where do guyanese people live?
Guyana
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 As in other African countries , Christianity may be mixed with enduring traditional beliefs . Besides Christianity , ancestral worship is the most practised non @-@ Christian religion , involving spiritual intercession ; the Mbira Dza Vadzimu , which means " Voice of the Ancestors " , an instrument related to many lamellophones ubiquitous throughout Africa , is central to many ceremonial proceedings . Mwari simply means " God the Creator " ( musika vanhu in Shona ) . Around 1 % of the population is Muslim . 

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 By 1600 , irrigated paddy fields were developed in the central highland Betsileo Kingdom , and were extended with terraced paddies throughout the neighboring Kingdom of Imerina a century later . The rising intensity of land cultivation and the ever @-@ increasing demand for zebu pasturage had largely transformed the central highlands from a forest ecosystem to grassland by the 17th century . The oral histories of the Merina people , who may have arrived in the central highlands between 600 and 1000 years ago , describe encountering an established population they called the Vazimba . Probably the descendants of an earlier and less technologically advanced Austronesian settlement wave , the Vazimba were assimilated or expelled from the highlands by the Merina kings Andriamanelo , Ralambo and Andrianjaka in the 16th and early 17th centuries . Today , the spirits of the Vazimba are revered as tompontany ( ancestral masters of the land ) by many traditional Malagasy communities . 

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 The official languages of the country are French and Sango ; the latter ( originally a language from the Ubangi River region ) is spoken by 90 % of the population . Some of the other languages spoken are Baya ( Gbaya ) , Banda , Ngbaka , Sara , Mbum , Kare , and Mandjia . Sango was simplified by Christian missionaries and is widely used to this day . 

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 Before the start of the colonial period , the region of South Kasai formed part of the Luba Empire , a federation of local kingdoms with a degree of cultural uniformity . During the 17th and 18th centuries , the Baluba spread across large parts of the Kasai @-@ Katanga savannah along the Kasai river basin and eventually developed into a number of ethnic subgroups , notably the Luba @-@ Kasai and the Luba @-@ Katanga . Although never united into a single centralised state , the groups retained a degree of emotional attachment based around shared origin myths and cultural practices . Other groups , like the Songye and the Kanyok , also had long histories in the Kasai region . 

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 Approximately half of the country 's population practice traditional religion , which tends to emphasize links between the living and the razana ( ancestors ) . The veneration of ancestors has led to the widespread tradition of tomb building , as well as the highlands practice of the famadihana , whereby a deceased family member 's remains may be exhumed to be periodically re @-@ wrapped in fresh silk shrouds before being replaced in the tomb . The famadihana is an occasion to celebrate the beloved ancestor 's memory , reunite with family and community , and enjoy a festive atmosphere . Residents of surrounding villages are often invited to attend the party , where food and rum are typically served and a hiragasy troupe or other musical entertainment is commonly present . 
