Kilimanjaro
History
The region called Kilimanjaro today, borrows its name from the tallest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro. Of the six districts mentioned above, four traditionally had the Chaga settlements which are Hai, Moshi urban, Moshi rural,and Rombo, and the other two which have historically been of Pare settlements, namely Mwanga and Same. However, during colonial rule, in the late 19th century and to the mid of 20th century, the region was divided into two main districts: Moshi district, which comprised all the areas settled by the Chagga people on the slopes of the mountain, and Pare district, which was a Pare tribe settlement. The region, from earlier times, had been settled by the people collectively called the Chagga, the Maasai, Wakwavi and Waarush (in the lower parts of Mount Kilimanjaro), and the Pare on the Pare mountains. These have been intermingling, trading and even fighting from time to time for various socio-political reasons. Later, other tribes also migrated to the land.
Rombo
Is one of the six districts of the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north and east by Kenya, to the west by the Hai District and to the south by the Moshi Rural District.
The Rombo Districts contain a large portion of Mount Kilimanjaro.
According to the 2002 Tanzania National Census, the population of the Rombo District was 246,479.
The Rombo District Commissioner is R.R. Mushi and the District Executive Director is Theresia Mbando.
Geographical Location:
Kilimanjaro region as its name reflects, the famous snow covered
Mount Kilimanjaro is within this region. The mountain has two
peaks Mawenzi and Kibo and its highest peak Kibo, towers as high as 5,895 meters above sea level snow capped throughout the year. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain - Africa second to Mount Everest. Mount Kilimanjaro and the Pare mountains (2,000 - 2,500m.) from the backbone of the region, running through the middle of it in a lengthwise direction.Kilimanjaro region is located in the north eastern part of Tanzania Mainland. It lies south of the Equater between latitudes 20 251
and 40 151 . Longitudinally the region is between 360 251 3011 and 380 101 4511 east of Greenwich. The region has a common border with Kenya in the north, to the southeast it shares border with Tanga region; to the south and west the region borders with Arusha region.
Ethnic Groups:
There are two main ethnic groups in Kilimanjaro region. These are Chagga, who are the majority, and Pare. There are other small ethnic groups who reside in the region, like Wakahe and Wakwavi.
Within these two main ethnic groups there are subethnic groups sometimes identified by their different dialects. For example, Wagweno among the Pare who speak Kipare and Kigweno reside in the northern part of Pare. The different dialects among the Chagga which are identified according to the geographical identity. For example, Kichagga Kimachame may be differentiated From Kichagga Kibosho through their way of speaking and other linguistic characteristics. However, Kiswahili is the main language for communication among the various groups. Socially there is little separation between the two main tribes and inter marriage is a common phenomenon. Invariably both tribes are energetic, industrious, thrifty and enterprising.