“Seeking a better life”: Identity of Tanzanian urban residents

«В поисках лучшей жизни»: идентичность горожан Танзании

Ivanchenko, Oksana (Иванченко, Оксана) ()
Additional contact information
Ivanchenko, Oksana (Иванченко, Оксана): Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Urban Folklore and Anthropology, 2024, vol. 6, issue 4, 84-101

Abstract: The paper is based on the results of field research conducted by the author in the United Republic of Tanzania in November 2023, focusing on the issue of nation formation in the multiethnic state. The study was carried out in Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo cities, resulting in the collection of 33 formal and informal interviews in English and Swahili. The key aim of the research was to find out whether the national component of self-identity has taken precedence for Tanzanian citizens, or if local identities, ethnic or regional, remain more significant. Tanzania is characterized by very high rate of urbanization, and making the issue of changing identity under the new conditions especially relevant for understanding the adaptation mechanisms of migrants in the cities. It is important to note that in Tanzanian cities the majority of residents are at most, second- or third-generation urban residents. Young people usually move to the city alone, without family. Those who were born in the city usually have only parents and siblings living there. Thus, connections to the culture of one’s region of origin are often broken, leading to a search for new affiliations, which frequently involves a shift in self-identity. In the article we will examine issues of the transformation and significance of ethnic identity; the relationship between ethnic, regional, and national levels of self-identity; attitudes towards ethno-racial minorities; and the future of indigenous Tanzanian cultures, languages, and traditions within the multicultural environment of the city.

Keywords: Tanzania; nation building; ethnic identity; regional identity; migrants; urban culture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://repec.ranepa.ru/rnp/urbfan/uf2415.pdf

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rnp:urbfan:uf2415

Access Statistics for this article

Urban Folklore and Anthropology is currently edited by Sergey Neklyudov

More articles in Urban Folklore and Anthropology from Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by RANEPA maintainer ().