Rock Art and the National Curriculum in Tanzania

Abstract

Tanzania is among those countries in the world blessed with rich rock art sites with extraordinary prehistoric rock art creations.  Dodoma, Singida and Bukoba are presently the best-known places with the highest concentrations of these precious creative works of Tanzania’s long gone ancestors.  Research on the history and cultural relevance of Tanzania rock art has been ongoing since the 1920s.  Despite such research undertakings and frequent visits to the sites by foreign tourists, it is surprising that very few Tanzanian even know of the existence of such rock art sites.  Rock art does not have a place in the curricular of Tanzania’s institutions of learning, and hence its history and its present cultural relevance are not taught in schools and colleges.  This article questions this situation, and goes on to suggest possible ways of making this art heritage be known and valued by Tanzanians and the world at large.  It suggests the introduction of comprehensive rock art curricular in Tanzania’s institutions of learning to enable meaningful teaching and learning of the various disciplines that are related to rock art.  It concludes by recommending ways through which the general Tanzanian public can be introduced and informed of the presence and social, economic, and cultural importance of their country’s vast rock art sites and incredible art treasures.