Iraqw Culture Center

Cultural Immersion

The Iraqw people, also known as the Wambulu people by Swahili speakers, are a group of people that live near Karatu, Tanzania, in the areas comprising the Manyara region of Tanzania. According to most recent estimates, around one million Iraqw people live in Tanzania. While it is not exactly known when the Iraqw came to Tanzania, there are an estimated 200 clans of Iraqw tribes thriving today that have blended together a magnificent group of people and cultures over history. Many Iraqw people claim a genealogical connection to Iraq, but, perhaps surprisingly, are predominantly Christian. However, there is significant dispute regarding the true origin of the Iraqw people, with some scholars suggesting the connection to Iraq is a fallacy contrived by people who believe in the ethnical inferiority of native African peoples.

An Iraqw woman rests and beads together jewelry.

Villages & Home Life

Iraqw villages and huts serve a main role in the Iraqw society. Their huts are built with woven sticks patted down with mud and enclosed with a straw or metal sheet roof. Inside you will find many rooms, each serving a unique purpose:

Tool room for men
Tool room for women
Room to store cattle
Occasionally, an underground room

The underground rooms were originally built to help protect themselves from the Maasai. Throughout history, the Maasai and Iraqw have had their fair share of differences and have often been warring communities. Even today, hints of animosity still remain.

Within the huts, social rules are at play. Each room is divided by gender. Men, their tools and their equipment are to reside in one room only to be accessed by the males of the household, while females, their tools and their equipment resides in a separate section of the home only to be accessed by the women of the home.

The Iraqw Culture Center is centered in Karatu, which is nearby the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Religion

Even with most Iraqw people practicing either Christianity or Islam, the Iraqw people still remain devoted to their own way of life and religion. Their religion is centered around two deities, one female and the other male.

The Iraqw believe their ancestors play an active, important role in their lives.

They believe that when their own lives come to an end, they too become a spiritual ancestor and move to an underground world while still maintaining good relations with the living world.

Economy

In the Iraqw tribes, one's wealth is determined by the number of animals they own. The Iraqw are known to be skilled in agriculture and livestock breeding. Traditionally, the Iraqw grow maize, beans, potatoes, and onions. They also breed sheep, goats and chicken. When they are not busy tending to their animals and crops, you may find the men blacksmithing or partaking in other metal work and the women crafting pottery or making rugs for their homes.

Iraqw Culture Center Map

The Iraqw Culture Center is located in Karatu, Tanzania, near the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. On Kopa Tours Culture Quest Safari, your guide will take you to the Iraqw Culture Center for an immersion into Iraqw Culture where you can discover these cultural intricacies for yourself. After your visit, you will continue on in your safari into the Ngorongoro Crater.

Iraqw Facts:

Tanzania has somewhere around 120 different groups of indigenous peoples.
A large number of the Iraqw tribe members claim to have historical connections to Iraq in the Middle East.
The Iraqw are known for being excellent cattle herders. An important trade tool in Iraqw culture is cattle dung due to its use as a fertilizer.