Lake Tanganyika Biodiversity Project

Pollution Control and Other Measures to Project Biodiversity

in Lake Tanganyika (RAF/92/G32)

Socio-economic Special Studies - Tanzania

SNAKES AND OTHER REPTILES IN MTANGA

Preliminary Notes on Ha Ethnoherpetology in a Village bordering
Gombe Stream National Park, Western Tanzania

Martin Walsh

Natural Resources Institute, Chatham

Kigoma

January 1997
 SNAKES AND OTHER REPTILES IN MTANGA
Preliminary Notes on Ha Ethnoherpetology in a Village bordering Gombe Stream
National Park, Western Tanzania

Martin Walsh

Introduction

The following notes on local knowledge of snakes and other reptiles in Mtanga are
based upon information gathered during an action research exercise which was
conducted in the village on 13-18 January 1997. Being somewhat peripheral to the main
object of the exercise, no systematic attempt was made to collect ethnoherpetological
data. These notes should therefore be treated as no more than a starting point for future
work, should it ever be undertaken.

Most of the information recorded below was provided by a single informant, Omari
Bulio, assisted by other members of his household, in the course of interviews conducted
by the author on 15 and 18 January 1997. Omari Bulio, who is around 80 years old, is a
native Ha speaker with a good knowledge of Swahili. He was born in Kalinzi, and left
when he was about 10 years old, following his father, who was the founder of Mtanga
and its first chief (umutwale, 1/2). Further background information on him can be
found in the accompanying Preliminary Glossary of Ha plant Names. Notes on Ha
ethnomammalogy from the same informant are included in the companion paper
Mammals in Mtanga (see the references at the end of this paper).

The only source of reference material on snakes and other reptiles available at the time
of writing this paper was the guide book to Gombe Stream National Park, which
includes a checklist of species known to occur there (Bygott 1992: 67). It should be
noted that this list is almost certainly incomplete, because systematic research on reptiles
has never been undertaken at Gombe. Instead most identifications have been based
upon chance finds and ad hoc observations.

The orthography of the Ha terms given in the text below follows the conventions
employed in the accompanying papers. The singular form of each Ha name is followed
by numbers indicating the normal noun class designations of the singular and plural
forms respectively. As readers will note, all of the terms so far recorded for snakes and
other reptiles have class 9 singular forms and class 10 plurals. The singular and plural
forms therefore do not differ, although their grammatical concords do.

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 Snakes
The Gombe Stream guide book lists the presence of 14 species of terrestrial snake in the
park, and it is quite probable that there are more. Omari Bulio and others present during
interview were able to recall six Ha names for snakes in the short time available. It is
likely that others like to be elicited, though not many: most East African Bantu
languages have around 10 commonly used names for snakes, and some fewer than this.
The six terms recorded are listed below, together with their presumed primary referents
(based upon the Swahili equivalents given). Snake names typically have both primary
and secondary referents. The former is often a common and/or well-known poisonous
species, while the latter are other snakes (including juveniles) which are perceived to be
similar and therefore lumped in the same category. It is probable that a more thorough
investigation of local Ha ethnoherpetology will reveal the same pattern.

ikasaganyika, 9/10, unidentified sp., described as small with a long ‘tail’. This snake is
said to prey upon domestic poultry, despite its small size.

imamba, 9/10 (= Swahili ‘kifutu'), Puff Adder, Bitis arietans. Said to be common in the
environs of Mtanga.

inchila, 9/10 (= Swahili ‘swila’), Black-necked Spitting Cobra, Naja nigricollis. Said to
be common in Mtanga. Informants noted its propensity for spitting venom.

inkoma, 9/10 (= Swahili ‘koboko’), Black Mamba, Dendroaspis polylepis. Said to be

common along the streams and in rocky crevices and caves, and recognized to
be very poisonous.

insato, 9/10 (= Swahili ‘chatu’), African Rock Python, Python sebae. Said to seen most
often in forested areas, especially in the Kalalo valley south of the central sub-
village of Ngerwe. One woman reported that three pythons had been killed at
Kalolo in the past year. She also stated her belief that pythons are kept (and by
implication fed) in Gombe Stream National Park, along with other snake
species. This belief may derive from the fact that in the mid-1980s many
people, locals included, went to view a large python in the Mikenke valley,
south of the park headquarters at Kasekela.

Omari Bulio noted that pythons are less common than they were in the past,
when Ha were forbidden by tradition to kill them. This custom also applied to
the African Pied Wagtail, Motacilla aguimp (= Swahili ‘kacheche’), which he
described as black and white in colour and frequently found around
homesteads. These taboos are, however, no longer followed, and he lamented
that both pythons and pied wagtails are now killed by Ha without compunction.

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 According to Chubwa, the abateko (1/2), traditional earth-priests of the Ha,
owned all of the pythons and pied wagtails (Ha: inyamanza, 9/10) in the
country. It was taboo to kill or eat either of these animals, which were
treated with respect and referred to as ‘abateko’ themselves in everyday
conversation (1986: 26). People who disregarded this taboo were liable to
have their livestock and other property, such as banana plots, confiscated by
their local rulers – a rule which was sometimes abused by the latter in order
to accumulate wealth (1986: 27). It is said that when the abeteko themselves
were in dispute over their territiories, they engaged in a form of ritual conflict
at the disputed boundary. Each disputant attempted to summon the pythons
under his (or her) command, and whoever succeeded in gathering pythons
around him was deemed to be the rightful owner of the land. The victorious
umuteko was entitled to order his pythons to attack and kill the loser, though
more often than not the latter was forgiven and the pythons allowed to
disperse (1986: 30).

umululu, 9/10, possibly Boomslang, Dispholidus typus. Described as an arboreal

species which is long and predominantly light green (‘kijani kibichi’) in
colour. Said to be very poisonous, like the Black Mamba.

Lizards
Information on skinks (at least one species recorded at Gombe), monitors (two species),
chameleons (one species) and geckos (two species), was not elicited. Skinks and geckos
were readily observable in and around Mtanga, and it is likely that further research
would add to the existing Gombe list.

Crocodiles
Crocodiles, like hippopotamuses, sometimes wander down the lake from Burundi to the
north. They are only seen very infrequently, and therefore do not provide Mtanga
residents with any regular cause for concern. Two species are reported to occur, the Nile
Crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus, and the Slender-snouted Crocodile, C.cataphractus.
The generic Ha term for crocodiles is ingona, 9/10 (= Swahili ‘mamba’).

Tortoises
Omari Bulio stated that he had never seen a tortoise or terrapin in Mtanga. The Gombe
Stream guide book also notes that none have ever been recorded in the National Park.
The apparent absence of tortoises is somewhat surprising, and is reflected in the guide

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book’s call for further information. The generic Ha term for land tortoises is ifulwe,
9/10 (= Swahili ‘kobe’).

Conclusion

The information recorded in this paper should be treated as no more than preliminary.
Systematic investigation into local ethnoherpetology (extending to other ethnic groups
as well as Ha) would no doubt produce much more data, especially if combined with
collections in the field. This data has a number of potential uses. As well as
contributing to an understanding of biodiversity and environmental impacts in and
around Gombe, it can provide useful insights into local perceptions of these impacts and
lessons for any proposed programme of environmental education at village level.
Understanding of particular cases might be used creatively in such a programme. The
contrast between former Ha respect for and protection of pythons (and pied wagtails)
and current practice is one such case.

References

Bygott, David 1992. Gombe Stream National Park. Arusha: Tanzania National Parks /
African Wildlife Foundation.

Chubwa, P. 1986 [1979]. Waha: Historian a Maendeleo (The Ha: History and
Development (second edition). Tabora: TMP Book Department.

Walsh, Martin 1997a. A preliminary Glossary of Ha Plant Names: Ethnobotany in and

around Gombe Stream National Park, Western Tanzania. Kigoma: Lake Tanganyika
Biodiversity Project.

Walsh, Martin 1997b. Mammals in Mtanga: Notes on Ha and Bembe

Ethnomammalogy in a Village bordering Gombe Stream National Park, Western
Tanzania. Kigoma: Lake Tananyika Biodiversity Project.