Machame
Machame or Kingdom of Machame (Kwamangi ya Mashame in Kichagga), (Ufalme wa Machame in Swahili) was a historic sovereign Chagga state located in modern day Machame Kaskazini ward in Hai District of Kilimanjaro Region in Tanzania. Historically, the Machame kingdom was in 1889 referred by Hans Meyer as a great African giant, the kingdom was also the largest and most populous of all the Chagga sovereign states on Kilimanjaro, whose ruler as early as 1849 was reckoned as a giant African king with influence extending throughout all Chagga states except Rombo.
Kwamangi ya Mashame | |
Machame Kingdom 19th Century | |
Shown within Tanzania | |
| Alternative name | Ufalme wa Machame |
|---|---|
| Location | Machame Kaskazini, Moshi District, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania |
| Coordinates | 3°12′00″S 37°13′59″E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Material | Earth structure |
| Founded | c.17th century CE |
| Abandoned | 1962 |
| Cultures | Chagga states |
| Associated with | Mangi Rengua and Mangi Sina of Machame |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Endangered |
| Ownership | Ward Government |
| Public access | Allowed |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | Chagga |
By the 1860s, a German explorer Von der Decken (popularly known to the Chagga as Baroni), presented Machame as a confederation of western Chagga states comprising Narumu, Kindi, Kombo, to as far as the Western end of Kibongoto (Siha), each with their own chiefs under the king of Machame. 'Baroni' observed that by that time only two of the Chagga states had some autonomy from the king of Machame, namely, Lambongo (later Kibosho under powerful chief Sina) and Kilema.