​NYANZA (from the ancient Bantu root word anza, a river or lake), the Bantu name for any sheet or stream of water of considerable size; especially applied to the great lakes of east Central Africa. The word is variously spelt, and the form “Nyasa” has become the proper name of a particular lake. Nyanza is the spelling used in designating the great lakes which are the main reservoirs of the river Nile.