Kalenga is an administrative
ward in the
Iringa Rural
Iringa Rural District (''Wilaya ya Iringa Vijijini'') is one of the four districts of the Iringa Region of Tanzania, East Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Dodoma Region, to the east by Kilolo District and encircles Iringa Urban Dist ...
district of the
Iringa Region of
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
. In 2016 the
Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics reported its population to be 7,286, up from 6,963 in 2012.
Kalenga, which is situated along the side-lines of the
Great Ruaha River
The Great Ruaha River is a river in south-central Tanzania that flows through the Usangu wetlands and the Ruaha National Park east into the Rufiji River. It traverses and marks the borders between Iringa Region, Dodoma Region and Morogoro Region. ...
, is one among the historical villages of "Iringa". It it is known for being the residence of the famous
Chief Mtwa Mkwawa of the
Hehe tribe, who resisted
German colonization. Mkwawa fortified the village with a wall 4 meters high and 5 kilometers in circumference.
[Description of German commander von Scheele, according to John Iliffe, A Modern History of Tanganyika, Cambridge University Press, , page 112] The town was stormed by a German force in 1894, and the fortifications were destroyed. Mkwawa continued to resist until 1898, when he was finally hunted down by the Germans and committed suicide. His head was cut off and sent to Germany, but eventually returned in 1954; his skull is now on display in a small museum in Kalenga.
Villages and vitongoji
The ward has 3 villages and 16 vitongoji.
* Tosamaganga
** Ipamba
** Irangi
** Mabanda
** Tosa kilimani
** Unyangwila
* Kalenga
** Galinoma
** Igawa
** Ilundimembe
** Kidope
** Lipuli
** Maktaba
** Mwambao
** Wangi
* Isakalilo
** Isakalilo A
** Isakalilo B
** Isakalilo C
Gallery
References
Wards of Iringa Region
{{Iringa-geo-stub