A student guide to cultural awareness at IST.

Students at the International School of Tanganyika are from all around the globe, over sixty nationalities. The teaching staff also represents various nationalities. This leads to diversity of cultures. Because of the different cultures there are many festivals celebrated.

• African Day
• Cultural Awareness Day
• Kiswahili Day
• International Week
• International Night

At the cultural day students and teachers celebrate cultural diversity. The school takes part. Some of the included activities are the cultural listening to music in fourteen different languages, knowing famous people and their nationalities, or knowing the origins of different foods. Students are fortunate to taste foods from places around the world kindly brought in by the parents.

Another example of cultural diversity is the International Night, which is entirely organized the Interact Club, with many middle school students taking part. It is a program in which the participants’ talents are shown. Students usually perform dances or sign up for fashion shows. There are a variety of things in which people can choose from to take part. The International Night takes part during the International Week.

In the International Week students are encouraged to dress up as people from as many countries as they wish to. Many assemblies and programs are prepared to entertain students and so they also learn and are aware of the different cultures at IST.

When you join the International School of Tanganyika you will have friends form all around the world. Students could learn new languages from friends they have made. People could learn new and interesting facts, important holidays and most important of all gain more knowledge about the world around them.

MAJOR RELIGIONS OF DAR

If you are reading this, it is most likely that you are prospective student to IST, and maybe a prospective resident of Dar es Salaam. If you are, we welcome you, and think that it is important that you know some basic information about Dar’s cultures. We think that the cultures that you should know about are Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, because these three cultures are the most prominent ones in Dar, and having a basic knowledge of the dos and taboos of these cultures may help you to keep out of trouble with the locals.

We’ll start out by talking about Islam…

One of the most important people of Islam is Muhammad, whom Muslims, practitioners of Islam, consider the final prophet of Allah (God). Muslims follow the teachings of the Qur’an and the Hadith. Mecca is holy to them. Worship is held in the Mosque. They are split into two main sects: The Sunnis and the Shi'as. Some important festivals are Ramadan, the month during which Muslims fast from dawn till dusk. At the end of Ramadan, Eid ul Fitr is celebrated by feasting, visiting family, giving and receiving of money gifts, and most importantly prayer in masjid (mosque). Another important festival is Eid ul Hajj, the pilgrimage to the Holy city of Mecca that all able Muslims must make.

Now Christianity…

Christians consider Jesus Christ to be the son of God. Christians follow the teachings found in the Holy Bible. The city of Jerusalem is holy to them. Worship is held in a church or Cathedral. There are many forms of Christianity, each teaching slightly different doctrine; the most prominent in Dar is Roman Catholic. Some important holidays are Easter celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, the act by which the Christians believe forgave their sins. The other is Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus.

And last but not least, Hinduism

Hinduism is a polytheist religion, or they believe in many gods and goddesses. Some of the more important are Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, Sita, Ganga, and Laxmi. They follow the teachings of the Gita. The River Ganges is holy. Worship is held in a temple. The main festivals are Diwali, Festival of lights and Holi, the festival of Color.