Preserving and Safeguarding Cultural Heritage Resources in the Post-Colonial Epoch: Community Participation in Traditional Management Systems Among the Nyamwezi of Tabora, Tanzania

Cultural heritage is essential to society because communities draw pride, identity, and a means of subsistence from their heritage assets. Mismanaging cultural heritage resources can leave society adrift and humanity impoverished. Nyamwezi communities in Tabora have played a crucial role in preserving and safeguarding cultural heritage through traditional management systems since the precolonial era. Colonial administration halted and impeded their initiatives and endeavours in the second half of the 19th century. Post-colonial administration adopted and inherited policies, Western education, Acts, and regulations that have undermined traditional cultural heritage resource management systems. The main objective of the study was to explore the traditional management system (TMS) used by the Nyamwezi community in managing cultural heritage resources (CHRs) in the post-colonial epoch in the Tabora region. The paper used a qualitative approach, employing a case study design to collect data. The study was conducted in the Nyamwezi community in the Tabora region, western Tanzania. The study employed a sample of 26 respondents. The study used primary and secondary data. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the collected data. The study found that the Nyamwezi community has successfully preserved its cultural legacy by using traditional management systems throughout precolonial, colonial, and post-colonial Tanzania.