The Isanzu (Anyihanzu) are a
Bantu ethno-linguistic group based in
Mkalama District,
Singida Region
Singida Region (''Mkoa wa Singida'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. The region covers a land area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation sta ...
,
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
. In 1987 the Isanzu population was estimated to number 32,40
The Isanzu have matrilineal descent groups and are agriculturalists who subsist on sorghum, millet, and maize. Most Isanzu make a living as farmers and through migrant labour to other parts of the country, principally,
Arusha District, Arusha.
Isanzuland was colonized by Germany in the late 19th century, and during the First World War, occupied by British forces. Following the war Tanganyika became a British Trust Territory and a British administration governed this area, like the rest of the Territory, through a policy of Indirect Rule until independence in 1961.
[Illiffe, John 1979. ''The History of Tanganyika''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.]
Language
The Isanzu speak a
Bantu language
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...
called ''
kinyihanzu
Isanzu is a Bantu language spoken by the Isanzu people south of Lake Eyasi in Tanzania.
The position of Isanzu within the Bantu family is uncertain. It is rather distinct in certain features from other Bantu languages of the area, such as Ny ...
''. Nearly everyone also speaks
Swahili, Tanzania's ''
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
''. Because of interaction with Iraq Nyaturu, and Nyiramba people also speak Iraq, Nyaturu, and Nyiramba.
Big Clans and Families
# Kitunga
# Msindai
# Mpeku
# Manzawa
# Mpinga
# Mahumi
# Malalika
# Gang'ai
# Mpanda
# Mkilanya
# Mzengi
# Holela
# Mikael
# Mtiko
# Ibobo
# Saenda
# Giisi (Yagisi)
# Pyuza (Taken from Nyiramba)
Notes
References
Adam, Virginia 1963. Rainmaking rites in Ihanzu. Conference proceedings from the Makarere Institute of Social Research. Adam is a social anthropologist who worked with the Isanzu in 1961 and 1962.
* The book is a collection of Hadza myths about giants, also some myths about culture heroes, and anecdotical tales. Kohl-Larsen was an adventurer, amateur ethnographer and archaeologist. He travelled through (then) Tanganyika in the 1930s, and very much hoped that the former German colony would soon be returned, which never happened. His ethnographic accounts are deeply coloured by Nazi Germany's political ambitions and are not a reliable source of information.
Sanders, Todd 2008. ''Beyond Bodies: Rainmaking and Sense Making in Tanzania''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Sanders is a social anthropologist who worked in Isanzu in the 1990s.
Bantu peoples
Indigenous peoples of East Africa
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