World's second oldest tribe threatened by land deal

[Gerrard Winstanley]

Tanzania - Hadzabe Tribe Threatened
http://anthropology.net/2007/06/10/tanzania-hadzabe-tribe-threatened/

"
members of the dwindling Hadzabe tribe, who now number fewer than 
1,500, say it is being unduly hastened by a United Arab Emirates 
royal family, which plans to use the tribal hunting land as a 
personal safari playground.
The deal between the Tanzanian government and Tanzania UAE Safaris 
Ltd. leases nearly 2,500 square miles of this sprawling, yellow-green 
valley near the storied Serengeti Plain to members of the royal 
family, who chose it after a helicopter tour."


Tribe in Tanzania fearful over land deal
Safari area being leased to royalty

By Stephanie McCrummen, Washington Post  |  June 17, 2007
http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2007/06/17/
tribe_in_tanzania_fearful_over_land_deal/

YAEDA VALLEY, Tanzania -- One of the last remaining tribes of hunter-
gatherers on the planet is on the verge of vanishing into the modern 
world.

The transition has been long underway, but members of the dwindling 
Hadzabe tribe, who now number fewer than 1,500, say it is being 
unduly hastened by a United Arab Emirates royal family, which plans 
to use the tribal hunting land as a personal safari playground.

The deal between the Tanzanian government and Tanzania UAE Safaris 
Ltd. leases nearly 2,500 square miles of this sprawling, yellow-green 
valley near the storied Serengeti Plain to members of the royal 
family, who chose it after a helicopter tour.

A Tanzanian official said that a nearby hunting area the family 
shared with relatives had become "too crowded" and that a member of 
the Abu Dhabi royal family "indicated that it was inconvenient" and 
requested his own parcel.

The official, Philip Marmo, called the Hadzabe "backwards" and said 
they would benefit from the school, roads, and other projects the UAE 
company has offered as compensation.

But dozens of Hadzabe interviewed deep in the scruffy hills 
surrounding this valley said that while they are ready to modernize, 
slowly, they were not consulted on the deal, which is a direct threat 
to their way of life because it involves hunting.

While they have through 50,000 years survived the coming of 
agriculture, metal, guns, diseases, missionaries, poachers, 
anthropologists, students, gawking journalists, corrugated steel 
houses, and encroaching pastoral tribes who often impersonate them 
for tourist money, the resilient Hadzabe, who still make fire with 
sticks, fear that the safari deal will be their undoing.

"If they are going to come here, we definitely will all perish," said 
Kaunda, a Hadzabe man who prefers khakis but still hunts with hand-
hewn poison arrows. "Our history will die, and the Hadzabe will be 
swept off the face of the world. We are very much afraid."

Their fear is based on a similar agreement the government struck 
years ago with another company that resulted in dozens of Hadzabe men 
being arrested for hunting on tribal land. Three of the men died of 
illness in the bewildering environment of prison, cut off from the 
open world, their daily hunting and their diet of herbs, roots, and 
honey. Three others died soon after being released.

"We're not used to that kind of life in jail," said Gudo, an elderly 
Hadzabe whose best friend, Sumuni, was among those who perished.

A recent meeting in the Yaeda Valley on the issue ended with several 
Hadzabe men shouting at Tanzanian government officials for ignoring 
them. One of the men was later charged with disruptive behavior and 
jailed for several days. Two others who have spoken against the deal 
said they have been threatened with arrest and are now on the run, 
moving from hut to hut to elude police.

Others seem prepared to fight an intruder they barely know.

Although the Hadzabe characteristically avoid confrontation by 
fleeing into the bush, a group of men recently greeted a passing 
convoy of Land Cruisers with bows drawn.

A few groups that advocate on behalf of indigenous peoples are 
working with the Hadzabe to promote a dialogue with the government 
and the company, a task that poses its own challenges. The Hadzabe 
are highly decentralized, living in remote, mobile settlements of two 
or three families scattered throughout the valley. They are also 
egalitarian, with no real hierarchy or leadership, and tend to reach 
decisions by consensus.

Even if the tribe came up with a solution, it remains unclear whether 
the Tanzanian government or the UAE company would be willing to 
compromise. Marmo said the Hadzabe -- who until recently had no use 
for money, organized religion, or standard time -- are "the one 
backwards group in the country."

Messages left with the UAE Embassy in Washington and a company 
representative were not returned.

The Hadzabe are believed to be the second-oldest people on Earth, and 
they still hunt and gather as a way of life, if occasionally before 
audiences of khaki-covered tourists, who flock to northern Tanzania 
by the thousands.

All live in the Yaeda Valley and surrounding hills, where one of the 
wanted men, Gonga Petro, lounged against a rock recently and 
reflected on his difficulties.

"It's very important to go to work and hunt, but now, you can just 
walk from morning to night and if you're lucky, you might come back 
with a dik-dik," he sighed, referring to an animal that is 
embarrassingly small for someone who once slew two zebras, an 
antelope, and a buffalo in a single day.