Tanzanian customs
The full name of Tanzania is The United Republic of Tanzania. It is one of the birthplaces of ancient humans. It is located in eastern Africa and south of the Equator. It is a member of the British Commonwealth and one of the world's least developed countries declared by the United Nations. However, Tanzania is rich in mineral resources, including gold, diamond, iron, nickel, phosphate, coal and various gemstones, ranking fifth in Africa in total. The official capital of Tanzania is Dodoma, but Dar es salaam is recognized by people other than Tanzanians as its capital. Kiswahili is the national language and is the official common language along with English.
There are currently 126 ethnic groups in Tanzania, mainly SUKUMA, MAKONDE, CHAGA, HAYA, NYAMWEZI, etc. Among them, Bantu people account for about 95%, Niloti people account for 4%, and the other 1% of the population consists of Arab, Indo-Pakistani and European descendants and descendants of the above-mentioned ethnic minorities who intermarried with local people.
Tanzania advocates freedom of belief. 32% of Tanganyika (mainland) residents believe in Catholicism and Christianity, 30% believe in Islam, and the rest believe in primitive fetishism; 99% of Zanzibar residents almost all believe in Islam. Christian Tanzanians avoid "13", believing it to be an unlucky number that will bring bad luck. People who believe in Islam, like other Muslims, abstain from pork and using pig products, and also avoid talking about pig issues.
Residents in Tanzanian towns are more particular about their clothes. Men like to wear hunting costumes and T-shirts; women wear a crescent vest or T-shirt on the upper body and colorful skirts on the lower body. The skirt is made of two pieces of cloth more than two meters long. First, wrap one around the body, press and put it on the waist with your hand, and then cover the piece with the same method. The head is usually wrapped with a floral cloth. Dancing is also an important part of their daily life and an indispensable part of their ceremonial activities. Whenever they welcome guests, celebrate birthdays, or get married, they use dance to express their emotions. It can be said that Tanzanians cannot live without dancing every time.
In terms of eating habits, Tanzanians generally eat corn, rice, and sweet potatoes as their staple foods. Its taste is generally heavy, not afraid of greasy, likes spicy food, and generally likes to eat Sichuan dishes in my country. People in the upper echelons generally like to eat English Western food. They also like to eat beef and mutton, drink coffee and beer, and avoid eating pork, animal offal, seafood and grotesque foods such as squid, sea cucumber, turtle, etc. I also like to eat "Uberwa Bowa" hand-pilaf, a traditional ethnic dish made of cornmeal sweetened and coconut oil. When eating this kind of rice, it is generally necessary to dip it in a soup made of beef, curry, onions, tomatoes and other raw materials. Since the local vegetable price for Tanzanians is higher than that for fruits, most people would rather buy fruits than vegetables. They love bananas very much. They are both a fruit and often eat them as vegetables. Banana powder can also be made into snacks, and some even use bananas to make wine.
The eating habits of various tribes in Tanzania vary greatly. Some tribes mainly focus on animal husbandry and eat cattle and sheep as their staple food; some mainly focus on fishing and eat fish and shrimp as their staple food; those mainly grow bananas, and eat bananas as their staple food. For example, the Haya people living in northern Victoria are famous for growing bananas. They are used to building houses in banana forests. There is also another commandment among the Haya people, that is, they should not eat birds, chickens and eggs. They also have the habit of raising chickens, but only to announce the dawn and use them as sacrifices. In addition, the Haya people also abstain from insects, but not grasshoppers and termites.
Special note: Tanzanians avoid passing things or food with their left hand. It is believed that the right hand is a clean hand that always comes into contact with things at the entrance, and the left hand often comes into contact with dirty things, so it is unclean.
If you go to Tanzania for business activities, you can prepare some gifts. Locals regard gift-giving as a way to make friends and communicate. Doing business locally requires patience, and the negotiation process can be long. Local businessmen often ask each other to abide by appointment times, but they themselves are often late, so be tolerant of this.
Because Tanzania is a multi-ethnic country, each ethnic group has its own customs, characteristics and different hobbies.
The Masai people have a very unique aesthetic outlook. They regard women as having their heads shaved and men wearing pigtails as their beauty; some tribal women also regard their tattoos as their beauty. They regard their parents as the most amiable and trustworthy people, and their guests as the most respectable people. Therefore, they usually call male guests "Dad" and female guests "Mom". They even call everyone they see this. Even parents call their sons "Dad" and their daughters "Mom". They love red because it gives people excitement and excitement.
The Krai people in Tanganyika, Tanzania, often use "snake rice" to entertain guests as a token of their respect. "Snake rice" is made by steaming a red flower snake with only the five internal organs removed, the head and tail removed, and the skin in grain flour. Guests must eat the "snake rice" in one go, and must eat the snake together and not spit it out. In the eyes of its owner, the red snake is a symbol of happiness. Treating guests with red snakes shows the host's sincere friendship to the guests. If the guest does not eat "snake rice" or spits out the snake, it means that the guest does not believe in the host's friendship. They prefer lilacs because it brings beauty and happiness to people.
The Masai people still have the custom of "asking for marriage". Once a woman becomes pregnant, many mothers or relatives who have given birth to a boy come to propose marriage so that they can choose a wife for their child. If a pregnant woman gives birth to a girl, she will become a lifelong partner with a boy; if she gives birth to a boy, she will become a lifelong friend. When welcoming important guests, they all have to step on stilts and keep their feet away from the ground to show that they are clean and express their warm respect for their guests.
The Haya people are popular in "touching their feet and finishing their relatives". The man's parents proposed marriage to the woman's parents. When the woman's parents agreed to marry their daughter to the man, the man's parents touched the feet of the woman's parents to show their gratitude, which means that the marriage has been settled. If the woman reneges on her word after "touching her feet", the man can sue the ancestral spirit and request punishment for the woman. This is a completely arranged marriage by parents.
"Showing breasts to attract lovers" is another custom of the Haya people. In order to attract young men's attention, Haya girls often expose their breasts and regard this as a kind of natural beauty. At the same time, this is also to obtain the supervision of the father. Based on the changes in the breasts, parents can find out whether their daughter is pregnant. If she gets pregnant before marriage, it will be regarded as a misfortune for the family.
Before the New Year, the Kiswahili people along the coast use charcoal to pop popcorn and sprinkle it in the corner of every room to drive out monsters and pray for happiness. On New Year's Day, after people get up, girls dressed in colorful dresses walked around the village and sang folk songs.