Nyamwezi, my step-grandfather. Although my grandmother originated from a neighbouring kabila, the Gogo, I am also considered Nyamwezi and was given my step-grandfather’s first and last name. It turned out that George had heard about my grandfather from his father, and I also knew his father’s name, though I never met him. Suddenly, in our first chat, we discovered that we were connected back through Tabora. Nyamwezi are known for splendid etiquette, which reveals itself in their customary greetings. It is considered offensive to start a business discussion without a lengthy greeting that includes discussion of one’s health, journey, family, and other things (Abrahams, 1981).
At the end of my grandfather’s life, before he died at 94 years old, I remember visitors coming to visit him at his farm just outside of Tabora town. The visitors did not state the purpose of their visits until food was served. And, if they were important visitors, a chicken was slaughtered. After everybody had eaten and was refreshed, my grandfather would invite them to sit under the big mango tree. There, the business talk would start.
I felt the same thing when George took me out of the workshop to sit on benches in front of the kiosk. He asked me if I would like a drink. Awkwardly, I said I would pay for our drink, as I had interrupted his work. He refused my offer, which would be kaponda soni, a shame for the visitor to pay (Abrahams, 1981). We had a beer together and discovered all I described above. Later, George introduced me to the leadership as ‘bandugu vetu’ (our relative), and among the rest of the members, I even got called ‘wang wise’(a person from our motherland).
Migration from rural areas operates through networks (Parry, 2003). Usually, migrants move from their village to the next town, the district centres in case of Tanzania, then to regional centres, and finally to the cities, Dar es Salaam being a prime destination. The pioneers who migrate first then invite their kin and neighbours. George and Mjomba Mjomba came first, and their brothers followed later. This is the reason that specialisation in the workshop is
grouped by ethnic relations. Most of the crafters, for example, are from the Nyamwezi. Abner Cohen (2014) refers to this as urban politico-economic organisation, which is separate from urban domestic life.
Even though crafters came from the same area, rarely did I hear that their families had any connection. The crafters become friends for years, so it would make sense that their wives might have strong ties too. But that didn’t seem to be the case. Over all 8 months that I spent at the workshop, only George invited me to his house, and only he visited mine. Ethnicity tends to be reconfigured in urban centres where domestic life is separated from the economic sphere, even between members of the same ethnicity working at the same place. On top of that, because intramarriage is prevalent in Dar es Salaam, most of the workers are married to people from other groups, curtailing the ties between domestic spaces (Cohen, 2014).
The Nyamwezi people dwell in the Miombo woodlands, 200 km south of Lake Tanganyika. Today, Nyamwezi land is known as Tabora and is one of the poorest regions of Tanzania. The Nyamwezi empire, famously known as Unyanyembe, comprised several chieftainships, including the celebrated one under Mtemi (Chief) Mirambo, who rose to power in the second half of the 19th century (Abrahams, 1981). Mirambo was enormously influential (politically and militarily) to the extent that he forced early Arab merchants and Germans to pay hongo (tax) to his Chiefdom. He defeated early Arabs and even the German army in several early battles during the occupation of Unyanyembe (Rockel, 2000).
Unyanyembe was the largest hinterland business and strategic centre. Nyamwezi were early long-distance traders, the middlemen in value transfers and exchange between the hinterlands and the coast in the early slave and ivory trades. Their business endeavours stretched from the Belgian Congo to the coast of the Indian Ocean. On top of that, one subgroup of the Nyamwezi, the Kimbu, were skilled ironsmiths (Musambachime, 2016). It is argued that wealth from trade, the assimilation of Nguni warriors, and their engagement with iron
technology contributed to the Nyamwezi’s military strength (Iliffe, 1979; Rockel, 2000;
Williams, 2020). This history is still reflected in the organisation of the workshop. Nyamwezi people are famous for traveling out of Tabora even today. Their business and crafting endeavours survived colonial repression to emerge into workshops like the Mahakama Ya Friji.
To understand labour relations, processes, and specialisations in the workshop, ethnic attachments and kinship relationships play a vital role. The workshop’s organisation, morality and values, and hierarchical arrangements are embedded in these assemblages. Among the crafters and their apprentices, only two came from other ethnic groups. The domination of Nyamwezi at the workshop does not mean that they are waste workers. Kinship relations organise the division of work at the workshop. Among the waste collectors, there were no Nyamwezi. In contrast, even the youngest craft apprentices are from the Nyamwezi. The same applies to the scrap dealers, as two out of the three came from the Chaga ethnic group.
I would not argue that sharing ethnicity determines one’s acceptance at the workshop, but rather that relationships, like coming from the same village or town or knowing somebody at the workshop, determine acceptance. Sharing an ethnic background is secondary. Workshop members accepted me in a similar way to how relationships are formed among the workers, and to how the workshops themselves are formed as social collectives. These relationships, which according to Abraham (1981), are embedded in the Nyamwezi, become more like kinship relations rather than being orientated solely around ethnicity. However, the division of labour and ethnicity are also intertwined. The workshop can easily be observed to include old and new ethnic specialisations: Chaga people operate the business side, and Nyamwezi people focus on craftmanship. Ethnic specialisation, especially in informal economic activities, is common when people from the same ethnic background migrate to urban centres (Parkin, 1969).
In the 19th and early-20th century, the Nyamwezi were famous traders. Their participation in long-distance trade earned them a reputation that they would do anything for money. However, the construction of the central rail line from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma (1905–
1914) disrupted their trade. Many Nyamwezi settled along the coast and began labouring on colonial plantations. A large Nyamwezi community settled in Unguja, providing labour to clove plantations. The abolishment of the slave trade in Zanzibar (1873) created labour scarcity that was filled by the Nyamwezi (Abrahams, 1981; Rockel, 2000).
Unlike the Nyamwezi, the Chaga occupied the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The rich volcanic soil and stable weather provided stable living conditions among this group. They had contact with the Kamba, long-distance traders on a northern route. However, the Chaga themselves did not travel much for trade. The arrival of missionaries and the colonial administration favoured the areas around Kilimanjaro because of their stable weather. The introduction of coffee farming and missionary schools provided the Chaga with literacy and capital. Today, the Chaga are the most-educated group and the most prominent business community in Tanzania (Gutmann, Drivdal, & Tucker, 2017; Iliffe, 1979; Myhre, 2018).
Therefore, the divisions that we see at the workshop, with the Nyamwezi being cookstove makers and the Chaga focusing on the scrap business and kiosks, in many ways reflects the longer history of these ethnic groups.