Smaller numbers of Alagwa reside in the Hanang district of the Manyara Region in Tanzania, as well.

They speak the Alagwa language as a mother tongue, which belongs to the South Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family.

Many of the Alagwa are Muslims, following from an extended period of interactions with Swahili traders in Kondoa in the 19th century.

[8] Historically, the earliest known people inhabiting the Tanzanian Rift Valley were the Khoisan ancestors of the Sandawe and Hadza.

[9] These people likely migrated along the Bubu river (Alagwa: Duuduu) towards Mount Hanang and continued to the Iraqw cradle land.

Both Iraqw and Gorowa oral traditions confirm such a migration after a battle, presumably with the Datooga, at Ma'angwatay.

[2] Alagwa refugees, fleeing attacks from the Datooga, played an important role in Sandawe history.

In Sandawe culture, the descendants of assimilated Alagwa still hold one of the rainmaker clan names.

[9] Alagwa oral traditions make mention of their historical ties with the neighbouring Burunge people, another South Cushitic group.

These linguistic similarities are in large part due to the historical interactions between the Alagwa and Burunge.