Tanzania Cultural Tours
In Tanzania , cultural tourism is increasingly becoming an attraction for visitors from around the world and visits to tribal villages are often a highlight of Safari Packages offered by Top Story tours & Safaris. Tanzania Cultural Tours allow visitors to have a deeper understanding of the people as it gives them a chance to learn, firsthand traditions, customs and cultures of communities found in Tanzania.
Tanzania prides itself as one the country with the most incredible tribal diversity in Africa, the country is home to all of the major ethnic and linguistic groups found on the African. This is an amazingly varied population to inhabit a single country. It is estimated that Tanzania is home to 120 tribal groups, most of them comprising small communities that are slowly being assimilated into the larger population due to changes in land use and the economic draw of city life. Tribal diversity is highly prized in Tanzania and unlike its neighbouring countries it is far from being a source of division. Generally, Tanzanians place a high value on their country’s multicultural heritage and unity in Diversity is the country’s motto.
Of the more than 120 tribal groups in Tanzania, the Masaai are probably the most well known of Tanzania’s tribes. The tribe inhabit the northern part of the country, Maasai are Pastoralists who treasures and fiercely guard their culture and traditions. Their tribal life revolves around protecting and caring for their herds of cattle, finding ample water and grazing land for their cattle. Their homestead is a circular enclosure called manyata, where small mud huts surround a secure open circle where their cattle and other herd animals sleep protected during the night.
A thick fence around the enclosure is formed by woven thorn bushes to protect the herds from attacks by lions and other predators. Since good grazing land fluctuates according to the seasons and yearly rains, Masaai settlements are not permanent. They easily relocate to where grazing and water access is best. Their tribal tradition separates men and women into different age groups: the youngest herd sheep and goats while the young male warriors, or moran’s, job is to protect and care for their family’s cattle. Male elders hold a position of respect in Masaai society and once a warrior becomes an elder, he may marry to begin a family of his own.
The entire coastal regions of Tanzania including the ‘Spice Islands’ of the Zanzibar Archipelago that consist of Pemba and Mafia is inhabited by the Swahili people, who are a vibrant mix of Arab, Indian and Bantu people origins who historically based their livelihoods around Indian Ocean trade. The coastal region or the Swahili Coast, as the region is called, is a predominantly Islamic region where you will find old mosques and coral palaces throughout the area.
The culture of the Swahili people centres around the dhow, a wooden sailing boat powered by the seasonal wind. Historically, the boats were important tools of trade as they played a great role in connecting the Swahili Coast with Arabia and India allowing trade between these regions to flourish. Fishing remains a major source of income for the coastal people living in small villages throughout the area. Coconut and spice plantations continue to form an important source of export.
These days, things have slightly changed and life on the Swahili coast is tranquil and even-paced. As is expected in regions inhabited predominantly by Muslims, you will see women cloaked in long robes called bui bui walk through meandering streets to the local market, stopping to chat outside tall houses hewn from coral and limestone rock. In the villages, the call to prayer rings out clearly over the palm trees inviting people to prayers and once they have finished their religious duties, the men gather in the square to enjoy spiced coffee from brass braziers. From the moran warrior of the fierce Masaai tribe to the tranquil rhythms of Swahili town, Tanzania offers a unique glimpse into African life as it has been for centuries.