Tanzania is an East African country, known for its top-rated tourist attractions such as Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti national park, Ngorongoro conservation area. It is a country worth visiting because there are just so many beautiful places to visit.
During your exploration in Tanzania, memories gotten are unforgettable and the perfect way to cling to them is to purchase rare souvenirs when going back home. It could be precious, authentic or handmade, just get something for your loved ones, friends or yourself. These unique gifts will give you something to value for a long time after you have arrived home. In this article, we will be talking basically about things to buy in Tanzania.
What are the things you can purchase? Items like precious stones, cushion bags, handmade jewellery, arts and craft, basically anything of your taste can be gotten. Things you can buy in Tanzania will further be grouped into nineteen(19) categories, which include:
Maasai Items
These are handmade crafts like jewelry, colorful fabrics, wood carving and woven baskets. A favorite and lovely souvenir to get is the Maasai jewelry, it is usually made of colorful beads. You will find them in the form of rings, necklaces, bracelets and footwear. Getting them at an affordable price is also something to consider. The shops at airports and hotels can be a little bit expensive but you can get cheap Maasai crafts at the local markets and Maasai villages.
Tinga-Tinga Paintings
This is another lovely unique item if you have an interest in paintings, then you will be captivated by Tinga-Tinga paintings. These wonderful local masterpieces are found in the alley off of Haille Selassie Road on the peninsula or at the slipway market. You can easily get a painting for yourself, it could be that of animals, ancient cultural items, and you can get an artist to paint whatever you want it is just a matter of negotiation.
Kangas
These are beautiful sarong-like pieces of cloth found at local markets across Tanzania. These clothes have Swahili sayings and messages of love embedded at the bottom. You can learn a new language from the Swahili phrases and ask for the translation of the phrases. Kangas are mostly worn by women in Tanzania and East Africa. It can be given as gifts to friends or family members.
Carvings and crafts
You can buy first handmade craft and watch artists make astonishing crafts in The Mwenge carvers’ market. There is no marketplace where you won’t find handmade carvings. These carvings tell stories about their culture and origin. You can also meet any of the local artists to produce a customized craft for you like a whistle, chess pieces, a particular animal, wooden spoon, toys and any other thing of your choice.
Asilia Leathers
You can buy authentic handcrafted leather items like shoes, handbags, wallets, belts and more in Arusha. The items are made with 100% pure leather and locally sourced raw materials. It’s authenticity is seen in its look, texture and quality so you are able to detect whether what you want to purchase is of good quality. A favorite would be a nice handbag for ladies and shoes for men as gifts.
Ceramic Art and Pottery
In Tanzania and East Africa, pottery is an ancient tradition that is widely practiced. Before leaving Tanzania, you can buy flower vases, ceramic plates, cups, candle holders and other beautiful items. Some people use ceramic items as decorations too so pick attractive ones. You can get a customized item, just converse with the Potter and you get it done. Tanzanian ceramic arts are fashionable and fabulous.
Artefacts
Zanzibar and the northern parts of Tanzania have the most fascinating and marvelous artefact. Sultan knives, gourds, traditional swords, shields can be picked up. These items are unique and very well appreciated gifts.
Music Instruments
Every country or region has their type of music, musical instruments are used for traditional ceremonies and also to pass messages in the form of sound. You can decide to pick up small drums which were made from animal skin. Just to have a feel of their music and blend into their culture.
Woven Items
These are unique items because they are hand-woven and beautiful. Blankets, table mats, laundry baskets and handwoven shopping baskets can be gotten as gifts. You will love to see these lovely handwoven items at home. You can get something woven for you and use it as decoration, it gives your home a traditional feel.
Stone Carving
Items from stone carvings come in form of ashtrays, animal carvings, chess pieces, egg cups and soap dishes. Local soapstone is used for the production of these attractive decorative items that you can buy as gifts for friends and family members. The stone used for the feet by ladies can be gotten too.
Glassware from Shanga Shor
Lamp, glass ornaments and other home décor items can be bought down in Arusha at Shanga shop where glassware, homeware and jewelry are gotten from recycled materials. There is this beautiful look they give to your home or wherever you decorate, it is indeed worth picking up.
Mask
Some Tanzanian communities are skilled in mask carving. Communities like Nyamwezi, Sukuma and Zigua make a distinct feature of masks depending on their tribal function. These masks can be picked up and used as decor.
Food spices
People that love cooking will find this aspect interesting. Explore and sample international food. Tanzania is known to have rich spices you can select from like nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black and white pepper and other authentic varieties of culinary seasonings. You can get these species for yourself, get them as gifts for a friend or family member.
Coffee
This is the best gift for coffee lovers. The Tanzanian coffee tree produces fruits that differ from Vietnamese and other varieties. The taste and aroma are fantastic. Giving this coffee out as a gift is like bringing the feel of Tanzania to whoever you give because it is so different from the regular.
Fruits
The paradise of fruits is Zanzibar. Varieties of fruits can be gotten there. Fruits are refreshing and nice to buy, fruits you can get there include cream apples, breadfruit, durian and many more. As unimportant you feel fruits are in terms of purchase there is a need to try them because the fruits can not be the same as those you get in your country. The breed might be different and the atmospheric conditions differ from country to country.
Sculpture Souvenirs
Figurines found in Tanzania can not be gotten elsewhere, they depict a lot of things like love, religious subjects, human origins and many more. It is lovely to pick up for oneself or others.
Shuka
This is a truly special souvenir, it is a large shawl that is mostly worn by the Maasai people.
Kikoys
Kikoys are beautiful cotton fabrics worn by both men and women. They are wrapped around the waist as a skirt or trousers. They are used as turbans, curtains, scarves, parasols, towels and table cloths.
Tanzanite
Tanzanite is an expensive gemstone, but to get it cheap you can visit Arusha where it is not expensive. What is unique about Tanzanite is it can only be found in Tanzania.
There are several places you can purchase whatever you want in Tanzania like Schwari stores in Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Boma museum, Zanzibar, Moto and Dada shop, Zanzibar curio shop, Hellen’s shop, Surti and sons, most of these places are located in Zanzibar.
You can purchase whatever you desire, the best location is what should be your concern so you will get authentic items. Tanzania is a lovely place to visit with beautiful experiences. It is a place you can’t go to without buying things because there are varieties of things you can pick up. If you are worried about expenses, some items do not cost a lot, you can just buy them. Items in Tanzania are unique so no matter how small what you get is, it will still be appreciated.
After going through this article your worry about things you want to buy in Tanzania must have been taken care of.
