Revisiting Tabora’s Lost Glory
By Geofrey Tengeneza
Tabora is the major town of the Nyamwezi people and was the main inland trade-link between the coast and the Congo River basin prior to colonial times. It was once a stopover for caravans that connected Lake Tanganyika and Central Africa with the coastal town of Bagamoyo to the east. The town was also an important station during early European exploration of Tanzania. The explorers Burton, Speke, Stanley, and Cameron all stopped here on their journeys to Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria between 1856 and 1875. The infamous trader Tippu Tip lived there in the 19th Century and made Tabora the centre of his vast trading empire of ivory and slaves. During the German occupation, Tabora was one of the most populated and prosperous towns in the whole of East Africa. It became an important administrative center of German East Africa.
Today, Tabora region is regarded by many people as a backward place with dwindling development. The past history of Tabora which could be potential in history tourism is forgotten. There is a great need to revive Tabora’s lost glory.
The Tanzania Tourist Board has taken the initiative to improve tourism in Tabora Region by sponsoring and participating in the Mtemi Mirambo Festival. The festival took place for the first time in July 2010 in the town of Tabora and is planned to be an annual event lasting for three days every July.
Mtemi Mirambo Festival is named in honour of Chief Mirambo who was the greatest and most popular chief of the Nyamwezi people before the colonial period. The purpose of the festival is to preserve the culture of the people of Tabora as well as to promote tourism in the region.
The festival includes tradition dances, cultural exhibitions, and speeches. The festival brings together cultural groups and singers from different parts of Tabora and the neighboring regions of Mwanza and Shinyanga.
The next year festival will be held from July 8th to 10th, 2011.
5 Things to Do in Tabora
- 1. Tour Ugalla River Game Reserve
The Ugalla River Game Reserve has an area of 5,000sqkm and is located in Urambo District in Tabora. It is about 190 km from Tabora town. The reserve gets its name from the Ugalla River which runs through the reserve on its way to empty into Lake Tanganyika. The reserve is characterized by two primary ecosystems: extensive miombo woodland and large floodplains. The wild animals found in the reserve include hippos, crocodiles, elephants, lions, topis, antelopes, wild dogs, and greater kudus.
- 2. Visit Kwihara Museum
The museum is an Arabic-style house where Dr Livingstone stayed in 1872 which might be considered by the majority of indigenous in Tabora as the main attraction in their region. Tabora is very rich in history. The museum is about 10 km outside Tabora town. The museum is in the house that Dr Livingstone stayed for some months before setting off on the final leg of the journey in 1872 that was to be his last. He died less than a year later at Chitambo, Zambia. The museum contains various things associated with Dr. Livingstone, as well as with other early missionaries and explorers.
- 3. Trace the History of the Father of the Nation
Tabora is where Mwalimu Nyerere attended his secondary school at Tabora School in 1937. While studying at Tabora School, now Tabora Boys Secondary School, Mwalimu Nyerere used to stay at Mkwawa dormitory in the first cubicle at the right hand side. It was also in Tabora, at St. Mary’s School (currently Mihayo Secondary School), where Mwalimu Nyerere started his teaching career. He taught at St. Mary’s from 1945 to 1948 when he joined Makerere University for further studies. There is a monument of the Father of the Nation in the center of the town.
- 4. Visit the house of Chief Fundukira
In Mtetemia there is a house that Chief Fundikira once lived in. The house was the state house of the chief before the abolishment of chiefdoms in Tanzania. Among other things, the house contains Chief Fundikira’s old chair made of the skin of lion, and some traditional war weapons of the past. Fundikira was a great Nyamwezi chief whose capital was Uyanyembe near present day Tabora town. He was a wealthy chief who dpended on the long distance trade with the coast.
- 5. Climb/Tour Izimbili Hill:
There is a hill in Tabora called Izimbili which is shrouded with and superstition. The hill has a small population of people living around it and the caretaker of the mountain is Mzee Mwanza Madili who has been in Izimbili since 1966. It is rumored that invisible people guard the hill. The myth holds that there are residents who are never seen but there are many occasions where smoke is sighted and the beat of the drum is heard. The mountain has several caves for prayers with blocked entrances that are opened by offerings. Mzee Madili says that the hill belongs to the people of Unyanyembe and was used by the Mtemi chiefs for prayers.
How to Get to Tabora
Tabora is on the Central Railway Line from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma. It is a junction of the Central Line to Mwanza.
The town of Tabora has an airport served by domestic airlines connected it to Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, and Shinyanga. Tabora is also well-connected by road to other towns of central Tanzania.
Where to Stay in Tabora
Moderate accommodation: Orion Tabora Hotel; Budget: Hotel Wilca, New Kiwasso Hotel, Fama Hotel, Golden Eagle Hotel; others; Aposele Inn & Guesthouse, Moravian Church Hostel