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24-614: The Songwe Region is situated in Tanzania's southern highlands, between latitudes 7° and 9° 36' south of the equator, and between longitudes 30° and 33° 41' east of the Greenwich meridian. The region is part of the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. The East African Great Rift Valley 's northern and western arms extend from north of Lake Nyasa, creating the naturally tropical Songwe Region. From early September to late April,

48-425: A number of investments. 57.24 percent of all small-scale investments were made in 2015 to support various industries and services, including maize milling. At the district level, Mbozi had the most small-scale businesses—1, 258 in all—followed by Tunduma (358), Ileje (330), Momba (222), and Songwe, which had the fewest—152. Milling machines (1,328) and carpentry (559), welding (158), garage (130), and oil processing were

72-680: Is a highland region in southwestern Tanzania , at the northern end of Lake Malawi . The highlands include portions of Mbeya , Njombe , Rukwa , Ruvuma , and Songwe regions, bordering Malawi , Mozambique , and Zambia . Mbeya is the largest city in the highlands. The highlands comprise a group of plateaus and volcanic mountains, including the Mbeya Mountains , Poroto Mountains , Kipengere Range , Mount Rungwe , Kitulo Plateau , Umalila Mountains , and Matengo Highlands . The Ufipa Plateau extends northwest, between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa . The eastern and western branches of

96-427: Is divided into the town of Tunduma and the districts of Ileje , Mbozi , Momba and Songwe . Tunduma is subdivided into 15 wards and 71 mitaa (streets), while the four districts are subdivided into 11 divisions, 79 wards, 307 villages and 1493 hamlets. The commissioner of Songwe Region is Omary Tebweta Mgumba, who was appointed on 15 May 2021. Southern Highlands, Tanzania The Southern Highlands

120-765: Is mostly during the November through April wet season, although higher elevations experience mists and light rain during the May through August dry season. Rainfall comes from convective thunderstorms that form over Lake Malawi, and the slopes facing towards lake are generally wetter. The highlands are cooler than the surrounding lowlands, with annual temperatures between 13 °C and 19 °C. The highest elevations experience regular nighttime frosts between June and August. The Southern Highlands are covered with grasslands, savannas, woodlands, and forests. Miombo woodland and savanna predominates at lower elevations. At higher elevations

144-557: Is not quite clear how Nyika found themselves settling in Laela living Nyamwanga between them and their Nyiha Counterparts who seem to be more related at least by language. However, this might be explained by the fact that the two tribes are said to have migrated from some parts of Zambia and crossed the border into the present-day areas of Tanzania (Rukwa and Songwe regions). The Nyiha had reputations not only as warriors but also as elephant hunters. Blacksmiths , who had considerable status in

168-836: The East African Rift converge in the highlands, and the Western Rift continues south as the valley of Lake Malawi. To the northeast, the Makambako Gap separates the Southern Highlands from the Eastern Arc Mountains . Mt. Rungwe (2,960 metres), and Mtorwe (2961 m) in the Kipengere Range, are the highest peaks in the highlands. Other peaks include Chaluhangi (2933 m) and Ishinga (2688 m) in the Kipengere Range, Ngozi (2621 m) in

192-465: The livestock sector. Numerous animals are kept by Songwe, including pigs (79,513), chickens (79,513), donkeys (4,739), goats (244,024), sheep (33,599), and 410,390 cattle (1,137,708). A popular activity in Songwe Region's Songwe and Momba District Councils along Lake Rukwa is fishing. People who live near the lake often earn a living by fishing. The industrial economy in Songwe Region has drawn

216-708: The Nyiha population was estimated to number 626,000, of which 306,000 were in Tanzania and 320,000 were in Zambia. The Nyiha are scattered widely through East Africa but are found mostly in clusters near the corridor of land between lakes Nyasa , Rukwa and Tanganyika , around Mbozi , and in the general area of the Lyagalile district of Ufipa. In 1915, the Nyiha consisted of fewer than 10,000 people, but by 1957 their population had risen to over 55,000 people. They were divided into eleven or twelve unrelated chiefdoms , with

240-724: The Poroto Mountains, and Mbeya (2826 m), Loloza (2656 m), and Pungulomo (2273 m) in the Mbeya Mountains. The northern and eastern slopes of the Mbeya Mountains and the eastern portion of the Ufipa Plateau drain into the closed basin of Lake Rukwa . The Great Ruaha River , a tributary of the Rufiji River , drains the eastern slopes of the Mbeya and Kipengere mountains. Rivers flowing into Lake Malawi drain

264-602: The Songwe Region and forms the backbone of income for the local economy, it is the region's main economic activity. Due to the region's favorable weather for agriculture and the composition of the soil, the sector has better control. One of the top 7 agricultural producers in the country is the Songwe region. The Songwe Region is well known for producing food crops and is one of the best regions for cultivating them. Several food crops, including maize , paddy , beans , sorghum , sweet potatoes , bananas , and potatoes , are grown in

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288-1169: The Songwe Region. Tanzam refers to the Tanzania -Zambia Highway, while TAZARA refers to the Tanzania and Zambia Railway Authority that was completed in 1975 to facilitate transportation of heavy goods and people between the two countries with the help of the Chinese government. Natural and cultural attractions can be found in Songwe Region. Historic locations including Nyayo za Watu wa Kale, Galula Catholic Church Mti wa Mapumziko-Wakoloni, Kisima cha Wakoloni, Jiwe la, Michoro ya Kale, Unyayo Kwenye Mwamba, Mwenetontela and Makaburi ya Wakoloni. Sceneic mountains found in Songwe Region include; Kwimba Mountain, Kipala Mountain, Linzitwa Cave, Mount Ilomwa, Kisumbuzi Mountain Kasitu Mountain, Chingambo Mountain, Mount Mwenekawenga, Mount Pungwe, Mount Chingambo, Mount Mlomba,Mount Ng'ongo, Mount Malinga. Forest reserves in Songwe Region are Kaisumbe Forest, Tiru Forest, Msawe Forest, Mengo Forest, Nonda Chambo Forest, Champande Forest And Chingambo Forest. Rivers include Momba River and Songwe River. The first communities in

312-634: The Zambian border. The TAZARA Railway parallels the A104 through the highlands. Latham, P. (2008) Plants visited by bees and other useful plants of Umalila, southern Tanzania DFID. ISBN   978-0955420832 9°10′00″S 34°31′00″E  /  9.1667°S 34.5167°E  / -9.1667; 34.5167 Nyiha people The Nyiha are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group based in Mbeya Region , Tanzania and northeastern Zambia . In 1993

336-483: The chiefs being referred to as Mwene . Nyiha speaks a language that sounds similar to the Bungu of present day Songwe district (areas of Mkwajuni, formerly known as part of Chunya district), Lambya people of Ileje district who shares similar clan names such as Mwazembe, Mwampashe, Mwasenga,Simfukwe etc., and Nyika people of Rukwa region (Laela area, with a notable figure the late Honorable Chrisant Majiyatanga Mzindakaya). It

360-418: The largest ethnic group in the region with an estimated population of 450,000 by 2017. The local government areas now comprising Songwe Region reported a combined population of 998,862 in the 2012 census, 46 percent of whom were under 15 years old. The same areas reported a population of 723,480 in the 2002 Tanzanian census, yielding an annual population growth rate of 3.2 percent between 2002 and 2012. In 2017

384-582: The mountains are home to Afromontane evergreen forests, grasslands, and shrublands, part of the Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic ecoregion, which extends into the nearby mountains of Malawi and Zambia. The highlands are home to several protected areas, including Kitulo National Park , Mpanga-Kipengere Game Reserve , Mount Rungwe Nature Forest Reserve , and forest reserves. Tanzania's A104 highway connects Mbeya with Tanzania's capital Dodoma and continues west from Mbeya to Tunduma on

408-491: The population of the region was projected at 1,173,667 inhabitants. In 2012, 211,537 people, or 21.2 percent of the region's population lived in urban areas, an increase of 250.4 percent over the urban population of 60,377 recorded in 2002. According to the National Bureau of Statistics' (NBS) 2018 population forecasts, there were 610,981 women and 562,686 men living in Songwe Region as of the end of 2017. Songwe Region

432-629: The region are the Bantu peoples. The native communities in the region are the Nyiha , Nyamwanga , Ndali , Manda , Bungu and Lambya < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbozi_District >. The Nyiha are the majority and the indigenous ethnic group living in Mbozi District, Ndali and Lambya in Ileje, Bungu and Manda in Songwe, while Nyamwanga is known to be the indigenous of Momba District. Nyihas are

456-480: The region enjoys the hot season, and from May to late August, the cold season. In the lowlands of Lake Rukwa, Songwe, and Momba, the greatest temperatures reach 25°C, while in the mountains around Mbozi, Tunduma, and Ileje, they reach 16°C. The Songwe Region only experiences one lengthy rainy season, which typically lasts from November to mid-May of the following year and averages between 750 mm and 2000 mm annually. Since agriculture employs roughly 75% of households in

480-521: The region. In the area, maize production has been higher than that of beans, paddy, and rice. Additionally, the region is well-known for producing a number of cash crops, primarily coffee , pyrethrum , sunflower , sesame , tobacco , and peanut . The crops provide the area's inhabitants with a significant source of income. Among the region's cash crops, coffee has the largest market share, followed by sesame and sunflower. The Songwe Region's and its inhabitants' livelihoods are significantly influenced by

504-615: The society, created hoes, axes, and knives, and also wire for jewelry and traps. Over the course of time, however, the smiths lost their considerable prestige as iron from Germany became cheaper. Cotton weaving was common, as was pottery -making by women. Mat- and basket-making , iron-working by the men, and collecting salt from the Lake Rukwa area for barter were all means of their livelihood, although they thought of themselves as being primarily communal hunters. Despite all of these activities, however, their main means of livelihood

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528-652: The southern portion of the highlands. The Songwe River drains the western and southern Umalila Mountains, and forms the boundary between Tanzania and Malawi. The Kiwira River drains the east slope of the Umalila Mountains, south slope of the Poroto Mountains, and western slope of Mount Rungwe. The Lufilyo River drains the east slope of Mount Rungwe and the Livingstone Forest in Kitulo National Park. A number of smaller streams descend

552-625: The steep western escarpment of the Kipengere Range and western Matengo Highlands. The Ruhuhu River drains the southern portion of the Kipengere Range and northern Matengo Highlands. The eastern slopes of the Matengo Highlands drain into the Ruvuma River . Rainfall ranges from 823 mm on the Ufipa Plateau up to 2,850 mm on the slopes of Mount Rungwe and the Livingstone and Poroto mountains facing Lake Malawi. Rainfall

576-533: The top four small-scale enterprises, out of a total of 2,320. The Songwe Region had a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.656 and a GDP per capita of TZS 2,301,974 according to the 2017 Tanzania Human Development Report (THDR)1. The study found that the average lifespan in the area was 58.3 years. Both the Tanzam Highway and the TAZARA Railway run through Vwawa and Tunduma in the southern part of

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