Ruaha: Not a new source...

Many historians before me have worked on this file, and Lorne Larson has even cited it. Still it is an interesting document: A.T.Culwick the District Officer at Mahenge commented to the Provincial Commissioner on a letter by Archbishop Edgar Maranta on the Ngope movement in Ruaha.
Culwick writes: "I note that the Mission 'absolutely forbids any kind of magic practices', to quote Bishop Edgar, but what is religion and faith to one is a magic and superstition to another, a situation raising questions of value on which it is undesirable that Government should pronounce."

I decided to blog this source as a comment to some of the things i heard in the past days at my guesthouse in Dar es Salaam, from other guests nota bene. It had taken a slightly too missionary lean in the sense of religious superiority feelings (nicely packed in a development discourse). Very oldfashioned, indeed! And quite unlike much of what I heard from long-serving missionaries who had learned much about religious tolerance in this country.

Back from Ruaha

My parachuting research trip to Ruaha has been highly interesting and has produced a good number of oral information, from health workers who have been working in Mission dispensaries in the 1960s and later, from users of these services and many more.
Thanks to Fr. Godfrey Haiduru and Fr. Abdu Mkope, Dr. Chitalula and all the people from Ruaha, Chirombola and Mwaya, which I have met.

Here, as pars pro toto, Mzee Halala and two of his wives (and Dr. Chitalula) and a shot from the walk towards Sali.

Genauere Erzählungen gibt es dann in der Schweiz.

On the way to Ruaha

I am about to leave for Ruaha and Mahenge for a week, there will be no updates nor any emails during that time.
Ab heute abend bin ich für eine Woche in Ruaha und Mahenge. Es wird in dieser Zeit keine updates geben und auch keine Antworten auf Emails.

als abschlussgrüssli aus ifakara, hier noch ein blick auf den berühmten swimmingpool. heute ist er ziemlich gelb, was nicht an mir liegt, denn ich war noch nie drin.

lots of greetings to you all, m

Update: fieldwork in Ifakara and Ruaha

Having been caught up in Dar es Salaam, where the rains of yesterday and today, together with the flooded roads (and houses) are giving everybody a hard time, I travel tomorrow to Ifakara. Later in the month Ruaha will be my destination.

I thank everyone who supported my stay here in Dar, especially all the lovely staff at passionist fathers, Richard Sambaiga from UDSM, the staff at East African, especially the director P.D.Mwaimu. The Capuchins in San Damiano and the Baldegg sisters shared their food and their stories with me. I appreciate very much. And my fellow researchers from Basel, Jana, Stefan, and Lukas were raising my research motivation a great deal.