Settlement history of the islands on the Pangani River, northeastern Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Part of the history of human settlements on the islands along the Pangani River at Korogwe in northeastern Tanzania has been misconstrued. Eurocentric accounts claim that the islands were inhabited during the nineteenth century and that they were refuges for the Zigua from Maasai cattle raiders. Those accounts also claim that these settlements served as staging posts for trade caravans during the nineteenth century to provide food and security to coastal traders. An historical archaeology study conducted at the four abandoned islands of Ngombezi, Old Korogwe, Kwa Sigi and Maurui necessitates a rigorous re-examination of the documented historical narratives of these settlements. Current archaeological evidence suggests that the islands have been inhabited continuously for more than five centuries. The island communities were not isolated: instead, they were part of regional systems of trade and exchange that had developed long before the nineteenth century.

RESUMÉ

Une partie de l'histoire de l’occupation humaine des îles de la rivière Pangani à Korogwe, dans le nord-est de la Tanzanie, a été mal interprétée. Les comptes-rendus eurocentriques affirment que les îles étaient habitées au dix-neuvième siècle, et qu'elles constituaient des refuges pour les Zigua fuyant les raids Maasai. Ces témoignages indiquent également que ces lieux d’habitat servaient de relais pour les caravanes commerciales au cours du dix-neuvième siècle, fournissant nourriture et sécurité aux commerçants côtiers. Une étude d'archéologie historique menée dans quatre îles abandonnées — Ngombezi, Old Korogwe, Kwa Sigi et Maurui — nécessite un réexamen rigoureux des récits historiques qui documentent ces lieux. Les données archéologiques actuelles suggèrent que les îles furent habitées continuellement pendant plus de cinq siècles avant le présent. Les communautés insulaires n'étaient pas isolées: elles faisaient partie de systèmes de commerce et d'échange régionaux développés bien avant le dix-neuvième siècle.

KEYWORDS:

• Historical archaeology
• Tanzania
• Lower Pangani
• caravan trade
• Ngombezi
• Old Korogwe
• Maurui

Acknowledgements

This study was undertaken as part of the project Historical Ecologies of East African Landscapes (HEEAL) funded by a European Union Marie Curie Excellence Grant (MEXT-CT-2006-042704). We thank the project co-ordinator, Professor Paul Lane. Additional support for fieldwork at Maurui and for dating the radiocarbon samples came from the African Humanities Program (AHP) and the Volkswagen Foundation (VWF) respectively. Research permits were awarded by the Antiquities Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism through the University of Dar es Salaam Archaeology Practical Training Field Schools in 2008, 2009 and 2013. We are indebted to support from other HEEAL team members: Daryl Stump, Matthias Heckmann, Ashley Coutu and Pauline von Hellermann. This paper received constructive comments from Paul Lane, Daryl Stump, Bertram Mapunda, Innocent Pikirayi and Haruni Makandi. We appreciate their support.

Notes on contributors

Thomas J. Biginagwa is a historical zooarchaeologist currently lecturing in the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). Having completed a BA in Archaeology and an MA in Development Studies there in 2002 and 2004, respectively, he obtained his PhD from the University of York in 2012, examining the animal economies practised by local communities against the context of nineteenth-century caravan trade expansion in the Lower Pangani Basin. His principal research interests lie in historical ecology, exploring human-environmental interactions after the incorporation of East Africa into the Atlantic trade system post-1500.

Elgidius B. Ichumbaki studied Culture and Heritage at the University of Dar es Salaam, where he also completed his master’s thesis on the built heritage of southeastern Tanzania in 2012 before finishing his PhD jointly at UDSM and Roskilde University, Denmark, in 2015. He has published several research articles on the archaeology and history of East Africa’s Swahili coast.