Overview
Tanzania's 100 or more different tribal groups are mostly of Bantu-speaking origin. The Arab influence on Zanzibar and Pemba Islands is evident in the people, who are a mix of Shirazia (from Persia), Arabs, Comorians (from the Comoros Islands) and Africans from the mainland. Asians are a significant minority especially in the towns and cities. Europeans (either by descent or expatriate) are a smaller minority. The major non-Bantu-speaking people on the mainland are the Nilotic speakers such as the Maasai who inhabit parts of northern Tanzania.

Swahili and English are the official languages, with English the principal language of commerce. There are also many local African tongues, reflecting the tribal diversity of the country. Outside the cities and towns, far fewer local people speak English than in comparable areas in Kenya. It's said that the Swahili spoken on Zanzibar is of a much purer form than elsewhere, and quite a few travellers head for the island to learn it.

The two main religions are Christianity and Islam, with a significant Hindu minority in urban areas. The majority of Muslims are concentrated along the coast and in the islands. Compared to Islam, Christianity took a long time to make an impact, and even then (during the 19th century) it was practiced mainly among tribes of the interior. There are still some tribes who follow neither of the big-name religions and instead worship the ancient spirit of their choice. Principal among them are the Maasai, who put their faith in the god Engai and his Messiah, Kindong'oi, from whom their priests are said to be descended. It's claimed that there is no religious bias present in the country's political and civil administration.

Tanzanian music and dance dominates much of East Africa. Strong in rhythm and renowned for hard-hitting lyrics, the country's Swahili-based sounds are kept very much alive by a thriving dance-band scene. Remmy Ongala is the country's best known export.

Zanzibar is at the heart of the distinctive taraab, or sung poetry, tradition. The goddess of this haunting style is Siti bint Saad, the first East African singer to make commercial recordings, way back in 1928.

Pre 20th Century History
Recorded history begins around the first century BC, when various migrating tribes from West Africa first reached East Africa. While the country's coastal area had long witnessed maritime squabbles between Portuguese and Arabic traders, it wasn't until the middle of the 18th century that Arab traders and slaves dared venture into the country's wild interior.

European explorers began arriving in earnest in the mid-19th century, the most famous being Stanley and Livingstone. The famous phrase 'Dr Livingstone, I presume', stems from the duo's meeting at Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika.

As the 20th century loomed, Germany got busy colonising Tanganyika - as the mainland was then known - by building railways and going commerce crazy. If not for the pesky little tsetse fly, the area could have become one vast grazing paddock for the fatherland. But losing the war didn't help the German cause much either, and the League of Nations soon mandated the territory to the British.

The Brits had already grabbed the offshore island of Zanzibar, which for centuries had been the domain of Arab traders.