There are some behavioral traits and aspects of their ways of life that are
uniquely Tanzanian and Kenyan respectively. Here, I endeavor to look at how
these two East African peoples are different.
Courtesy
Ask any Tanzanian and
you'll be told one thing about Kenyans: "Kenyans are very rude, arrogant
and uncivil.
" Why?" you may ask. It is said that Kenyans use rude,
demanding language when they are asking for something (even when they mean to
be polite!). For example, picture a scene in a Nairobi restaurant, a Kenyan is asking to be
served a cup of tea.
Kenyan,' Helo, wee
leta chai ninachelewa. Harakisha basi!' (Hello, you bring me some tea, I'm
running late. Hurry up!')
But the same scenario in a Dar restaurant would probably go,
Tanzanian, ‘Habari za saa hizi. Naomba
kikombe cha chai ya rangi.' (How are you, then? May I have a cup of tea
please?)
Scene two, a Nairobi
matatu- mathree- where the conductor
is collecting fares:
Conductor, ‘Leta pesa
yako na ufanye fasta (Let's have your fare and be quick about it). Fare ni mbao (twenty shillings) sitaki mtu ambaye anajifanya hajui fare ni
chapa ngapi! (I don't need anyone acting like they don't know what the fare
is!)
In a daladala in Dar es Salaam, a conductor
in the exact same spot:
Conductor, ‘Naomba
nauli yako.( May I have your fare)
"Nauli ni mia mbili hamsini." (approximately 14 Kenyan shillings).
In Tanzania,
it is an unstated law that you have to greet each and every person you come
across as you go about your business. Greetings for people who are older than
you start with the reverential "Shikamoo".
For example, ‘Shikamoo Mzee Juma.'
In Kenya,
things could hardly be more different. It is not expected that one greet every
one they meet. You greet only those you are acquainted with. There are no
specific greetings for people who are older than you. Two widely used greetings
suffice for all ages and sizes. When greeted ‘Sasa' you reply "Fit". This is akin to the ‘Mambo'- ‘Poa' used south of the border. A ‘Habari gani?' greeting -similar to the Habari za saa hizi? or the abbreviated form, 'Za saa hizi?' of Tanzania-
is also frequently used.
Kenyans planning to visit Tanzania need to learn the art of
greeting and to preface salutations to those older than them with ‘Shikamoo.' On the other hand, Tanzanians who are planning a
trip in the opposite direction need to brace themselves so they don't get angry
when people walk right past them without exchanging pleasantries. That is our
way of life here.
I had a rough time, once, when visiting Tanzania. I did not greet a group
of old men whiling the day away on a Dar street. I did not know how to get to where I was
going (somewhere at Kunduchi) and after a few minutes searching about I
remembered the old men I had passed by. I was sure they would be helpful so I
retraced my footsteps to where they were still seated watching the world. I
greeted them with a most humble Shikamoo
and asked them for directions of where I was going. They exchanged glances,
scowled, ignored me and continued talking. I stood there awkwardly waiting for
God-knows-what.
One of them cleared his throat and told me: "You passed by here
without even greeting us, but now that you have a 'problem' you have come to us.
What do you expect us to do? Do you want us to associate with a rude fellow
like you? I don't think you are a Tanzanian. Next time greet people whether you
need their help or not. African culture dictates this!" And with that he
directed me to where I was going (he literally took my hand and led me to where
I was going), but not before I had served them with my most profuse apologies.
Culinary Delights
In Kenya, most people cook sukuma wiki and meat in one sufuria. Things are done differently in Tanzania.
Sukuma wiki and meat stews are cooked in different pots. During mealtime
in Tanzania,
there are more serving dishes than on the dining table of an average Kenyan's
table. These bowls may contain:
i)
maharage
(beans)( Maharagwe to Kenyans).
ii)
mchicha
(Kikuyus call it Terere).
iii)
dagaa (call
it Omena when in Kenya).
iv)
a meat stew
My take is that Tanzanians are more nutrition conscious than
Kenyans. They also use coconut milk in most of their food preparation and the
food that is cooked with this additive is wonderful to the taste, take my word
for it! I know of a Kenyan couple who crossed the border into Tanzania with the sheer intention of looking for
a house help-mboch from Tanzania.
When I asked them why they had gone to such lengths they said: "We went to
Bagamoyo (in Tanzania)
on our honeymoon. We loved the food we were served. It was a whole new
experience. We need this Tanzanian touch in our very home in Nairobi."
Nuptials and other ceremonies
Wedding contributions in Tanzania are taken very seriously.
Many would rather contribute financially towards a wedding than for someone's
school fees. Kadi za harusi and ‘vikao vya harusi' are the key words
associated with weddings in Tanzania.
In Kenya,
things are different. Wedding contributions are not as hyped up. In most cases,
the families of the bride and groom do the contributions amongst themselves
even though on occasion, input from outsiders is sought .Tanzanian wedding
ceremonies are strictly for those who contributed for the wedding! A wedding
invitation card is the Identity Card, proving that you contributed and are
therefore eligible to taste the wedding cake. No gatecrashers are allowed
whatsoever. In Kenya,
most wedding ceremonies (except private weddings) are for virtually anyone and
everyone. Even passers-by can pop in, take a bite, sip a drink and take their
leave without anyone raising as much as an eyebrow. When I was a young boy, my
friends and I kept diaries of coming wedding ceremonies to attend. On days when
two or more weddings appeared in our diaries, we would split up the weddings and
decide who would go where. Our main aim would not be to see the bride and groom
exchanging wedding vows, but to partake of the wali, mchuzi and soda that would be served at the wedding
reception. We would do this without the slightest tug and pull of guilt at our
conscience. Talk of living in two, totally different, worlds!
School
Kenyans take eight years in primary school, four years in
secondary school and four years in University (i.e. for most of the degree
courses). In Tanzania, they take seven years in primary school, four years in
secondary school, two years in high school (Forms 5 and 6) and three years at
university ( for most of the degree courses). Still on education, Kenyan pupils
stay in school from morning to afternoon (after 3pm). It is rare to see pupils roaming the streets when
classes are on. That is unless they have been sent home or they are purely
playing truant. This is quite different from what happens in Tanzania. It is common to see
students and pupils roaming the streets when classes are on. Why? Pupils and
students go to school in shifts. This means that some go to school in the
morning while others go to school in the afternoon (or mchana as they call it in Tanzania) When the 'afternoon students'
come to school, the 'morning students' leave for home.
Signal to driver or kiss?
If you have ever been to Dar es Salaam,
then you have ever seen and heard what I'll mention here shortly. Daladala
touts use their mouths to signal to the driver to stop and to stop or start
moving the vehicle. You don't get the drift, I know. These kondas (touts) twist their mouths and suck in air between their
lips to produce a sound that sends a signal to the driver. If you were not
looking at the conductor, then you would think that he was kissing a woman. A
party of Europeans were traveling to Posta (where most of the important offices
are located in Dar es Salaam)
some years ago. Out of the blue, they heard a loud kissing noise. Turning to
face the daladala's doorway from
whence the 'sound' was coming. They saw the conductor, a lanky man,
theatrically producing the signal to ask the driver to pull into the lay-by
where a passenger would alight.
In Nairobi,
touts and conductors whistle, bang on the vehicles or talk loudly (shout is the
word to use here) to request that the driver stop to pick up a passenger, to
allow a passenger to alight or even to start moving the vehicle. None of the
very manly sounds they produce sound anything close to a kiss.
Identifying yourself
In Kenya,
all citizens 18 years and older are issued with National Identity Cards. It
also goes without saying that one has to carry this ID around, especially if
one anticipates a late night out. It saves face when one meets with those state
employees eager to arrest guys on sight. When they ask, Wabi Gibande yago?' (Where is your identity card?) You flash them
the small card that says you are a Kenyan and they let you walk away. In Tanzania,
there are no national identity cards, although their Fourth Phase Government is
planning to introduce them soon.
Some of the Tanzanians I asked how they would
tell a Kenyan from a group of people said they would listen to the people
speaking and voila! the Kenyan would stick out like a sore thumb. This
interested me, so I asked one of them to tell me how he would do it. ‘I would
listen to the people talking. I know a Kenyan's Kiswahili and English. It would
not be hard to tell one apart.'
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I think Kenyans' character is not bad. I'd like to think of myself as good.
To begin, survival skills, Tanzanians are alittle dimmer when compared to Kenyans.
For evry single tanzanian excelling in an American university, 50 Kenyans excel.
For every Tanzanian making it to university, 500 Kenyans make it.
Tanzanians 'wamebarizi' too much, to be 'rude' like a typical Kenyan, they are lazy.
I interact with them daily, while some may say it is a relaxed way of leaving, they relax too much at the expennse of working.
A friend Lenny was once deployed to run an NGO in Tanzania, they do not expect consequences for mistake. In Kenya we know one screws at work, they get fired, and in no sweet words.
In Tanzania, it goes like 'Hapo ndugu, ulikosea, rekebisha', it is a result driven society, where is the time for all that slack.
And as one who once took a motor-boat to TZ, and headed to Dar, I can tell you that it is terrible leaving there. At one point, in the 20th century (1999). the whole city had no milk, nor bread!. In Kenya, hata kama ni ya punda, it will exist.
Tanzania is largely an ignorant society. They do not know even why they vote. I have never accepted 'silence dran from ignorace' as a positive thing.
Kenyans do not need to compare themselves to those below or slightly above them.
Kenyans are very intelligent, and wonderful people.
Compare with the mayhem that was Nigerian polls.