Chagga Cultural Tour

CHAGGA CULTURAL TOUR

The Chagga are the third largest ethnic group in Tanzania and traditionally occupy the fertile foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. They are one of a number of tribes to have origins in Central and Western African Bantu culture. There are approximately 6 big sub-groups of Chagga, divided into numerous clans. Due to the abundance of water, the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro are lush and green, with rich fertile soils. The Chagga primarily practice agriculture in the form of plantations and home-gardens and keep animals such as livestock and poultry for meat, milk and manure. Every traditional Chagga home has a large home-garden where they grow a wide variety of crops such as coffee, bananas and other fruits such as oranges, lemons and avocados; as well as sugar cane, flowers, vegetables and some traditional herbs.

The Chagga have a long history of contact with European missionaries and other colonizers which resulted in them having greater access to schooling and therefore higher levels of formal education compared to other groups in Tanzania. The Chagga have a reputation for being shrewd business people and are often able to achieve positions of influence in Tanzanian society.

They were also one of the first to begin losing their traditional language (these days very few young people can speak or understand it fluently) and customs as a direct result of rural-urban migration. With each elder's passing more and more of their history and cultural identity is lost.

Highlights:

In the morning, we will collect you from your hotel in Moshi and take you to Marangu, which lies in the fertile hills of Kilimanjaro where a village guide will be waiting for you and bring you first of all to the Chagga Live Museum, where you will get a deep insight in the traditional lifestyle of this agricultural society.
We will then proceed to the waterfalls. On the way our guide will give an insight about the flora and fauna of the region. At the waterfall, you will have lunch and if you fancy you may take a plunge in the refreshing waters of the waterfall.
In the afternoon, we will drive to the village of Mamba. This small village is famous for its traditional caves from 1800s, which were used to hide the women and children for weeks during the Chagga – Maasai wars. We will learn in depth about the chagga cultural history, Chagga – Maasai war history, lifestyle and many more. At Mamba, you will also visit a local blacksmith who still forges spearheads in the traditional manner. Late in the afternoon, we will take you back to your hotel.

Ps: On this day we have an option to visit the Kilimanjaro main gate, Marangu where lies a lot of history about the mountain as well as decorated records of the best overall climbers up to date Maasai cultural visit day trip