Introduction / History

There is a people group in Tanzania named after the Matumbi caves, the Matumbis.

What Are Their Lives Like?

They are independent in spirit, proud, and honest. Many are forest dwellers, understanding the uses for 200 medicinal native plants. Others live in a ward of five or six villages in huts of pole and stick frames with roofs of thatched palm leaf. Those who can afford cement use it to fortify their homes. Most do subsistence farming or agriculture, though some are fisherman. Others own small shops along the main highways.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Matumbi people are Sunni Muslims who believe that the Supreme God, Allah, spoke through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship. The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah. Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe that Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will. In most of the Muslim world, people depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. They often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.

What Are Their Needs?

The Matumbi people need to see God's power and love in practical ways so they will be open to his influence.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Lord to show himself powerful and merciful through a huge grain harvest for the Matumbi people. Pray for the Lord to thrust out workers to the Matumbi people. Pray that the Matumbi people will have a spiritual hunger that will open their hearts to the King of kings. Pray for workers who are driven by the love and boldness of the Holy Spirit to go to them. Pray for a movement to Christ among them to begin this decade.

Scripture Prayers for the Matumbi in Tanzania.