|
|
|
Itinerary
gives you both Adventure & Relaxation: Climb
Kilimanjaro - Machame Route and afterwards
take in the history and culture of Zanzibar
whilst relaxing by the Indian Ocean! |
|
|
|
|
This trip are
the home of large to small animals including
birds and reptiles, also there are luxury to
standard lodges, luxury to standard tented
camps and budget campsites. Inside and
outside the parks |
|
|
|
|
Visit the 'big
five' areas of Tanzania on this 4 night
safari. The itinerary starts with a
Tarangire Park, and then continues to
Lake Manyara, Serengeti and to be ends
Ngorongoro Crater. |
|
|
|
|
This great
value budget road safari takes you to Maasai
Mara, Kenya’s most famous and finest game
sanctuary. Your stay is in a lodge not under
tents unlike most budget offers. The Mara
offers wildlife in such variety and
abundance that it is difficult to
believe.... |
|
|
|
|
This tour
combines Kenya’s twin attractions- the
safari and beach experience. You begin at
Aberdares where you find icy rivers,
spectacular waterfalls and rain forests.
Here elephants, buffalos and other animals
visit you at the floodlit waterholes of The
Ark. |
|
|
|
An
unforgettable holiday! - The very best of
Tanzania's wildlife parks combined with a
beach holiday in Zanzibar. Perfect for
Honeymooners. |
|
|
|
|
Uganda is
best know for its amazing Gorilla tracking
safaris. Additional activities include white
water rafting, birding and mountaneering
excusrions. |
|
|
|
|
A very
comprehensive one week safari of Kenya.
The safari starts from Nairobi, goes
straight to the
Lake Baringo,
then to Lake Nakuru and to be ends Masai
Mara |
|
|
|
|
This is the
perfect 14 day holiday for romantics -
combining a Tanzanian safari with time on
the beach in Zanzibar.... |
| |
|
|
|
CULTURE
NAME
Tanzanian
ORIENTATION
Identification. It is said that the
mainland portion of what is now Tanzania
was named by a British civil servant in
1920, from the Swahili words tanga
(sail) and nyika (bright arid plain).
Thus what was known formerly as German
East Africa became Tanganyika Territory.
In 1964, Tanganyika was joined with
Zanzibar, an offshore archipelago of
islands, to form the present United
Republic of Tanzania. Because of a
unique combination of historic and
cultural factors, Tanzanians share
strong feelings of national pride and
cohesion. This sense of nationalism has
served to keep the country at peace for
over two decades, while most of its
neighbors have been involved
intermittently in catastrophically
destructive civil and cross-border wars.
Tanzanians have been able to resolve
most internal problems without resorting
to violence because of a shared
language, the lack of political or
economic dominance by any ethnic group,
and the strong leadership provided by
Julius Nyerere (1922–1999), the first
president of Tanzania. At the same time,
however, repressive, corrupting
influences emanating from the colonial,
socialist, and capitalist eras have
fostered among many Tanzanians an
attitude of dependency and fatalistic
resignation that helps keep the country
one of the poorest in the world.
Location and Geography. Covering
approximately 365,000 square miles
(945,000 square kilometers)—an area
about one and one-half times the size of
Texas, Tanzania lies on the east coast
of Africa, just south of the equator. It
shares borders with Kenya, Uganda, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Malawi,
Mozambique, and the Indian Ocean.
Tanzania also shares three great
lakes—Victoria, Tanganyika, and
Malawi—with its neighbors. The country
is comprised of a wide variety of
agro-ecological zones: low-lying coastal
plains, a dry highland plateau, northern
savannas, and cool, well-watered regions
in the northwest and south. The 120
ethnic groups that inhabit Tanzania have
adapted to a wide range of geophysical
and climatic conditions. The specific
habits, customs, and life-views of each
group have been influenced by tribal
traditions and alliances, European
invasions, population movements over the
centuries, and introduced and endemic
diseases. In the late 1990s, the central
political administration was moved from
Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast
to the more centrally located city of
Dodoma, which lies in the middle of the
central plateau. Because of Dodoma's dry
climate, relative lack of economic
development, and small size, however,
the port of Dar es Salaam remains the
urban center of national importance.
Demography. The current population in
Tanzania is approximately 30 million,
comprised of indigenous peoples and
Pakistani, Indian, Arab, and European
subpopulations. There are heavy
population concentrations in the urban
centers (including Dar es Salaam, Mwanza,
Tabora, and Mbeya), in the foothills of
Mount Kilimanjaro, and along the coast
of Lake Malawi.
Linguistic Affiliation. While each
ethnic group speaks its own local
language, almost all Tanzanians are also
fluent in the national language, Swahili
(Kiswahili in Swahili), a coastal Bantu
language strongly influenced by Arabic.
The second official language is English,
a vestige of the British colonial
period. Most Tanzanians with
postsecondary educations speak both
official languages fluently in addition
to their tribal language. Nyerere
encouraged the adoption of Swahili for
all Tanzanians in a concerted and
successful effort to enable people from
different parts of the country to
communicate with one another and to
encourage them to identify themselves as
one people. The use of a single common
language has greatly facilitated
Tanzania trade, political debate,
nationalism, information dissemination,
and conflict resolution.
Symbolism. Mount Kilimanjaro, the
highest peak in Africa, and the
magnificent wild animals (including
lions, elephants, rhinoceros, giraffes,
leopards, and cheetahs, to name only a
few) draw millions of tourists to the
country every year. The landscape and
animals are valued national treasures,
symbolized on coins and as brand names
for manufactured products. Severe
depredations by poachers from both
inside and outside the country, however,
continue to threaten the survival of
many species. The torch of freedom (uhuru)
and the figure of a soldier
(representing the sacrifice of veterans
and the war dead) are also common
symbols throughout the country. Elegant
ebony carvings of both representational
and modern design, a specialty of the
Makonde people of southeast Tanzania,
are prized by collectors around the
world.
HISTORY AND ETHNIC RELATIONS
Tanzania was cradle to some of the
earliest hominids on earth, made famous
by the discoveries of Louis and Mary
Leakey at Olduvai Gorge. Bantu-speaking
peoples migrated to eastern Africa at
the same time that trade between
Arabic-speaking peoples and coastal
populations was initiated in the first
century B.C.E. By the twelfth century,
Arab trading posts were well established
along the coast and on some islands.
Although Vasco da Gama landed on the
East African coast in 1498, it was not
until 1506 that the Portuguese fully
controlled trade on the Indian Ocean.
The Arabs had been trading along the
coastline for centuries when Sa'id ibn
Suttan moved his capital from Oman to
Zanzibar in 1840 to take advantage of
the slave markets. During the early
nineteenth century, Arab slave and ivory
traders began to penetrate deeper into
the interior of what was to become
Tanzania.
In 1890, Zanzibar became a British
protectorate while the mainland became
part of German East Africa. The period
of German rule was extremely
heavy-handed; when the Africans fought
back during the Maji-Maji rebellion of
1905, tens of thousands were killed.
After the defeat of Germany in World War
I (1914–1918), German East Africa was
made a League of Nations Mandated
Territory, called Tanganyika, controlled
by the British. Following World War II,
Tanganyika became a United Nations
trusteeship of Great Britain. Adhering
to a policy of "indirect rule," the
British government used indigenous
political systems to implement their
control, thereby resulting in much less
open hostility than occurred during the
time of German rule.
Emergence of the Nation. The birth of
nationhood may be attributed to the
earlier independence of other African
nations along with a growing sense of
unity and a need to become independent
from the British colonial government.
Independence was achieved without
bloodshed. Julius Nyerere was elected
president of the Tanganyika African
Association, later renamed the
Tanganyika African National Union (TANU),
in 1953. African officials elected to
TANU in 1958 and 1959 constituted the
administration for internal
self-government in May 1961. On 9
December 1961, Tanganyika was proclaimed
an independent nation. In 1963, Zanzibar
was granted independence from Great
Britain, and in 1964 an Act of Union was
signed between Tanganyika and Zanzibar
to form the United Republic of Tanzania.
National Identity. The national identity
is influenced by several factors. One of
the most important integrating forces is
the use of the national lingua
franca—Swahili, a language spoken and
revered by nearly all Tanzanians.
Swahili is a compulsory subject in
schools, and some 83 percent of the
population are literate. Equally
important, of course, is Tanganyika's
independence and subsequent unification
with Zanzibar to form the United
Republic. Perhaps the most important
influence on a sense of national
identity was the development of
Tanzanian socialism. The creation of
Nyerere, Tanzanian socialism was
codified in the Arusha Declaration of
1967.
Both the symbolic and practical
cornerstone of Tanzanian socialism was
ujamaa, a Swahili word meaning "family"
or "familyhood." The core structure of
ujamaa is the traditional extended
family and clan structure of most ethnic
groups, which provides a framework for
mutual assistance and cooperation. It
was believed this structure would
provide the foundation for socialist
production. In practice, the forced
resettlement of rural populations into
ujamaa villages was met with great local
opposition, and Tanzanian socialism has
largely proven to be an economic
failure. The concept of ujamaa and
mutual assistance, however, did
infiltrate the national ethos; they are
represented, for example, in elaborate
ebony carvings of intertwined figures,
standing upon or grasping one another in
expression of mutual support and social
collectivity.
National resources also contribute to a
sense of national identity. For example,
at 19,340 feet (5,895 meters), Mount
Kilimanjaro is the highest point on the
African continent. This beautiful, now
quiet volcano is located near Arusha,
the major tourist city in the nation.
Wildlife safaris to the Serengeti Plain
and the world's largest caldera,
Ngorongoro Crater, are initiated from
this city. Few Tanzanians, however, are
wealthy enough to afford such luxuries,
and many never see the wildlife
Westerners associate so closely with
Africa. Finally, Lake Victoria, the
second largest freshwater lake in the
world and source of the Nile, is an
important symbolic and natural
resource—although it is shared with
Uganda and Kenya.
Ethnic Relations. Within the borders of
Tanzania co-exist approximately 120
ethnic groups speaking languages
representing all four major African
language groups. These include Khoisan,
or "click"speaking hunter-gatherers,
Nilotic-speaking pastoralists (such as
the Maasai), Cushitic speakers, and
Bantu speakers; the latter predominate
in terms of population size. The largest
ethnic groups include the Sukuma (over
three million), and the Chagga, Haya,
and Nyamwezi (over one million each).
Despite the tremendous cultural and
linguistic diversity among Tanzanians,
ethnic groups are united by the use of a
common language—Swahili—and a sense of
national identity. The growing number of
refugees (from neighboring Rwanda,
Burundi, and Uganda in particular) do
not appear to have caused serious ethnic
tensions, but they have become a serious
strain on the economy and the local
environment.
URBANISM, ARCHITECTURE, AND THE USE OF
SPACE
The architecture of urban coastal
centers reflects the long, rich history
of Tanzania. Ruins of Arab mosques,
cemeteries, and house structures can be
found at sites such as Kaole, just south
of Bagamoyo. Tombs embedded with Chinese
ceramics dating to the twelfth century
reflect the trade between distant
civilizations. Nineteenth-century stone
houses on narrow streets characterize
Bagamoyo, which was one of the main
endpoints of the East African slave
trade.
Founded in the 1860s by Sultan Seyyid
Majid of Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, which
most likely means "house of peace or
salvation," is the main commercial
center. Looking out over the Indian
Ocean, the sails of dhow fishing vessels
are dwarfed by transoceanic cargo ships
gliding into the port. Architectural
styles reflect Arab, German, and British
influence and occupation. Major
buildings include elaborate mosques and
churches, such as the German-style
Lutheran Church. One of the largest
public gathering locations in all
Tanzanian cities and towns is the
marketplace, where meat, produce,
housewares, and a variety of
miscellaneous items are sold. In
addition, football (soccer) stadiums are
important areas where people convene in
Dar es Salaam and in all large urban
areas. One of the most visible monuments
in the center of Dar es Salaam is the
Askari, or "soldier," which was unveiled
in 1927 and commemorates the loss of
African troops during World War I. The
most significant monument is the Uhuru,
or "freedom," torch commemorating
Tanganyika's independence from Great
Britain in 1961.
Suburban dwellings, most of which are
built along a grid pattern, include the
swahili house, a rectangular structure
made of either stone with a corrugated
roof or earth on a wooden frame with a
thatch roof. This type of house is found
all along the coast.
About 90 percent of Tanzania's people
live in rural settings. Each ethnic
group has a unique traditional house
structure, ranging from the round,
Only about 10 percent of Tanzania's
people live in urban areas.
beehive-shaped house of the Haya, who
live on the western shore of Lake
Victoria, to the long, rectangular
houses made of wood and thatch of the
Gogo people in central Tanzania. Each
ethnic group's traditional house
structure has a corresponding cultural
logic that determines the use of space.
For example, the Haya traditional house
is surrounded by a banana plantation; an
area in front of the house used for
relaxation and food drying is kept free
of debris by daily sweeping. The
interior of the house is divided into
separate use areas, some reserved for
men; some for women, children, and
cooking; some for animals; and one for
honoring ancestors.
Traditional houses are being replaced
increasingly by rectangular,
"European"-style houses made from a
variety of materials, including brick,
wood, earth, and thatch. Unlike in
traditional houses, cooking areas have
been moved outside.
FOOD AND ECONOMY
Food in Daily Life. For most Tanzanians,
including those who live in urban areas,
no meal is complete without a preferred
staple carbohydrate—corn, rice, cassava,
sorghum, or plantains, for example.
Plantains are preferred in the
northwest, ugali (a thick mash of corn
or sorghum) in the central and
southwestern regions, and rice in the
south and along the coast. The staple is
accompanied by a fish, beef, goat,
chicken, or mutton stew or fried pieces
of meat, along with several types of
vegetables or condiments, commonly
including beans, leafy greens resembling
spinach, manioc leaves, chunks of
pumpkin, or sweet potatoes. Indian food
(such as chapatis, a flat bread; samosas,
vegetable or meat-filled pastries; and
masala,a spiced rice dish), is widely
available in all urban areas.
Breakfast preferences depend on income
levels and local tradition: bread, sweet
rolls or biscuits (mandazi), coffee or
tea (sometimes with spices, sugar,
and/or milk), buttermilk, and chicken
broth are the most common foods. Finger
foods sold on the streets include fried
plantains and sweet potatoes,
charcoal-roasted corn on the cob (with
no butter or salt), small bags of
peanuts and popcorn, pieces of dried or
fried fish, samosas, bread, fruit,
dates, hard candy, gum, and mishikaki,
or shish kebabs of beef or goat grilled
over a charcoal fire. In local bars
selling homemade brews or bottled
spirits and pop, it is common to eat
roasted meat—beef or goat; often the
meat will be flavored with hot peppers,
salt, and fresh lime juice.
Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions.
Without exception, all ceremonial
occasions demand the preparation of
enormous platters of food, such as pilau,
a spiced rice, potato, and meat dish
that caters to local tastes and culinary
traditions. It is considered very
shameful for guests to leave hungry from
a ceremonial meal or dinner party.
Except among religions that forbid it,
alcohol is also an integral—and
sometimes highly symbolic—part of
ceremonies. Local beers and spirits
derived from bananas, corn, rice, honey,
or sorghum are served alone or alongside
manufactured alcoholic beverages.
Konyagi, a ginlike spirit, is brewed
commercially in Tanzania as are a
variety of beers and soft drinks.
Certain beers produced in neighboring
countries—Primus, from Burundi, for
example—are also popular.
Basic Economy. Agriculture provides the
mainstay of the Tanzanian economy, still
employing close to four-fifths of the
economically active population. Farmers
grow food for subsistence and for sale.
Minerals, precious metals, fish, timber,
and meat are also important products.
Land Tenure and Property. Although
Tanzania is one of the least densely
populated countries in eastern Africa,
control and access to productive lands
has become an increasingly contentious
issue. Following independence, national
laws were enacted to provide the state
with ownership of all lands, granting
citizens use rights only through short-
and long-term leases. At the local
level, however, different sets of
traditional tribal laws pertain. Since
the demise of socialism and the
penetration of the market economy,
customary or tribal claims to land have
clashed with the national laws.
Throughout Tanzanian history, few
customary laws have permitted women, who
perform the bulk of agricultural labor
in the country, to own land. While
national laws have been modified to
enable women to buy or inherit property,
these changes challenge—and are often
overruled at the local level—by
customary laws. Many analysts believe
that enhanced access to and control of
land by women would result in
significant increases in agricultural
production.
Commercial Activities. Agricultural and
manufactured products are sold both
retail and wholesale. The informal
economy in Tanzania is significant,
petty hawkers making up the bulk of
traders. Second hand clothing, household
goods, cloth, and foodstuffs dominate
the informal trade. Forced licensing and
taxation of small-scale businesspeople
has caused some friction between the
government and citizens, leading on
multiple occasions to demonstrations and
local resistance.
Major Industries. Most of the industrial
production is geared toward local
commodities. Important industries
include food processing and the
manufacture of textiles, alcoholic
beverages, and cigarettes. Other
industrial activities include oil
refining, and the manufacture of cement,
gunnysacks, fertilizer, paper, glass,
ceramics, and agricultural implements.
Because of the relatively unspoiled game
parks and only rare incidents of
insecurity, tourism is a growing
industry.
Trade. The most important commodities
include cotton, fish and shrimp, coffee,
cashew nuts, cloves (grown mainly on the
offshore islands), tea, beans, precious
stones, timber, sisal, sugar, pyrethrum,
coconuts, and peanuts. Textiles,
clothing, shoes, batteries, paper, and
cement are examples of products commonly
sold to neighboring countries.
Throughout most of the country, however,
production and marketing are severely
constrained by very poor infrastructure,
from roads and railroads to
communication and power networks. During
the socialist period, many products of
inferior quality—from hardware to
bicycles—were imported from China and
other socialist countries. Today, a much
wider variety of higher quality items
from many countries around the world are
available in shops and markets, although
their high prices often prohibit all but
the wealthy from purchasing them.
Division of Labor. Customary divisions
of labor generally relegate the heaviest
physical labors (for example, clearing
of fields, cutting trees) to men and
lighter tasks to women. Similarly, few
women work with machines and other
highly valued productive assets.
Children as young as three or four learn
to help their parents with household and
field chores, although girls often
shoulder a much greater work burden than
boys, a pattern that often repeats
itself as children grow into adulthood.
Professional positions are usually
occupied by individuals who have had
post secondary school education.
Successful businesspeople may or may not
have formal education, but often have
relatives, friends, or patrons who
helped finance the establishment of
their business.
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Classes and Castes. Tanzanian
society is divided along many lines. The
traditional elite includes descendants
of kings and paramount chiefs, who,
after independence, lost their
traditional titles. The modern elite
includes many individuals in the
government, successful businesspeople,
and highly educated individuals. With
the advent of the HIV-AIDS epidemic and
the decrease in social services, the
poorest families are no longer able to
care for all of their children and
relatives. Beggars in urban areas and
street children have become more visible
and are often victims of police
brutality.
Symbols of Social Stratification.
Economic stratification became more
pronounced during the German and British
colonial periods, when certain ethnic
groups or individuals who were favored
for particular physical traits or skills
were able to profit from a special
relationship with the colonial
hierarchy. Ownership of one or more
automobiles, expensive hairstyles and
Western clothing, large, Western-style
houses with modern amenities, perfect
command of English and/or other
nonnative languages, and frequent travel
are all markers of the upper classes. At
the other extreme, many of the poorest
Tanzanians are severely malnourished and
clothed in rags, living constantly on
the edge. The market economy has
encouraged individual success,
proliferation of Western goods, and
systemic corruption, causing the gap
between the rich and the poor to widen
even further.
POLITICAL LIFE
Government. Modeled after the government
of Great Britain, the United Republic of
Tanzania developed a parliamentary
system of government soon after
independence. The highest positions
include the president, prime minister,
and chief justice. A term limit for the
presidency was set at five years in
1984. In addition, two vice presidents
were established to balance power
between the mainland and Zanzibar. If
the president is from the mainland, for
example, one of the vice presidents must
be from Zanzibar to help minimize the
excessive influence of individuals.
Leadership and Political Officials.
Called Mwalimu or "respected teacher,"
Julius Nyerere was president of Tanzania
for more than two decades (1964–1985).
Widely revered throughout Africa and the
world for his honesty, integrity, and
wisdom, Mwalimu Nyerere was largely
responsible for the enduring stability
of the new nation. He is perhaps most
noted for his attempts to help negotiate
an end to violence in other African
nations, including South Africa and
Burundi. The former president and father
of the nation died on October 14, 1999,
at the age of 77. The impact of his loss
to the nation and the continent is just
beginning to be felt. Nyerere was
succeeded by Ali Hassan Mwinyi, a
Zanzibari native, who served two terms
(1985–1995).
Tanzania implemented a one-party
political system for many years after
independence. In 1977, the Tanganyika
African National Union was merged with
representatives of the Zanzibari Afro-Shirazi
Party to form the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM)
or the "Party of Revolution," with
Nyerere as chairman. The CCM ruled
unopposed until the first multiparty
elections were held in 1995 when
Benjamin William Mkapa was elected
president.
Many Tanzanian government officials are
noted for their dedication and
austerity, although corrupting
influences of the market economy have
become more prevalent over time. In a
general sense, the authority of
government officials at all levels is
respected by local citizens, regardless
of ethnic affiliation. This respect is
demonstrated by greeting officials with
a shaking of right hands, often while
laying the left hand under one's right
arm. This is also the proper way to
receive a gift. Women and girls often
bend down slightly on one knee (a
modified curtsy) to greet officials and
elders.
Social Problems and Control. Tanzania
has been less afflicted by large-scale
social problems than its neighbors.
Social conflicts due to religious
differences have been relatively minor,
although recent tensions between Muslims
and Christians threaten to destabilize
the unity between Zanzibar and the
mainland. On 7 August 1998, terrorist
bombings of the American Embassies in
Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, Kenya, killed
81 people and injured hundreds more.
Although the individuals responsible
have not yet been identified, it has
been suggested that organized Muslim
fundamentalists outside of Tanzania may
have planned the attack. In addition,
there is long-standing tension between
Asians (e.g., Indians and Pakistanis),
who own most of the businesses in
Tanzania, and indigenous Tanzanians.
Theft is a serious social problem,
especially in larger cities and towns.
If a criminal act is witnessed by the
public, often a crowd will punish the
thief with a beating. With the exception
of the military and police, very few
people have access to guns. There is
some evidence that Tanzanian ports are
assuming an increased role in the
shipment of illegal drugs destined for
American and European markets. Some use
of illegal drugs among the local
population has surfaced, but the full
extent is unknown.
Military Activity. The Tanzanian
People's Defense Force includes the
army, navy, and air force; in 1998/1999,
military expenditures were about $21
million. The most important military
activity occurred in 1978–1979, after
Uganda attempted to annex part of the
Kagera Region in northwest Tanzania.
Under the direction of Idi Amin Dada,
Ugandan troops invaded the region, but
were repelled by the Tanzanian army—at
great expense to the nation. The war is
vividly portrayed in local songs, and a
monument commemorating the loss of
Tanzanians stands in Bukoba, the Kagera
Region's administrative headquarters.
SOCIAL WELFARE AND CHANGE PROGRAMS
The dismal economic failure of Nyerere's
socialist system in Tanzania opened up
the country to the influences of
international banking organizations that
intervened—ostensibly to save the
economy. Loans to rebuild the economy
after the socialist period were
conditioned upon cost-cutting structural
adjustment programs that severely
reduced the size of the government as
well as the number and quality of social
support systems. As a result, many
Tanzanians have resorted to basic
survival strategies, assisted in many
parts of the country by foreign aid
programs and church organizations.
NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER
ASSOCIATIONS
With the support of several Scandinavian
countries, the high level of development
assistance in Tanzania began in the
1970s and 1980s, and spawned a dramatic
growth of nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs). Many of these NGOs collaborate
with international organizations (the
United Nations and the International
Committee of the Red Cross, for
instance) and U.S. and European private
voluntary organizations (CARE, Catholic
Relief Services, Save the Children, and
Doctors without Borders, for example) to
implement a wide variety of projects in
health, water and sanitation,
agriculture, and microenterprise. Dozens
of humanitarian aid programs—which rely
on the availability and expertise of
local NGOs—support an estimated 800,000
refugees currently in Tanzania who have
fled conflict and political instability
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Rwanda, and Burundi. NGO staff positions
provide a very important avenue of
employment for highly educated
Tanzanians who are finding it difficult
to secure civil service positions in a
government downsized by structural
adjustment. Increasingly, NGOs are
competing with one another for limited
development and relief funds.
GENDER ROLES AND STATUSES
Division of Labor by Gender. In many
rural areas of Tanzania, tribal customs
advocate a gender division of labor:
women and girls take care of the
household chores, small children, and
livestock, and plant and weed the
agricultural fields. Men prepare land
for cultivation, care for large
livestock, market produce, and make the
important financial and political
decisions for the family. As girls and
women throughout the country have gained
access to more formal education,
however, they are challenging the
customary division of labor. Similarly,
where conditions of extreme poverty
obligate male heads of households to
migrate in search of work, women in
these communities have taken over some
of the hard physical labor. In many
modern households in Tanzania, wives and
husbands are challenging and questioning
one another's changing roles. The
disruptive effects of alcohol abuse,
AIDS, and materialism have also placed
great strains on relationships within
and among families.
The Relative Status of Women and Men.
Among the lower socioeconomic strata,
with few exceptions, women have a lower
standard of living than do men.
Generally speaking, boys are valued more
than girls. Only women descended from
ruling tribal families, successful
businesswomen, or women politicians
enjoy privileges equal to that of men.
Among the formally educated there are
conflicts between husbands and wives
regarding the appropriate roles and
responsibilities of each. When an
activity undertaken by a woman becomes
successful, her husband or a male
relative will try to take control of the
activity or the money it has generated,
especially in rural areas.
MARRIAGE, FAMILY AND KINSHIP
Traditional systems of social
organization are still of great
significance in the daily lives of
Tanzanians. Kinship systems provide
networks for support and become visible
during all major life-cycle ceremonies.
Marriage. In general, traditional
marriage customs vary by ethnic group.
The practice of clan exogamy—or marriage
outside of the clan or group—is typical,
however, of almost all ethnic groups.
Traditional customs call for marriages
to be arranged by the parents of the
bride and groom, although such
arrangements are becoming less common,
particularly in urban settings. In
patrilineal ethnic groups (those in
which descent is traced through males),
traditional marriage customs often
include the presentation of a dowry or
bride price to the wife's family by the
bridegroom. The dowry may include
livestock, money, clothing, locally
brewed beer, and other items. The amount
of the dowry is determined through
negotiations between the families of the
engaged. Preparations for marriage may
take months. For those wealthy enough to
afford it, marriage may include a
separate dowry ceremony and, several
months later, a church wedding followed
by traditional ceremonies. Although many
ethnic groups and Muslims allow polygyny
(having more than one wife), the
practice is decreasing in popularity, in
part because of the influence of
Christianity and the expense of
maintaining several households.
Domestic Unit. The basic family
structure is extended, although the
pressures of development have led
increasingly to nuclear family units,
particularly in urban areas. In most
cases, the man is the supreme head of
the household in all major decisions. A
wife earns respect through her children
and, indeed, is not considered to be a
fully mature woman until she has given
birth to a healthy child. In most ethnic
groups, she is recognized by her eldest
child's name and called, for example,
"Mama Kyaruzi," after her eldest child
of the same name. Children eat
separately, often with their mothers.
The market economy has placed
significant pressure on the stability of
the domestic unit and the extended
family. Educated, wealthy family members
are often called upon to provide
resources to other family members for
their education and general welfare. In
many areas deaths due to AIDS have
placed additional strain on the extended
family.
Inheritance. Tanzanian laws of
inheritance vary according to ethnic
group. There are also significant
differences between national and
customary laws of inheritance, which are
settled in the court system. Generally
speaking, boys and men are favored over
girls and women in customary ethnic
laws, in part to keep clan holdings
together. (When women in patrilineal
ethnic groups marry in Tanzania, they
tend to live with or near their
husband's family.) Nevertheless, the
customary subdivision of land
holdings—even just among sons—has
already led to serious fragmentation of
land in areas where arable land is
scarce.
In some groups, widows and divorcees are
not adequately provided for through
customary laws and must fend for
themselves or be cared for by their
children. This discrimination is being
challenged by lawyers, affected
individuals, and organized groups.
Kin Groups. Clanship systems are common
in most ethnic groups. While the
majority of ethnic groups are
patrilineal, recognizing descent through
male ancestors, there are some
matrilineal groups (where descent is
traced through females) in Tanzania: the
Kaguru in the east-central part of the
country, for example. In practice the
structure and function of clans differs
significantly from one ethnic group to
another. In some cases, they form
well-recognized groups while in others
they are dispersed. In general, an
elder, or group of elders, is often
responsible for settling disputes within
the clan and for conducting various
ceremonies to venerate the ancestors.
SOCIALIZATION
Infant Care. Throughout the nation,
children are raised with the strong
influence of parents as well as close
relatives, friends, and neighbors. Using
a kanga, a brightly colored rectangular
cloth with elaborate designs, mothers
carry babies close to their bodies in a
sling, even while working in the fields,
at home, or in shops. An essential
multipurpose item of women's apparel,
the kanga can also be used as a shawl,
head cover, skirt, or dress. Daughters
at very young ages begin helping their
mothers care for their younger siblings.
Child Rearing and Education. Until the
age of five or so for boys, and until
adolescence for girls, children have the
most contact with their mothers,
sisters, and other female relatives.
Both boys and girls attend school if the
parents can afford the fees. If there is
not sufficient money for both to attend,
the boy is usually favored, and the girl
remains home to help her mother until
she gets married and moves away.
Students are supposed to respect their
teachers, and corporal punishment is
still practiced in Tanzanian schools.
Among some ethnic groups, puberty
ceremonies for boys and girls are
practiced. Marking the transition to
adulthood, such elaborate ceremonies may
involve circumcision of boys and several
kinds of genital surgery on girls.
Unsterile surgical procedures performed
on girls may have severe health
consequences.
Development programs have recently begun
to make more use of the performing arts
to deliver public service messages
(about AIDS prevention and the
importance of breast-feeding, for
example).
Higher Education. As fees for schooling
have risen, families are finding it
difficult to send their children to
secondary schools. The wealthy send
their older children to boarding schools
both within and outside the country,
although they worry that the
materialistic influences of the modern
world and lack of family supervision
will negatively influence their
children.
ETIQUETTE
Tanzanians are proud of their
disciplined upbringing. The ability to
keep control of one's temper and
emotions in public is highly valued.
Young men and women in rural areas are
not supposed to show mutual affection in
public in daylight, although this rule
is often broken in urban centers. Boys
and men, however, are commonly seen in
public holding hands as a sign of
friendship or camradarie. In many rural
areas, women are not supposed to smoke,
talk in a raised voice, or cross their
legs while sitting or standing.
Traditionally, elders are honored and
respected by the rest of the community,
although youth are increasingly
challenging such customs as arranged
marriages.
Although the use of silverware is
increasing, traditional customs
prescribe eating all foods, including
Three women relax in Tanzania.
Successful women from ruling families
enjoy many of the same privileges as
men. rice and meat sauces, with the
right hand. Children who attempt to eat
with their left hands are disciplined
appropriately at very early ages. This
custom is related to the perceived
symbolic purity of the right hand,
compared to the left hand which is often
used for cleaning after using the
toilet.
RELIGION
Religious Beliefs. Religious freedom is
a virtue that has contributed to
Tanzania's long, relatively peaceful
history since the nation's independence.
All religious holidays receive equal
public recognition. Many world religions
played a part in the nation's history.
Islam began to be practiced as early as
the twelfth century when Arab traders
set up posts along the coast and on
Zanzibar and Pemba Islands. The
influence of Islam and Arab culture is
strongly reflected in the Swahili
language. Arab traders brought their
religion to some interior settlements,
but their proselytizing did not match
the impact of the Christian missionaries
during the German and British colonial
periods in the first half of the
twentieth century. Long before the
influence of Islam or Christianity,
indigenous belief systems shaped the
cosmology of each ethnic group. The
influence of these beliefs is still very
strong; they are often practiced alone
or alongside of the major religions.
Virtually 100 percent of the people in
Zanzibar are Muslim; on the mainland,
about 40 percent are Christian, 35
percent are Muslim, and 20 percent
follow indigenous religions. Among Asian
minorities, the Hindu, Sikh, and
Buddhist faiths are practiced. Christian
sects include Catholics, Lutherans,
Anglicans, Baptists, Presbyterians, and
Orthodox. Both Christian and Islamic
religions provide access to educational
opportunities and often to some of the
best medical care. Wealthy Muslims make
their pilgrimage to Mecca, but this is a
minority of the overall Muslim
population.
Religious holidays include Christmas (25
December); and Good Friday, Easter
Monday, Idd-ul-Fitr, Islamic New Year,
and the Prophet's Birthday (all of which
fall on different dates every year).
Idd-ul-Fitr is a Muslim festival and
public holiday that is celebrated on the
sighting of the new moon at the end of
the calendar year. The exact date varies
according to the new moon's position.
Religious Practitioners. Native
Tanzanians preside in all positions in
major religions. In indigenous belief
systems among some ethnic groups,
certain people assume religious
functions that often include healing.
These indigenous religious practitioners
differ significantly according to ethnic
group. For example, in some cases among
the Haya, the omufumu ("healer" in the
Kihaya language) uses herbs and
spiritual power to diagnose and cure
illnesses. Acting spirit mediums, the
Wazee ("Ancestors" or "Old ones" in
Swahili) "come in to the omufumu's head"
and speak through him or her. The Wazee
have the ability to travel great
distances and bring about a therapeutic
cure, such as the recovery of stolen
objects or even success in soccer
matches. In some parts of the country,
an indigenous religious practitioner,
such as the omufumu in parts of
northwest Tanzania, will survey a
"football" or soccer field before a
match to remove any object placed there
to influence the course of the game by
an opposing team.
Death and the Afterlife. Death is a part
of daily life for Tanzanians. In regions
hit hard by the AIDS epidemic, families
are often not able to afford the time or
resources to follow traditional mourning
and burial customs, which differ by
religion and ethnic group.
Among many ethnic groups, the
"ancestors" assume an extremely
important role. Ancestor spirits are
remembered through various rituals and
are believed to exert significant
influence on daily life. For example, at
drinking occasions, some people pour a
small libation of beer onto the ground
in respect of the ancestors. In other
cases, a small vessel of beer is left in
a special location as an offering to the
ancestors. In still other cases,
sacrifices of a chicken or goat, for
example, are made to the ancestors in
ceremonies that vary according to
ethnicity.
MEDICINE AND HEALTH CARE
Similar to people in other poor,
tropical nations, Tanzanians are
challenged by numerous health problems,
including parasitic, intestinal,
nutritional, venereal, and respiratory
diseases. In the mid-1990s, life
expectancy at birth was forty-two years
for men and forty-five years for women.
Malaria, commonly referred to as the
"Tanzanian flu," remains the leading
cause of illness and death. Transmitted
by the Anopheles mosquito, the parasite
Plasmodium falciparum has become
increasingly resistant to treatment. It
is especially severe among children, the
elderly, and people with compromised
immune systems. Other common diseases
include schistosomiasis, sleeping
sickness, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis,
and pneumonia. There are an estimated
150,000 cases of leprosy.
Public health problems are further
exacerbated by the nation's poverty,
which makes proper food storage and the
provision of adequate waste disposal and
safe drinking water difficult to
achieve. Nevertheless, technologically
appropriate solutions to these and other
public health problems, such as improved
ventilated pit latrines, are
increasingly being implemented.
The Arusha Declaration for Tanzanian
Socialism prepared the way to extend
primary health care to the rural
population. This led to the
establishment of some three thousand
rural health facilities and seventeen
regional government hospitals. Although
community health workers have been
somewhat successful in alleviating
health problems, the lack of medical
supplies, facilities, and physicians
continues to make confronting illness a
primary survival issue.
The third poorest nation in the world,
Tanzania has decreased its spending on
health care significantly in recent
years, largely because of higher levels
of foreign debt repayment. The measles
immunization
Manufacturing sisal at the Amboni Estate
in Tanzania. rate, for example, has
fallen from an estimated 86 percent to
about 60 percent in recent years.
Health problems have been exacerbated by
AIDS which emerged in Tanzania in the
mid-1980s. In 1998, the estimated HIV
seroprevalence rate was 49.5 percent
among high-risk populations in major
cities and 13.7 percent among low-risk
groups. In rural areas, the estimated
HIV seroprevalence was 34.3 percent and
16.6 percent among high- and low-risk
groups, respectively. AIDS has placed
tremendous strain on an already
challenged health care system; in some
parts of the country, underlying HIV
infection may be the primary reason for
hospital admissions.
It has been projected that Tanzania's
economy will decrease 15–25 percent by
2010 as a result of the AIDS epidemic.
The number of children orphaned due to
deaths associated with AIDS is very
high. The staggering number of
AIDS-related deaths among young adults
has placed serious strain on the
extended family and the elderly, who are
often called upon to care for the
resulting orphans.
All Tanzanian ethnic groups have highly
sophisticated indigenous healing systems
that help circumvent the inadequate
supply of Western drugs and biomedical
health services. The mganga, or
"traditional healer" in Swahili, plays
an extremely important role in health
care, and treats chronic and infectious
illnesses. In many cases, herbal
remedies have established pharmaceutical
efficacy. In addition, the mganga may
also be called upon to treat social and
"psychological" problems as well as
problems not commonly perceived as
"illnesses" by people outside of Africa,
such as difficulty finding a lover,
difficulty conceiving a child, or lack
of success in business affairs.
Predicated on a holistic approach to
health, traditional healers treat body,
mind, and spirit as an integrated
system, often in the communal sense of
the "social body." Faith healing among
some Christian sects as well as various
Islamic healing practices are also
common.
Although infectious diseases are the
most visible health problems in
Tanzania, social problems related to
alcohol abuse are increasingly being
recognized. Low-alcohol-content
(approximately 5 percent) beers made
from grains, fruits, palm sap, and honey
play a vital role in almost all ethnic
groups. Traditional beers are commonly
consumed as part of nearly all
ceremonies as well as being used in
offerings to ancestors. While still used
for these purposes, beer and other
alcoholic beverages began to be sold as
commodities in the postcolonial
period,
contributing greatly to social problems.
SECULAR CELEBRATIONS
The major state holidays are New Year's
Day (1 January); Zanzibar Revolution Day
(12 January); Union Day (26 April);
International Workers' Day (1 May); Saba
Saba (7 July, commemorating the
establishment of TANU); Peasants' Day (8
August); and Independence Day (9
December). All holidays are celebrated
with large amounts of food and alcohol
at the appropriate time. The middle
classes use days off to take outings
with their families, watch soccer
matches, or travel to see relatives.
THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES
The formal development of the humanities
and arts in Tanzania has been
constrained by a severe lack of
government and private funding.
Tourists, the local elite, and
expatriates support most of the fine
artists, foremost among them the Makonde
ebony carvers. While not as well known
as Congolese or Senegalese singers,
Tanzanian musicians are beginning to
make their mark in the music world.
Literature. Because most of the local
languages in Tanzania are expressed
orally rather than in written form,
little other than dictionaries and
collections of idioms and fables
collected by missionaries or local and
foreign researchers have been published.
The national language of Kiswahili,
however, has a very old and rich
history. Stories, novels, poetry, epics,
textbooks, children's literature, and
historical treatises are widely
available around the country.
Graphic Arts. A thriving tourist
industry supports thousands of artisans
in Tanzania, the most famous being the
Makonde carvers of ebony from the
extreme southeast corner of the country.
Other tourist items include paintings
and greeting cards of landscapes, local
peoples, and wildlife; intricately woven
baskets; soapstone, ceramic, and
malachite carvings and jewelry; woven or
printed wall hangings, and decorative
and functional objects formed from
banana leaves and coconut hulls.
Performance Arts. Individual tribes are
characterized in part by distinctive
theatrical performances, dances, and
music—for example, the Snake Dance
performed by the Sukuma people in the
north-central part of the country. Some
of these groups are invited to Dar es
Salaam to honor the president,
ministers, or foreign dignitaries.
Occasionally, private or state funding
is found to send them to foreign
capitals to perform. While not as well
known as Congolese, Malian, or
Senegalese singers, Tanzanian musicians
are beginning to make their mark in the
music world. Theater, dance, and music
skits on radio and television are also
being used by churches, state agencies,
and development organizations to relay
public service messages about such
topics as AIDS, corruption, vaccination
campaigns, and contraception.
THE STATE OF THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL
SCIENCES
Lack of funding has also constrained the
development of the physical and social
sciences in Tanzania. Like Makerere
University in Uganda, the University of
Dar es Salaam was once one of the
leading centers of critical socialist
thought in Africa. While it still
attracts some of the world's foremost
thinkers and philosophers, the
university currently suffers from
substandard infrastructure, an
inadequate library, and poorly paid but
internationally recognized professors.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Airhihenbuwa, Collins O. "Perspectives
on AIDS in Africa: Strategies for
Prevention and Control." AIDS Education
and Prevention 1 (1): 57–69, 1989.
Beidelman, T. O. The Matrilineal Peoples
of Eastern Tanzania, 1967.
Briggs, Philip. Guide to Tanzania, 1967.
Carlson, Robert G. "Haya Worldview and
Ethos: An Ethnography of Alcohol
Production and Consumption in Bukoba,
Tanzania." Ph.D. thesis, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1989.
——. "Symbolic Mediation and
Commoditization: A Critical Examination
of Alcohol Use among the Haya of Bukoba,
Tanzania." Medical Anthropology 15:
41–62, 1992.
Coulson, Andrew, ed. African Socialism
in Practice: The Tanzanian Experience,
1979.
Duggan, William Redman and John R.
Civille. Tanzania and Nyerere: A Study
of Ujamaa and Nationhood, 1976.
Eriksen, Stein Sundstol. "Between a Rock
and a Hard Place: Development Planning
in Tanzanian Local Governments." Third
World Planning Review 19 (3): 251–269,
1997.
Fivawo, Margaret. "Community Response to
Malaria: Muhezae District, Tanzania
1983–1984: A Study in Cultural
Adaptation." Journal of the Steward
Anthropological Society 21: 1–151, 1993.
Goodall, Jane. The Chimpanzees of Gombe:
Patterns of Behavior, 1986.
Heggenhougen, Kris, Patrick Vaughan,
Eustace P. Y. Muhondwa, and J.
Rutabanzibwa-Ngaiza. Community Health
Workers: The Tanzanian Experience, 1987.
Heilman, Bruce. "Who Are the Indigenous
Tanzanians? Competing Conceptions of
Tanzanian Citizenship in the Business
Community." Africa Today 45 (3–4):
369–387, 1998.
Kimambo, I. N., and A. J. Temu, eds. A
History of Tanzania, 1969.
Knappert, Jan. East Africa: Kenya,
Tanzania & Uganda, 1987.
Lugalla, Joe L. P. "Development, Change,
and Poverty in the Informal Sector
during the Era of Structural Adjustments
in Tanzania." Canadian Journal of
African Studies 31: 3, 1997.
Kwesigabo, G., J. Z. J. Killewo, A.
Sandstrom, S. Winani, F. S. Mhalu, G.
Biberfeld, and S. Wali. "Prevalence of
HIV Infection among Hospital Patients in
North West Tanzania." AIDS CARE 11 (1):
87–93, 1999.
Mlozi, Malongo. "Urban Agriculture:
Ethnicity, Cattle Raising, and Some
Environmental Implications in the City
of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania." African
Studies Review 40 (3): 1–28, 1997.
Ofcansky, Thomas P., and Rodger Yeager,
eds. Historical Dictionary of Tanzania,
1997.
Nyoni, Timothy S. "Foreign Aid and
Economic Performance in Tanzania." World
Development 26 (7): 1235–1240, 1998.
Phillipson, D. W. The Later Prehistory
of Eastern and Southern Africa, 1977.
Polomé, Edgar, and C. P. Hill, eds.
Language in Tanzania, 1980.
Pratt, Marion. "Useful Disasters: The
Complexity of Response to Stress in
Tropical Lake Ecosystems."
Anthropologica (special issue), winter
1998.
Rugumamu, Severine M. Lethal Aid: The
Illusion of Socialism and Self-Reliance
in Tanzania, 1997.
Rutayuga, John B. K. "Assistance to AIDS
Orphans within the Family/Kinship System
and Local Institutions: A Program for
East Africa." AIDS Education and
Prevention, fall 1992 supplement, 57–68.
Seppala, Pekka, and Bertha Koda. The
Making of a Periphery: Economic
Development and Cultural Encounters in
Southern Tanzania, 1998.
Sofoluwe, G. O., R. Schram, and D. A.
Ogunmekan. Principles and Practice of
Public Health in Africa, vol. 1, 1996.
Tripp, Aili Mari. Changing the Rules:
The Politics of Liberalization and the
Urban Informal Economy in Tanzania,
1997.
Waters,Tony. "Beyond Structural
Adjustment: State and Market in a Rural
Tanzanian Village." African Studies
Review 40 (2): 59–89, 1997.
Yeager, Rodger. Tanzania: An African
Experiment, 2nd ed., 1989.
Yudkin, John S. "Tanzania: Still
Optimistic after All These Years?"
Lancet 353: 1519–1521, 1999.
—ROBERT G. CARLSON AND MARION PRATT
Resource |
