Sites

www.tangacity.tripod.com - Almost all the information you require about Tanga, Tanzania, East Africa...

Nearby tourist sites at Tanga include Amboni Caves, the Amani Nature Reserve, Tongoni Ruins, the Coastal beaches and the German War Graves.

Tongoni Ruins: 

Tongoni is a small fishing village 17km south of Tanga. It is famous for the 15^th Century ruins of a mosque and forty tombs that are found in the village. Tongoni was a different place four to five centuries ago. Contrary to its almost unnoticed presence today, it was a prosperous and a respected trading centre during the 15^th Century.

One tradition claims that Tongoni was established by the Shirazi (people of Persian-origin), who established many Islamic settlements in Eastern Africa such as Kilwa and Mafia¹. There are also claims that the settlement of Tongoni was once dominated by the Wadebuli tribe, believed to be of Asiatic-origin, coming from Dabhol, off the West Coast of India. Dhabol was a seaport in the 15^th Century belonging to the Bahmani rulers of the Deccan². The Bahmani had extensive trading links with Kilwa, then the largest trading centre in East Africa.

Tongoni remained a prosperous trading centre till the 17^th Century. The economic decline began with the arrival of the Portuguese, who disrupted the Indian Ocean trade in the 16^th and 17^th Century. Many Swahili-Islamic settlements on the coast faced a similar fate. Tongoni is believed to have lost all its glory by mid-18^th Century.

Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese sailor, first visited Tongoni in April 1498. He had the opportunity to eat the local oranges, which he said were better than those available in Portugal. He made a second visit the following year, and spent fifteen days in Tongoni³.

The ruins at Tongoni are under the Antiquities department. They have been properly excavated and are open to the public. A resident guide, Mr. Job Tengamaso is always available to show visitors around. A more recent ruin of a mosque (of about one hundred years) at the other end of the village, on the beach, can also be visited.

Tongoni also offers a good insight into a typical Swahili-Islamic coastal community. It is still a traditional village, with many houses made of mud and thatched roof. The lifestyle is basic, typically rural and very much from an era of by-gone days. The main activities are fishing and subsistence agriculture.

On the environment conservation front, good co-operation from the people of Tongoni to the Tanga Coastal Conservation Programme has resulted in Tongoni being one of the successful mangroves conservation area in Tanga in the last few years •   

1. Mturi, A.A. “A Guide to Tongoni Ruins”, Division of Antiquities, Dar es Salaam.

2.  Moffett, J.P. “Handbook of Tanganyika”, 2nd ed. 1958.

3.  Mturi, A.A., op.cit.

Reference: Urithi Newsletter (Vol 1 No 1, Sep. 2000) Tanga.   

More information will soon be uploaded.

Home | Tanga Region | Tanga City | News and Events | Tourist Information | Important Contacts | Sites | Pictures | Links | Guestbook | Contact