Pare people

The Pare (pronounced "Pahray") (Wapare, in Swahili) are a Bantu ethnic group. Their ancestral home is on the Pare Mountains of Same District and Mwanga District of Kilimanjaro Region in Northerneast Tanzania.

During his visit to Usambara in 1848, German Colonial explorer J. L. Krapf was informed, among other things, that there were the Pare and Gweno people living in the north. It seems that the people of South Pare were referred to by the former name, and the people of North Pare by the latter. Nowadays, both groups are referred by the name Pare. The Pare Mountains' southern peaks were known as "Mpare," thus it is evident from certain Pare customs that the name Pare may have been bestowed upon them by their neighbours to the south. It appears that Pareland consisted of two distinct communities until the early nineteenth century, although they had been progressively merging since the latter part of the eighteenth century.

Historically, Pareland was also known as Vuasu (South Pare) and Vughonu (North Pare) to its inhabitants. Their historic location lies on one of the northern routes of the historic East-African long-distance trade, connecting the hinterland with the coast of the Indian Ocean.

The people of Vuasu (Asu being the root word) are referred to as Vaasu and they speak a language known as Chasu or Athu. The people of Vughonu (Ugweno, in Swahili) are referred to as Vaghonu (Wagweno in Swahili) and they speak a language known as Kighonu (Gweno in Swahili).