Iraqw Culture Center, Cultural Immersion

The Iraqw people, also known as the Wambulu people by Swahili speakers, are a group of people that live near Karatu, Tanzania, in the areas comprising the Manyara region of Tanzania. According to most recent estimates, around one million Iraqw people live in Tanzania. While it is not exactly known when the Iraqw came to Tanzania, there are an estimated 200 clans of Iraqw tribes thriving today that have blended together a magnificent group of people and cultures over history. Many Iraqw people claim a genealogical connection to Iraq, but, perhaps surprisingly, are predominantly Christian. However, there is significant dispute regarding the true origin of the Iraqw people, with some scholars suggesting the connection to Iraq is a fallacy contrived by people who believe in the ethnical inferiority of native African peoples.