HISTORY OF HAYA TRIBE IN TANZANIA

 

BACKGROUND OF THE HAYA KINGDOM

The Haya areethnic linguistic group based in the district of Bukoba, Muleba and Karagwe at kagera region in northwest Tanzania East Africa in 1991 the Haya population was estimated to 1,200,000. The Haya people speaks Haya language. They are said to have settled in the Kagera region of northwest Tanzania during the time of Bantu expansion.

 They are believed to be the earlier in habitant in the area the practice of metal works allowed them to create various new forms of portelly. They were organized into small of groups which loosely affiliated with one groups another and organized in the system of similar to feudalism with commoners and nobles as the main participant.

With the arrival of European Christianity the region become famous for yielding the rate cardinal Laurian Rugambwa was the cardinal and respected person in the church as the Haya are many of them are Roman Catholic believes. In the 1978 the ancestral region in which the Haya belongs was subjected to an attempt of annexation by the farmer Uganda president Idd Amin Dada whose invasion of the Kagera region failed eventually lead to the topping of government by the  arm of Tanzania.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES.

The Haya live in densest populated village and are cultivator of plantain coffee, beans, maize, miners, tin, wolfram, animal husbandry that is cattle and goats. The people grew and traded coffee long before the arrival of European and today have established tea and coffee processing plants.

RELEGION

The pre-dominant religion is Roman Catholic (R.C) Traditional religion, Muslim.

TRADITION  MEDICINE.

The Omufumu (Healer) who uses herbal and spiritual power to diagnoses and cure illness, acting as a spirit medium  and use of Abanyampara.

EDUCATION.

The Haya people valued formal education earlier compared  to other tribes the people of Tanzania have been linked to one of the greatest scientific breakthrough of all time. The invasion of steal archeologist Petter Schmilt discovered through a literalist combination of archeology and tradition that the Haya had been forging steel around 2000 years.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIE.

The Haya people practiced cultural activities like other tribes. For example when the hunters succeed in killing a dangerous animals or a big animal they have to praise themselves when they return home. This system is called Majigambo (ebyebugo) the traditional houses for this kingdom is Mushonge.

The Haya practice to natural cultural dances that are held during the special ceremonies like marriage, succession and political issues those dances are omutolo, amayaga, omulekule, amakondele, and akasimbo.

Thesa dances were practiced in almost all district of the Haya people like Kihanja, Karagwe, Kiziba, Misenye,  Bugobo, Kiyamtwala, Ihangilo Bukore and Biharamulo.

 

POLITICS.

The Haya people live in different ethnic groups in Tanzania. They are divided into several. Example cardinal Laurian Rugambwa chiefdom  and Idd Amin Dada which suggests that in case political unity is not an essential part of tribal identity Haya are cultivators, growing coffee and plantais and live in densely populated village.

Exactly similar to the situation in kilimanjaro region high altitude of West of lake Victoria provided a pleasant climate for missionaries and the Catholic and protestants completed for convert by providing education .