Welcome to
Bermi Village
Tanzania

Bermi has a population of around 2,500. Precise figures are difficult as it has a birth rate of 5% a year! The majority are from the Iraqw tribe. The main economic activity is small scale farming, typically on half acre plots. Main crops are maize, beans and corn.

The Iraqw Tribe
Originally came from Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), leaving there around 9,000 BC. They travelled through the Syrian Desert to the coast and went south to the Nile, and followed the Nile to Ethiopia, where they settled "for a long time". A long time is measured in millennia.

They were based around the town of Harrar, later made famous by the Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton in his book 'First Footsteps in East Africa'. After an outbreak of disease, described to me as meningitis or some type of plague, the survivors left Harrar and headed down the Rift through Kenya to their present location, where seeing that "the land was good so we decided to stay".

The Iraqw are the descendants of the first farmers in the Fertile Crescent. Their farming traditions brought them into many conflicts on their migration with the many tribes of nomadic cattle herders who were competing for land. The Iraqw wanted to plant, the nomads to graze.

The Iraqw are a gentle people who try to avoid conflict.

A little village history

Before the village was created, as part of Tanzania's villigisation policy after independence, there were only a few scattered inhabitants. Mzee Cosmas constructed the first brick building in 1947, after completing his service in the African Rifles.

Around this time people were slowly moving into Bermi, attracted by the good land. This was when the fields at the bottom were surrounded by thick forest and there were many animals present, usually dangerous ones. As Mzee Cosmas explains "it was dangerous to go walking, you wouldn't go for 10 yards without taking a spear with you for protection".

In the mid sixties the population increased dramatically and a formal village was built. Along the road there is a string of small shops and cafes, with the houses and fields further back.

How Bermi is run

There are two power structures in Bermi; official and traditional.

The official side of things is the village government, elected by the community. At the top is Gervais Sangka, Manya Kiti or chairman. Under him is the village secretary and the village council.

There are several village committees like the Escarpment Committee with various responsibilities.

Then there are the three subvillage leaders, and finally the Ten Cell leaders who represent around ten households.

It sounds a bit cumbersome, but it works well. The main reason it works, and one of the reasons I enjoyed living there, is that all of these people are hard working and dedicated. They have a deserved reputation for honesty. There is no corruption in Bermi.

The other, traditional, power structure lies with the village elders.

The Village Elders

In Africa age is everything. Instead of our viewpoint, that the old are somehow 'past it', the African perspective is that someone who has lived a long time must have learned many things. And therefore has wisdom. The title for an old man, Mzee, also means wise man.

The wisest of the Wazee (plural of Mzee) form the elders. They make sure that traditions are maintained and respected. They also operate a court. Basically and villager with a problem asks the Wazee to intervene and judge the matter. Although their decisions have no legal force they are complied with. The elders have a reputation for being fair. With the legal system being rather dubious the Wazee provide a free and fair way of obtaining justice.

The elders are one of the most impressive things about Bermi and Africa. A typical Mzee is honest, committed to his community, a walking encyclopaedia, and most of all wise. The Wazee really have wisdom. An all too rare commodity.

The women of Bermi

Personally, I believe there is nothing finer on God's Earth than an African woman. They are the glue that binds the continent together. Daily their strength, resilience and humour impressed me.

One woman who worked in the FARM Africa nursery didn't come into work one day. Later we got a message that she gave birth during the night. Next morning she was back at work with a hoe.

You won't see an African woman reading those pathetic 'self help' books that are distressingly popular.

Thanks

I would like to thank the community of Bermi for all their kindness and friendship.

Josaphine, Elizabeth and Lucy for looking after the house and generally being wonderful.

Contact

You can send personal greetings to Bermi Village by e-mailing [email protected] or use the Bermi Village Guestbook

Take a walk around Bermi Village and meet the community !

Or look at the Bermi Village Photo Library

Click here to read Iraqw folk tales music

Listen to Safari Ingi's Iraqw Folk Music !

Select either RealAudio™ format (766K, Streaming)
needs RealPlayer G2 or above

or Microsoft WAV format (383K, Lower Quality)

Download our Bermi Windows 95/98 Wallpaper ! (237K Zip)
needs WinZip

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