Yeyi people
Botswanan and Namibian people
The Yeyi people, also known as the Mayeyi or Bayeyi, are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. They are part of the larger Lozi ethnic group and have significant populations in Botswana and Namibia.The Yeyi immigrated to the area in the 18th century from the north, and lived in close cooperation with the San people, or Basarwa, in particular, the Xanikhwe (otherwise known as Maghumaahi, meaning the San clan who live along riverbanks, just like the other riverine tribes such as Wayeyi and others) who had lived in the area previously. They speak ShiYeyi, a language that was influenced by the San and exhibits the characteristic clicks but Silozi is used as the formal language in official, educational, and media contexts. The Bayeyi population is 68,400.
According to oral tradition, the baYei emigrated from the kingdom of the Lozi people in the 18th century, and were led into Ngamiland by the skilled fisherman and hunter Hankuzi. When the baYei met the baKhakwe people, Hankuzi married one of their women, possibly as a guarantee of peace. A number of immigration waves followed. The baYei learned many of the baKhakwe's survival skills, including new fishing techniques, while the baYei are credited with bringing the canoe-building technology to Ngamiland. The baYei also had connections to the Lozi in the north, and traded tobacco for iron with them. Iron was important in the baYei economy for producing spearheads and tools.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Yeyi people” as botswanan and Namibian people. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as botswanan and Namibian people. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4205797. The Library of Congress control number is sh93006235. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Yeyi people”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Yeyi people primary sources, Yeyi people archive and Yeyi research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Yeyi people”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Yeyi people” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.