The Zaramo people, also referred to as Dzalamo or Saramo, (Wazaramo, in Swahili) are a Bantu ethnic group native to the central eastern coast of Tanzania, particularly Dar es Salaam Region and Pwani Region. They are the largest ethnic group in and around Dar es Salaam, the former capital of Tanzania and the 7th largest city in Africa. Estimated to be about 0.7 million people, over 98% of them are Muslims, more specifically the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islam. Zaramo people are considered influential in Tanzania popular culture with musical genres like Sengeli originating from their commonity in Kinondoni District. Their culture and history have been shaped by their dwelling in both urban and rural landscapes.
Language
The original Zaramo language, sometimes called Kizaramo, is Bantu, belonging to the Niger-Congo family of languages. However, in contemporary Tanzania, only a few speak it, and most speak Swahili language as their first language, as it is the trading language of the East African coast and the national language of Tanzania.
Kizaramo is still used in many Zaramo rituals, such as the mwali rites, though they often appear alongside Swahili translations.
History
Origins
By oral tradition, the Zaramo are said to be descendants of the Shomvi people under the lead of the warrior-hero, Pazi in the early 19th century. The Shomvi, a mercantile clan living in what is present-day Dar Es Salaam were attacked by an offshoot group of Kamba people from Kenya. The Shomvi sought help from the warrior, Pazi, who lived in the hinterlands. When Pazi defeated the Kamba, he asked for salt, cloth, and other luxuries in return. When the Shomvi could not meet his demands, they offered for him and his family to live with them on the coast, where they would receive an annual tribute instead. The war and its results were said to be the founding of the Zaramo.
Islamization
Undoubtedly after the Maji Maji rebellion, it was a period of significant Islamic expansion. Before 1914, the Ngindo, Zaramo, and Zigua peoples in the coastal hinterland had been heavily influenced by Islam. Since then, the region has primarily become Islamic, with the exception of Maasai, some of Bonde (whom had a long history of missions), and to a lesser extent, Matumbi. The last barrier to the Islamization of the Digo in the north was eliminated by the destruction of Lutheran artifacts. When missionary work began in the south after many Mwera and Makua stopped practicing Christianity, polygynous marriages and other barriers made it difficult for many converts to return, which led to Islam becoming the coastal area's major religion.
By 1913, Muslims were up half of the Zaramo population. Both from the coast and up north from the Rufiji, where Zaramo tracked the boys' jando initiation ceremony that contributed significantly to the spread of Islam, proselytizing had taken place. Zaramo started performing Islamic circumcision.
Islam in the coastal region and its hinterland typically made it difficult for missions to be effective. The Benedictines relocated their operations inland as a result of Zaramo's disregard. Resources for resistance were offered by indigenous religious organizations like the Kubandwa Cult and the Uwuxala Society. Long-established populations were not always opposed to Christianity, though.
Only eleven of the 150–200 waalimu in Uzaramo were reported to be able to interpret the Koran rather than merely recite it in 1912, when it was claimed that students at Koran schools learned the Koran in Arabic without grasping its meaning. Magic and literacy frequently intertwined. It was customary to read the entire Koran aloud to honor ancestors or to purify a community. A passage from the Koran served as a standard amulet, and ink diluted in water served as a standard medication.
A Zaramo Muslim immigrant worker named Abdulrahman Saidi Mboga is credited with introducing superior rice varieties and irrigation methods to South Pare.
It is simpler to map out Islam's political stance by the 1950s. Not only was it growing almost as quickly as Christianity, but Muslims also appeared to be adhering to their religion more rigidly than before. However, a lot of cultural resistance endured. Few Zaramo Muslims frequented mosques, and their female rituals remained largely non-Islamic. Urban Islam was occasionally quite superficial, notably in Dar es Salaam. Even the ostensibly Muslim Ngindo rarely performed Islamic marriage.