Isanzu people

The Isanzu (Anyihanzu) are a Bantu ethno-linguistic group based in Iramba, Singida, Tanzania. In 1987 the Isanzu population was estimated to number 32,400. The Isanzu have matrilineal descent groups and are agriculturalists who subsist on sorghum, millet, and maize. Most Isanzu make a living as farmers and through migrant labour to other parts of the country, principally, Arusha.[1]

Isanzuland was colonized by Germany in the late 19th century, and during the First World War, occupied by British forces. Following the war Tanganyika became a British Trust Territory and a British administration governed this area, like the rest of the Territory, through a policy of Indirect Rule until independence in 1961.[2]

Language

The Isanzu speak a Bantu language called kinyihanzu. Nearly everyone also speaks Swahili, Tanzania's lingua franca.

Big Clans and Families

1. Kitunga 2. Msindai 3. Mpeku 4. Manzawa 5. Mpinga 6. Mahumi 7. Malalika 8. Gang'ai 9. Mpanda 10.Mkilanya 11.Mzengi 12.Holela 13.Mikael 14.Mtiko 15.Ibobo 16.Saenda

Notes

  1. Sanders, Todd 2008. Beyond Bodies: Rainmaking and Sense Making in Tanzania. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
  2. Illiffe, John 1979. The History of Tanganyika. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

References

Adam, Virginia 1963. Rainmaking rites in Ihanzu. Conference proceedings from the Makarere Institute of Social Research. Adam is a social anthropologist who worked with the Isanzu in 1961 and 1962.

Sanders, Todd 2008. Beyond Bodies: Rainmaking and Sense Making in Tanzania. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Sanders is a social anthropologist who worked in Isanzu in the 1990s.

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