THE BUHAYA PEOPLE
"Most African societies had skipped the bronze age to the iron age and steel" before the last modern contact with western Europeans in the 15th CE.
According to research by Paul Lane, "one of these tribes was the Buhaya in northwestern Tanzania, where evidence for ironworking has been dated to at least 500 BC, and perhaps earlier. Analytical studies of the slag, iron objects, and smelting furnaces from archeological sites in this area suggest a very capable understanding of the technology and chemical processes required to obtain low grade steel; an invention that predates the European invention of forced-draught furnace by roughly two millennia." -(Encyclopedia of African history).
The Haya (Buhaya) smelted iron ore to make carbon steel for thousand of years before Europe. This was a sacred endeavour that was connected to African spirituality and was done under sacred trees known as the "Kaiija." At about 1200 BC, it was the peak era of the Haya's metal age. And about two centuries after this was when the bronze age collapse occured in western Asia. For the sake of a better understanding of this era, by this time, also, tribal groups in western Europe, like the Anglo-Saxons (Brits after the 5th century CE), Picts, Visigoths (Spanish people today), Varangians (some Russ and Scandinavians today), Almain/ Lombards (Germanic tribes), Magyars, Franks (ancestors of French people of today), Goths, vandals (also Germanic tribes), Oscans and Umbrians etc, had not entered into history yet; these were scattered tribal groups in the Alps and steppes of western Europe, who were the barbarian tribes that were later to be conquered by the Mediterranean Romans from the 1st century BC up to the 3rd century CE.
By the 6th century BCE, the Haya had developed an ornamentally made, pottery culture known as "Urewe" ware. Like the Nok civilization, with the peak era of her iron age in the 7th/8th century BCE, the Haya had developed their iron smelting skills to a great extent and were making carbon steel by 500 BCE. With this know-how, the Haya were able to make metal tools and implements. War was not common among the Buhaya. This wasn't because there was no differences among the tribal groups in the region, but there were traditional "inner circles" that settled disagreements in most African societies, right from antiquity. Nelson Mandela once described this 'inner circle' as a secret place "where all the elders sat in a circle, and his uncle," the regent, "was often the last one to speak."
Not all kings on the throne in many African societies ever rose to a particular status, necessary enough to appear at these 'inner circles' of some African societies, especially in west Africa (for example, among the Dogon people of Medieval Mali, the Mossi of Burkina Faso, Bini people of the Benin empire, as well as the Tiv people of the Benue river whom 'ityo' was the 'inner circle' of their society) and the southern African tribes.
In the 19th century CE, explorers, European colonial administrators and a few Anthropologists like the Briton, G.I. Jones expressed surprise that there was no 'home for the poor' in all of Africa before the coming of west Europeans and "almost all of African farm tools were similar as well as their food, spices, utensils and ways of preserving food..." This suggest a wide reaching constant contact with each other. Dr John Henrik Clarke wrote; "western Europe discovered on arrival that their was no orphanages in all of Africa, because no one ever threw away babies... There was no 'old people's home' because nobody ever threw away Grandma and Grandpa, and there was no anything like a psychiatric home; the society took care of its own." This, according to historian, Professor Ade Ajayi, could have been because of the efficiency of statecraft and culture. This might also have been the reason why the Haya are reputed to have known no wars in ancient and medieval times until the 16th century CE. This was also a similar situation with some African societies like the Bahutu, the Batutsi and Twas in medieval times; for research indicates that these groups often settle their differences through "dance contests." -(Dr John Henrik Clarke). The winner took the day, wins the argument and can mock the others. This was not new, it was probably just very ancient. In the 19th century CE, the Eskimos of Iceland often laughed mockingly at any thief among them wherever he or she goes, the embarrassment that comes with it made sure there was no thieves among the Eskimos at the stated time, in the 19th century CE. It was better than jungle justice or ill-treatment to a member of the society with the aim of hindering others from the same crime. But even this had changed for the Eskimos. The Batutsi and the Bahutu also went through a lot of cultural changes, enough to have killed over 1 million of their own in just 3 months in 1994 CE.
The traditional drum was the initial means of long distance communication in the towns and settlements of the BuHaya. 'Errand running' was also another means of communication as well as symbols that represented particular meanings or ideas as a form of non-verbal communication. The BuHaya often attached great importance to certain spiritual symbolism.
Changes come and changes went; the BuHaya went through a lot of cultural changes from when Zanzibar became a slave colony during the Arab slave trade to the 17th century CE, when European explorers arrived the lands of the BuHaya around the west and northwest of what became named as lake Victoria in east Africa, during European colonialism.
The Buhaya obviously lost the art of iron smelting along the way.
One thing that had remained with the BuHaya through the ages, from their origin is the art of using bananas to brew beer. The banana is mixed with natural herbs(no chemicals are involved) and stored away for days to ferment. The one that stays for two days, taste like wine while the one that stays for four days taste much like sweet beer. The Africans in Congo who also use bananas to brew a similar beer called it 'kasitsi.'
No Anthropologist have been able to explain how this knowledge of brewing banana beer had travelled across the continent to as far as west Africa as well. The palmwine in west Africa and the 'bulkutu' (wheat beer) in the savannah regions, 'alkpeteshi' which was used for libations... the similar cuisines, spices, farm tools, beverages, cultures and traditional attires suggest that at some point in the distant past, when most of African was called Aethiopia and her people were called Aethiopes by outsiders or Alkebulan by the Arabs, all of Africa, were one people, that were defined by their varieties. And the BuHaya was probably connected to the people of the Nok civilization to have shared the same iron smelting know-how.