Cultural experience
Mto wa Mbu, which is near the national park, has Lake Manyara which is a wonderful area to engage with local culture such as dances, food like ugali, banana beer, and the handmade crafts. The region has deep roots and it is supported by more than 120 tribal groups in the vicinity including the Maasai, hadzabe Chagga and Iraqw. The area is also known for Maasai bomas and other community centers which help in nurturing and enhancing the crops cultivated in the Rift valley.
Hadzabe Tribe
Hadzabe or Hadzabe is a small group of 1,000–1,500 hunter-gatherers located near Lake Eyasi and have connections to Manyara region. Their diet mainly includes bushmeat such as baboons and dik-diks, which are hunted using poison-tipped arrows. They also consume berries, baobab fruit, and honey, which they either eat raw or roast over fires. Traditional dances perform after successful hunts; men and women circle and join to rhythmic chants and clicks from their unique language. This celebration is centered around survival and is done in a primal yet beautiful manner. Like all other societies, the Hadzabe also have dress norms. Men wear loin cloths or traded shorts adorned with feathers or beads while women are in hide skirts paired with seed necklaces. Their dress is simple yet pragmatic, tough and practical to withstand the environment.
Maasai Tribe
The devout Maasai warriors are deeply proud of their culture, over 10,000 strong. They settle at pastures bordering Lake Manyara and showcase their cattle. It’s a divine flair bestowed upon them by the god Ngai. They feed on blood, kitete, fresh or curdled milk, and roasted meat, separated with honey beer for special events. They also worship during events where men perform the adumu dance, which features vertical leaps accompanied by deep chanting. This is without a doubt an impressive exhibition of unity and strength that echoes throughout the plains. Men of the tribe wear beaded belts, and red, purple, or blue shukas that are tied around their shoulders or waist. The women wear colorful layered necklaces which mark their status, red being a signature color among the tribe.
Chaga and Iraqw, Datoga, and Swahili Speaking Groups
Chaga farmers, Iraqw herders, Datoga craftsmen, and traders of the Swahili language assemble in a cultural fusion in regions like Chaga where they consume mchemsho (boiled vegetables, bananas, and meat). Chagas prepare their bananas with Uganda’s famous beef stew and Iraqw herders eat goat or green ugali. The Emirate eats rice flavored with meat (nyama choma) and has breeds of cattle and mules milk and figs regionally known to Datoga. During this occasion, dances are performed from all sides which range from Chaga’s drum harvest twirls to Iraqw staff stomping folklore, simple cattle inspired swaying of Datoga dancers, enthusiastic taarab dancing from the Swahili народу and enhanced sounds of drum playing. The Chaga wrap themselves in colorful kitenge, the Iraq in clothes of earth colored tunics, swathed in leather bedecked with metal bracelets and the Swahili in flowing white and colored Kanzu and Kanga. This diversity showcases the various heritages of the people.
Our packages
Enjoy the visiting of Africa by well customised safaris
