THE NYAMWEZI.

 The Nyamwezi were among the first bantu immigrants into tanznania.
 They are believed to have come from Katanga region.
 Tradidtions claim they first settled in central Tanzania around tabora between ad 1000
and 1500.
 They have diverse origins and speak different dialets.
 They originally lived in small independent chiefdoms with no groupname.
 The name Nyamwezi (people of the moon 0was given to them by the coastal arabs,who
sawthem coming from the direction of the new moon west.
 They were originally agriculturists fishermen,and supplemented their livelihood by
raising livestock,
 Lator the Nyamwezi took part in the long distance trade.
 They were never afully united society.today,however.they think of themselves as one
people./this is because of theirvexperience in the 19th century ,including the impact of the
long distance trade ,the ngoni invasion and the work of important leadersb like mirambo
and nyungu yamawe.
ORGANISATION OF THE NYAMWEZI.
 Political organization.
 The Nyamwezi had no centralized political authority.
 Theyb lived in small independent cghiefdoms.of about 200-300 people.
 These chiefdoms were bound together by ethenic associations; kinships and clan ties,
 The ruler of the chiefdom was called mutemi or ntemi.
 The position of the ntemi was hereditary since since ason or aclos relative to yhe ntemi
succsedded him.
 The ntemi exercised poluitical: religious and judicial authority over his subjects.
 He appointed anumber of eleders to assist him in various capacities forexample
counselors, priests and headmen.
 Prominent officials among these were the ritual officials (mgwawa),army
commander(mutwala)information minister(kikoma)and the tax/revenue collector.(minile)
 All these were answerable to the ntemi.
 Some positions ofg the officials were hereditary.
 The ntemi was also assisted by acouncil of elders called wanyampala.
 The council was composed of old, experienced and kwoledgable leaders.
 The decisions of the council had to be respectedcby the ntemi.
 Militarily,the Nyamwezi had no standing army .instead chiefdoms had asmall army
whose commander would be appointed by the ntemi himself.
 In case of population explosionor succsion disputes etc chiefdoms would be split leading
to the creation of new chiefdoms along clan ties.
 Foe easy administration,ntemiships were further divided into small political units headed
by clan heads called gunguli.
 Social organization.
 The Nyamwezi were religious people who believed in apowerful god called likube.
 The ntemi was the religious leader of his people and was supposed to link them to their
ancestors.
 He therfoere perfomed ritual, functions and offered [prayers on behalf opf his peopke.
 These prayers were for good yields, child birth and success in the battles.
 He was the fountain of honour in the society and received of a lot of respect from his
people.
 He could marry as many wives as he wanted.
 The ntemi was the final man in the judicial system and was the final court of appeal.
 The wellbeing of the land and the people was totally dependent on the chief’s physical
health and observance of special rituals.
 Land was highy valued and was communally owned by the clan and the lineage.
 They observed the royal regalia like shields,spears,aroyal fier and drum which
symbolized chiefly power.
 The family and the clan were very imporatant social units among the Nyamwezi
 They were united by strong kinship ties and common ancestry/origin.
 Marriage was polygamous although there were monogamous homes
 There was also divinerzsna medicine men called ufumi who treated the sick
 Respected to elders was highly expected of the youth among the Nyamwezi
 By 1850, expansion of trade had affected the Nyamwezi political organization.
 It promoted the growth of larger units and introduced new ways of enforcing authourity.
 This lator produced powerfukl Nyamwezi chiefsdoms like the nyungu yam awe and
mirambo.
 They managed to unite the numerous Nyamwezi chiefdoms into more or less centralized
statyes of urambo and ukimbu.

Economic oganisation.
 At first the Nyamwezi were farmers and grew crops like millet,sorghum,potatoes,yams
etc.
 This food was collected as aform of tax.
 They established national food stores (granaries)that were directly under the ntemi.
 This food bank fed the ntemis body guards, members of his court and oyher people
outside thje court in case of hunger and famine.
 The Nyamwezi observed yhe new crop harvest ceremony.
 They were also pastrolists and kept animals like cattle,sheep,goats etc.
 Fishing was also carriedout from river pangani,igombe,ugalla,and lake Tanganyika.
 They were hunters especially of elephants for ivory and meat.
 There was division of labour/specialization,enabling men to be free and concentrate on
developing their skills in fishing,raiding iron working etc.
 Iron working was also carried out and they made spears,arrowheads,pangas,knives etc.
 Pottery and craft making were also common among the Nyamwezi.
 From the 18th century,the Nyamwezi got involved in the long distance trade and
controlled the central trade route
 Theybalso made trade contscts with the coast and traded in ivory, salt,iron,and slaves.
 They usually moved in caravans which led to yhe coast, Katanga and Buganda.
 During these trade contacts, the Nyamwezi provided the most skilled porters hence
porterage became afull time business occupation.
 Qtn, Describe the social, political and economic organization of the Nyamwezi
empire.