The Pare (pronounced "Pahray") (Wapare, in Swahili) are a Bantu ethnic group. Their ancestral home is on the Pare Mountains of Same District and Mwanga District of Kilimanjaro Region in Northerneast Tanzania.
During his visit to Usambara in 1848, German Colonial explorer J. L. Krapf was informed, among other things, that there were the Pare and Gweno people living in the north. It seems that the people of South Pare were referred to by the former name, and the people of North Pare by the latter. Nowadays, both groups are referred by the name Pare. The Pare Mountains' southern peaks were known as "Mpare," thus it is evident from certain Pare customs that the name Pare may have been bestowed upon them by their neighbours to the south. It appears that Pareland consisted of two distinct communities until the early nineteenth century, although they had been progressively merging since the latter part of the eighteenth century.Roberts, Andrew, and Beverley Brock. Tanzania Before 1900 Published for the Historical Association of Tanzania by the East African Pub. House, 1968.
Historically, Pareland was also known as Vuasu (South Pare) and Vughonu (North Pare) to its inhabitants. Their historic location lies on one of the northern routes of the historic East-African long-distance trade, connecting the hinterland with the coast of the Indian Ocean.
The people of Vuasu (Asu being the root word) are referred to as Vaasu and they speak a language known as Chasu or Athu. The people of Vughonu (Ugweno, in Swahili) are referred to as Vaghonu (Wagweno in Swahili) and they speak a language known as Kighonu (Gweno in Swahili).
Language Although once constituting a single, greater Vughonu area; current residents of northern Pare recognise two sub-areas based on ethnolinguistic differences: Gweno-speaking Ugweno to the north and Chasu-speaking Usangi to the south. The general interaction of the Pare people with the Ma'a (Va-ma'a) or Mbugu people (an ethnic group with Cushitic origins) has also led to one of the few genuinely mixed languages, reputedly combining Chasu (Bantu) grammar with Cushitic vocabulary (i.e. Mbugu language).Maarten Mous, Leiden University. The Making of a Mixed Language: The case of Ma’a/Mbugu. 2003. John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/cll.26
History The Pare were the main producers of iron for which there was considerable demand from the Chaga and Maasai people,Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Edited by Bethwell A. Ogot, Unesco. International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa. 1992 as well as other adjacent populations. Notable Pare blacksmiths include the Shana clan (Shana, meaning blacksmith), who have maintained the tradition to this day.
The Pare are traditionally highly organised in terms of compulsory community work towards sustainable and inclusive development through a philosophy referred to as msaragambo.
The Usangi Kingdom between Ugweno to the north and Mgagao in the south was ruled by Mfumwa Sangiwa I (Mfumwa, meaning Chief or King) who died in 1923, Mfumwa Koshuma Sangiwa up to 1928, Mfumwa Sabuni and finally Mfumwa Shaban Mtengeti Sangiwa up to the abolition of traditional rule following the independence of Tanganyika.
In Ugweno, a chief or King was referred to as Mangi, the term also used by the Chaga. At the peak of its power, the Ugweno state had at its head a Mangi Mrwe (Supreme/Paramount Chief/ King) who was assisted by governing councils, ministers and district chiefs.Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Unesco. International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa. Editor: B.A. Ogot. James Currey Ltd and University of California Press. 1999.
The Pare were also known as rainmakers, one notable exponent being Mfumwa Muhammad Kibacha Singo, a local ruler of Same who died in January 1981. In these rituals (as well as other cultural practices e.g. healing, initiation, etc.), spiritual figurines were often used that had been artistically sculptured out of clay or wood, and wrapped in either cloth and/or leather. Recent interest in such artefacts from collectors and researchers has unearthed them throughout the western world.
Early history We can infer from archaeological evidence that the current Pare people did not originate as the first Bantu speakers to occupy the Pare Mountains. A type of pottery that is typically connected to Bantu-speaking communities has been discovered in South Pare, and radiocarbon dating has proven that it dates back well before the year 1000 A.D.
Some of these early sites are associated by Pare traditions with people who lived there before the current Pare population and were either driven out or assimilated by the newcomers; however, these traditions refer to these early inhabitants in an unclear way by the name "Galla".
However, Gweno people appear to be the most ancient among the current population. According to a number of Gweno traditions, their society was already fairly well stratified by the time they were sixteen generations old, or around the start of the sixteenth century. It featured lineages with expertise in rituals, iron forging, and smelting. The political power in the nation belonged to the iron forging lineage, known as the Shana. Uncertainty remains regarding Ugweno history under the Shana. Before 1500, Ugweno society might have existed for a few generations.
Later migrations This region has historically received a substantial population of people from the Taita region of present-day Kenya. The Pare area was also inhabited by Cushitic groups such as the Mbugu in Ugweno who were eventually assimilated into the Pare communities. Additionally, the inhabitants reveal that migration occurred back and forth throughout the region, and the Pare people should be viewed as a part of the larger population that inhabits the entire Kilimanjaro Corridor.
In South Pare, Cushitic-speaking peoples and small Bantu-speaking groups populated the dry foothills and plains before the 1700s,N. Thomas Håkansson. Rulers and Rainmakers in Precolonial South Pare, Tanzania: Exchange and Ritual Experts in Political Centralization. Vol. 37, No. 3 (Summer, 1998), pp. 263-283 later saw an influx of immigrants from neighbouring communities that included Taita people, as well as those escaping civil war from North Pare. This region had a separate rule from the north and its own evolution of political systems.
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries would see this process of convergence of individuals from various backgrounds into the Pare communities continue.
Pare kingdoms Shana dynasty (pre 16th c.) Source:
This era can be categorised as the 'age of skill' for the North Pare communities. Although little evidence remains about this era due to 'the great Shana disruption', records show that the Ugweno (or Vughonu) area was known throughout the region. It was ruled by the Shana clan for centuries and became known as the "Mountains of Mghonu", after an early notably famous Shana ruler, from whom it got its name.
It is the skill of the blacksmiths and the resulting valued iron products that made the area popular that eventually led to the influx of foreign groups. Archaeological evidence of iron smithing activities includes items collected by Hans Fuchs in the early twentieth century in North Pare, held in the ethnographic collections of the Náprstek Museum, PragueIles, L., Stump, D., Heckmann, M. et al. Afr Archaeol Rev (2018) 35: 507. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-018-9312-4 – refer to link: Iron Smithing Items.
In addition, there are remnants of a specialized irrigation system that expose hundreds of irrigation intakes and furrows that were constructed during this era.American Anthropologist. Volume 104, Issues 1-2. Pages 79-90 Only when the responsibility for irrigation management shifted from patrilineages to village-level committees (post-independence) were these systems negatively impacted towards near collapse.Landesque Capital: The Historical Ecology of Enduring Landscape Modifications. Edited by N Thomas Håkansson, Mats Widgren. Chapter 7. 2016. Routledge.
It is the disruption of the Shana rule that led to miscommunication of history from modern-day communities and misinterpretations of the region and its inhabitants among early European adventurers and historians. In particular, when characterising the skill of the iron smiths based on post "civil war" communities.
Suya dynasty (post 16th c.) Source:
This era can be categorised as the 'age of discipline and expansion' of the North Pare communities. The Suya overthrew the Shana and instituted a number of reforms that included a strict initiation system and 'one of the great centralized political administration systems' for indigenous communities in Tanzania.Isaria N Kimambo; A J Temu. A history of Tanzania. University College, Dar es Salaam. History Department.; University College, Dar es Salaam. Institute of Education. Tanzania. Wizara ya Elimu. Published for the Historical Association of Tanzania by East African Publishing House This allowed the Ugweno kingdom of northern Pare to expand and come into its own up to the 19th century.
A man known only as Angovi organized the coup, and his son Mranga was instrumental in making the change. Based on his accomplishments, Mranga is regarded as one of Tanzania's greatest pre-colonial reformers. What had previously been clan initiation ceremonies were turned into a complex state institution with unrestricted use of force by him. In order to extend the kingdom over the entire plateau of North Pare, he established a hierarchy of councils, appointed a sizable number of subordinate officials, and then dispatched his sons to govern the various districts.
About eleven generations ago, Shimbo, a powerful ruler of Ugweno, finished this process of expansion. Among his achievements was the incorporation of Usangi, which became the sole district governed by the Sangi clan, a group distinct from the Suya. Therefore, there was a paramount chief (Mangi Mrwe) at the head of the Ugweno state, who was supported by a number of councils (chila), ministers (wanjama), and district chiefs (wamangi).
Bwambo dynasty (c. 1600s) It appears that at least one group of people, known as the Bwambo, moved south and settled on the southern plateau of South Pare during the crisis that occurred in Ugweno. There are hints that the Bwambo brought the various groups that had settled close to the Shengena (the highest peak in Pareland) together into a single clan (via the initiation grove or mshitu). The Bwambo society continued to organize itself based on kinship for nearly five generations.
But a number of religious shrines were created to unite the populace when the area grew too big to be governed in this manner. Eventually, a state ritual emphasizing territorial boundaries over kinship was adopted by a ruler named Nguta, who ruled the Bwambo country eight generations ago. This proved to be an effective solution to the issues facing the growing community.
One of the biggest threats to the Bwambo unity was their rapid expansion, but another was outsider groups invading their territory. Many groups of people arrived on the Pare Mountains between twelve and eight generations ago, primarily from the Taita Hills in the east and the Nguu Mountains and Usambara in the south. There were also some groups from the Maasai Steppe, including the Mbugu, the majority of whom were to relocate to Usambara.