Mufindi is an area of stunning beauty located above the Great Rift Valley in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania between the main towns of Iringa and Mbeya. This spectacular area boasts a combination of tea estates, thick mountain forests, and rugged bush-land interlaced with lakes, rivers and streams. Mufindi lies about 8 1/2 degrees south of the Equator; however, the average elevation of the District is 6,400 feet and the climate is cool and temperate. The people of Mufindi are a hardy folk with an interesting history.
More than 90% of the people in Mufindi are Wahehe. The word segment "wa-" means people and "hehe", pronounced (hay-hay), is their tribal name. It is said that the name comes from their warriors’ terrifying battle chants.
The present day Wahehe evolved from the joining of several local tribes with a Zulu people called the Wangoni. In the late 1800s, an advance party of Wangoni warriors approached Mufindi from the South in search of lands to conquer and people to bring into the Zulu Empire. At a town called Makambako (meeting of the bulls) the Wangoni clashed with a consortium of Wasangu, Wakinga, Wanyakusa and others and a battle ensued that lasted several days. Neither side prevailed, but both sides lost most of their young men in the fight.
Leaders from the opposing sides met and decided that they would stop fighting until "that infant boy became 15 years old". For the next several years, the two peoples lived next to each other in apparent harmony.
Then, just prior to the appointed time for recommencing hostilities, German colonial forces invaded Mufindi. This threat forced the warring native tribes to join forces under the name Wahehe.
A Wahehe Chief, named Mkwawa, then led the Wahehe against the Germans and held up German control of interior Tanganyika for almost a decade. In 1891, Mkwawa ambushed a German force at Lugalo. The Germans were armed with artillery, machine-guns, and modern small arms, yet were almost annihilated by a small force of Wahehe armed only with spears and rawhide shields.
The Wahehe continued to resist German incursions until finally cornered in 1898 near what is today the Ruaha National Park. Mkwawa shot himself rather than be captured. This ended the rebellion. Mkwawa`s head was sent to Germany and many village chiefs were hanged.
The Wahehe quickly got over any animosity their fight with the Germans might have caused. In 1914, many Wahehe warriors became loyal German Askaris who fought with great valor against the British and Kenyan tribesmen during WW I.
Today, the Hehe no longer display fierce tendencies. They have long ago left their warrior instincts behind. Yet they remain a proud and hard-working people who are genuinely warm and friendly. They are honest people who are intensely loyal to those that lead them fairly. Humor and good work ethics are among their strong points.
Their livelihood depends on subsistence farming of beans, maize, onions, and potatoes. They raise chickens and other fowl for their meat diet. The wealthier Wahehe may also raise a few cows, goats or sheep. For the Wahehe, living is simple and hard. Yet despite their meager food supplies, visitors are always welcomed and treated like family.