Are you planning on taking a trip to the beautiful East African country of Tanzania? There’splenty to feast your eyes on from the Ngorongoro crater to the Serengeti and Zanzibar. However, you may be a bit astounded by the strange cultural practices that take place in this country. Let’s find out.
MostTanzaniansbelieve in the spirits of those that came before them. Through paying homage, they believe that the ancestors will in turn offer them protection from various evils one of which is witchcraft. The prevalence of witchcraft in the country bears testimony to the depth of such beleifs.
When it comes to burials in Tanzania, keep note that they are all about celebrating life as they are about mourning the deceased. While the practices will be different between communities, what seems to cut across the board is the belief of life after death. If for example a dead person doesn’t receive the right burial treatment, they may come back from the dead to negatively affect the family.
Whether its eating or greeting another person, you are not expected to use your left hand.It is considered disrespectful to use your left hand.
By knowing these beliefs, you can avoid getting people angry by greeting them with the right hand.
Tanzania has made headlines for its black magic and witchcraft. It’s safe to say that this is not a very safe country for people with albinism. If you think of deadly African faith, it doesn’t get deadlier that this.
When a people believe that albinos can make you rich beyond imagining by using their body parts, then you can see why albinos walk in fear. This has resulted in many albinos losing their lives, a trend that has caught on in the neighboring country of Uganda.
But this thing is twofold. There are those who don’t believe in the practice and target the witches themselves killing them indiscriminately across the country. In 2011, over 600 people who have had a link with witchcraft were killed in Tanzania and more than 3000 practitioners murdered between that year and 2018.
You should not walk around Tanzania with a camera taking photos of everyone and everything. People have a negative attitude towards photos. In fact, some tribes like the Maasai believe taking photos is stealing their souls.
If you wantto capture images, the best thing to do is to seek permission from the individual. Note that some people may want to take advantage of this to extort money from you.
Apart from these you should know that every culture is different and each of the cultures have been practicing their traditions for centuries and they hold their traditions dear. Hence, you should never make fun of other cultures and their practices.
KENYA, Mombasa: A photograph taken by the Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism (MEAACT), shows a general view of the Mombasa skyline opposite EnglishPoint Marina in Mombasa, 02 June 2015. The 4-acre ocean view EnglishPoint Marina represents an iconic landmark that overlooks the Mombasa skyline in a natural marina basin with a modern design and contemporary feel. The multi-million dollar marina resort features a 26-room hotel, conferencing facility, a roof-top restaurant, a casino, swimming pool, 96 serviced apartments including 8 penthouses seafront restaurant, gym and spa, as well as a boardwalk with retail outlets, water-sports centre and fully-serviced, 88-berth marina. MANDATORY CREDIT: MEAACT PHOTO / STUART PRICE.