Hehe people
The Hehe (Swahili collective: Wahehe) are an ethnic and linguistic group based in Iringa Region in south-central Tanzania, speaking the Bantu Hehe language. In 2006, the Hehe population was estimated at 805,000, up from the just over 250,000 recorded in the 1957 census when they were the eighth largest tribe in Tanganyika.
Historically, they are famous for vanquishing a German expedition at Lugalo on 17 August 1891 and maintaining their resistance for seven years thereafter—a war that left the Hehe shattered, culminating in their leading chief, Mkwawa, shooting himself.
Etymology
The use of Wahehe as the group's designator can be traced to their war cry, and was originally employed by their adversaries. The Wahehe themselves adopted it only after the Germans and British applied it consistently, but by then the term had acquired connotations of prestige (keeping in mind, of course, the term's roots in Hehe warfare and the victory over the Germans of 1891).
History
It appeared from the Report of the East Africa Commission that, from the point of view of research, the British record in Tanganyika might be exposed to criticism by an international Commission, insomuch as, from reasons of pressing economy following the War, it had been found necessary to suppress the research establishment previously maintained by the Germans.
