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Social Profile
Food & Drink: Most hotels serve local Tanzanian food while the major hotels offer Western and other international food. There is a variety of good seafood such as prawns and lobsters and an abundance of tropical fruit such as coconuts, pawpaws, mangoes, pineapples and bananas. Table service is normal in restaurants.
Coffee and tea are of high quality. Tanzania is a secular state and alcohol is not prohibited. A good lager, Safari, is produced locally, as is a popular gin called Konyagi, a chocolate and coconut liqueur called Afrikoko and a wine called Dodoma, which comes in red or rosé. Bars generally have counter service.
Nightlife: In Dar es Salaam, there are several nightclubs, cabarets and cinemas. Generally, the nightlife centres are in the top tourist hotels and restaurants.
Shopping: The city and town centres usually have markets which sell curios such as African drums, old brass and copper, carved chess sets, jewellery, and a speciality, large wooden salad bowls carved from a single piece of teak, mninga or ebony. Haggling is accepted, indeed often expected. Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0830-1200 and 1400-1800, Sat 0830-1230. Some shops open on Sunday.
Special Events: The Sukuma (or Bujora) Museum, 15km (9 miles) east of Mwanza, gives approximately weekly performances of traditional dances of the Wasukuma tribe, including the Bugobobobo (Sukuma Snake Dance). During the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, there is an event at Makunduchi in Zanzibar in which men from the north and south flail each other with banana branches, followed by the townswomen singing traditional songs and a night of feasting and dancing. In July, the Mwakakongwa Festival and the Tamasha Festival are held in Zanzibar. For an up-to-date list of events celebrated during 2003, contact the Tanzania Tourist Board (see Contact Addresses section).
Social Conventions: When meeting and parting, hands are always shaken; this applies throughout the country in both rural and urban areas. It is the convention to use the right hand, not the left, to shake hands or pass or receive anything. The standard greeting when addressing an individual is Jambo to which the reply is also Jambo. The greeting for a group is Hamjambo to which the reply is Hatujambo. People are delighted if visitors can greet them in Kiswahili. There is no fixed protocol to do with hospitality. Dress is smart and a good appearance is highly regarded. Suits and ties or safari suits are worn by men and suits or dresses by women. Ashtrays are usually an indication of permission for a visitor to smoke. Smoking is prohibited in cinemas and on public transport. Photography: In some places, a charge will be levied on visitors wishing to take photographs; elsewhere a permit may be required. Tipping: Not generally encouraged, though waiters and porters in tourist hotels and restaurants may expect to be tipped.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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