• The Chagga tribe

  The Chagga tribe originated from the Kilimanjaro region. They are famous for their adaptability. They were one of the first tribes in the area to become converted to Christianity. Some would say that this was because it gave them access to education and health care. Many have become well educated and now live away from Kilimanjaro but have built their "retirement" home on the mountain. It is thought that the biggest income for Tanzania is the money sent in from abroad by Chaggas who have gained good jobs and honour the family tradition by looking after the "clan". They are wonderful business people. They are also very friendly and welcoming. Their villages around Kilimanjaro are very large because each family have a plot of land called their Shamba. There are no streets of houses as in Europe. Walking around Njari is like walking though a farm of banana trees and coffee along dirt tracks. The Chagga are wonderful farmers. They can grow five crops together on their shambas. Coffee, bananas, yams, beans and tomatoes. The Chagga are also famous for their "traditional brew" called Umbegi. It is made from a special variety of bananas and millet. You will see people drink umbegi in all the bars by sharing a calabash. You will be able to visit an umbegi bar in Njari and watch it being made. (Phil Furneaux)

• The Maasai Tribe

  The Maasai Tribe are probable the most famous tribe who have strong traditions especially for their dress which is the characteristic red and black pattern. They are also famous in Tanzania for being "fierce" are are employed for security in many establishments. In fact in the 19th Century they aroused western awe and curiosity when they acquired a reputation amongst slave traders and explorers as fearsome warriors. They have many strong customs which they adhere to which makes them so "un-westernised", unlike the Chagga. The Maasai live between Northern Tanzania and western Kenya. The border does not exist for them! They are a Niloctic-speaking people who arrived in Tanzania from what is now the Sudan 300 years ago. Maasai are traditionally pastorialists. They believe their God who resides in Lengai Volcano, made them rightful owners of cattle in the world. You can see them herding their throughout Northern Tanzania and if you can visit a cattle market do so. The haggling can become very aggressive. (Don't take photos!). There is a maasai market between Arusha and Moshi so you could observe one on your visit! The Maasai main diet is a blend of cow's milk and blood which is drained from the animal's jugular vein. They are reluctant to kill their animals for meat as they are more valuable to them alive. You will be able to chat to the maasai during your tour with us. However they will ask for money when taking photographs of them. They are good business people. They know they have a commodity that westerners want ... so you have to pay for it!! (Some information taken from "Guide to Tanzania" by Philip Briggs)

• Harzabe Tribe

  Hadzabe are one of the three last Ethono groups of hunters- gatherers, escapees of the Great Demographic movements which radically transformed the settlement of Africa during the
  'Xxeme' century.
  Their ancestral homeland originally covered large part of northern Tanzania and included the world famous Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti plain. At this moment, the Hadzabe exploits
  a small territory to the south of Ngorongoro, within the escarpments of the Great Rift Valley and the valleys close to lake Eyasi.

This territory is known for its wealth of wildlife -and to a range of flora of African baobab trees
–home to the bees from which the Hadzabe collects and enjoy the sweetest of wild honey.
They hunt animals using arrows and bows and gather wild roots and fruits to make them survive.
The wild pig, dik dik, antelope and baboon are their favorites menu. This hunting style is governed completely by the seasons, the dry lakes and valleys become flooded and the area teams with wild animals as they search water and vegetation of the plains. These times as refers as the good
harvest to Hadzabe, food is relatively plentiful………

This hunting and gathering lifestyle is governed almost completely by the seasons. In the wet season, the dry lakes and valley floors become flooded, and the area teems with game as the animals seek the water and vegetation of the plains. At these times, food is relatively plentiful. In the far longer dry season, however, both game and wild plant resources are harder to come by, leaving the Hadzabe to struggle with hunger – a problem in turn exacerbated by other environmental issues they have to face.

• Mang'ati Tribe: The Datoofa (Barabeig or Mang’ati)
  There is little concrete history of the Datooga people. Their migration history has been reconstructed through comparative linguistics and study of oral traditions of the Barabeig and their neighbors. These people are classified as the Highland (Southern) Nilotes. Their origin, by the first time was
  obscure, but thought to be in Southern Sudan or Western Ethiopia highlands; probably 10000 years ago.

  The Barabaig have lived in this area for several centuries. Most of Barabeig men are able to speak Swahili language which is the official language of Tanzania. The Barabeig are pasroralists. Most of their population situated in the wooden, rocky areas close to Mount Hanang in northern Tanzania .Traditionally, the Barabeig would move their homes and cattle to distant areas where they could find good pasture for their cattle herds. Their shelters(samod) built of forked trees which has been chopped down, trimmed, then set into holes dug onto the ground. The men accomplish the building task with crude tools. At last they build fences shaped in figure eight, they made it from thorn trees like accacia and other floras. The diet of the Barabeig centres around the cattle that they keep. Milk is their favorite menu.They also grow maize in small plots ranging from a quarter an acre or more. There no fences to shut out from wild animals which currently destroys their crops. The Barabeig has dispersed locations in the Northern East of Tanzania .A small group is found near lake Eyasi that can be visited and are very corporate. It is of 3-4 Hrs from Mto wa Mbu to the Lake Eyasi. (Written by Roman Chuwa)
  

Maasai village near Kiboko