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FollowingTanganyika's independence (1961) and unification withZanzibar (1964), leading to the formation of the state ofTanzania, PresidentJulius Nyerere emphasised a need to construct anational identity for the citizens of the new country. To achieve this, Nyerere provided what has been regarded by some commentators as one of the most successful cases of ethnic repression and identity transformation in Africa.[1]
With over 130ethnic groups andlocal languages spoken, Tanzania is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Africa. Despite this, ethnic divisions have remained rare in Tanzania, especially when compared to the rest of the continent.
The territory of Tanzania is home to some of the world's important archaeological excavations and their scientific interpretation:
TheOlduvai Gorge is one of the most importantpaleoanthropological localities in the world; the many sites exposed by the gorge have proven invaluable in furthering understanding of earlyhuman evolution. A steep-sided ravine in theGreat Rift Valley that stretches acrossEast Africa, it is about 48 km (30 mi) long, and is located in the easternSerengeti Plains within theNgorongoro Conservation Area in theOlbalbal ward located inNgorongoro District ofArusha Region, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) fromLaetoli, another important archaeological locality of early human occupation. The British/Kenyan paleoanthropologist-archeologist team ofMary andLouis Leakey established excavation and research programs at Olduvai Gorge that achieved great advances in human knowledge and are world-renowned.
In July 2019, the Olduvai Gorge Monument was erected at the turnoff to Olduvai Gorge from the road which connects Ngorongoro Conservation Area andSerengeti National Park (a route traveled by safari-goers). Eng. Joshua Mwankunda conceived the idea of erecting a monument to commemorate this significant site while also serving as a signpost and attracting visitors to the Olduvai Gorge and museum; paleoanthropologistsNicholas Toth,Kathy Schick, and Jackson Njau planned and provided life-size fossil casts at the request of the Tanzanian government, which were used by the Tanzanian artist Festo Kijo to create the two large concrete skulls. The monument consists of two large-scale models of fossil skulls which sit atop a large pedestal with an informative plaque mounted on the side of the pedestal. The fossil skulls depicted areParanthropus boisei andHomo habilis, two contemporary species which were first discovered at Olduvai Gorge. The large-scale models created by Kijo are each 6 feet tall and weigh 5,000 pounds. The monument project was funded by theStone Age Institute and theJohn Templeton Foundation, in partnership with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA).
TheOlduvai Gorge Museum, located 5 km beyond the monument, is situated on the rim of the gorge at the junction of the main gorge and the side gorge. As one of the largest onsite museums in Africa, the museum provides educational exhibits related to the gorge and its long history.
TheTendaguru Formation northwest ofLindi is considered the richestLate Jurassicstrata inAfrica. The formation has provided a wealth of fossils of different groups; earlymammaliaforms, severalgenera ofdinosaurs,crocodyliforms,amphibians,fish,invertebrates andflora. More than 250 tonnes (250 long tons; 280 short tons) of material was shipped to theMuseum of Natural History in Berlin, Germany, during excavations in the early twentieth century.[2]
The Tendaguru Beds as a fossil deposit were first discovered in 1906, whenGerman pharmacist, chemical analyst and mining engineer Bernhard Wilhelm Sattler, on his way to a mine south of the Mbemkure River in formerGerman East Africa, was shown by his local staff enormous bones weathering out of the path near the base of Tendaguru Hill, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Mtapaia (close to Nambiranji village, Mipingo ward, 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest of Lindi town).[2]
In 1998, an illustrated book in Swahili, whose title translates asDinosaurs of Tendaguru, was published for young readers in East Africa. It presents a slightly different, fictitious story of the first discovery, which is attributed to a Tanzanian farmer, rather than to the German engineer Sattler.[2]
In February 2021, Polish archaeologists fromJagiellonian University announced the discovery of ancient rock art with anthropomorphic figures in a good condition at the Amak'hee 4 rockshelter site inSwaga Swaga Game Reserve in northwestDodoma Region. Paintings made with a reddish dye also contained buffalo heads, giraffe's head and neck, domesticated cattle dated back to about several hundred years ago. Archaeologists estimated that these paintings can describe a ritual of theSandawe people, although their present religion does not contain elements ofanthropomorphization of buffaloes.[3][4][5]
A total of 130 languages are spoken in Tanzania; most of them are from theBantu family.[6]Swahili andEnglish are the two official languages of Tanzania. However, Swahili is the national language.[7]
Given the conditions of the period, it was not possible to introduce Swahili in the entire educational system, because the scale of the task of writing or translatingtextbooks for primary schools was already considerable.[citation needed] As a result,English, the colonial language since the end ofWorld War I, is still the language ofhigh schools anduniversities. Many students leave school after finishing primary education.
Although the many non-official languages in Tanzania are not actively suppressed, they do not enjoy the samelinguistic rights as Swahili and English. Some also facelanguage extinction, such as theKw'adza language that is not spoken any longer.[6]
Tanzania's literary culture is primarily oral. Major oral literary forms include folktales, poems, riddles, proverbs, and songs.[8]: page 69 The greatest part of Tanzania's recorded oral literature is in Swahili, even though each of the country's languages has its own oral tradition. The country's oral literature has been declining because of the breakdown of the multigenerational social structure, making transmission of oral literature more difficult, and because increasing modernization has been accompanied by the devaluation of oral literature.[8]
Books in Tanzania are often expensive and hard to come by. Most Tanzanian literature is in Swahili or, less often, in English. Major figures in Tanzanian written literature includeShaaban Robert (considered the father of Swahili literature),Aniceti Kitereza, Muhammed Saley Farsy, Faraji Katalambulla,Adam Shafi Adam,Muhammed Said Abdalla, Said Ahmed Mohammed Khamis, Mohamed Suleiman Mohamed,Euphrase Kezilahabi,Gabriel Ruhumbika,Ebrahim Hussein,May Materru Balisidya,Fadhy Mtanga,Amandina Lihamba andPenina O. Mlama and British nobel laureate of Zanzibari originAbdulrazak Gurnah.[8]
From independence until 1993, all recording and distribution of music was strictly managed by BASATA, primarily throughRadio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD).[9] Only the 4 Tanzanian genres were permitted to be recorded or broadcast, which at the time was ngoma, taarab, kwaya and dansi. The Broadcasting Services Act of 1993 allows private broadcast networks and recording studios.[10][11]
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As in other countries, music inTanzania is constantly undergoing changes, and varies by location, people, settings and occasion. The five music genres in Tanzania, as defined byBASATA are,ngoma,dansi,kwaya, andtaarab, withbongo flava added in 2001.[12][13] Singeli has since the mid-2000's been an unofficial music ofuswahilini, unplanned communities inDar es Salaam, and is the newest mainstream genre since 2020.[14]
Ngoma, aBantu word, meaning dance, drum and event[15][16] is a traditional dance music that has been the most widespread music in Tanzania.[17][18] Dansi is urban jazz or band music.[17][19] Taarab is sungKiswahili poetry accompanied by a band, typically with strings and percussion, in which the audience is often, but not always, encouraged to dance and clap.[17] Kwaya is choir music originally limited to church services during colonization, but now a secular part of education, social, and political events.[15][18]
Bongo flava is Tanzanian pop music originating in the early 2000s frommuziki wa kizazi kipya, meaning "Music of the new generation", which originated in the late 1980s. Kizazi kipya's dominant influences werereggae,RnB, andhip hop, whereas the later bongo flava's dominant influences are taarab and dansi.[20] Three recent influences on bongo flava areAfropop in the 2010s, as well asamapiano fromSouth Africa and singeli from Tanzania, both since 2020.[21][22] Singeli is a ngoma music style that originated in Manzese, a uswahilini in north-west Dar es Salaam. An MC performs over fast tempo taarab music, often at between 200 and 300beats per minute (BPM) while women dance. Styles differ significantly between MC genders. Male MCs usually perform in fast-paced rap, while female MCs usually perform kwaya.[14]
In the few years prior to 1993, hip hop had been established in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Mwanza. It was transitioning from English performances of hip hop originating in uzunguni, rich areas like Oysterbay and Msasaki with international schools, to Kiswahili performances of kizazi kipya, originating in uswahilini[23] Following airtime on radio waves, bongo flava spread throughout the country, and the rest of the Great Lakes.[20]
The Tanzanian national anthem isMungu Ibariki Africa (God Bless Africa), composed by South African composerEnoch Sontonga in 1897.[25] The tune is theANC's official song and later became the national anthem ofSouth Africa. The melody is also the national anthem ofZambia.[26] In Tanzania,Swahili lyrics were written for this anthem. – Another patriotic song, going back to colonial times, isTanzania, Tanzania.
The music industry in Tanzania has seen many changes in the past ten years. With a fusion of local and foreign music traditions, Tanzanian musicians have grown in prominence within theAfrican Great Lakes region. It includes artists from traditional music, such as Dionys Mbilinyi, Sabinus Komba, and many others, to new artists inR&B,pop,Zouk,Taarab, anddance.
Imani Sanga is a composer, ethnomusicologist, church organist, and choral conductor.
Mwakisinini Felix is a music artist who contributed a lot to church music as a composer, trainer, and choral conductor.
In the course of their long history, the more than 130 ethnic groups living inmainland Tanzania and on the islands of Zanzibar have created numerous cultural objects, used either for practical purposes of everyday life or for use in rituals and as indicators of social status. Such cultural objects have been collected since mainly the late 19th century by private individuals andethnographic museums in Europe, later followed by museums in various other countries, including theDar es Salaam National Museum. Following the appreciation of African traditionalapplied arts by Western artists, collectors and art exhibitions since the 1920s, such objects have been seen ascultural artifacts.[27]
From the 1930s to 1950s, anthropologistHans Cory collected about 1000 clayfigurines used forinitiation rites in different ethnic groups. He published these in his works, most notably inAfrican figurines: their ceremonial use in puberty rites in Tanganyika.[28][29] According to German ethnologist Elisabeth Grohs, who studiedpuberty ceremonies and the use offigurines in Tanzania in the 1960s, Cory donated a large number of these figurines at the end of his life to theDar es Salaam National Museum.[30]
Tanzania. Masterworks of African Sculpture was a 1994art exhibition of traditionalAfrican sculptures originating from themainland region of modernTanzania. Shown in Berlin and Munich, Germany, more than 400 historical sculptures and masks had been selected for this exhibition. Some of the cultural objects on display came from German museums, while others were provided by private collectors from Europe, the USA and Africa. The 528-page, large-formatexhibition catalogue contains contributions by European and American ethnologists, art historians and collectors on aspects of traditional sculptural art from Tanganyika. More than 500black-and-white photographs of sculptures and masks from public and private collections as well as maps, illustrations and abibliography complement the individual chapters.[31][32]
In 2013, QCC Art Gallery of theCity University of New York (CUNY) andPortland Museum of Art, USA, presentedShangaa: Art of Tanzania, the first major show of traditional art from Tanzania outside of Germany and Tanzania.[33][34] The exhibition curator, art historian Gary van Wyck, edited a catalogue with numerous illustrations and contributions by Tanzanian and international scholars.[35][36]
Tanzanian craftsmen and artists of different ethnic groups have created a rich legacy of sculptures, representing people, animals or practical items of everyday use. Best known of these different ethnic traditions are the modern Makonde carvings ofsurrealist shetani figures, made out of extremely hardebony (mapingo) wood.[37][38] Apart from being a painter,George Lilanga, who died in 2005, is one of the most well-known African modern Makonde sculptors.
In 2021, Tanzanian painter and associate professor in Fine Art at the Department of Creative Arts,University of Dar es Salaam,Elias Jengo published an overview on "The Making of Contemporary Art in Tanzania." Referring to the early years after independence, Jengo described the absence of an official political orientation for the arts by the Nyerere government. With regard to the development of visual and applied arts, he discussed organizations including the National Handicraft Marketing Development Corporation (HANDICO) and its subsidiaries, the National Arts Council, the Tanzania Culture Trust Fund, the Copyright Society of Tanzania (COSOTA), the role of art galleries, foundations and associations. Further, he described modern Makonde sculpture, the so-calledTingatinga school as well as fine-art paintings bySam Ntiro and other contemporary painters.[39]
Tingatinga is the name applied to a populargenre of Tanzanian paintings, which are painted with enamel paints onhardboard or canvas. Usually, the motifs are animals and flowers in colorful and repetitive design. The style was started byEdward Saidi Tingatinga inDar es Salaam. Since his death in 1972, the Tingatinga style expanded both in Tanzania and abroad.[40]
Contemporary Tanzanian artists include David Mzuguno, Haji Chilonga, Salum Kambi, Max Kamundi, Thobias Minzi, Robino Ntila,John Kilaka, Godfrey Semwaiko, Evarist Chikawe, and others.[41]
Tanzania's cartoons have a history that can be traced back to the work of pioneering artists, such as Christian Gregory with hisChakubanga cartoons in the Uhuru newspaper back in the 1970s and 1980s, and Philip Ndunguru in the early 1980s. Outspokenlypolitical cartoons were created on a more recent date.[citation needed]
In the past decade, the art ofcartoons andcomics has really taken off in Tanzania. At the present date, there are dozens ofcartoonists, some of whom are well known throughout the country. From the 1960s and so on, a number of artists prepared the way, and their names are cited by today's artists as essential influences. Some of these known cartoonists in Tanzania include Ally Masoud 'kipanya', Sammi Mwamkinga, Nathan Mpangala 'Kijasti', King kinya, Adam Lutta, Fred Halla, James Gayo, Robert Mwampembwa, Francis Bonda, Popa Matumula, Noah Yongolo, Oscar Makoye, Fadhili Mohamed, and many others (see the history of cartoons in Tanzania at the Worldcomics website:http://www.worldcomics.fi)[better source needed]
Football is very popular throughout the country.[42] The most popularprofessional football clubs in Dar es Salaam are theYoung Africans F.C. andSimba S.C.[43] TheTanzania Football Federation is the governing body for football in the country.
Other popular sports includebasketball,netball, boxing,volleyball,athletics, andrugby.[42][44] The National Sports Council also known as Baraza la Michezo la Taifa is the governing body for sports in the country under the Ministry of Information, Youth, Sports and Culture.[45]
Tanzanian cuisine varies by geographical region. Along the coastal regions (Dar es Salaam,Tanga,Bagamoyo,Zanzibar, andPemba), spicy foods are common, and there is also much use ofcoconut milk.
Regions in Tanzania's mainland consume different foods. Some typical mainland Tanzanian foods includewali (rice),ugali (maizeporridge),nyama choma (grilledmeat),mishkaki (skewers of marinated grilledbeef),samaki (fish, usuallytilapia),pilau (rice mixed with a variety of spices),biriyani, andndizi-nyama (plantains with meat).
Vegetables commonly used in Tanzania includebamia (okra) which is mostly eaten as a stew or prepared into traditional stew calledmlenda,mchicha (amaranthus tricolor),njegere (green peas),maharage (beans), andkisamvu (cassava leaves). Tanzania grows at least 17 different types of bananas which are used for soup, stew, and chips.
Some breakfast foods typically seen in Tanzania aremaandazi (fried doughnut), chai (tea),chapati (a kind offlat bread), porridge, and especially in rural areaschipsi mayai.[46]
Tanzanian snack foods include visheti,kashata (coconut bars),kabaab (kebab),sambusa (samosa),mkate wa kumimina (Zanzibari rice bread),vileja,vitumbua (rice patties), andbagia.
Since a large community of Indians have migrated into Tanzania, a considerable proportion of the cuisine has been influenced byIndian cuisine.
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