Being of 'one heart': Power and politics among the Iraqw of Tanzania

This article explores local understandings of and experience with democracy in an Iraqw community in northern Tanzania. At independence, President Jul ius Nyerere in his development of a one-party state, argued that democracy in this new nation state would be modelled on that which is found in indige nous, pre-colonial political systems. In the Iraqw homeland, pre-colonial ' democracy' was expressed in elders' councils in which male elders made deci sions on behalf of the rest of the community. Differences of opinion were v oiced but eventually the group would come to one opinion to achieve the sta te of being of 'one heart' before decisions could be put into effect. While Nyerere claimed that this practice of democracy and achieving consensus wo uld provide the model for the post-colonial state, in actuality the state d rew more on colonial models characterised by top-down decision-making and a utocratic governance. Overlaying both the pre-colonial and post-colonial po litical systems is an ideological emphasis on 'unity). This article explore s how the central notion of unity is expressed and perceived among the Iraq w in Tanzania and how it forms the screen through which people view democra tisation.