Cultural Arts and Traditions

Village Museum

The Village Museum is on Ally Hassan Mwinyi Road outside the downtown core. It was set up in 1966 to demonstrate and preserve the traditional cultures of Tanzania's many and varied ethnic groups. The museum displays homesteads from across the country and performances of traditional dances from different ethnic groups. You can also get a taste of Tanzanian traditional foods in the restaurant and shop for variety of handicrafts and souvenirs. Visiting the Village Museum is like visiting the whole Tanzania in a couple of hours, an experience that will leave you with something that will last so much longer.

Traditional houses at Makumbusho village

Nyerere Cultural Centre

A place to see artists at work and to discover the secrets of their unique, traditional and cultural heritage found very conveniently in Dar es Salaam Ohio street close to Movenpick Hotel. Live traditional dances performances are played every Friday. The traditional dances are a product of the training and instrument making from Simba Theatre Arts International, Super Kamambe and Sisi Tambala.
The centre welcomes visitors to the cultural hospitality and diverse traditional experience of the city and indeed Tanzania and more especially Dar es Salaam City.

Nyumba ya Sanaa

Mwenge Carvers’ Market

Just on the outskirts of the city, on the road to Bagamoyo, 45 minutes drive from the City Centre, is a lively African artisan market commonly referred to as the Mwenge Carvers’ Market. Established in 1984, the centre has grown to house members of the Tanzanian Carvers’ Association. The market is made up of small shops and stands displaying and selling not only carvings but also traditional dresses, kanga, vikoni and tinga tinga paintings.

Carvings are carved from Africa black wood, neem tree, and mahogany. An entire community of friendly carvers and painters are on-site, busily working and creating. Seeing how the carvings are made and having a chance to talk to the artists about their life and the environment in general encouraged. For all your arts and craft shopping, Mwenge is the solution.

Carvings at Mwenge Market