Sangu (people)

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The Sangu, at times called Rori (People of the Steppes), are an ethnic and linguistic group based in southwestern Tanzania. By 1907 the Wasangu numbers were thought to be about 30,000. In 1987 the Sangu population was estimated to number 75,000 [1].

Before the coming of the Ngoni, the southern highlands had no political unit larger than clan chiefdom. The clans who became known as the Wasangu were probably organized into a military force in the 1830s after being attacked. The Sangu sent slaves and ivory to representatives of the coast and were the first to adopt the weapons, tactics, an organization of the Ngoni and began to dominate the highlands until a civil war broke out with the death of Merere I. Other groups, including the Hehe (the second to imitate the Ngoni) copied the Wasangu, even taking the Wasangu reginental names and language forms.

(Munygumba of the Muyinga family, Mkwawa's father, began to form a unified state to be called Uhehe. It is these Wahehe who in 1857 attacked the Sangu and forced them to abandon their capital of Iringa at least three times, only to find starvation and impossible climate conditions (it was too cold). It forced them into repeatedly attempting to return to Iringa amd failing. They continued to retreat westwards into Usafwa, finally forcing the Wasafwa to build one of East Africa's most elapoorate Bomas for Merere II and his dynasty. A massive stone fortress, supposedly the largest in East Africa, later deliberately destroyed by the Germans.) The Hehe, recovering from their own civil war by 1879, continued their aggrtessive expansion and whowed themselves to more than a match for Merere even though the Sangu had reportedly used guns as early as the 1893s and had great experience in war and were noted for 'throwing their dead away' mostly into ravines (the Germans found them to be no great help). All Wasangu chiefs carried the title of Merere whose personal name was Mwahavange.

Merere II, having lost his homeland to the Hehe, wrote to German Governor Soden in January 1892, "I ask you to come quickly. I will show you the way...and stand by you in the war....The Hehe are gathering their men to defeat me. I beg not to leave me alone this year." German officers were ordered to help enemies of the Wahehe and encircle Mkwawa (Qwawa, the M refers to a single person in Swahili). Prince, in early 1893, with Bauer and Wynecken, was able to offer the help requested by Merere II, promising to restore Merere to his homeland if he guarded Uhehe's western border against Mkwawa. ('Raising the flag of war' is the journal of this slow encirclement of Mkwawa and his Wahehe in cooperatiion with the Wasangu).

It still, however, took until the end of 1896 before Mkwawa was defeated in his capital, Iringa, was made an 'outlaw', was reduced to waging guerrilla war, and finally committed suicide. It took until the 10th of December 1896 to re-install Merere III of Usangu, back in his capital of Iringa,which his father had lost 22 years earlier to the Wahehe. Merere II had died in 1893, soon after the journal's completion, having been declared by his people as being mentally incompetent and been removed (propably to the German's satisfaction), with his son becoming successor but never, however, considered truly sovereign. By 1807 the Wasangu numbers were thought to be about 30,000.