Tanzania Languages

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Tanzania Languages & Culture

Tanzania's has more than a hundred different tribal groups are mostly of Bantu origin. The Arab influence is evident in the people, who are a mix of Shirazia, Arabs, Comorians and Bantu from the mainland, though the latter predominate. Asians are a minority especially in the towns and cities. Europeans are a smaller minority. The major non-Bantu people on the mainland are the Maasai who inhabit the north-eastern section of the country.

Languages spoken include Kiswahili or Swahili, Kiunguju, English (official,administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar) and many other local languages

Note: Kiswahili is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources, including Arabic and English, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa, the first language of most people is one of the local languages

Tanzanian dance and music dominates much of East Africa. Strong in rhythm and renowned for hard-hitting lyrics, the country's Swahili-based sounds are kept very much alive by a thriving dance-band scene. Remmy Ongala is the country's best known exponent. Zanzibar is at the heart of the distinctive taraab, or sung poetry, tradition.

The two main religions are Christianity and Islam, with Hindus making up about a quarter of the population. The majority of Muslims are concentrated along the coast and in the islands. Compared to Islam, Christianity took a long time to make an impact. There are still many tribes who follow neither of the big-name religions and instead worship the ancient spirit of their choice

It is worth to note that 90% of the population follows the Islamic religion. Nevertheless, Tanzanians have great respect and tolerance for the other religions. Hence in Tanzania people observe all religious celebrations. These include the Idd-el-Fitr (at the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan), Idd-el-Hajj (to mark the annual pilgramage to Mecca), the Christian festivities of Christmas and Easter and the Hindu Diwali

Looking at the mordern Tanzania, many factors have contributed to its wooes, and not all have been self-inflicted - it is, after all, one of the world's poorest countries. The incorporation of Zanzibar, once one of Africa's richest countries, has only created new problems. Adopting a multi-party political system doesn't seem to have helped much either. Zanzibar and the neighbouring island of Pemba have experienced violent unrest in the past and political scare-mongering ever since an election stalemate on Zanzibar divided the islands.