Historically, many hunter-gatherer societies were assimilated into the society
of the majority, or themselves accepted agriculture or livestock-keeping. However,
many researchers lost interest when they decreased to depend on hunting and
gathering; consequently few studies have been conducted on a society’s
relationships with its neighbors after its livelihood changed. Based on an analysis
of historical livelihood change among the Sandawe of Tanzania, this article
examines how the relationships between hunter-gatherers and their neighbors
change when a hunting-gathering society takes up another livelihood. Most
Sandawe appear to have adopted agriculture and livestock keeping toward the end
of the 19th century. Nowadays, most of them have crop fields and depend on their
cultivated crops for the bulk of their diet. As a consequence, Sandawe economic
relationships with neighbours have declined whereas intra-group relationships have
been reinforced. Although engaging in various livelihoods based on agriculture
and being economically independent of others, this does not mean that Sandawe
identity also became similar to others. It is concluded that the primary methods of
Sandawe livelihood have transitioned slowly rather than forcibly. As a result, the
Sandawe have not abandoned hunting-gathering completely and have maintained
their ethnic identity without being unilaterally dependent on their neighbors.