Pare people

Anthropomorphic figurine; 19th century-20th century; terracotta; from Tanzania; Museo de Arte Africano Arellano Alonso (Valladolid, Spain)

This region has historically received a substantial population of people from the Taita region of present-day Kenya. The Pare area was also inhabited by Cushitic groups like the Mbugu in Ugweno who were eventually assimilated into the Pare communities.

Channeled Natural Water in Ugweno

This era can be categorised as the ‘age of skill’ for the North Pare communities. Although little evidence remains about this era due to ‘the great Shana disruption’, records show that the Ugweno (or "Vughonu/Vughono" to its inhabitants) area was known throughout the region. It was ruled by the Shana clan for centuries and became known as the "Mountains of Mghono/Mghonu", after an early notably famous Shana ruler, from whom it got its name.[5]

It is the skill of the blacksmiths and the resulting valued iron products that made the area popular, that eventually led to the influx of foreign groups.[5] Archaeological evidence of iron smithing activities include items collected by Hans Fuchs in the early twentieth century in North Pare, held in the ethnographic collections of the Náprstek Museum, Prague[6] - refer to link: Iron Smithing Items.

In addition, remnants of a specialized irrigation system exist exposing hundreds of irrigation intakes and furrows that were constructed during this era.[7] Only when the responsibility for irrigation management shifted from patrilineages to village-level committees (post-independence) were these systems negatively impacted towards near collapse. [8].

It is the disruption of the Shana rule that led to the miscommunication of history from modern-day communities, and the misinterpretations of the region and its inhabitants amongst early European adventurers and historians.[5] Notably, in characterising the skill of the iron smiths based on post “civil war” communities.[9]

This era can be categorised as the ‘age of discipline and expansion’ of the North Pare communities. The Suya overthrew the Shana and instituted a number of reforms that included a strict initiation system and 'one of the great centralized political administration systems' for indigenous communities in Tanzania. This allowed the Ugweno kingdom of northern Pare to expand and come into its own in the 18th century.[5]

In South Pare, where the dry foothills and plains were populated by Cushitic-speaking peoples and small Bantu-speaking groups before the 1700s,[10] saw an influx of immigrants from neighbouring communities that included Taita as well as those escaping civil war from North Pare. This region had a separate rule from the north, and its own evolution of political systems.[5]

The Germans imposed an administrative rule over the area (1881-1919), then the British colonial era (in the area) lasted until 1963 when the chiefdom was abolished by an independent Tanganyika government.

At the start of the 20th century, the population of South Pare (now known as Same District) was estimated at 22,000[11] comprising an ethnic group called Asu or Pare who are speakers of Chasu or the kiPare language. They are patrilineal and were in several areas organized into small chiefdoms.

The Pare Union formed in 1946 was one of Tanzania's first ethnic-based nationalist movements to begin activism against the colonial system. Among many grievances, was the exploitation through the production of export crops particularly Sisal and Coffee. Like many other ethnic-based political groups in Tanganyika, The Pare Union then became part of the Tanganyika African Association (TAA) which later became the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) in 1954. This avoided groups like the Pare Union forming into full political parties that were ethnic in orientation.

Moses Seenarine writes of the contribution of Pare women in the struggle: 'The Pare women's uprising in northwest Shambaai, Tanzania, occurred in early January 1945 and continued with demonstrations into 1946, involving thousands of women. It began in Usangi, one of the chiefdoms, when the district commissioner arrived for discussions with the local chief. A crowd of hundreds (if not thousands) of women appeared, demanding an explanation of mbiru, a system of graduated taxation. When the commissioner tried to leave without addressing the women, they became enraged and mobbed the assembled officials. Two days later, women surrounded the chief's house singing songs, and ultimately stoned officials and battled police.' The Mbiru protest by the Pare people refusing to pay colonial tax was eventually led by Paulo Kajiru of Mamba. The Pare eventually managed to defeat this tax system, and eventually went back to the flat rate of tax in 1947.[12] This is an important historical event in Tanzania.

Sheridan[13] documents on archival sources and oral histories to explain how the altering of post-colonial land management in the North Pare (currently known as Mwanga) Mountains affected environmental conditions. Colonial forest management and water policies were all abandoned, affecting villagers in many aspects including environmental degradation and a drop in management capacity.

Makande is a typical dish of the Pare tribe, who live in the Pare Mountains, and is popular throughout Tanzania. The dish is a kind of stew of maize, red beans, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and chicken stock, and it’s normally prepared on Friday and lasts through Sunday evening, which gives people more time to socialize during the weekend without worrying about cooking—the food is kept in a big clay pot on the damp ground so it stays cool.

Kishumba is another traditional food, it is a kind of banana cooked with red beans and crushed to make a hard porridge.

Vughai is yet another traditional food, it is kind of hard porridge prepared by banana, cassava or maize flour (or a mixture of both). It is served with either vegetable, beans or meat/fish/chicken stew (or both if available). When served with meat/chicken, it is considered as a welcoming dish for guests.

There are also special foods given to women after delivering, to assist in their quick recovery.

Before the introduction of western medicine, there were certain diseases that were cured using traditional medicine. When Lutheran missionaries were actively introducing Christianity and western style medicine in north Pare and later in south Pare from the early 1900s, it was acknowledged: “The Pare people did not embrace the modern institutions introduced by the missionaries as readily as the Chaga. The stronger position of local healers meant that traditional medicine was never rejected as an inferior or backward tradition …”.[16]

Children used to suffer Wintu (mouth sore) a fungal ailment thought to come from the mother’s breast. It was treated by giving the child sheep’s milk instead of breast milk.

Kirumu, kirutu, and kinyoka (eye infection of the newborn). This may be neonatal conjunctivitis. The juice of leaves from a plant called mwore was used as a cure.

Mtoro (diarrhea), made ‘the child as thin as firewood.’ Ash of the root of wild banana was administered orally as its medicine.

The most prominent traditional belief within the Pare community was when a baby's milk teeth grew from the upper jaw; they believed it to be a curse to the society and thus killed the baby by throwing them off a large rock with a steep slope facing down a mountain.

Pare people are known to have a variety of medicine for all sorts of diseases, largely enabled by the fertile area with natural vegetation and an unpolluted land with few people.

Traditionally, the Gweno were marked by a black streak running from the middle of the forehead to the nose. The unmarried warriors were characterised as muscular and their bodies plastered with grease and a red clay. They had different hairstyles – fully shaven, cut at the crown, worn in a thatch hanging down their necks, and twisted into thin dreads (most common). The men carried spears and shields and they wore a piece of cloth or hide hanging down across their breast.[17]

In nearby Shighatini, missionaries managed to take a picture (in the year 1902) of the Pare men in traditional clothing, refer to link: Pare Men Wearing Traditional Clothing.

The women wore a garment of hide fastened around their waist. They had spirals of iron wire as arm and leg ornaments. They also wore large earrings made of beads, thick necklaces of brass and wooden ear stretchers decorated with iron.[17]

The Pare built two types of round houses: (1) They used a wooden framework to create a cone-shaped house, that was likely fastened out of ropes from tree trunks, with a pitched roof made of plant fibre stretching down to the ground. Refer to link: Round House 1 (2) The wooden framework covered with leaves is only used as a roof in this second model, but the framework is covered with a cementitious soil available in the Pare mountains to create round walls. Refer to link: Round House 2.

In Tanzania, referring to someone as “Pare” is synonymous with calling them “stingy” or “cheap”. Even during Tanzania’s history of economic hardship, the Pare believed in making ends meet through adopting strict budget plans, albeit having insufficient funds. Given their honest and direct nature about their economic circumstances, this has been misinterpreted and stereotyped nationally. However, culturally the Pare just strive to be open and fair, hence a lack of hypocrisy in declaring their finances as modest and incorruptible (despite the odds) is viewed as the right thing to do.

• Cleopa Msuya: A former prime minister; vice president; minister of various portfolios including finance; industry; finance, economic affairs and planning; industry and trade.
• Asha-Rose Mtengeti Migiro: United Nations 3rd deputy secretary general.
• Jumanne Maghembe A former cabinet minister.
• Halima Mdee: A member of Tanzanian Parliament.
• Gray S. Mgonja: A former permanent secretary in the ministry of finance.
• Sophia Mjema: Ilala District Commissioner (DC).

• Joyce Msuya: A microbiologist and environmental scientist, who serves as the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the level of Assistant Secretary-General.
• Ms. Damari Namdori Sefue (née Kangalu): the first Tanganyikan (Now Tanzania Mainland) woman to qualify as a teacher.[18]
• Prof. Yunus Daud Mgaya: Director General of the National Institute for Medical Research, and a former Executive Secretary of the Tanzania Commission for Universities.
• Dr Abel Yamwaka Mreta: Late linguist and expert on the Chasu language, having published many books and articles on the subject of languages, and former head of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Dar es Salaam.
• Amin Aza Mturi: One of the founding fathers of Archaeology in Tanzania, and in whose name the Olduvai Gorge Research Station is named after.[19]
• Dr Robert Nathaniel Mcharo Mshana: A specialist in mycobacterial immunology who worked in Ethiopia, Gabon and Côte d'Ivoire; developed policies and guidelines on behalf of the OAU/STRC in Lagos, Nigeria; contributed to WHO/TDR’s R&D activities; served on the Steering Committees for Immunology of Leprosy (IMMLEP), Immunology of Mycobacterial Infections (IMMYC) and Vaccine Discovery Research (VDR).
• Dr Senkondo Mvungi: A former lecturer at UDSM and famous lawyer from Kisangara Juu Village
• Dr Venance Fupi: The former Chief Chemist (TBS) from Kisangara Juu Village

• Ben Msuya: Lieutenant Colonel that led the 19th battalion in 1979. It was the invasion forces that led to the fall of Kampala and the collapse of the Idi Amin government.
• Ahmed Msangi: Mwanza Regional Police Commander (RPC).

• Paulo Kajiru Mashambo: Leader of the historical Pare pre-independence protest to repeal the mbiru (graduated tax rate) system in the 1940s.
• Eliaza Mmbaga Elly: The first mount Kilimanjaro Tour Guide to graduate in Tanzania Government Universities on Tourism Management.
• Jumanne Mhero Ngoma: The person who discovered the gemstone named Tanzanite in northern Tanzania..
• Vanessa Mdee: A Tanzanian singer, songwriter, rapper, youth activist, television personality and radio host. She is popularly known for being the first ever Tanzanian MTV VJ.
• Gerald B. Mturi: Executive Secretary of the Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy (TCME).
• Ekwa Msangi: Tanzanian American Director and Screenwriter.
• January Msoffe: A notable judge from Kisangara Juu Village.

• Hakansson, N. T. (1998). Rulers and Rainmakers in Pre-colonial South Pare, Tanzania: Exchange and Ritual Experts in Political Centralization. Ethnology SUM, 1998, V37.
• Hakansson, N. T. (1998). Pagan Practices and the Death of Children: German Colonial Missionaries and Child Health Care in South Pare, Tanzania. Uppsala University, Sweden.
• Mpangala, G. P. (1999). Peace, Conflicts, ad Democratization Process in the Great Lakes Region: The Experience of Tanzania. Institute Of Development Studies, University Of Dar Es Salaam.
• Kimambo, I. and Temu, A. (eds) (1969). A History of Tanzania. Dar Es Salaam.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
• Kasuka, B. (ed) (2013). African Writers. New Africa Press.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)