Tukuyu
Encyclopedia
Tukuyu is a small, of 50,000 inhabitants, hillside town that lies about 36 miles (57.9 km) south of the city of Mbeya
, at an elevation of around 5000 ft (1,524 m) in the highland Rungwe
District of southern Tanzania
, East Africa
. The local language is colloquial Nyakyusa together with the national language Swahili
. Secondary and college education is done in the English language
. The people are the Nyakyusa
, although localised groups give themselves different local names.
Christian
missionaries started to work in this region, aiming to convert the local population to their faith.
"German administration at the north end of Lake Nyasa was established in January 1893, some eighteeen months after the arrival of the first German missionaries. The new administration arrived in the form of a party led by Hermann von Wissman, Imperial Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief, with orders to take possession of the territory in the south of German East Africa secured under the terms of the Anglo-German Agreement of 1890."
The town was originally founded in 1900 by the German
Imperial regime as the colonial town of Neu Langenburg, named after the original Langenburg on the shores of Lake Nyassa which had to be given up due to rising sea levels. It was an important regional centre under the Germans
and consequently there is an important Lutheran presence here, including a hospital. According to the 1920 Deutsches Koloniallexikon two of the ten shops were operated by Europeans and the police force, composed of "coloureds", was 66 men strong.
The town was administered by the British
from 1919 until 1961, as Tukuyu in the British Empire
's Tanganyika Territory. After 1919, when the Germans
left, Scottish
missionaries carried on the work of their German Catholic
counterparts at the Kiymbila and Itite Stations. The British
established a large hospital in the town in the early 1920s, and built reliable roads and bridges. There was a small British military post some miles south at Masoko
.
of Mount Rungwe
rises above the town, a part of the Great Rift Valley
. Much of the mountain's area contains forest reserve, established as reserve by the British in 1949. Rungwe has unbroken 10m-15m closed-canopy forest up to the tree-line at 2600 m, and is home to numerous important bird species. The bamboo
zone starts at 1900 metres, and bamboo wood is extensively used by local people. The mountain forest has spiritual significance for the Wanyakyusa people. The mountain features a natural bridge
("Daraja la Mungu" or the "Bridge of God") that formed as a result of volcanic lava outflow. Other notable topographic features are the Masoko Crater and the Kaporogwe Falls. Rungwe's ridge falls north-west to merge into the Poroto Mountains ridge. The area can produce spectacular short-lived thunderstorms. Mount Rungwe is a vital river catchment area.
To the east of the town is the Kipengere Range of mountains, better known as the Livingstone Range
, beyond which the land becomes incredibly harsh and mountainous.
hospital. The Africa Bridge charity is based near Tukuyu. There is a school, the Kipande School, and several other small educational initiatives. The town is the headquarters of the Konde Diocese of the influential Lutheran Church in Tanzania. There is a Post Office.
The area has many commercial tea
plantations, some coffee
, and there is intensive smallholder agricultural use of the well-watered rich volcanic soils.
The forests are ecologically lush, have clear freshwater rivers and streams, are outside of the mosquito
zone, have friendly villagers, have very few dangerous animals, and the elevated highland climate is cool. The trek to Ngozi Peak, below which is a spectacular volcanic crater lake, is popular. This lake has a local water-serpent legend, and it is possible to bush camp here overnight. The Cultural Tourism Programme of "Sisi Kwa Sisi" is based in nearby Mbeya, and can advise on possible routes, guesthouse, and a good guide, if one is planning to visit Tukuyu.
In 2006 a new cultural tourism program has been set up by the Rungwe association of tea farmers (RSTGA). This program is called Rungwe Tea & Tours . It has an office in Tukuyu town where you can get information on Rungwe and book half day or day trips to several natural attractions in the area. It also offers a unique Tea Tour. The profits of the program will be used for village development programs, like finishing a primary school classroom. For information about Tukuyu, Rungwe and tours contact rungweteatours@yahoo.com.
Bongo Camping is located 4 km north of Tukuyu centre and just 700 m off the mainroad. This campsite and platform is owned by the registered non-commercial organisation Kikundi cha Utalii Mbeya. Local live music with Bongo Camping's artists, Swahili lessons and guided tours are among the activities presently available for visitors at Bongo Camping.
The town sees around 2500 mm of rain per year, with no month receiving less than 50mm (2 inch
es) of rain. Rainfall and mists are common in some seasons and the nights are often cool; very-lightweight waterproofs, and a light sweater and cap are advisable in some months. (For details of the rain season months, see Mbeya
).
In 2006, a tourist diary referred to Tukuyu as the "beautiful town of Tukuyu, which has views of the mountains dropping down to Lake Malawi".
There is an NBC bank in Tukuyu that changes traveller cheques.
Tourist travel is first to the international airport in the Tanzanian capital, then the overnight train from the capital to Mbeya, then a local vehicle to Tukuyu. There are also daily coaches from Dar es Salaam to Tukuyu (Sumry, Sabco). Tukuyu is on the main road to Malawi and there are daily connections to the Malawi border and further land inwards.
Mbeya
Mbeya is a city located in southwest Tanzania, Africa. Mbeya's urban population was 280,000 in 2005. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya region ....
, at an elevation of around 5000 ft (1,524 m) in the highland Rungwe
Rungwe
Rungwe is one of the 8 districts of the Mbeya Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Mbeya Rural District, to the East by the Iringa Region, to the Southeast by the Kyela District, to the Southwest by the Ileje District and to the West by the Mbeya Urban District.According to the...
District of southern Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, East Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The local language is colloquial Nyakyusa together with the national language Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
. Secondary and college education is done in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The people are the Nyakyusa
Nyakyusa
The Nyakyusa are an African ethnic and linguistic group who live in the fertile mountains of southern Tanzania and northern Malawi—former German East Africa. They speak the Nyakyusa language, a member of the Bantu language family...
, although localised groups give themselves different local names.
History
In 1891 Lutheran and MoravianMoravian
Moravian refers to:* a person or thing from Moravia * Moravians * Moravian language, disputed language or dialect of the Czech language* a member or adherent of the Moravian Church...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionaries started to work in this region, aiming to convert the local population to their faith.
"German administration at the north end of Lake Nyasa was established in January 1893, some eighteeen months after the arrival of the first German missionaries. The new administration arrived in the form of a party led by Hermann von Wissman, Imperial Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief, with orders to take possession of the territory in the south of German East Africa secured under the terms of the Anglo-German Agreement of 1890."
The town was originally founded in 1900 by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Imperial regime as the colonial town of Neu Langenburg, named after the original Langenburg on the shores of Lake Nyassa which had to be given up due to rising sea levels. It was an important regional centre under the Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and consequently there is an important Lutheran presence here, including a hospital. According to the 1920 Deutsches Koloniallexikon two of the ten shops were operated by Europeans and the police force, composed of "coloureds", was 66 men strong.
The town was administered by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from 1919 until 1961, as Tukuyu in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
's Tanganyika Territory. After 1919, when the Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
left, Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
missionaries carried on the work of their German Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
counterparts at the Kiymbila and Itite Stations. The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
established a large hospital in the town in the early 1920s, and built reliable roads and bridges. There was a small British military post some miles south at Masoko
Masoko
Masoko is a Swahili word denoting "markets". It is the plural of "soko" which is derived from Arabic "سوق" meaning market.In the Swahili speaking countries it is the name of several places that were named after their markets. Among them are:...
.
Topography
The dormant volcanoVolcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
of Mount Rungwe
Mount Rungwe
Mount Rungwe is a potentially active volcano in the Mbeya region of the southern highlands of Tanzania. At an altitude of , it is southern Tanzania's second highest peak. Rungwe stands at the junction of the eastern and western arms of the Great Rift Valley of Africa. It dominates the mountainous...
rises above the town, a part of the Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
. Much of the mountain's area contains forest reserve, established as reserve by the British in 1949. Rungwe has unbroken 10m-15m closed-canopy forest up to the tree-line at 2600 m, and is home to numerous important bird species. The bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
zone starts at 1900 metres, and bamboo wood is extensively used by local people. The mountain forest has spiritual significance for the Wanyakyusa people. The mountain features a natural bridge
Natural Bridge
Natural bridge or Natural Bridge can refer to several things:*Natural arch, a land formation sometimes referred to as a natural bridge*Natural Bridge, Alabama*Natural Bridge, New York...
("Daraja la Mungu" or the "Bridge of God") that formed as a result of volcanic lava outflow. Other notable topographic features are the Masoko Crater and the Kaporogwe Falls. Rungwe's ridge falls north-west to merge into the Poroto Mountains ridge. The area can produce spectacular short-lived thunderstorms. Mount Rungwe is a vital river catchment area.
To the east of the town is the Kipengere Range of mountains, better known as the Livingstone Range
Livingstone Mountains
The Kipengere Range, also known as the Livingstone Mountains, lies in southwest Tanzania at the northern end of Lake Malawi. From the town of Mbeya the range runs south-east and forms part of the eastern escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, extending about 100 km down the north-eastern shore...
, beyond which the land becomes incredibly harsh and mountainous.
Infrastructure
The National Institute for Medical Research has a significant Medical Research Station there, and there is a small LutheranLutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
hospital. The Africa Bridge charity is based near Tukuyu. There is a school, the Kipande School, and several other small educational initiatives. The town is the headquarters of the Konde Diocese of the influential Lutheran Church in Tanzania. There is a Post Office.
The area has many commercial tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
plantations, some coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, and there is intensive smallholder agricultural use of the well-watered rich volcanic soils.
Tourism
The surrounding Southern Highlands of Tanzania make for excellent hiking and walking.The forests are ecologically lush, have clear freshwater rivers and streams, are outside of the mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
zone, have friendly villagers, have very few dangerous animals, and the elevated highland climate is cool. The trek to Ngozi Peak, below which is a spectacular volcanic crater lake, is popular. This lake has a local water-serpent legend, and it is possible to bush camp here overnight. The Cultural Tourism Programme of "Sisi Kwa Sisi" is based in nearby Mbeya, and can advise on possible routes, guesthouse, and a good guide, if one is planning to visit Tukuyu.
In 2006 a new cultural tourism program has been set up by the Rungwe association of tea farmers (RSTGA). This program is called Rungwe Tea & Tours . It has an office in Tukuyu town where you can get information on Rungwe and book half day or day trips to several natural attractions in the area. It also offers a unique Tea Tour. The profits of the program will be used for village development programs, like finishing a primary school classroom. For information about Tukuyu, Rungwe and tours contact rungweteatours@yahoo.com.
Bongo Camping is located 4 km north of Tukuyu centre and just 700 m off the mainroad. This campsite and platform is owned by the registered non-commercial organisation Kikundi cha Utalii Mbeya. Local live music with Bongo Camping's artists, Swahili lessons and guided tours are among the activities presently available for visitors at Bongo Camping.
The town sees around 2500 mm of rain per year, with no month receiving less than 50mm (2 inch
Inch
An inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
es) of rain. Rainfall and mists are common in some seasons and the nights are often cool; very-lightweight waterproofs, and a light sweater and cap are advisable in some months. (For details of the rain season months, see Mbeya
Mbeya
Mbeya is a city located in southwest Tanzania, Africa. Mbeya's urban population was 280,000 in 2005. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya region ....
).
In 2006, a tourist diary referred to Tukuyu as the "beautiful town of Tukuyu, which has views of the mountains dropping down to Lake Malawi".
There is an NBC bank in Tukuyu that changes traveller cheques.
Tourist travel is first to the international airport in the Tanzanian capital, then the overnight train from the capital to Mbeya, then a local vehicle to Tukuyu. There are also daily coaches from Dar es Salaam to Tukuyu (Sumry, Sabco). Tukuyu is on the main road to Malawi and there are daily connections to the Malawi border and further land inwards.
Further reading
- Accommodation in Tukuyu
- Spirit Ridden Konde (ISBN 0-7661-4639-1 ,1925 , 2003) by D.R. MacKenzie, someone who spent 25 years living in the area. A detailed and sympathetic account of the folklore of the Tukuyu area.
- Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon (1920), Band II, S. 633
- Martin Walsh, The Malila: Preliminary Notes on Language, History and Ethnography (1998)