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Maji Maji African Social Studies Series Maji Maji African Social Studies Series Editorial Board Martin R. Doornbos, Institute of Social Studies the Hague Carola Lentz, University of Mainz John Lonsdale, University of Cambridge VOLUME 20 Maji Maji Lift ing the Fog of War Edited by James Giblin and Jamie Monson LEIDEN • BOSTON 2010 Cover: A postwar celebration of victory by the German military at Yakobi, Njombe, in 1907. By permission of Berlin Mission Society. Th is book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Maji Maji : lift ing the fog of war / edited by James Giblin and Jamie Monson. p. cm. — (African social studies series, ISSN 1568–1203 ; v. 20) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-18342-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Maji Maji Uprising, 1905–1907. 2. Maji Maji Uprising, 1905–1907—Social aspects. 3. Maji Maji Uprising, 1905– 1907—Sources. I. Giblin, James Leonard. II. Monson, Jamie. III. Title. IV. Series. DT447.M34 2010 967.8’02—dc22 2010005507 ISSN 1568-1203 ISBN 978 90 04 18342 1 Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to Th e Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands CONTENTS Maps, Plates, Figures and Tables .................................................... vii Editors’ Acknowledgments .............................................................. ix Contributors ....................................................................................... xi Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 James Giblin and Jamie Monson SECTION ONE CONTEXTS OF COMMUNICATION Chapter One War of Words: Th e Narrative Effi cacy of Medicine in the Maji Maji War .................................................. 33 Jamie Monson Chapter Two Th e Ngindo: Exploring the Center of the Maji Maji Rebellion ...................................................................... 71 Lorne Larson SECTION TWO STRADDLING BOUNDARIES Chapter Th ree Th e War of the Hunters: Maji Maji and the Decline of the Ivory Trade .......................................................... 117 Th addeus Sunseri Chapter Four “All People were Barbarians to the Askari . .”: Askari Identity and Honor in the Maji Maji War, 1905–1907 ....................................................................................... 149 Michelle Moyd vi contents SECTION THREE AT THE APEX OF VIOLENCE: MAJI MAJI IN SONGEA Chapter Five “Deadly Silence Predominates in this District” Th e Maji Maji War and Its Aft ermath in Ungoni ................... 183 Heike Schmidt Chapter Six Reexamining the Maji Maji War in Ungoni With a Blend of Archaeology and Oral History ...................... 221 Bertram B.B. Mapunda SECTION FOUR REMEMBERING THE COMPLEXITY OF MAJI MAJI IN NJOMBE Chapter Seven Were the Bena Traitors?: Maji Maji in Njombe and the Context of Local Alliances Made by the Germans .......................................................................................... 241 Seth I. Nyagava Chapter Eight Taking Oral Sources Beyond the Documentary Record of Maji Maji: Th e Example of the “War of Korosani” at Yakobi, Njombe ..................................... 259 James Giblin SECTION FIVE THE AFTERMATH: MEMORY AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT Chapter Nine Sudden Disaster and Slow Change: Maji Maji and the Long-Term History of Southeast Tanzania ............... 295 Felicitas Becker Index .................................................................................................... 323 MAPS, PLATES, FIGURES AND TABLES Maps 1. German East Africa ...................................................................... 5 2. Th e Eastern Maji Maji Region ................................................... 7 3. Th e Western Maji Maji Region .................................................. 9 4. Game Reserves aft er 1908, with the Selous Reserve ............... 134 5. Songea and Ungoni ...................................................................... 189 Plates 2.1. Th e boma at Liwale, built with forced labor to replace the German headquarters destroyed during Maji Maji ............. 111 3.1. African Wall Painting at Time of Maji Maji War ............... 142 4.1. Prisoners in the Hands of Askari during Maji Maji ........... 160 4.2. A Site of Execution during Maji Maji ................................... 161 5.1. Askari Machine-Gun Practice ................................................. 205 6.1. Th e Swamp (kitanda) from which the Name of the Village Comes ............................................................................ 225 6.2. Grass Growth at What had been Nkomanile’s Compound Before the Maji Maji War ........................................................ 225 6.3. Date Palms at Kikole Evincing Arab Settlement ................. 236 6.4. Excavation Unit at Kikole ........................................................ 237 7.1. Th e Bena leader Ngozingozi, with followers ........................ 250 7.2. Punishment Labor at Kidugala, Ubena ................................. 252 7.3. Postwar Celebration by Askari, probably at the Dedication of the Memorial to Dr. Wiehe at Yakobi ......... 254 8.1. Constructing the House of Paul Gröschel at Yakobi .......... 276 8.2. Th e Church of Paul Gröschel in the 1990s ........................... 285 9.1. Th e German boma at Lindi in 2004 ...................................... 310 9.2. Th e Prison at Lindi where Maji Maji fi ghters were held ... 313 viii maps, plates, figure and table Figures 6.1. Sketch of Nkomanile’s Compound as Seen in 2004 ........... 226 Tables 6.1. Materials Excavated in a 1x1 Meter Unit at Kikole: Frequency and Stratigraphy .................................................... 235 EDITORS’ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Th is volume is the fi nal product of a multi-year collaborative research project which began in 2001. Th e project benefi ted from generous fi nancial support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Carleton College, the University of Iowa, the Tanzania Culture Trust Fund and the Wissenschaft skolleg zu Berlin. Project activities were conducted at several institutions. Th ese were Carleton College, which hosted the workshop which initiated this project on November 8–11, 2001; the University of Dar es Salaam, which hosted a second work- shop on the Maji Maji War in July 2003; and the Wissenschaft skolleg zu Berlin, which hosted a symposium entitled “Th e Maji Maji War, 1095–07: Colonial Confl ict, National History and Local Memory” from March 30 to April 1, 2005. At Carleton College Susan Hamerski, Susan De Malignon and Aleisha Mueller all made signifi cant contri- butions to the project’s success. At the Wissenschaft skolleg zu Berlin, we are grateful to Reinhart Meyer-Kalkus and Britta Cusack for their support for our workshop. Project activities included collaborative fi eld research in southern Tanzania during 2002 and 2004. In addition to several contributors to this volume, members of the 2002 msafara included three faculty members of the Department of History, University of Dar es Salaam: Yusufu Q. Lawi, Eginald Mihanjo, the late Josiah Mlahagwa, and one faculty member from Tumaini University in Iringa, Seth Nyagava. Par- ticipants in 2002 also included undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Dar es Salaam and Tumaini University. Th ey were Nivas Kidunda, Erasto Malila, Oswald Masebo, John Mayengo, Irene Mkini, Stephen Ndemba, Tumpe Ndimbwa, and Gasiano Sum- bai. We remember well their eager search for “chair-fi re.” Participants in the second round of fi eld research in 2004 included, aside from several contributors to the present volume, Yusufu Lawi, Juhani Kopo- nen, George Ambindwile, Oswald Masebo and Gasiano Sumbai. During both of these trips, we found accommodating hosts every- where. In particular we wish to acknowledge the hospitality of Rev. Michael Myamba and his family at Yakobi, and also the members of the Songea branch of the Historical Association of Tanzania. We and other non-Tanzanian members of our group engaged in research with x editors’ acknowlegments the permission of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technol- ogy (COSTECH). We are grateful for the assistance of COSTECH’s clearance offi ce. We are also grateful to Blandina Kaduma Giblin for her organizational eff orts and many insights into the cultures of south- ern Tanzania during our 2002 research. Th e project was enriched by the collegiality, encouragement, knowl- edge and wisdom of a large number of scholars. Th ey included the two heads of the History Department, University of Dar es Salaam, Yusufu Lawi and Bertram Mapunda. Th ey provided unfl agging hos- pitality and also invited several contributors to this volume to partici- pate in the Conference Marking the End of Centennial Celebrations of the Maji Maji War on August 4–5, 2007 at the University of Dar es Salaam. Indeed, both editors are grateful to all members of the UDSM Department of History for support over many years.
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