Wachagga | |
|---|---|
 Mangi Meli of Moshi's Boma with traditional late 19th century Chagga aesthetic and architecture c.1890s | |
| Total population | |
| >5,000,000 [1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Tanzania
| |
| Languages | |
| Chaga languages & Swahili | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Islam, African traditional religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Taita, Taveta, Pare, Shambaa people & other Bantu peoples |
| Person | Mchaga |
|---|---|
| People | Wachaga |
| Language | Kichaga |
| Country | Dchaga |
The Chagga (Wachagga, in Swahili) are a Bantu ethnic group from Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. They are the third-largest ethnic group in Tanzania.[2] They historically lived in sovereign Chagga states on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro[3][4] in both Kilimanjaro Region and eastern Arusha Region.
Being one of the most influential and economically successful peoples in Tanzania, their relative wealth comes from favorable fertile soil of Mount Kilimanjaro, industrious work ethic used in trading and successful agricultural methods, which include historic extensive irrigation systems, terracing, and continuous organic fertilization methods practiced for thousands of years from the time of the Bantu expansion, in their sovereign Chagga states.[5]
The location of Kilimanjaro means that, long before it was significant as a trading hub because of its location, the mountain served as an interim provisioning point in the commercial inland network. The residents of the mountain sold goods with caravans and traders from nearby settlements. It was easily accessible from the Swahili ports of Malindi, Takaungu, Mombasa, Wanga, Tanga, and Tangata as well as from Pangani in the south. Since they would cross Kilimanjaro on their way to conduct business in Pangani, the Kamba, Galla, and Nyamwezi are also familiar with the area. Chief Kivoi, a well-known Kamba trader, having personally climbed Kilimanjaro before organizing and leading his enormous caravans of up to 200 Kamba.[6]: 44
- ^ "Tanzania -- Ethnic Groups". East Africa Living Encyclopedia. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ Levinson, David (5 July 1998). Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook. Oryx Press. ISBN 9781573560191 – via Google Books.
- ^ Shoup, John A. (2011). Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 67. ISBN 9781598843637.
- ^ Yonge, Brian. "The rise and fall of the Chagga empire." Kenya Past and Present 11.1 (1979): 43-48.
- ^ Oliver, R. A. (November 1964). "The Chagga and Their Chiefs. Reviewed Work: History of the Chagga People of Kilimanjaro by Kathleen M. Stahl, 1964". The Journal of African History. 5 (3): 462–464. doi:10.1017/s0021853700005181. ISSN 0021-8537. S2CID 245908751.
- ^ Stahl, Kathleen (1964). History of the Chagga people of Kilimanjaro. London: Mouton and Co. ISBN 0-520-06698-7.