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.