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Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality9” black6" x and white photographic prints are available for aity photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Informaiion Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313.'761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 9516985 Pare women and the Mbiru tax protest in Tanzania, 1943-1947: A study of women, politics, and development Dorsey, Nancy Ruth, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1994 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Aitwr, MI 48106 PARE WOMEN AND THE MBIRU TAX PROTEST IN TANZANIA, 1943-1947; A STUDY OF WOMEN, POLITICS, AND DEVELOPMENT DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Nancy R. Dorsey, B.A., M.A., M.L.S. ^ ***** The Ohio State University 1994 Dissertation Committee: Amy E . Shuman E. Ojo Arewa Approved by Claire C. Robertson Marilyn R. Waldman Adviser Sabra J . Webber Interdisciplinary Graduate Program PARE WOMEN AND THE MBIRU TAX PROTEST IN TANZANIA, 1943-1947: A STUDY OF WOMEN, POLITICS, AND DEVELOPMENT By Nancy R. Dorsey, Ph.D. The Ohio State University Professor Amy E. Shuman, Adviser This study focuses on retrospective narrative accounts of Pare women's participation in a tax protest (called Mbiru after the tax involved) that occurred in the mid-1940s in northeastern Tanganyika. The women's role in the protest had not previously been discussed in any detail in the written historical record, and one goal of this study was to begin to address both what happened and why these events have not been discussed more widely. This ethnographic study of the protest sought to answer several thesis questions. What was the nature of the political power that Pare women possessed in the 1940s and how was it expressed? If Pare women had a certain kind of power at that time, do contemporary Pare women continue to have similar power? If there are differences about how this power is available to women in contemporary life or in the form it takes, do these differences tell us anything about how 11 socioeconomic change has affected Pare women's lives from the 1940s to the present? The main research goal was to relate the research findings to women and development issues. This study found that rules of discourse that govern how people talk about this instance of women's militant behavior have kept information about women's part in Mbiru under wraps. Although the Pare state that women are passive, we learned that indeed the women did assert their rights and in very real terms changed the course of events. Pare women used a powerful threatening/cursing sequence that some contemporary women continue to use in certain situations, for example when women see their interests in conflict with those of men. In order for development specialists to reach women with development more successfully— the record until now is dismal- -they must learn more about women's expressive culture and how women are situated in society. Learning about discourse patterns and social organization in a particular community, as in this study, is an important first step in this effort. Ill To Jim, Allison, Jay, and Winni; with gratitude and love IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I express deep appreciation to Amy Shuman, who introduced me to microanalysis (I am an enthusiastic convert) and provided encouragement and practical advice at every turn throughout my doctoral program. Thanks also to the other members of my extraordinary committee, Drs. Ojo Arewa, Claire Robertson, Marilyn Waldman, and Sabra Webber for their suggestions and comments. It is hard to express fully my gratitude when I think of the gracious help I received from a large number of people during my research year in Tanzania. I am grateful to the Fulbright Program for the research grant, to Ann Martin at the United States Information Agency (USIA) and Walter Jackson at CIES and others who gave each of those agencies a human face. I can never thank enough my research partners, Aissia Ngadaya and Margaret Mshana, who caught my vision for documenting the Pare women's stories and advanced this endeavor with hard work, seasoned common sense, and good humor. I am in debt to many people at the University of Dar es Salaam. Dr. Isariah Kimambo generously shared his immense knowledge about the Pare, patiently answered my questions, and responded to my stories about what I was learning with interest and insightful comments. I cannot overstate here the importance of Kimambo's extensive work on the Pare. By collecting oral histories and integrating them with written records, he has provided a baseline of information to be used by the ongoing line of scholars studying the Pare. Also, he has provided future generations of the Pare with the documented record of their roots. Dr. H.M. Mlawa, Director of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and his staff aided this endeavor. I benefitted from discussion of women's issues with Rose Shayo and Bertha Koda who served as faculty consultants from IDS, and from interacting with the women of WSG (Women's Study Group) and WRDP (Women's Research and Documentation Project) at the University. Two sociology professors, both Pare themselves. Dr. C.K. Omari and Dr. Abdi Mvungi, provided important information on Pare traditions and social structures. I have many other Pare to thank. Longtime friend Amon Msuya, a grandson of Chief Minja of Ugweno, facilitated this project in vital ways too numerous to mention. During the fieldwork periods in North Pare, the people of Usangi and Ugweno (including the people of Kifula Lutheran Church) made me feel "at home" and aided the research in ever interesting ways. Of course, my greatest thanks go to the "tough" women of Usangi and Ugweno who told us animated stories about their two extraordinary days of power and glory. VI VITA 1955 ........................ B.A., Political Science, The Ohio State University. 1982 .................... M.A., Political Science, The Ohio State University. 1986 ................... M.L.S., Library Science, Kent State University, Columbus Program. MAJOR FIELD: INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM STUDIES IN: African Area Studies Women in Development Folklore Cultural Studies Anthropology Vll TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT ................................................... ii DEDICATION................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................ V VITA ...................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................ x CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION .................................... 1 Research Goals ................................ 8 Statement of the Research Problem .......... 9 The Research D e s i g n ............................ 29 Methodology .................................... 33 The Interview Process ....................... 45 Writing the Research ............................ 49 II. THE PARE AND THEIR HISTORY ........................58 Introduction .................................. 58 The Land and the P e o p l e ........................58 The Pare Colonial Experience................... 64 The Construction of M b i r u ......................79 Motivation for Writing the Mbiru Story .... 96 Conclusion...................................... 99 III. MBIRU: THE PARE TAX PROTEST, 1943-1947 104 Introduction .................................. 104 The Mbiru Tax Prote s t ......................... 108 The Gathering of Men in S a m e .................. 128 Unity of Purpose ............................... 131 "Our Mouth Will Be Our W e a p o n " ................ 134 Massive Support .............................. 137 "Women's War is Not G o o d " .....................139 Usangi: February 20-22, 1945 ................. 141 Talking, Meeting, Planning Strategies; Leadership Emerges ..................... 148 The Women Meet the DC and the Chiefs .......... 151 Looking Back at Events ..................... 170 Conclusion..................................... 177 viix IV. PARE WOMEN AND M B I R U .............................198 Mama Helena Ashighlwa ........................ 203 Mama Namshali Shedehwa ....................... 213 Mama Miriamu L u k a .............................226 The Women Dancers .............................240 Conclusion..................................... 252 V. THE PARE