How Tanzania’s Odia Community Put Odisha on the Map

Saturday, 17th August 2025

Par inAfrika Reporter

The sound of drums, conch shells, and Odissi dance rhythms filled the Indian High Commission grounds in Dar es Salaam on 15 August 2025, as the Odia Samaj Tanzania brought a piece of Odisha’s soul to the East African coast. For many, it was a colorful interlude in a national day celebration. For cultural observers, it was a vivid case of diaspora diplomacy at work.

The troupe of 20 dancers and musicians, flown in from Odisha, mesmerized the audience with performances that honored historic freedom fighter Buxi Jagabandhu Mohapatra. But beneath the sparkle of sarees and the thunder of drums was something far deeper: the assertion of cultural identity thousands of miles from home.

Diaspora communities often straddle two worlds—anchored in heritage, yet rooted in host nations. For the Odia Samaj, Tanzania is not just a posting; it is a second home. Many of its members are professionals, entrepreneurs, and teachers whose contributions are woven into the fabric of Dar es Salaam’s economy. By staging Odisha’s heritage so visibly, they affirm that integration does not mean erasure.

High Commissioner Biswadip Dey emphasized this in his address, noting that such cultural exchanges strengthen the India–Tanzania bond, which stretches from trade and defense cooperation to education and technology. India remains Tanzania’s third-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding USD 6 billion in 2024. Yet figures alone cannot capture the soft power currency built through cultural bridges.

President Bijaya Kumar Sahu of the Odia Samaj framed it succinctly: “We may be few in number, but our cultural heartbeat is strong. Celebrating Odisha here affirms who we are and what binds us to Tanzania.”

This sentiment resonates in a country as diverse as Tanzania, where coastal Swahili culture itself was shaped by centuries of Indian Ocean exchange—merchants, sailors, languages, and cuisines intermingling into shared traditions. By staging Odisha’s Independence Day showcase, Odia Samaj added another chapter to this millennia-old conversation.

Cultural diplomacy does not grab headlines like megaprojects or trade deals. Yet it lays foundations of mutual respect that endure. In celebrating Odisha’s spirit in Dar, the Odia Samaj reminded both nations that identity, when shared, becomes a bridge rather than a barrier.