Tribes and Language

Tanzania has over 120 tribes mostly Bantu speaking. All have their own unique traditions and language. My host family are from the Chagga tribe which is the third largest in Tanzania with an estimated population of about 2 million. They are traditionally located near Mount Kilimanjaro. We visited the Village Museum in Dar es Saalam to learn about the different tribes and to see how they live.

Kiswahili is the official national language of Tanzania which we have been learning. The language is a mix of Bantu with Arabic, Portugese and Hindi. The word Swahili comes from the Arabic "Sawa hili" meaning "the coast".

With my host family and UK Kaka outside a Chagga house