Танзанияның Ньямвези халқы: Тарихы мен мәдениеті

Ethnic group from Tabora Region of Tanzania

The Nyamwezi, or Wanyamwezi, are one of the Bantu groups of East Africa. They are the second largest ethnic group in Tanzania. The Nyamwezi people's ancestral homeland is in parts of Tabora Region, Singida Region, Shinyanga Region and Katavi Region. The term Nyamwezi is of Swahili origin, and translates as "people of the moon" or "people of the west", the latter being more meaningful to the context. Historically, there have been five ethnic groups, all of which referring to themselves as Wanyamwezi to outsiders: Kimbu, Konongo, Nyamwezi, Sukuma, and Sumbwa, who were never united. All groups normally merged have broadly similar cultures, but it is an oversimplification to view them as a single group. The Nyamwezi have close ties with the Sukuma and are believed to have been one ethnic group up until the Nyamwezi started their forrays to the Coast for long distance trade. The Sukuma would refer to the Nyamwezi as the Dakama, meaning 'people of the south', and the Dakama would refer to the Sukuma as 'people of the north'. Their homeland is called Unyamwezi, and they speak the language Kinyamwezi, but many also speak Swahili or English. Ancient Indian texts refer to the Nyamwezi, or 'the men of the moon', a term still in use to identify the Nyamwezi people in Tanzania. It was only in the 19th century that the name could be found in European literature; the term might include almost anyone from the western plateau. Travel taught them that others called them Nyamwezi, and almost all men accepted the name given to them by the coastal people indicating that the Nyamwezi came from the west. A century later, their land is still called "Greater Unyamwezi", about 35000 square miles (90,650 km2) of rolling land at an elevation of about 4000 feet (1219 m).

According to oral tradition, the Nyamwezi are thought to have settled in west central Tanzania (their present location) some time in the 17th century. The earliest evidence comes from the Galahansa, and confirms their presence there in the late 17th century. They were once fishermen and nomadic farmers due to the poor quality of soil in the area. Their travels made them professional traders. By 1800 they were taking caravans to the coast to trade in Katanga copper, wax, salt, ivory, and slaves. Arab and Indian slave and ivory traders reached the Nyamwezi by 1825. They also started to acquire guns, and establish regular armies, with intra tribal wars and some conflicts with Arabs on the coast throughout the 19th century. They could be considered an acquisitive society, often accused of thinking of nothing but how to earn money. The Nyamwezi had long been a settled agricultural and cattle owning people, arriving on the western plateau in the 16th century, and originally living in a mosaic of small and independent chiefdoms slowly carved out by ruling dynasties. According to a Catholic missionary, these may have numbered over 150, each with its own councilors, elders, and court slaves. In the 19th century, they were already recognized as large slave owners and were famous for their herds. While cattle were important, their care was not part of tribal life. The Nyamwezi often hired professional herdsmen, the immigrant Tutsi, to care for their cattle herds.

Historically, villages were normally not kinship units and people found their relatives spread over wide areas. Spouses generally came from outside the Tembes and sons commonly moved away from their father's homestead. The core members of a "domestic group" consisted of the husband, his wife or wives, and any children who still lived with them. Sometimes relatives, such as a mother, younger unmarried brothers or sisters, and their children could be found together. The sexes usually ate separately. In general men did the heavy work, while women did the recurring tasks and much of the everyday agricultural work. Ideally every adult person should be married, and every married woman should have her own household and bring her own household utensils. The husband is said to technically own his wife's hut, fields, and most of the household's food, but a wise husband usually listened to the wife's advice. There was little ranking between co wives, although seniority in terms of who was first married was at times recognized. Jealously and sorcery were common, much depending on how well co wives got along. Unlike the Wagogo, divorce was common, a large majority of persons experiencing al least one divorce by the time they were fifty years of age, which included the return of bridewealth minus the number and sex of the children born. Divorce was most often accomplished by the separation of either party. Chiefdom courts found certain reasons to automatically justify divorce: a woman's desertion, being struck by a wife, the wife's adultery, sexual refusal of the wife, and having an abortion, were all adequate reasons. Grounds for a husband to claim divorce were failure of the wife to carry out household duties, visiting a doctor without permission, and possible infertility. A wife could divorce if the husband deserted for a period of time without supporting her; if the husband seriously injured her by, for example, breaking a limb, but not simply beating her; the husband's impotence or perversions; or if her husband generally failed to maintain her and her children properly. A husband's adultery would not be one of the grounds. It was customary for the younger brother of her former husband to inherit a widow (a kind of "widows and orphans" security system), although it was not done against her will. Among some, inheritance of a widow by her husband's sister's son was particularly favored. It had always been part or the Nyamwezi system for the chief to receive tribute, bring success and prosperity to the people, and play an active role in ceremonies. All land was said to have belonged to the chief and he had the right to expel witches and undesirables; abuse was checked by the general need to maintain a large population; and while no one had the right to sell land in a chiefdom, the people had considerable security in their rights to the land. Permission to clear land was not needed, but care was taken so as not to conflict with others in the area. If there was a shortage of land in an area to be inherited, a headman could insist upon other holdings. Water was free to all. The Nyamwezi were highly religious with ntemi as their ritual, religious, leader and priest.

Elephant hunters have historically been one of the most prestigious occupations among the Nyamwezi, since the elephant hunters could get very rich from ivory trade. The elephant hunters were organised in a guild, which only accepted those who could pass the apprenticeship and the tests that were associated with it. Hunting had a wide variety of forms. Guild members often used lethal poison, and when they used it, in a German sergeant's words, "it worked slowly but surely." The guildmembers believed they possessed powerful hunting medicine acquired through rigorous apprenticeships, tracking game in all types of terrain and moving swiftly and silently through thorny underbrush. The elephant hunting led to a decrease in elephant population, which combined with the increased trade in slaves, led to large changes in the social and economic conditions. Nyamwezi staple food has historically been ugali, a porridge made from hominy and served with meat and vegetables. Beer made from fermented corn, sorghum, or millet was also common. Goats were used for ancestor sacrifices, but the economic value of goats and sheep lay in their meat and skins. By tradition five goats or sheep equated one bull; two bulls were worth one cow. Their year is divided into two seasons, wet and dry, with considerable variation depending on time and place. In addition to agriculture, crafts were a part time occupation and were not hereditary. Regionally traded products of importance were drums, ladles, stools, storage boxes for grain, and snuffboxes of horn. Iron and cloth were very important in regional networks, but the cloth industry in particular was ailing in 1857 because of severe competition from India, and over the next sixty years almost disappeared. Ironwork came from localized settlements whose products were then traded over wide areas: bows, arrows, spears, the payment of fines, and the extremely valuable hoes for bridewealth were all produced with considerable ritual by the smiths.

Slavery was important and chiefs and other government officials owned the largest number, sometimes well over a thousand, for as porters became more and more important, and since many men were traveling, labor for cultivation became increasingly scarce and slaves were needed more and more. Slaves remaining in the local area seem to have had a life easier and more secure than those sent to the coast. Domestic slaves often lived and ate with their owners, were allowed to work on their own, and could possess their own slaves and livestock; loyal slaves could even be given part of a chiefdom, and it was not unusual for slaves to acquire positions of great influence and power. Even though slave trading and raiding outside of Unyamwezi was considerable, some people became slaves as a result of debt. Before the 19th century, slavery was tolerated but looked down upon by the Nyamwezi. During the social and economic changes of the 19th century, the attitude changed, and the slave trade increased steadily. The ivory trade greatly increased the slave trade, although it had long been important in intra and inter regional trade. As with cattle, slaves were also needed and wanted for their prestige value, for men could gain influence and social connections, they could even make marriage payments with them. The slave was seldom used just to carry ivory. Ivory porters should be viewed as free and voluntary labor, although it is true that they were at times financially abused by their chiefs, but later these people were defeated by Arabs.

With the establishment of German East Africa in the 19th century, Moravian Church missionaries arrived in the Lake Malawi region of Tanganyika. Today, the Moravian Church In Western Tanzania (MCWT) has about 80,000 Nyamwezi adherents and many continue to evangelize among the Sukuma people. About 926,000 Nyamwezi speak a language of the Bantu family, classified as the Sukuma–Nyamwezi group of Bantu. The Nyamwezi are predominantly subsistence farmers and cattle herders.

Most follow a traditional religion, despite conversion attempts by Islam and Christianity. They believe in a powerful god called Likube (High God), Limatunda (Creator), Limi (the Sun) and Liwelolo (the Universe), but ancestor worship is a more frequent daily practice. Offerings of sheep or goats are made to ancestors, and the help of Likube is invoked beforehand. Spirits also play an active role in Nyamwezi religious life, with mfumu, witchdoctors, or diviners, playing the role of counselor and medical practitioner. Bulogi (witchcraft) is a powerful force in Nyamwezi culture. The Baswezi society recruits people possessed by the Swezi spirit. Many Nyamwezi converted to Sunni Islam during the 19th century and Islam even influenced the fashion of those that didn't convert. During the same century, other Nyamwezi converted to Protestant Christianity via the work of the Moravian Church established in the region. Even with conversion, both the Christian and especially the Muslim Nyamwezi retained much of their traditional customs and beliefs.