Aman Makoye Shabane's Blog: How Archaeology,Linguistic,Anthropology and Oral Tradition are used as the factor for the reconstruction of the history population of Tanzania?

It is essential to starting this presentation by defining the key terms which used in this question and those key terms are oral tradition, anthropology, archaeology and linguistic as follow:

Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and tradition transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants. In this way, it is possible for a society to transmit oral history, oral literature, oral law and other knowledge’s across generations without writing[1].

Anthropology is the study of humans, past and present. To understand the full sweep and complexity of cultures across all of human history, anthropology draws and builds upon knowledge from the social and biological sciences as well as the humanities and physical sciences. A central concern of anthropologists is the application of knowledge to the solution of human problems.[2]

Archaeology is the study of culture of the past and of the periods of history by examines the remains of buildings and objects found in the ground.[3]

The scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of grammar, syntax, and phonetics. Specific branches of linguistics include sociolinguistics, dialectology, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, comparative linguistics, and structural linguistics. (http://www.bronzeage.org.uk/1.aspx)

Oral traditions are those recollections of the past, orally transmitted and recounted, that arise naturally within and from the dynamics of a culture. They are shared widely throughout the culture by word of mouth even though they may be entrusted to particular people for safekeeping, transmittal, recitation, and narration. They are organic expressions of the identity, purpose, functions, customs, and generational continuity of the culture in which they occur. They happen spontaneously as phenomena of cultural expression. They would exist, and indeed they have existed in the absence of written notes or other more sophisticated recording devices. They are not direct experiences of the narrators, and they must be transmitted by word of mouth to qualify as oral tradition.

They help in the reconstruction of population in Tanzania as they contribute the followings;

They used in the harvest ceremony where people they gathered together in the ceremony and they use oral traditions to transmit and encouraging production in the societies [4], the increase of production resulted from the idea provided through oral tradition increased the reconstruction of population due to the presence of food, settlement and new technologies used in agriculture in various societies like in Nyakyusa, Sukuma, Yao and Ngoni societies in Tanzania.

Attracted some people from one society to migrate to other societies which were best in oral traditions, this stimulated increase of population in their new migrate areas and reduced population in their origin migrated areas [5]. The increase of population stimulated new technology, development of trade, increase of production, growth of oral traditions, and development of work specialization which attracted most the increase of population. In their origin areas the migration stimulated the decline of trade, agriculture, oral traditions and technology due to poor population and absence of specialization of work for example the migration of people led to under population in their original area while in their new areas stimulated increase of population in Tanzania.

Developed culture of certain societies through language development, production increase, respects, and moral development which encouraged the development of population due to the stability of the society as it announced out through oral traditions. The announced stability of society stimulated the immigration of people from different societies to settle in the stable society, this led to the reconstruction of population as it increased population in the societies.

Used to stimulate language development which encouraged people to communicate from one society to another, the languages developed through the oral tradition carried out in the societies facilitated the interaction of one society to another through trade activity, technology instructions, specialization of work and agricultural development. The interaction led people to migrate from one place to another as they were able to communicate through their languages carried out through oral traditions, hence reconstruction of population in Tanzania.

Stimulated economic development as it used to encourage people to participate in agriculture, trade, industrialization and pastorals [6]. The economic development of a society stimulated through oral traditions led to the reconstructions of population as people migrated from one society to another to imitate the economic development of the others in their economic development. The imitated economic development also stimulated population in their areas.

Developed political unity of the society, this political unity used to reconstruct population through conquest and warfare which increased large number of people in the conqueror societies and reduced population in the conquered societies. The presence and development of political unity encouraged by oral traditions through the songs when they back from the war, encouraging when they are in the warfare, also when they choose their political leaders. This encouraged population growth in Tanzania for example in Maasai societies.

On the side of linguistic, also it plays some special roles on reconstruction of population history of Tanzania as follows,

In terms of cultural aspect, the study of language can help to reconstruct the population history of Tanzania. This is because, any population is build by several cultural aspect, therefore through the study of language as one of the aspect of culture we can be able to reconstruct the population history of Tanzania. Example through the linguistic we were able to identify a certain population history of like of Swahili speaking people from the Coastal area. The population was very popular and engaged in each economic activity. Also by studying the linguistic as a means of reconstructing the population history of Tanzania, we can be able to rebuild the population history of Nguni speaking people with their differences. Therefore, linguistic is among of the best tool in reconstructing the population history of Tanzania.

On the matter of identification; linguistic plays a great role on the reconstruction of population history especially of Tanzania. The study of different language helped in identifying different components, origins and development of a certain historical population of people. Example by studying the Ngoni language, you may found that the population consist of different other groups like Matengo who both had the same origin which in South Africa [7]. Also, by studying Mbulu, Burungi and Gorowa you can find their origins which are from Gushitic speaking people. Therefore in order to reconstruct a population history of Tanzania, we must be able to study their languages in order to be able in identifying their components, origin and development.

Also, linguistic as a science that studies about language it helps to construct population of Tanzania by studying the origin of languages of present tribes in Tanzania.[8] Example the Cushite speaking people of the Southern Branda who are called Hamites by colonial scholars and they come to settle in Tanzania from Ethiopia during the sites and cairns that is stone moutons in the rift valley area of Kenya and Tanzania which do not exist elsewhere in the Africa such burial site and cairns Ancient and modern are also found in Ethiopia.[9]

In short, that is how the study of linguistic can be used in the reconstruction of the population history of Tanzania. But sometimes the study of the Anthropology can be also used in the reconstruction of the population history of Tanzania as follows;

Anthropology as it studies the totality of the human condition, including its origins, evolution, shared traits with other primates, cultural development, and human diversity, can be a great way of reconstruction of the population history of Tanzania. Example by studying the origins and diversity of population history of Tanzania we must trace it from the Nilotes who previously used as racial sub-classifications based on the distinct body Morphology of many Nilotic speakers. But today they again find support in population genetics. Example the group of Luo who rejected the idea of Nyikango to migrate Northern ward and they migrated Southern, hence to be the one who facilitated to the growth of the Northern Tanzanian population.

Also, as it studies the human past, present and application of the knowledge to the solution of human problems. But when trying to reconstruct the population history of a certain society you have to study about social anthropology which is the study of all peoples everywhere, what they make, what they do, and how they organize their social relationship and societies. By living with people in different culture and learning to talk and behave like them (field work). Social anthropologist produces in-depth description of their custom and ways of life (ethnographic).

When trying to reconstruct the population history anthropologist compared different cultures and societies to explore their similarities and differences to test the generalizations, social scientists and philosophers and produce theories of how best to study and understanding human nature and history of a certain society. Therefore, anthropology is the main branch of studying history that helps in the reconstruction of population history of Tanzania.

Archeology as deals with the studies of culture of the past and of the periods of history by examining the remains of buildings and objects found in the ground can be also used to reconstruct the population history of Tanzania as follows;

The presence of Stone City in Zanzibar since the end of the first Millennium C.E; the Swahili coast runs from Somalia to Mozambique, with the densest concentrations of known settlements on the Coasts of modern day Kenya and Tanzania. [10]Unlike their neighbors, the Swahili people of the East African Coast are predominantly Muslim, constructed the city prior to European colonization. This stone city and other building in Swahili Coast show the development of the population of Tanzania. Also, the contact with the externals especially Arabs facilitated the growth of the population of Swahili coast of Tanzania.

About 3.6 million years ago, a part of two or three trekked across the plain of Laetoli near Olduvai Gorge in Northern Tanzania leaving their footprints in a blanket of volcanic ash. The prints were still there when archeologist Mary Leakey uncovered them in 1978. She pegged them as the steps of our earliest known ancestors-hominids known as Australopithecines, whose remains have been found only in East Africa. By this fact it gives the stages on the studies of population history of Tanzania, since it explores from the roots of the origin of human being.

Also, about two million years ago, the human family tree split, giving rise to Homo Habilis, a meat-eating creature with a larger brain whom have been found around Olduvai Gorge. By 1.8million years age, Homo erectus had evolved, leaving bones and axes for Archeologists to find at ancient lakeside sites throughout East Africa especially Tanzania.

Rock paintings dating back 10,000 years have been made by clans of Nomadic hunter-gatherers who spoke a language similar to that of South Africa’s Khoisan. Between 1000 and 5000 years ago, they were joined by small bands of Cushitic speaking farmers and cattle-herders moving down from what is today Ethiopia [11]. The majority of modern Tanzanians are descendants of Bantu-speaking settlers who began a gradual, century’s long shift Eastward from Niger delta around 1000 B.C, arriving in East Africa in the first centuries A.D.

REFERENCE

Hylland Eriksen, Thomas. (2004) "What is Anthropology" Pluto. London. p. 79

Ingham, K. (1968), A history of East Africa,London: Longman Publisher.

Koponen, J. (1988), People and production in late pre colonial Tanzania, Helsink:

Progress Publisher.

Omer- Kooper, JD, et al (1970), the growth of African civilization: the making of modern

African, vol1, London: Longman.

Raaum, R .(2010), The new York Consortium in evolutionary primatology: Lehman

college/CUNY Publishers; New York.