Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- List of Illustrations
- Foreword
- Preface
- Map of Unyamwezi
- 1 The People and their Country
- 2 The Historical Background
- 3 The External Situation
- 4 The Structure of the Chiefdom
- 5 The Business of Government
- 6 Mechanisms of Continuity
- 7 Rulers and Subjects
- 8 Neighbourhood and Politics
- 9 Conclusions
- Appendix A List of Chiefdoms in Unyamwezi
- Appendix B Nyamwezi Kinship Terminology
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - The Historical Background
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- List of Illustrations
- Foreword
- Preface
- Map of Unyamwezi
- 1 The People and their Country
- 2 The Historical Background
- 3 The External Situation
- 4 The Structure of the Chiefdom
- 5 The Business of Government
- 6 Mechanisms of Continuity
- 7 Rulers and Subjects
- 8 Neighbourhood and Politics
- 9 Conclusions
- Appendix A List of Chiefdoms in Unyamwezi
- Appendix B Nyamwezi Kinship Terminology
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The purpose of this chapter is not so much to present a complete history of Unyamwezi as to provide an account which will be useful as a background to my main discussion. Some historical material, and particularly that referring to the period of British rule, will be dealt with in the course of later chapters. The material to be discussed here may be divided into three main periods. First, there is the period before the coming of the Arabs in the early years of the nineteenth century. This is followed by the period between the coming of the Arabs and the establishment of German rule in 1890. Lastly, there is the period of German rule from 1890 until 1916, when the British and the Belgians took Tabora in the First World War.
THE PERIOD BEFORE THE COMING OF THE ARABS
It is impossible to state how long the Nyamwezi have inhabited their present country. In a rather confused passage Burton tells us that the name of Unyamwezi was first heard by the Portuguese in about 1589. An examination of this passage reveals, however, that the name heard by the Portuguese was ‘Monemugi’, and the connexion of this word with the name ‘Nyamwezi’ is obscure. According to the traditions of the people themselves, Unyamwezi was about 300 years ago an uninhabited country abounding in all sorts of game, and the ancestors of the present ruling familes began to move into the area about this time.
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- The Political Organization of Unyamwezi , pp. 31 - 47Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1967