The Ikoma are an ethnic and linguistic group based in Mara Region in northern Tanzania. In 1987 the Ikoma population was estimated to number 15,000. History shows that the Waikoma are closely related to the Wangoreme and Waissenye tribes with whom they are believed to have migrated to Serengeti district, leaving the Wasonjo, their other close relatives in Loliondo, Ngoronoro district of Arusha Region, behind. The four tribes lived by hunting and gathering but later adopted agriculture, such as cultivating crops (mainly finger millet, simsim, groundnuts and sorghum) and keeping livestock (sheep, cattle and goats) for their subsistence, batter trade, and customary payments such as bride price. Even after adopting agricultural practices, the Waikoma remained dependent on wild animals for thei