around Seronga as well as the southern Delta around Maun.
A few Wayeyi live on their ancestral home in the Caprivi Strip
Further, the Okavango Delta has been under the political control of the Batawana for several hundred years.
Most Batawana have traditionally lived on the edges of the Delta