Food Habits of Tanzania

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Diet and dishes

What were the main staple and supplementary foods of the past?

District	Ulanga	North Tanzania	Mwanza	Bukoba	Kilosa	Tabora region	Usambara
Division &Ethnic group	Kiberege	Hadza people	Sukuma people	Bahaya people		Uyu
Date of survey	1939	1962	1956	1954	1969	1967	1966-1967
Staple foods	Rice Fish	Meat Yams	Millet (red, white, bull rush)	Plantain (cooking banana)	Maize Sorghum	Cassava Maize ("Sembe") refined maize flour	Maize
Main supplementary foods	Maize Cassava Sweet potatoes Bananas	Wild fruits, berries raw seeds maize meal (introduced)	Meat & fish (irregular but constant part of diet) Maize (corn on cob as a snack, maize flour used in times of food shortages) Legumes (between meal as snack) Sweet potatoes	Cassava (also leaves) Sweet potatoes Groundnuts, Bambara Groundnuts, Bambara Yam Maize cobs wild mushrooms Sorghum for beer, Green leafy vegetables		Sorghum Wheat Plantains Legumes Vegetables	Cassava Legumes Wild spinach in Bumbuli Mulungui Soni Upare Maranzara
Other foods			Rice (sign of affluence to eat it) Cassava (grown under government order)	Introduced, european vegetables (beetroot, carrots, onions)		Dried cow meat	Fish in Chakichani Milk, animal protein in Leguruki
Meal	Boiled rice or porridge (made out maize, cassava, eleusine, ocassionally from millet) with a relish of fish or meat, and "wild" green vegetables, if gathered	Food, is mostly barbecued only older women had cooking pots to boil meat	Main dish: Stiff millet porridge with meat, fish or vegtable relish, all the food was boiled		Staples consumed in form of "ugali" in allmost all meals	2 meals a day main food is ugali made from cassava, maize or sorghum flour with side dish prepared from leaves or legumes

References:

Culwick, A. T. and G. M. Culwick (1939). "A study of factors governing the food supply in Ulanga, Tanganyika Territory." East African Medical Journal 16: 43-61.
Jelliffe, D. B., J. Woodburn, et al. (1962). "The children of the Hadza hunters." Tropical paediatrics 60(6): 907-913.
Tanner, R. E. S. (1956). "A preliminary enquiry into Sukuma diet in the lake province, Tanganyika territory." East African Medical Journal 33(8): 305-324.
Laurie, W. M., W. Brass, et al. (1951). East African Medical survey annual report No. 2, East African High Commission.
Food science unit, I. (1969). Report of a dietary survey in Kilosa district. Tanzania nutrition unit committee report series.
Tanzania National Nutrition Unit (1967). Report of a dietary survey in Tabora region. Tanzania, The Tanzania National Nutrition Unit: 1-11.
Popleau, W., C. Schlage, et al. (1969). Nutrition and health in Usambara. München, Weltforum Verlag, München.

What did the people of the Tabora region eat?

Table: Eating pattern of the average family in Uyui, Tabora region
Date of survey: 23rd to 29th of October 1967

Source: Tanzania National Nutrition Unit (1967). Report of a dietary survey in Tabora region. Tanzania, The Tanzania National Nutrition Unit: 1-11.

Meal	Drink	Food
Breakfast	Tea or coffee with sugar and sometimes milk	Mandazi, Bread or Vitumba; for children uji was prepared, it was made out of maize, cassava flour; fresh cassava or left overs were eaten;
Main meal of the day (midday or evening)	Local beer, Kangara was consumed by some families in large amounts	Main food was ugali made of cassava, maize which was eaten with a side dish prepared from leaves or legumes; meat or fish were side dishes;
Special Occasions	At feasts tea, the local beer (pombe) and soft drinks were served	Rice was served instead of ugali with meat or chicken as a side dish for visitors; Beans and ugali were also eaten at feast but less often, served with chapatties;

Read more about the food habits of the Tabora region in the following article and obtain information and data on:

• Food consumed during:
  1. Work
  2. School
  3. Travelling
  4. Illness
  5. Pregnancy and lactation
  
• Food taboos
  
• Child feeding practices
  
• Food storage and processing
  
• Agriculture
  
• Facilities in the house
  
• Staple foods and their use
  
• Food groups and their contribution to nutrient intake
  
• Calorie and nutrient requirments, intakes and sources
  

PDF: Report of a dietary survey in Tabora region_1967

Investigations into health and nutrition in North-East Tanzania

This report provides you with data on the following areas:

Date of survey	Survey area
January 1965 to April 1966 February and March 1965 February 1965 March 1965 September to December 1965 January 1966	Bumbuli A Bumbuli B Chakichani Maranzara Upare Leguruki Soni Mulungui

Meal pattern among the survey areas

Breakfast: In most survey areas a sweetened tea was consumed and accompanied by biscuits in some families. Among poor families these items were replaced by "uji", a thin maize soup for breakfast was omitted all together.
Main meal: Normally a cooked meal was consumed at midday and in the eve. Only during food shortages or when urgent agricultural work had to be done, the midday meal was omitted.

Where did Usambara people derive their calories and proteins from?

The staple cereal for the Usambara area was maize which provided 40% of the intake of calories and proteins. The importance of maize was much smaller in the coastal area, where the protein poor cassava provided most of the calories. The main protein source in Chakichani near the coast was derived from fish. Only ten miles inland in Maranzara the main protein sources came from beans. The survey reflected that apart from the coastal area the portion of animal protein was highest in Leguruki through the combination of cattle raising with agriculture and the regular milk consumption. Among the areas where the intake of animal protein was low, the main sources of protein were derived from legumes, cassava and wild spinach.

Read more about the diet and their contribution to nutrient intake and health status in the following article and explore data on:

• Amounts of the most important foodstuffs in the total consumption of calories and nutrients in the different survey areas
  
• Average coverage of requirement of the various nutrients and calories in the survey areas
  
• Covering of the nutrient requirements in percent age groups
  

PDF: Investigations into Health and Nutrition in East Africa

The children of the Hadza hunters

The meat and yams were barbecued, only older women were permitted to have cooking pots in which they boiled the meat. Wild fruits and berries were eaten raw and seeds were available in quantities. Early changes had also been introduced into the Hadza diet in form of maize meal. Wild fruits and berries were consumed raw as well as seed. The wide variety of edible indigenous fruits was emphasized by Carr* listing from Rhodesia. The diet between the men and women varied. The men ate their food often short after it was obtained, which included small animals or carrion. The most available animal foods in the past were baboon, vulture and hyena which were eaten by the Hadza hunters. Foods that have been avoided were termites, blood and tortoises.

* Carr, W. R. (1957). "Notes on some southern Rhodesian indigenous fruits, with particular reference to their ascorbic acid content." Food research 22: 590.

References:Carr, W. R. (1958). "The baobab tree: a good source of ascorbic acid." Central African Medical Journal 4: 372.
Jelliffe, D. B., J. Woodburn, et al. (1962). "The children of the Hadza hunters." Tropical paediatrics 60(6): 907-913.

What did the Bakara people on Ukara island eat before 1951?

Dietary survey on Ukara island (Lake Viktoria)
A short report on the diet of Bakara, the article provides information and data on:

• Daily diets for one week of six families in Chifule area, Ukara
  
• Daily diets for one week of six families in Bubanja area, Ukar
  
• Table of calories for food as per diets
  
• Individual stock holding in Ukara
  
• Source of animal protein on Ukara
  
• Source of meat for Wakara diets
  
• Food crops
  
• Food of animal origin
  
• Imported foodstuffs
  
• List of determinations on native vegetable plants
  
• Names and short descriptions of Lake fish eaten on Uakra island
  

  PDF: Dietary survey on Ukara island_1951

  The influencing factors of food supply in Ulanga
  

  This study carried out in the 1930s provides information on:

• Local differences in the diet (Which foods were eaten, meals, food preferences)
  
• Seasonality of food supply
  
• Beer consumption, brewing methods
  
• Taboos
  
• Problems of supply
  

PDF: A study of factors governing the food supply in Ulanga, Tanganyika Territory 1939

The nutrition situation in the Pangani Basin 1966-1967

This publication provides you with information and data on:

• Area description (Geography, population, agriculture, administrative structure, communications)
  
• Socio-economic findings (family size, age and sex distribution, tribal distribution, education, occupation, vegetable cultivation and cash crop production, fertility rate, marital status of head of household)
  
• Food pattern:
  1. Prevalence of meal per area
  2. Analysis of breakfasts, suppers and main dishes
  3. Glossary of common foods and dishes
  
• Clinical findings
  1. Protein-calorie malnutrition
  2. Vitamin A deficiency
  3. Thiamine deficiency
  4. Riboflavine deficiency
  5. Vitamin D deficiency
  6. Fluorine excess
  7. Infection Signs
  8. Riboflavine, niacin, iron deficiency
  
• Parasitology
  
• Biochemistry

  PDF: The nutrition situation in the Pangeni Basin. Investigations into health and nutrition in East Africa 1966-1967

  The Sukuma diet, in the lake province 1956
  

  Material for this study was collected in Mwanza district in the following three districts:

• Rumara, a lakeside parish of Ilemera chiefdom
• Bunyamhanda, parish of Bunegeji
• Four parishes of Nassa chiefdom
  Data an information is provided on:
  
• Main food items, its use, preparation, storage and cooking methods
  
• The brewing principles of the 3 common traditional beers
• Meals and habits
• List of edible wild vegetables
  
• Seasonal variations
• Locality variations
  
• Variations within the family
  
• Taboos and food avoidances
  Tables (in the Appendix) on:
  
• Individual diets over a 5 day period
• Food taboos and avoidances
  
• List of taboos concerning food which had been encountered

  PDF: A preliminary enquiry into Sukama diet in the Lake Province, Tanganyika Territory 1956
  
  Nutition survey in Bukoba district 1953 and 1954
  

  This survey provides you with data on:
  

• Average Bukoba diets
• Comparison of Bahaya diet with those of other African ethnical groups
  Descriptive on locally grown food crops, their preparation, and use as well as their prices (in English currency) at the local Bukoba markets.
  

  PDF: East African medical survey, Monograph No. 2_1954

Nutrition survey in the Taveta Pare areas 1955

Headquater of the survey was Gonja. Quantitative observations were carried out at the following places:

• Kimorico
  
• Kizerui
  
• Usangi
  
• Taveta Forest
  
• Magofu
• Makayuni
  
• Kibango
  Data and information is provided on:
  
• Nutrient intake (before/during/after Ramadan
• Calorie requirements
• % absorption of calories by Kampala patients, Mwanza school boys
• Absorbtion of Nitrogen by controls, Mwanza schoolboys and prisoners
• Frequency use of foodstuffs/family /day (2 meals)
  
• Energy expenditures

  PDF: East African Medical survey annual report_1956
  

  Dietary survey among the Msalabani, Ilonga 1969
  

  This report provides data and information on:
  

• Daily protein and calorie intakes
  
• Meal patterns
  
• Protein sources and daily protein variations
  
• Daily variations in food costs
  
• Calorie and nutrient intakes
  

  PDF: Dietary survey in Kilosa district_1969
  

  The Gogo diet
  

This article provides you with information on

• The infants diet
  
• Staple foods, snacks, meal pattern, diet
  
• Quantitative analysis of the Gogo diet
  
• Meal composition
  
• Meal preparation, cooking methods

  PDF: The food and growth of Gogo children 1960
  

  Meal pattern and food crops of the Sukuma and Gogo
  

  This report gives an insight into the diet of the western and central provinces of former Tanganyika

  Reference: McLaren, D. (1960). "Nutrition and eye disease in East Africa: Experience in Lake and Central Provinces, Tanganyika." American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
  

  Diets of the tribes of Tanganyika
  

  Information on tribes from

Information on tribes from: Eastern province Iringa province Lake province Tanga province Western province Central province

PDF: Tribes from Tanganyika_1935

Created by Verena Raschke 2005 / Contact