• Defined in various ways using geographic and geopolitical boundaries, the vast and culturally diverse region of East Africa includes the countries of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Known for its biodiversity and rich wildlife, East Africa is also home to an astounding variety of cultures. Geographic locale defines many East African indigenous groups, as well as distinct linguistic patterns and cultural traits.
  
  

Hadza

• Found in the Lake Eyasi basin of northern Tanzania, the Hadza people are linguistically unrelated to any other known culture. Traditionally hunters and gatherers, they live in small semi-nomadic bands with an egalitarian social system, lacking defined leadership roles. Despite forced adoption of a sedentary lifestyle, many Hadzabe (plural of Hadza) still maintain their traditional nomadic ways.
  
  

Fipa

• A Bantu-speaking culture, the Fipa live across southwestern Tanzania in the Sumbawanga and Nkansi districts. Dwelling in settled villages, the Fipa live in extended family groups with between 100 and 200 people. Largely agrarian, they supplement their diet with hunting and gathering.
  
  

Lambya

• Found in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, the Lambya are a Bantu-speaking people dwelling in large, well-developed settlements around areas with rich soil for agriculture. Although most Lambya people adhere to their original animistic religion, recent missionary expeditions threaten to damage their traditional culture and folkways.
  
  

Makonde

• Found throughout southeast Tanzania, the Makonde people trace their origin back to the Mueda Plateau of Mozambique. Known for their traditional wood carvings, much of their economy is now based on selling crafts in addition to farming and hunting. Traditionally matrilineal, meaning relationships are traced through the mother's line, the Makonde live in independent villages with no central government.
  
  

Maasai

• One of the most well-known East African cultures, the Maasai live in the popular tourist areas of Kenya and northern Tanzania. A semi-nomadic people, the Maasai are monotheistic and patriarchal with a traditional economy based on cattle herding. Known for their distinctive dress, they adorn themselves with elaborate jewelry and intricate walking sticks.
  
  

Safwa

• Found in the Mbeya region of southwestern Tanzania, the Safwa are mountain-dwelling people organized into village settlements along fertile slopes. Unlike other agricultural groups, the Safwa are not politically well organized and rely on familial cooperation rather than a central government to run their villages and resolve conflict.
  
  

Chaga

• Dwelling on the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Chaga are the third-largest cultural group in Tanzania. Governed by a clan-system, Chaga people depend on farming for subsistence and economic prosperity. Marriage is largely polygynous and they follow a patrilineal, or father-traced, system of descent.
  
  

Bembe

• Tracing their origin to the Congo, the Bembe people now live mainly in western Tanzania. A farming and hunting people, the Bembe divide labor by gender with the women caring for the farm and the men venturing into the bush to hunt. Political decisions fall to a council called the bwami, a group of elders, and to influential men of the village. Mainly animistic, the Bembe also worship ancestor spirits and important landmarks like Lake Tanganyika.