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Tribe Snapshots Kwere |
| Location: |
East central Tanzania
near the coast |
| Population: |
50,000 |
| Language: |
Kikwere (eastern Bantu) |
| Neighboring Peoples: |
Zaramo,
Doë, Zigua, Luguru, Swahili |
| Types of Art: |
Kwere produce various wood sculptures, the best
known of which are small doll-like figurines (mwana
hiti). |
| History: |
The ancestors of Kwere peoples migrated into
what is now Tanzania around 1000 A.D. from the
south in the area of northern Mozambique. They
moved into the area with their contemporary Bantu
neighbors and gradually displaced the hunters
who had previously inhabited the grasslands. Nearing
the coast, they encountered the ancestors of the
Islamized Swahili peoples. They settled just inland
from the coast and maintained close trading ties
with their neighbors, including Zaramo, Zigua,
Luguru, and Swahili peoples. The differences between
the histories and social practices of the matrilineal
Bantu peoples that inhabit this region are minimal,
and in fact, strict boundaries were only drawn
by British colonial administrators. |
| Economy: |
Kwere are hoe cultivators, raising maize, rice,
and millet as staples. Goats, sheep, chickens,
and guinea fowl are also raised. Some cattle are
now kept, although this was impossible earlier
in their history, since the tsetse fly was once
endemic. Some fishing is practiced, though for
the most part Kwere farmers trade with Swahili
fishermen. Near the coast the climate is tropical,
and there are plenty of fruit trees and coconut
trees which provide ample food sources. Tobacco,
cotton, and sisal were raised for purposes of
trade. At one time, Tanzania was the largest exporter
of sisal, and this commodity, which is used to
make ropes, was the greatest contributer to the
Tanzanian economy. As synthetic alternatives have
become less expensive, however, Tanzania has seen
the bottom drop out of the sisal market. |
| Political Systems: |
Kwere did not have centralized political systems.
Their social organization was based on small-scale,
self-governing matrilineal kin groups. Lineage
heads were chosen by community leaders. These
leaders held the land rights of the lineage. Landownership
was determined by the original members who inhabited
it. The leader was responsible for distributing
the land and maintaining lineage rituals. Most
of the leaders in Kwere communities were men,
but on occasion they could be women. They settled
disputes between family members and were often
attributed with spiritual powers, such as the
ability to make rain or to communicate with the
spirit world. |
| Religion: |
Most Kwere believed in a supreme god (Mulungu),
who was associated with rainfall. Most prayers
were directed to familial spirits. Religion among
the Kwere was a household affair. Every family
was responsible for appeasing its ancestral spirits.
Shrines were built to the spirits on the ancestral
homeland, and members of the family were expected
to journey to these sites to make the proper offerings.
Kwere believed that major disasters and illnesses
were sent by Mulungu, but appeals and prayers
must be made to the ancestral spirits who served
as a liason between living men and the god. In
order to determine the proper course of action
necessary to appease an offended spirit, a spirit
medium (mganga) would be consulted. Through various
divination techniques the mganga would communicate
with the spirits and then prescribe treatment
for an illness or social imbalance. |
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