Meet the Datoga people, a semi-nomadic and pastoralist tribe with a still intact cultural heritage who live in the northern part of Tanzania around the Manyara region. Datoga Tribe is also a Nilotic group of people and they live around Lake Eyasi as well as in the semi-arid areas of Tanzania. They also live around Mount Hanang which is the 4th highest mountain of Tanzania at 3,420 meters and is located in the northern part of the country.
The Datoga Tribe/People consider themselves the oldest tribe in Tanzania (the Maasai and Bushmen also claim this fame). The Datoga are proud people and are first and foremost fierce warriors, known for their stealth ability to eliminate their enemy.
The Datoga Tribe/People are of Nilotic origins, classified as Highland Southern Nilotes. Datoga Tribe/People are thought to have settled in the Lake Eyasi area about 3,000 years ago from Southern Sudan and Western Ethiopia highlands, where they originally lived before moving to this new region.
The Datoga language, with its dialects, is a Southern Nilotic language, related distantly to the Kalenjin languages of Kenya. About 20% also speak the language of their Southern Cushitic neighbors, Iraqw. A language closely related to Datoga is Omotik, the speech of another small northern Tanzania people.
The Omotik are close in culture and language, related genetically and linguistically to the Datoga. More distantly related to the Kalenjin cluster of Nilotic peoples, the Omotik show clear signs of being linguistically influenced by Kalenjin languages in recent history. (The Omotik are one of the groups commonly called Dorobo.) Only about 5% speak Swahili, the national language of Tanzania. This further accentuates their isolation. The Barabaig dialect is spoken by over half the Datoga. Their literacy rate is only about 1% and there is very little available in their language. Schools available are conducted in Swahili.
Datoga History and Background:
They are thought to have settled in the Lake Eyasi area about 3,000 years ago from Southern Sudan and Western Ethiopia highlands, where they originally lived before moving to this new region. They migrated to Kenya and Tanzania and they split into two groups one group settled in Kenya and the Kalenjin people belonged to this group. The second group which migrated settled in Tanzania where the ancestors of the Datoga settled. Today, the Kalenjin and Datoga have some similarities since they are both southern notes.
The Datoga claim to be the oldest tribe in Tanzania, the same way as the Maasai. Datoga are also warriors and to prove themselves, the young men kill the enemy of the people as a way of proving themselves. The “enemy of the people” includes people who are not Datoga and wild animals according to the Datoga.
Other people in Tanzania consider the Datoga as backward and a small percentage of the Datoga is illiterate. Apart from education, the Datoga have also resisted development and have low standards of hygiene. The Datoga are also known as Barabaig and Mangati, which is a Maasai word that means enemy. The Barabaig are pastoralists and they live in the northern highlands around Mount Hanang.
In the 18th century, the Maasai displaced the Datoga and they moved to areas around Lake Manyara and Lake Eyasi. They also settled around Mount Oldeani after Tanzania gained its independence. Many other tribes later settled around the area of Magola after it was declared “Ujamaa” which forced the Datoga to move to the shores of Lake Eyasi where they currently live.
Datoga People Lifestyles:
Markings on the faces of the Datoga, which are around the eyes, are among the unique identifications of the Datoga. The Datoga also has earlobes, which are stretched, and they also have markings, which can be circular. These markings are deep in the skin and they are a form of identifying someone from a family. Datoga women also have markings on their faces and shoulders, which are sometimes, carved deep into the skin to make the markings more visible.
The Datoga adapt to their new environments and dress in the reddish-brown color of the soil. The colorful reddish color clothing worn by Datoga women is patched leather dresses. They also wear beadwork, brass bracelets, and necklaces. The women among the Datoga wear jewelry and also traditional hides and the married women wear a garment, which has thin leather strips. The jewelry is made from copper, beads, or iron, which is used to make necklaces, bracelets, and earrings among others.
The Datoga keep livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, and donkeys and they feed on meat, milk, and blood, and apart from their livestock, they also feed on crops such as maize, beans, and millet. Another practice among the Datoga men is drinking honey beer on ritual occasions such as funerals.
The Datoga practice polygamy and marry outside their clans and a council of elders who can impose fines and curses makes their society decisions. They also have some similarities to the Maasai people. The wealthy men among the Datoga marry more wives and have multiple households.The 7 Datoga tribes include Bajuta, Gisamjanga, Barabayiiga, Tsimajeega, Rootigaanga, Buraadiiga and Bianjiida.
Among the Datoga, illegitimate children or children born outside marriage are considered clan and there is also a high mortality rate among the Datoga. Children born outside marriage are considered the property of the mother’s father and are also considered vulnerable and disadvantaged.
Datoga Religious Beliefs:
The Datoga supreme deity is Aseeta, “an androgynous, powerful, and inherently good deity, invested with immense creative potential” who can be communicated with by the mediation of ancestral spirits. These ancestral spirits talk to diviners, are appealed to in prayer, and can bless or punish.
The majority of Datoga maintain animistic beliefs and practices, and respect ancestors. They are said to practice divination, rain-making, witchcraft, and sorcery. About 1% of Datoga are thought to be Christian.
Visiting the village settlements of the Datoga people is a unique experience during a safari around Tanzania, which involves interacting with the locals and getting to know the way of life and culture of the Datoga people.
Arrange and Book with Ultimate Wild Safaris for the Cultural Tour of the Datoga People in Tanzania.
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