Famous taarab singers include Abbasi Mzee, Culture Musical Club, Shakila of Black Star Musical Group. Internationally known traditional artists include Bi Kidude, Hukwe Zawose, and Tatu Nane. Tanzania also has its own distinct African rumba music, termed muziki wa dansi ("dance music"); important artists include Simba Wanyika, Remmy Ongala, and Orchestra Makassy. Literature[edit]
Main article: T
anzanian literature
Tanzania's literary culture is primarily oral.[103]:page 68 Major oral literary forms include folktales, poems, riddles, proverbs, and songs.[103]:page 69 The greatest part of Tanzania's recorded oral literature is in Swahili, even though each of the country's languages has its own oral tradition.[103]:pages 68–9 The country's oral literature has been declining because of the breakdown of the multigenerational social structure, thus making transmission of oral literature more difficult, and because increasing modernization has been accompanied by the devaluation of oral literature.[103]:page 69
Tanzania's written literary tradition is relatively undeveloped. Tanzania does not have a lifelong reading culture, and books are often expensive and hard to come by.[103]:page 75[129]:page 16 Most Tanzanian literature is in Swahili or English.[103]:page 75 Major figures in Tanzanian written literature include Shaaban Robert (considered the father of Swahili literature), Muhammed Saley Farsy, Faraji Katalambulla, Adam Shafi Adam, Muhammed Said Abdalla, Said Ahmed Mohammed Khamis, Mohamed Suleiman Mohamed, Euphrase Kezilahabi, Gabriel Ruhumbika, Ebrahim Hussein, May Materru Balisidya, Abdulrazak Gurnah, and Penina O. Mlama.[103]:pages 76–8
Painting and sculpture[edit]
A Tingatinga painting
Historically, there have been only limited opportunities for formal art training in Tanzania, and many aspiring Tanzanian artists have left the country to pursue their vocation.[129]:papge
Historically, there have been only limited opportunities for formal art training in Tanzania, and many aspiring Tanzanian artists have left the country to pursue their vocation.[129]:papge 17 One of the most famous African artists – George Lilanga - was born in Tanzania. Two Tanzanian art styles have achieved international recognition.[129]:papge 17 The Tingatinga school of painting, founded by Edward Said Tingatinga, consists of brightly colored enamel paintings on canvas, generally depicting people, animals, or daily life.[103]:page 113[129]:papge 17 After Tingatinga's death in 1972, other artists adopted and developed his style, with the genre now being the most important tourist-oriented style in East Africa.[103]:page 113[129]:papge 17 Makonde is both a tribe in Tanzania and Mozambique and a sculptural style. It is known for the high Ujamaas (Trees of Life) made of the hard and dark ebony tree. Food[edit]
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One of Tanzania's, and other parts of eastern Africa's, most common cultural dishes is Ugali. It is usually composed of corn and is similar in consistency to a stiff paste or porridge, giving it its second name of corn meal porridge. Mixtures of cassava and millet flours are locally used for ugali. Rice and cooked green bananas are also important staples. Beef, goat meat, beans, yoghurt, and a wide range of fish and green leafy vegetables all add nutrients to the dishes. Sports[edit]
