Fipa - Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. In precolonial times, Ufipa was divided between two indigenous states, Nkansi and Lyangalile, ruled by related dynasties, who called themselves the aTwa (sing. unriTwa or Twa ), not to be confused with the similarly named Pygmy or Pygmoid peoples of Central and East Africa. These states appear to have been, to a large extent, meritocracies, in that apart from the office of the monarch and a few other and largely symbolic titles, any political office was open to able and ambitious commoners. Contemporary documents and oral traditions portray a mobile, commercially oriented, prosperous, and peaceful precolonial society. These are still basic characteristics of Fipa society today. Above the level of the domestic unit, the village remains the fundamental unit of society, pervaded by an ethos of communal solidarity and equality, notwithstanding considerable differences between householders in terms of wealth and status in the larger social world. Within the village, relative age remains the major determinant of a person's status.

Political Organization. In the precolonial order, which continued under the British system of "indirect rule" and throughout the early years of independence, each village was governed by an elected head chosen from among the constituent householders. Since 1974, this office has been succeeded by that of the local chairperson of the Tanzanian governing party, the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), or Revolutionary party. The long era of one-party rule in Tanzania seems set to end with the holding of multiparty elections in October 1995. The remaining political and judicial powers of the indigenous Fipa royals were abolished at the time of Tanganyika's independence in 1961 and were assigned to centrally appointed commissioners.

Social Control. The basic source of social control in Ufipa remains the pervasive ethos that powerfully inhibits most Fipa from resorting to physical violence in interpersonal relations. Any such behavior is condemned as "subhuman" and can result in the social ostracism of the offender.

Conflict. Although armed conflict appears to have been endemic early in Fipa precolonial history, by the mid-nineteenth century the people were famous in the region for their pacific nature, and this characteristic is still apparent.