The social and economic organization of the Nyamwezi society in the pre-colonial period
These were the Bantu speaking people who probably came from the Congo or Cameroon highlands. They first settled in central Tanzania around modern Tabora between 1000- 1600AD.Originally they lived in small independent chiefdoms ruled an Ntemi or chief who sometimes had little more than ritual functions. And by the 19th century there were about 150 Ntemi states The name Nyamwezi was given to them by the coastal Arabs because they always saw them approaching the coast coming from the direction of the new moon hence the people of the new moon. Social organization of the Nyamwezi The pre-colonial Nyamwezi was organized in a number of small independent chiefdoms ruled by the chiefs known as the Ntemi. The Ntemi however derived and by 1870 Mirambo had taken on power and the society became centralized and all Ntemi powers were reduced by Mirambo and Ntemi powers were reduced by Mirambo the Ntemi was a political leader and formulated laws of policies and always took decisions. The Ntemi w...