Jassini is a village on the northeastern border of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. As of 1999, the village was not accessible by motorized vehicles. In the mid-1990s, the village had a population of less than 300 composed of 30 households.

Pre-Colonial and Colonial History

Prior to German colonization, the village of Jassini was home to the WaDigo who often fought with the

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

. Jassini became part of

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

as a result of the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...

, and the influence of German colonization was felt in Jassini in the mid 1890s when colonists pacified the region, ending conflicts between the WaDigo and the Maasai. The Germans, and later the British, introduced roads, schools, hospitals, and

sisal Sisal (, ) (''Agave sisalana'') is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The term sisal ma ...

plantations to the region. By December 1914, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, British forces from

British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Britai ...

occupied the Jassini plantation. From January 18–19, 1915, Jassini was the sight of the Battle of Jassini, an attack by German forces on the British occupiers. After World War I, the territory was taken over by the British. In the 1930s, as reported by Hassan Tenga, a member of the village born in 1922, more than 200 households lived and worked on the territory. Some worked for themselves, farming or fishing, and others worked on the sisal plantations. Tenga noted that in this period "There was justice, more justice than when the chiefs made the laws; more justice than today".

Modern Jassini

The most notable feature of Jassini, is that it is bisected by the boundary between

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Jassini is a self-supporting village, "importing very little, exporting virtually nothing". Villagers in Jassini grow

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

, and

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

on household gardens. Cashews and coconuts are harvested from the remains of colonial plantations in limited quantities. Jassini is located on the coast, so the ocean provides fish for the village and the villagers graze cattle and sheep in the area surrounding the village. The village has no electricity or water supply, nor does it have any shops. Some villagers sell soap, tea, or matches.

References

{{Authority control Villages in Tanzania Populated places in Tanga Region Populated places in Kenya