The Karimjee family are a Tanzanian business family of Indian origin and owners of the Karimjee Group. Since the 1800s, [1] [2] Karimjee family business ventures have included trade, agriculture, [3] real estate and various products in the mobility sector. Members of the Karimjee family participated in public service [4] with Abdulkarim Karimjee serving as Speaker of the National Assembly from 1956 to 1962. Karimjee Hall was donated by the family to the Dar es Salaam Municipal Council in 1955. It was used at various times as the Legislative Assembly and the first Houses of Parliament. [5]
The Karimjee family came to Zanzibar when Jivanjee Budhabhoy emigrated in the 19th Century from Mandvi, Gujarat. He established a company, Jivanjee Budhabhoy & Co., in 1825. Jivanjee Budhabhoy & Co sold copra and cloves among other items to India and brought American and European cloth to East Africa.
Jivanjee Budhabhoy had five children, including Karimjee Jivanjee (1826–1898). In 1861 Karimjee Jivanjee set up his own business in Zanzibar, Karimjee Jivanjee & Co.
Karimjee Jivanjee had one son, Alibhai Karimjee Jivanjee (1851-1883). Alibhai Karimjee Jivanjee married Fatema Jafferjee and they had four sons: Abdulhussein Karimjee Jivanjee (1870- 1892), Hassanali Karimjee Jivanjee (1872-1918), Mohamedali Karimjee Jivanjee (1876-1940), and Yusufali Karimjee Jivanjee (1882-1966). Alibhai Karimjee Jivanjee passed away at a young age, and his sons were raised by their mother Fatema Jafferjee and their grandfather Karimjee Jivanjee. [6]
Karimjee Jivanjee & Co continued to operate, trading mainly in agricultural products and textiles, importing goods from Europe, the Far East, India and exporting goods to those same destinations as well as The Seychelles, Mauritius and Ceylon. Karimjee Jivanjee & Co owned a vast fleet of dhows which were used especially to trade with ports up and down the Swahili Coast. [7]
Between 1915 and 1925, Karimjee Jivanjee & Co. established branch offices in Mombasa, Dar es Salaam Tanga, Lindi, and Mikindani.
Dar es Salaam is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over five million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa and the sixth-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic center and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. According to the 2022 national census, Tanzania has a population of around 62 million, making it the most populous country located entirely south of the equator.
Zanzibar is an insular semi-autonomous region which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 km (16–31 mi) off the coast of the African mainland, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja and Pemba Island. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic centre, Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.
As it is in other countries, the music in Tanzania is constantly undergoing changes, and varies by location, people, settings and occasion. The five music genres in Tanzania, as defined by BASATA are, ngoma, dansi, kwaya, and taarab, with bongo flava being added in 2001. Singeli has since the mid-2000s been an unofficial music of uswahilini, unplanned communities in Dar es Salaam, and is the newest mainstream genre since 2020.
Tanga is a historic city and the capital of Tanga Region. The city is the most northernly port city of Tanzania to the west of the Indian Ocean on Tanga Bay. The city has a population of 393,429 in 2022. and is governed by the Tanga City Council. The city is also home to the Port of Tanga. The name Tanga means "sail" in Swahili. The city is also the capital of Tanga District.
Bagamoyo is a historic coastal town and capital of Bagamoyo District in the Pwani Region of Tanzania. Much of the settlement was founded at the end of the 18th century, though it is an extension of a much older Swahili settlement, Kaole. It was chosen as the capital of German East Africa by the German colonial administration and it became one of the most important trading ports for the Germans along the East African coast along the west of the Indian Ocean in the late 19th and early 20th century. Bagamoyo lies 75 kilometres north of Dar-es-Salaam on the coast of the Zanzibar Channel, across from the island of Zanzibar. The town hosts Bagamoyo Historic Town, that is a National Historic Site of Tanzania. In 2011, the town had 82,578 inhabitants.
The Zaramo people, also referred to as Dzalamo or Saramo, 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, and the rest 2% are non religious. Zaramo people are considered influential in Tanzania popular culture with musical genres like Sengeli originating from their community in Kinondoni District. Their culture and history have been shaped by their dwelling in both urban and rural landscapes.
Following Tanganyika's independence (1961) and unification with Zanzibar (1964), leading to the formation of the state of Tanzania, President Julius Nyerere emphasised a need to construct a national identity for the citizens of the new country. To achieve this, Nyerere provided what has been regarded by some commentators as one of the most successful cases of ethnic repression and identity transformation in Africa.
The earliest evidence of Hinduism in Tanzania is from the 1st millennium AD when there was trade between East Africa and Indian subcontinent. Most of these traders came from Gujarat, Deccan and the Chola empire. Archaeological evidence of small Hindu settlements have been found in Zanzibar and parts of Swahili coast, Zimbabwe and Madagascar.
The Indian diaspora in Southeast Africa consists of approximately 3 million people of Indian origin. Some of this diaspora in Southeast Africa arrived in the 19th century from British India as indentured labourers, many of them to work on the Kenya–Uganda railway. Others had arrived earlier by sea as traders.
Mbudya Island is a protected, uninhabited island under the Dar es Salaam Marine Reserve with the IUCN category II located within Kinondoni District of Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania. The island reserve measures around 14.2 km2. Fungu Yasin is to the north of the island, and Bongoyo Island is to the south. The island of Pangavini is to the west. The island is home to endangered coconunt crabs.
Indian Tanzanians constitute a significant minority within the demographic landscape of Tanzania, over 60,000 Tanzanian citizens of Indian descent reside in the country. Many among them are wealthy traders and entrepreneurs, and despite forming only 0.2% of the population, they are considered by the Hindu Council of Tanzania to have disproportionate ownership of Tanzanian companies. Indians also have a long history in Tanzania, starting with the arrival of Gujarati traders, and they gradually came to control the trade in Zanzibar. Several buildings from that period still stand in Stone Town, the primary trading center on the island.
The Swahili coast is a coastal area of East Africa, bordered by the Indian Ocean and inhabited by the Swahili people. It includes Sofala ; Mombasa, Gede, Pate Island, Lamu, and Malindi ; and Dar es Salaam and Kilwa. In addition, several coastal islands are included in the Swahili coast, such as Zanzibar and Comoros.
Shetani are spirits of East African mythology and popular belief. Mostly malevolent, and found in many different forms and different types with different powers, shetani are a popular subject of carved artwork, especially by the Makonde people of Tanzania, Mozambique, and Kenya. Physically, shetani of various types appear as distorted human and animal figures.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Tanzania–United Kingdom relations are bilateral relations between Tanzania and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has historically been a partner of Tanzania in many areas, particularly trade and security.
The Diocese of Dar es Salaam is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Tanzania. The current bishop is the Right Reverend Jackson Sosthenes.
National Historic Sites of Tanzania is an official list of places in Tanzania that have been designated as National Historic Sites as per the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism of Tanzania under the Antiquities Division. The list is not complete and is currently being updated.
Oman–Tanzania relations are the diplomatic relations between Oman and Tanzania. The Sultanate of Oman has one of the oldest historical relationships with communities in Tanzania, namely in Zanzibar. Oman is the only country outside Africa where Swahili is spoken as a first language, and its people have blood relations with the people of Tanzania.
Kendwa Island is a protected, uninhabited island in the Sea of Zanj under the Dar es Salaam Marine Reserve (DMRS) with the IUCN category II located within Kigamboni District of Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania. The islands reserve measures around 5.30km2. The Sinda Island is to the east of the island, the Makatumbi Islands are to the north, and the Kigamboni ward of Kigamboni is to the west. The island is home to endangered coconunt crabs.