Subsistence Rice Cultivation and the Formation of a Diverse Rice-Eating Culture in the Rural Villages of Shifting Cultivators in Southern Tanzania

Abstract

Tanzania, the largest rice-producing and rice-consuming country in East Africa, has unique customs and preferences for rice, some of which are similar to those of the Indian Ocean Rim region. By identifying geographical features, this study examines how subsistence rice cultivation, along with a diverse rice-eating culture, was formed in a village of shifting cultivators in southern Tanzania. Upland rice cultivation was introduced to this village around the 19th century, followed by paddy rice cultivation, though upland rice cultivation has remained the mainstream style until now. The rice-eating culture of this region has two systems: a ‘grain food culture’ in which rice grains are cooked as they are, and a ‘flour food culture’ in which rice is ground into flour and cooked, a cooking method common to that of crops cultivated before the arrival of rice. These systems coexist not because the native flour food culture was replaced by a grain food culture, but because rice was incorporated into the flour food culture. The agricultural technology and food culture of this region provide clues regarding the nature of rice cultivation and rice-eating culture that once existed, and the origins of modern rice-eating culture in East Africa.