TANZANIA: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Several years ago, I tried reviewing books. I gave it up really quickly because it felt weird to ask an author for a book and review it publicly. What if I had an issue with a character and the author disagreed? I’m a very sensitive person, and I don’t want to ever appear rude (except when I mean to be of course). Criticism, even if it’s constructive, is hard for me to take sometimes, even after 40 years. I am extremely non-confrontational at heart. But one book I reviewed and enjoyed was called Lost in Tanganyika by Thomas Thorpe. Essentially, this British couple was imprisoned on Zanzibar in the mid-1800s and they escaped, making their way across what’s now Tanzania to Lake Victoria to a British outpost that’ll set them up with passage back to England. Kind of an adventure, but steeped in the history and culture of that time.

Tanzania is a portmanteau created from the two states that united to form the country: Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Tanganyika itself is from the Swahili, meaning a “sail in the wilderness.” (There’s also a Lake Tanganyika as well.) Zanzibar comes from the Bantu word “zenji,” meaning “black” and the Arabic word “barr,” which means “shore.”

Located in eastern Africa, Tanzania is surrounded by Uganda and Kenya to the north; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; and Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda to the west. There are several major lakes that have some shoreline in Tanzania: Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi, Lake Rukwa, and Lake Tanganyika. And it’s also known for many of its mountain peaks, namely the famous Mt Kilimanjaro (remember the old joke: “Never trust a mountain that starts out with ‘kill a man.’”) as well as its many national parks, including the Serengeti. They generally go through a rainy and dry period, and the temperature can vary widely depending on your altitude.

Slave trade memorial on Zanzibar

Linguistic and archaeological evidence shows that the original people moved into Tanzania from the north around 2400-4000 years ago and came in several waves. There were also others coming in from the west as well, bringing with them their languages, ways of life, and their food. Travelers and traders have been doing trade up and down the coast line since the first millennium AD, introducing their foods and wares from the Middle East and India. Around the 8th or 9th century, it became known as the Swahili Coast, and Islam was spread into the area. During the mid-1800s, an Omani sultan by the name of Said bin Sultan decided the island of Zanzibar would be the perfect place to base his slave trade operations. Some estimates say between 65-90% of the people on the island were enslaved (hence, the setting of the book I mentioned earlier). By the late 1800’s, the Germans moved in to take over quite a few areas of eastern Africa. However, after the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, both Tanganyika and Zanzibar were handed over to Britain. During WWII, they were forced to fight alongside the British, and Tanganyika became a major source of food during this time. By the mid-1950s, they started organizing themselves under the leadership of Julius Nyerere and eventually became the first Prime Minister after Tanganyika gained its independence in 1961. A few years later, the people of Zanzibar were able to overthrow their Arab controllers and joined Tanganyika. Not long after that, they changed their name to the now-familiar Tanzania. There were some struggles as the new country tried to figure out how to modernize itself while retaining political stability. After some reforms, it seems they continued to grow economically and sociopolitically in the region.

Fairly centrally located in the country, Dodoma is the capital city. It literally means “It has sunk” in the Gogo language (lovely sentiment). During the mid-1970s, it was decided to move the capital from the must larger coastal city of Dar es Salaam to someplace more centrally located, which turned out to be Dodoma. It wasn’t until the mid-1990s when it became the official capital. Not only is it the center of government, there are also several universities and sports venues as well as areas for shopping/markets, entertainment, and restaurants.

For a time, Tanzania had one of the faster growing economies in eastern Africa. Not being strongly connected to the global market actually helped protect it from being hit so hard in the global economic recession of 2008-2009. However, the country has severe national hunger issues. Very little of its economic growth is reaching the poor. Agriculture makes up the vast majority of Tanzania’s exports. By far, maize is their largest crop, but they also produced cassava, sweet potatoes, beans, bananas, sugar, cotton, cashew nuts, tobacco, coffee, sisal, tea, and a variety of meats. Tanzania also relies on a certain amount of tourism to its cities and its many national parks and conservation areas.

Because of its history, Tanzania is about two-thirds Christian. Of those Christians, a little more than half are Roman Catholic. Of the rest of the Protestants, Lutherans and Moravians are at the top, thanks to the German missionaries who were once there. There are also quite a few Anglicans, Adventists, and Pentecostals. Islam is the second largest religion and mainly concentrated on Zanzibar and the coastal regions. Of the Muslims there, the largest denomination is Sunni, followed by Shia, other non-denominational Muslims, Ahmadiyya (which are often not considered Muslim), and Sufi. And of course, there are small pockets of Buddhists, Hindus, and Baha’is spread throughout the mainland.

Tanzania is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in Africa with over 100 languages spoken there, representing each of the four main African language families. However, there are no official languages. Swahili tends to be the primary language used in lower courts and in education (especially in the lower grades). English is used in the upper grades and post-secondary levels, upper courts, and in business and trade. Arabic is used as a co-official language in Zanzibar. ECLs (ethnic community languages) are not only discouraged from being taught in school, it’s also prohibited from using them on TV and radio and almost impossible to create a newspaper in one of these languages. It’s sad because it makes it that much more difficult to keep it from becoming extinct.

Tanzania boasts many protected sites and national parks. Conservation and animal welfare is important, and one of those parks is Gombe Stream National Park. This national park is particularly famous because it was the location of much of the research done by Dame Jane Goodall. Knowing that humans are distinctly similar to chimpanzees, she traveled to the area in 1960 to conduct her own research on chimp communities. At the time she first traveled there, she was only 26 years old and hadn’t been to college at all. However, through her extensive research on chimps that’s provided through the Jane Goodall Institute, she’s really brought a lot of insight into the world of chimpanzees and how they relate to human development.

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OMAN: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

When I was a kid, I pronounced this country as “Oh, man!” I also used to get Muscat and Muskrat mixed up (I’m not sure why; they are vastly different.) However, in real life, Oman planted its stakes at a very strategic location in the Middle East and has taken full advantage of that location for many centuries. Once quite a powerful empire, its leader now tries as best as he can to maintain control, even if it goes too far. 

 

Where exactly the name Oman comes from is kind of up in the air. Historical linguists have argued various possible etymologies. Some believe it may have stemmed from either Greek or Roman references to the country (Pliny the Elder referred to the ancient city of Sohar/Suhar as Omana), but others believe it may have been named after other important people or even places in Yemen where some of the original settlers hailed from. It’s hard to say. Pick your favorite story, I guess. 

Oman is located on southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. It shares borders with Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Oman also has several enclaves and exclaves that border with the UAE. Its southern coast touches the Arabian Sea, across from India and Pakistan while the northeastern side (and its capital Muscat) borders the Gulf of Oman. The exclave of Musandam Governorate juts out into the Strait of Hormuz, which is at the tip of the Persian Gulf. At that point, it’s really not that far from Iran. Overall, Oman is hot and dry. There are areas in the mountainous regions of the south where it has more of a tropical climate, though. 

Sultan Qaboos bin Said

The earliest peoples were African Nubians. The oldest settlement we know of is Dereaze, which is located in the city of Ibri. Starting during the 6^th century, this area was ruled by various Persian dynasties. As the Portuguese were traveling around Africa and India, they stopped in Oman during the early 1500s. However, Ottoman Turks captured the city of Muscat and fought back the Portuguese for it. The Imam of Oman, Saif bin Sultan, started pushing to expand their holdings along the Swahili Coast of Africa (along the central part of its eastern coast: Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique). The Omanis also pushed the Portuguese out of many of these areas, including Zanzibar (current-day Tanzania), which was an important piece of property and served as Oman’s capital for a brief time. After several instances of battles and divisions, the country was finally divided between in the interior (called Oman) and the coastal area (named after the capital, Muscat). The British stepped in and helped draft the Treaty of Seeb, which declared that the sultan recognized the interior region’s autonomy, and the external affairs of Oman would be handled by the Sultan of Muscat. Oman gained its independence in 1744 and has been ruled by the Al-Said family since. (This makes it the oldest independent state in the Arab World.) When Sultan Said bin Taimur took over during the mid-1950s, Oman became more of an isolated and feudal country, and disagreements between him and the Imam over oil caused a feud that led to military action. After a coup, Taimur was disposed and Qaboos bin Said al Said became the Sultan. He started out with the goal of modernization across all fronts and was a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council. He even extended voting right and other rights to women. However, it wasn’t enough to combat some of his extreme decrees, such as the censorship of the press, criticism of the government, among other violations of human rights. 

Muscat, Oman

Muscat is the largest city in Oman and serves as its capital. The city is located along the northeastern coast. It’s long had the distinction of being an important trade port and at different points in time was ruled by Persians, Portuguese, and the Ottomans. When the current sultan took over in 1970, the city saw a rapid increase in its infrastructure, which led to an increase in economic development. With a city population of about 630,000, there are many things to see like museums, mosques, and markets and malls.

Overall, Oman has a pretty diversified economy. Petroleum and oil remain to be high on Oman’s economic drivers, but tourism is also pretty high up there as well and is growing. Their economy also depends on industry and agriculture (a lot of dates and fish!). They do have a free-trade agreement with the US (and probably other countries), and that helps to build up foreign economic ties. Oman also receives many foreign workers from Asia (especially India) and various places in Africa. They don’t make as much money as native Omanis, but it’s definitely more than what they’d make back home. 

Muhammad Al Ameen Mosque

By far, Islam is the largest religion in Oman with nearly 85% of the people practicing some form or another. In Oman, the largest denomination is Ibadhi, followed by Sunni and Shia. There are also significantly smaller groups of Christians and Hindus with a few other religions represented in the mix. 

The official language of Oman is Arabic, although Baluchi is also spoken many areas of the country. However, there are several indigenous languages that are endangered now. As far as second languages and foreign languages go, most street signs in Oman are written in both English and Arabic, and they were the first country in the Persian Gulf countries to offer German as a foreign language. Because of the number of foreign workers from India, there are a variety of Indian languages spoken in Oman as well. Swahili is often still used because of Oman’s historical ties with the language.

There are many peculiar things about Oman that I’ve read about. Oman is also famous for breeding Arab horses (probably like what was used in the movie Hidalgo?). Because their holy day is Friday, their weekend is Thursday and Friday. (That might be changing to Friday-Saturday to reflect more of a global business schedule.) They apparently don’t have Coke products for some reason (or they’re really hard to find). However, you can find Pepsi products easily. One thing they do have instead are really great coffee shops. They serve coffee in small cups (kind of like a cafezinho in Brazil) along with eating dried dates with it. I already know I’m using dates in one of my recipes. Even with some of its issues, I’m sure there are more quirky things here.

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