Emaan: Binti Mdogo wa Kitanzania na Kiu Ya Kutangaza Utalii
What makes us Africans?
By Emaan Mawani
Why are we are even called Africans? It’s safe to say that our culture and historical background creates the divine term “Africans”. Our ethnic groups and lifestyles makes us different from all the other cultures and tribes. This history is very rich in purity and diversity and is ought to be shared everywhere. That’s why we have different museums that enlighten us with the knowledge of Tanzania and beyond. One of the amazing museums is the “Makumbusho Village Museum”.
Makumbusho village is located on the outskirts of Dar-es-salaam. It was established in 1967 and is known as an open air ethnographical museum filled with the taste of divine tribes and ethnic groups of Tanzania. The village museum showcases traditional huts of the different ethnic groups. This museum is known as one of the major museums in the country. This village captures true African culture and is a representation of all the aspects of our history and ethnical and cultural values. It’s a major tourist attraction for tourists coming from different parts of the worlds. Those who are eager to learn history and the ways of living in the early days of Africa should visit this place.
The Makumbusho village museum exhibits different tribes in the form of huts and ancient instruments. The infrastructure of each huts conveys how each tribe can be different and similar to one another. Each tribe is unique to its own lifestyle, traditions, ethics, and cultural values but all of the tribes are known as Tanzanian ethnic groups.
Each tribe hut has a different infrastructure but they are put into groups that are known as Musonge, Banda, and Tembe
Musonge house is a type of house structure that is used to build the traditional huts of many Tanzanian tribes. It’s a structural cone shaped house. The ‘Musonge’ is a home with a conical roof and circular base.
  Tembe house is much bigger compared to the other infrastructures and is used in tribes such as Chagga. It is has a pointy roof top and a square shaped door. |
Banda house is a V shaped and is known as a typical style used in huts. It’s very simple and is used by tribes such as Banda.
Tanzania is home to 120 ethnic groups. Sukuma, Nyamwezi, Chagga, and Haya are considered to be the largest {with about 1 million members} compared to the other ethnic groups. Over 100 languages are spoken in these different tribes but the most commonly spoken amongst tribes are Bantu, Cushitic, Nilotic, and Khoisan. Despite this being these languages most spoken, 90% of Africa population speaks Swahili as their first language and 10% speak Swahili as a second language. Each of these ethnic groups have their unique language, social structure and culture with notable similarities between them.
Chaaga tribe
Wachagga tribe live on the fertile slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in the north east of Tanzania. The Wachagga are believed to have arrived between 250 and 400 years ago from the north-east. They speak the language of Bantu. They practice intensive agriculture cultivating banana, maize, coffee and beans. As livestock they keep cattle and sheep. The Chaaga houses are made out of a framework of flexible wood which are then covered in a thick layer of grass thatch from bottom and top. The big house is for mother and children while the small house is used by the father.
……….. House of the Chagga tribe
Haya Tribe
The Haya are a Bantu ethnic group based in Kagera Region, northwestern Tanzania. With over one million people, it is estimated that Haya make up approximately 2% of the population of Tanzania. Staple food is banana and coffee is a major cash crop in this region. All ceremonies and funerals take place in the Kibanja. The kibanja is one of the major components of the buhaya landscape. It is the banana home base garden. Second component is the Iweya which is the open grass and bush land. The Haya house is of Mushonge type. They are round grass houses strengthened with large poles of wood. Interesting fact is that unlike normal house construction they start from the roof of the house instead of the foundation. The region has craftsman dealing with basketry, pottery, canoe, building, and various forms of art and crafts.
The house of the Haya tribe.
Zanaki Tribe
The Zanaki tribe is one of the smallest Tanzanian ethnic groups is found close to Musoma, a region in the Lake Victoria zone. They speak the language of Bantu. Our first president of Tanzania was from the Zanaki tribe.
Zanaki cultivates cassava, elusine, maize, groundnuts, and millet. They also keep cattle, goats, sheep and chicken. Construction of the Zanaki houses is a communal activity associated with eating and drinking. Men collect poles and set framework while women collect grass and prepare drinks and food. Zanaki house has two doors; the main door gets into fenced area where many chores are taken place, while the small door is for security against thieves and wild animals men with weapons use the small door to the attack the enemy from the outside
The house of the Zanaki tribe
Makua tribe
The Makua people, also known as Makhuwa, are a Bantu ethnic group found in northern Mozambique and the southern border provinces of Tanzania such as the Mtwara Region. They are the largest ethnic group in Mozambique. The main crops they cultivate are cassava, groundnuts, and cashew nuts. Their houses are very solid with earth plastered on a framework of thin free supports. The roof has rafters and then is thatched neatly in layers. The bigger house belongs to the adults of the family while the smaller house is made for the children. There is also another unit used as a recreations place. The Makua people usually speak Swahili. The Makua people have predominantly held on to their traditional religion which reveres ancestors and nature spirits. The Makua regards death as unwanted, accidental and uncalled for event and caused by bad spirits or man. They believe that God never created us as his beloved sons and daughter only to kill us in the end.
The house of Makua tribe
To conclude, African culture lies on its diversity within each and every tribe in Tanzania though they speak several languages and have different cultures and traditions but still manage to leave in one country and one city as one. Each tribe is unique to its own values and ethics
But in the end they come together and live in the name as Tanzanian ethics.
Sources
www.climbmountkilimanjaro.com/about-the-mountain/the-chagga/chagga-origins/
visit to the village museum
