PhD Theses

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The outbreak and development of the Maji Maji War; 1905-1907
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1973) Gwassa, Gilbert Clement Kamana
Wars of resistance against colonial rule in Africa cannot be viewed as an isolated and unique experience of the resistors. The mode of resistance and the strategy of violence was very much shaped by their previous historical experiences. Since the fifteenth century East African societies had been experiencing series of external impacts including the introduction of new forms of worship such as Islam and Christianity. Eventually the Oman Arabs and other Asians established themselves in Zanzibar and on coastal centres leading to the growth of the so-called Swahili culture in those areas. The resulting increase in long distance trade and slave trade had far reaching effects on the African societies. Kilwa and its hinterland was one of the most important bases of these developments on the mainland coast. On the other hand African societies themselves were undergoing internal transformations and adjustments as a result of wars, migrations, trading and natural population increase or decrease as the case might be. These changes had important cultural implications particularly in connection with social values, norms and standards of the people as a whole. At the same time, however, the growing technological gap and consequent economic dependency on the international capitalist system was increasingly being emphasized. These processes did not operate equally or in the same way and form everywhere. But they must be seen as important indicators of how a given society in East Africa could react against specific colonial pressures. Thus although the Maji Maji societies had to evolve a new ideology to unite the various ethnic groups against a technologically superior for such innovation had to be based on those ideas, beliefs and socio-historical experiences extant amongst those people. In other words when the crisis of colonial exploitation and oppression made violence a necessity the people of Southern Tanzania possessed cultural potentialities which made such an innovation possible. Similarly, although the military scale had to be enlarged and systematized on a supra-ethnic level, once the war broke out it drew heavily on the resources of traditional methods of warfare of the various ethnic groups.The African use of traditional guerrilla methods alarmed the German forces as their dependency on mercenaries and on a policy of total extermination became a dominant feature. If previous experiences, beliefs and ideas were important, the people's techniques of liberation were subsequently conditioned by their experiences and outcome of these mass wars. The Maji Maji peoples had suffered a lot. Violence as a technique of liberation was thereafter suspected. Indeed examples elsewhere in Africa do not suggest a return to mass violence once the first attempt has been terribly suppressed. Traditional methods of warfare became of less consequence as the mercenary principle became consolidated by the colonial system. The Maji Maji war created several problems. Firstly, there was acute depopulation of Southern Tanzania. Secondly, a considerable generation gap was created and the birth rate was reduced, probably by 25%. As a result the peasant economies of the people were distorted and weakened for a long time. The situation was aggravated by the effects of the first World War and labour migration in some of the Maji Maji areas. Clearly then, the Maji Maji war affected the subsequent history of Southern Tanzania in particular and of the country as a whole. It was impossible for the people to forget the war and the fright-fullness and ruthlessness of the colonial power. The fear of violence did not mean acceptance of the colonial system. The movement provided a potential appeal which could be utilized by future leadership both in mobilisation of the people into an alternative but more articulate technique of liberation and in providing legitimacy for the new technique. When TANU organized on a mass principle and appealed to the Maji Maji war there were fears amongst colonial circles of possibility of a mass violence just as Africans suspected Nyerere was another Kinjikitile. The witchcraft eradication movements after the First World War and even Islamic revivalist movements were suppressed for fear they would turn into another Maji Maji. In other words a study of African wars of resistance is a study of violent manifestations of contradictions in colonialism as a system in its socio-economic spheres. It is also a study in the use of ideas in history and in the problem of the search for focus in the process of liberation. Extreme mass colonial pressure in Southern Tanzania led to mass violence once there was a promise that the technological superiority of the colonial rulers could be overcome by mass mobilization and adaptation of traditional leadership and methods of warfare to the impending war. This promise derived from the ideas of the people as shown above. In turn the new ideology raised the people's consciousness and commitment to the mass principle. The promise legitimatized the war. These factors make the study of wars of resistance in colonial and ex-colonial countries both interesting and important. The war, beginning in the middle of July 1905 spread very quickly throughout its area through a variety of factors. The ethnic intermixture of the area facilitated communication and exchange of news and ideas. Secondly a highly organized messenger system spread plans between areas. The use of a war drum called lilunga or kilingondo, a technique that was traditional throughout the Maji Maji areas, announced successive outbreaks of warfare in various localities. In the dispersal area the so called hongos were also an important factor in spreading the news of battlefields and the initial successes of the Maji Maji forces. These factors were strengthened by other factors. The Germany had not comprehended fully the initial preparations for the war. The Maji Maji organizers had succeeded in keeping the real plans for war secret. Secondly the Germans were relatively ignorant of Southern Tanzania and they were fewer there. Few askari were scattered in the area. They could not therefore check such a movement in its initial stages. Thirdly once the movement was underway the Germans were frightened by it as they frantically tried to reinforce their force which would be formidable enough to face the mass challenge. The Maji Maji forces won initial victories in the actual fighting. In this period the tendency was to emphasize conventional battle warfare in which they normally attacked from three fronts. When the strengthened German forces began systematic suppression the Africans changed to various guerrilla methods which baffled the Germans. In turn the German forces embarked on systematic scorched earth policy and general harrying of each and every village and its people, fields, crops and domestic animals. The Africans in the end were weakened and overpowered. They were defeated terribly and fined heavily, the war was followed by a terrible famine and epidemics which killed many more. After the famine Maji Maji songs of blame began to be composed. The people then thought it had all been a swindle from which they had to run in future.
A history of the Mahenge (Ulanga) district, c.1860-1957
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1976) Larson, Lorne Erling
This study concerns itself with the history of the Mahenge (Ulanga) district in what is now southern Tanzania. The major ethnic groups involved are the Pogoro, Ndamba, Ngindo, Mbunga and River Bena. The first chapter outlines the geographical features of the area, suggested possible settlement patterns of the early nineteenth century, and discusses the direct and indirect impact of the Mfecane on southern Tanzania. The second chapter examines the response of Mahenge societies to the last of the nineteenth century invasions…. That of the Germans. It analyzes the structure of early German administration, the impact of taxation, and the establishment of new commercial structures based on the exploitation of wild rubber. Finally in revised interpretation is given of the Maji Maji rebellion. The third chapter deals with the final phrase of German colonial rule between 1907 and 1917. In the aftermath of the Maji Maji rebellion, the former alliance system crumbles and the German administration exerts close control over African leaders. The fourth chapter argues that the early period of British colonial rule was essentially little different from that of the Germans. The fifth chapter asserts that the 1930s and the second World War comprised the most disruptive and oppressive era of colonial rule. The last chapter documents the post war explosion of African protest including finally the local appearance of the Tanganyika African National Union.
Missionary cultural conservatism: attempts to reach an intergration between African culture and christianity in German Protestant Missionary work in Tanzania, 1900-1940
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1977) Fiedler, Klaus
This thesis deals with the development of cultural conservatism within the German Protestant missions in Tanzania from 1900-1940. It describes the work and the ideas of a number of missionaries who belonged to the four major German Protestant missions in Tanzania, e. g. Leipzig, Berlin I, Bethel and the Moravians. The thesis is divided into three sections. The first section (Chapter i and ii) deals with the context in which the development of cultural conservatism will be shown, the second section (Chapter iii to vii) contains the descriptive and analytical material and the third section (Conclusion) relates the ideas of the missionaries of cultural conservatism to ideas brought forward in the new development debate, or as it has been termed, the debate on the development of under-development. The first chapter puts missionary cultural conservatism into the context of the current debate on the role of the missionary enterprise in the process of colonial expansion. The representatives of missionary cultural conservatism and the exponents of Indirect Rule were all convinced, that African culture should be preserved and developed along its own lines. The thesis argues that in spite of many common concepts there were fundamental differences between missionary cultural conservatism and the policy of Indirect Rule in special and colonialism in general. The second chapter traces the German background of missionary cultural conservatism in Tanzania. It shows its origins in the Romantic Movement and how the Romantic Movement in its different stages (Early and later Romanticism, Neo-Romanticism and Third Reich Romanticism) influenced the missionaries. Missionary thinking was strongly influenced by the concept of Volk with its stress on every nation's cultural identity. This and other Romantic concepts and certain theological ideas made possible a high evaluation of African culture. Chapter iii to vii present the historical material. The description is centered around the figure of Bruno Gutmann, Leipzig missionary on Kilimanjaro from 1902 to 1938, who was the major exponent of missionary cultural conservatism in Tanzania. Chapter iii deals with the first phase of his work up to 1920. In this period he deeply studied Chagga culture and developed patterns of church-organization with which he attempted to relate the life of the congregation as closely as possible to all the values of traditional Chagga culture. During the second period from 1926 - 1938 (chapter vi) Gutmann continued to develop his conservative approach. But by then the situation had changed. His strong support for traditional cultural values was no longer an asset to missionary work, but tended to make the church less attractive. With his conservative policies Bruno Gutmann came into conflict with the rising mission educated elite. Thus we find the unexpected situation of a European missionary strongly supporting Chagga culture being opposed by African leaders who demand freedom to integrate many elements of European culture into their own. This conflict came to a head in the circumcision controversy of 1923 - 1926, when due to Gutmann's enforced absence after the war the congregation was led by two teachers, FilipoNjau and YohaneKimambo. They made the congregation pass laws forbidding circumcision, but as soon as Gutmann came back, the majority of Moshi Christians turned to Gutmann who defended the right of the Chagga Christians to stick to their traditional custom of circumcision against their own elected (progressive) leaders. Chapter iv presents two contemporaries of Gutmann who developed their concept of cultural conservatism independently from him, though they later came into contact with him. The Moravian missionary Traugott Bachmann was the first Christian missionary among the Nyiha and there he started his work with a very positive attitude to African culture, whereas with other missionaries discussed in this thesis, cultural conservatism with its high appreciation of African culture was more like a reform movement. The other figure represented in chapter iv is Ernst Johanssen, founder of the Bethel missionary work in Usambare, Ruanda and Bukoba. Chapter v describes various attempts by missionaries and African Christians to christianize traditional initiation rites. It shows that rejection or acceptance of these attempts did not depend on colour, but on role. African reaction to the Christianization of initiation in special and of African customs and institutions in general depended not on flow Christian and African elements were mixed, but on the chance this christianization provided for a definition of new roles in society or for the redefinition of existing ones. The variety of response to these attempts to christianize African institutions is being shown from examples of various missions in Tanzania. Missionary approach and those favouring cultural conservatism and the conflicts arising from the differing views. But more so it shows the varying African response to cultural conservatism in the Moravian and Berlin areas. This thesis claims that the negative response to cultural conservatism in the Nyasa Province was due largely to the fact that almost all the missionary representatives of cultural conservatism were strongly influenced by German National Socialism. After the Second World War development in politics as well as in the church did not go the way cultural conservatism had envisaged. The Pressing need was to establish equality, not to stress cultural identity. But now, twenty years after independence, with equality having been established, a rethinking of what development means for Tanzania has been set in. It is the final claim of this thesis that the missionaries of cultural conservatism in spite of their very different political and ideological background may have a contribution to make to this rethinking.
Drama as a means of education in Africa
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1978) Leshoai, Benjamini Letholoa
Contemporary African educators have advocated for the elimination of the colonial inherited educational models and to replace them with a system relevant to the needs of Africa. There can be met by directly referring to the entire background of her experience, particularly with reference to the system of aesthetics and pedagogy. True education trains and clients’ the senses and therefore the African background constitute the staple reference to the education of her youth. Since the African is surrounded by an artistic world, the burden of this dissertation is to illustrate through analysis and comparison and concrete examples what drama has been and still remains the most immediately effective method of instruction. True and lasting education actively involves the learner in the learning process; and drama prepares the ground, defines the goals for experimentation and eventual execution. The study embodies results of research through interviews, library and archival work in various parts of Africa, and an analysis of traditional and modern African performing arts. The subject is extensive and demands an acquaintance with the entire range of aesthetics and pedagogy on the continent. Tempting as it is to range so far and wide, this study limits the scope by focusing on those societies in Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and southern Africa of which I have personal experience and adequate knowledge. The dissertation is not a description of current practices in education, nor is it on evaluation of the role of the performing arts, but is an attempt to re-orient and re- direct creative and pedagogical endeavors so as to narrow and minimize the gap that exists between artistic expression and educational practice. Consequently, the study is structured to reflect the ideas and suggestions behind it with the purpose of stimulating a purposeful debate among practitioners of creative dramatics in education. The first chapter reflects the ideas and thoughts of African scholars seeking to Africanize education so that its content and methods will be relevant to Africa’s religious, social, economic cultural and political aspirations. The second chapter examines and analyses the literature of scholars and creative dramatics with the view to reveal their convictions and beliefs of the utility and role of drama in traditional and contemporary education. That there are similarities and differences in the African and western concepts of drama has been established therefore chapter three discusses primarily the concept of African drama and its role in the education of the youth. There is a close relationship between chapters four and five which both discuss the traditional, contemporary and transformed dramas to illustrate their use in the education of young people. The concluding chapter attempts to suggest new areas of research linked with drama. The references used in the study and the additional select biography are intended for the benefit of aspiring and practicing creative dramatists not withstanding limitations in the study, positive principles emerged from it. Drama in education develops in the child self- confidence and poise lasting education in through active participation, and the successful transformed African traditional drama has great potential in various educational programmers for those adventurous and enterprising creative practitioners.
A history of Indian merchant capital and class formation in Tanganyika c. 1840-1940
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1982) Honey, Martha Spencer
The history of Indians in Zanzibar and Tanganyika while frequently described in racial terms is more scientifically analyzed as the history of merchant capital. While merchant capital has for centuries been the predominant form of capital within East African, its role in the economy has not been unchanging. With the western capitalist penetration and colonial occupation in the 19th century, merchant capital shifted from being the sole form of capital in East Africa to being an agent of western, particularly British and German industrial capital. This study examines the role of Indian merchant capital during the colonial period or phase of underdeveloped capitalism in Zanzibar and Tanganyika. During the period covered here approximately 1840 to 1940. Indian merchant capital was integrated into and subordinated to western industrial capitalism while remaining the primary form of capital at the colonial level. There are four main and interrelated features of Indian merchant capital in Zanzibar and Tanganyika. The first is the competition, between the well-established locally-based Indian traders and the newly arrived metropolitan commercial companies. In this struggle the colonial state played a central role in remoulding Indian merchant capital to better fit the needs of metropolitan capital. A counterpart to its economic subordination, was Indian merchant capitals political dependence on the colonial state. Asian politics were essentially the polities of the market place. Their political activities revolved around opposition to any government policy which would hinder expanding profits. But as,the prime beneficiaries at the local level of the colonial economy, their political disputes were generally carried out within the framework of a basic acceptance of colonialism. Thirdly, there was a dual tendency of merchant capital, toward a the dissolution and conservation of the pre-capitalist modes of production. Indian merchant capital stimulated and helped to regularize commodity production, expanded a monied economy and facilitated the extraction of export crops and distribution of imported foods. But because most of its profits were ploughed back into the sphere of circulation, merchant capital could not itself effect the transition from one mode of production to another. Fourth, a corollary to the continued predominence of merchant capital within the colony was a low level of industrial development. While some merchant profits were invested in agricultural processing small-scale industries and transport, colonialism blocked industrialization. In Tanganyika the colonial state used Asian merchant capital primarily to expand the exchange economy while discouraging it from moving on any significant scale into production. The Asian merchant classes, particularly the commercial bourgeoisie, dominated and defined the movements of the other Asian classes. Except in times of economic crisis, class antagonism rarely came to therefore unity was reinforced by a super-structure of ethnic ideology vrhich used family sect, caste and race to help mask class divisions.
The nanga epos of the bahaya
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1986) Mulokozi, Mugyabuso mlinzi
This thesis sets out to define the nanga epos of the bahaya of Tanzania as a specific example of the African oral epic.It starts from the premise that the nanga epos is an oral performance which exists only as a momentary esthetic event, not as a fixed, permanent text. As such, its occurrence, its content, and indeed, its final is ultimately determined by the social-historical and performance context. The interaction between this con-text and the content and formal aspects of the verbalization of the epos gives us three sets of epos characteristics namely; the contextual characteristics, the content characteristics, and the formal characteristics. The contextual characteristics operate at two levels; the macro-contextual level and the micro-contextual level. The macro-context is the social-historical situation pertaining to the origination and subsequent performances of a given epos. For feature acknowledges the primary role of non-literary factors in defining the nanga epos. For instance the very existence of the nanga epos tradition cannot be divorced from the rise of the Bahinda/Ba-bito aristocracy in Buhaya-Karagwe; the tradition was sustained through the warring activities and patronage of that aristocracy. The decline of the traditional social set-up. These historical realities also dictated its functions in traditional Buhaya societies. The micro-context pertains to the immediate performance situation and needs. The central features of this level are the interaction between the bard, the audience, and the social setting on the one hand, and between the text and the musical setting on the other, it is from this interaction that the nanga epos derives much of its poetic quality and impact. The content of specific epos is likewise dictated and demarcated by the macro-contextual and the performance factors. The subject matter of most nanga derive from the social-historical struggle and processes dating from the time of the Bachwezi (13-14th centuary) to the present. The process of political centralization and its antithesis; the clan and plebeian resistance, that accompanied the changes in the modes of production and the corresponding economic relations, is featured directly or indirectly in the majority of the epos.The subsequent degeneration of the ruling classes, culminating in the rise of new ruling lineges in Kyamutwala and Kiziba in the nineteenth century, is also featured in the nineteenth century epos. These social-political themes are ingeniously blended with sub-themes of a more personal nature, revolving around such existential problems as love, jealousy, the meaning of life, and problem of death and immortality. The bardic per-spectives on these issues are informed by a traditional materialistic world view.The nanga epos are thus more than fiction, they are more that myth and legend, the nanga epos are also history. They contain valuable historical data and they symbolically depict historical process.The nanga conceptualization of the hero and heroic is likewise determined by the social- historical but human, mighty but vulnerable. He lacks divine pretensions, and is not guided by the hand of destiny He can therefore only triumph by employing the tried traditional weapons, namely; his own physical and mental might, occult science and the support of his community. The formal characteristics are determined by the interaction between context and verbalization. The nanga epos derives its structure from the traditional narrative pattern it thus has a unified plot, whose lowest narrative unit is the topes, and whose highest unit is the story, within this narrative framework the utterances are verbalized through a generative process that has two interacting and inter- related levels- the preverbal and the verbal. The pre- verbal level consists of a frame of reference called a Gestalt which branches into numerous core-ideas (formulas) and core-vignettes (topes). These are in turn realized during performance as all forms and allotropes. This process is facilitated and influenced by the musical setting The musical setting has three elements; the instrumental music produced by the nanga zither, the vocal music produced by the bards voice and occasionally the audience and the percussion sounds (e.g. clapping) produced by the bard and/or the audience. These musical elements serve as poetic devices narrative markers, or content reinforcements. The musical setting interacts that constitutes the poetic experience of nanga performance. The other important poetic element of the nanga epos is the imagery is highly developed; it derives from the history environment beliefs and prejudices of the Bahaya as well as the whole gamut of their oral arts and traditions. Two types of imagery-metaphor and allusion, demonstrates how this features operates in the poetry. One obvious characteristic of the metaphors is their association of pastoral images, especially cattle and the wildlife, with heroism, manhood and the aristocracy and their association of aquatic and agricultural images with womanhood. The complex structure of the metaphors, with many layers of meaning, both denotative and connotative, testify to the artistic accomplishment of the nanga bards within their tradition Finally all these features, plus the presence of other literary and non-literary genres in each epos go to characterize the nanga epos as a multi generic, multi functional genre that is truly the encyclopedic art form of the Bahaya
A history of the Bena to 1908
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1988) Nyagava, Seth Ismael
This study concerns itself with the history of the Bena, a Bantu-speaking people from the earliest times to 1908 what is now Iringa Region. In six chapters of this study, we have examined the main themes of the emergence, development and expansion of the Bena in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania through the following lines of investigation namely, migrations and settlement; the political change which took place from about 1600 to the end of the nineteenth century; the German intervention and its consequences in Ubena. In dealing with the people of Ubena to which incoming peoples, under group or family leadership, from different directions moved in and settled, it suggests possible settlement patterns of the early inhabitants of the area, and discusses what developed out of these settlements. The study demonstrates that, although the region was already a Bantu territory quite early, perhaps as early as the beginning of the second millennium of the Christian era, they had been preceded by pro-Bantu groups of people called the Iringa Southern Cushites. It was through the interaction between the pre-Bantu and early Bantu groups that the Njombe communities were formed. As the population in the settled areas grew, no doubt due to natural increase and immigration, the hitherto little contacts between different groups of the people gradually increased. However, this did not lead to the development of one-centralized state under one leadership. This may have been because of the nature of their migrations and settlement as there had been differences of places of origin of the incoming peoples among other reasons. Members of the different groups of immigrants of the period between the twelfth and the seventeenth centuries settled in different parts of present-day Ubena at different times independent of each other, each recognizing either group or clan leadership. The study concludes by examining how the Bena faired economically in their region and how they responded to foreign intrusion from the east coast when their region was integrated into the international trade during the nineteenth century and the intervention of the Germans at the end of the century
Class, capital and state in colonial Swaziland c1850 - 1948
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1988) Mlahagwa, Josian Reuben
The history surrounding the emergence and metamorphosis of the Swaziland social formation is deep and complex. The moulding of a unitary nation with a single language and a hegemonic culture under a widely recognised dynastic ruler in less than a century; the struggles geared at maintaining the independence of the nation against the upheavals associated with the Mfecane; the encroachments of the forces of capitalism, particularly in the form of a hunt for consessions; the response of the Swazi rulers to those forces and their eventual subordination to colonial and global capitalism, despite their show of resilience in that situation; the impoverishment of the peasantry and proletarianization of a sizeable proportion of the population in the wake of the partition of the country and the operation of south African mineral capitalism; the protracted efforts of the colonial state to disentangle the mess created by the concessions onslaught so as to facilitate effective and profitable exploitation; the history surrounding these themes is very rich and the telling of that story is a noble task, though not easy. Despite this rich history, quite out of proportion to the territory's size and population, it is only recently that scholars have started reconstructing and synthesizing it. This study attempts to make a contribution to the reconstruction of that history along the above stated themes. Swaziland was created by a refugee society on the run. The emergence of strong states in the aftermath of the Mfecane is a familiar theme. But the uniqueness of Swaziland lies in the fact that it was the only state that carried the process of integration to a maximum, leading to a unique uniformity of culture. The military establishment (amabutho) and the homestead played a crucial role in promoting and maintaining the dominant production relations. While the homestead formed the basic unit of production the amabutho contributed to the process of accumulation, mainly through plunderand military incursions. Different forces were brought to bear upon the Swazi state which eventually led to its demise. Such forces were European settlement, the dynamics of merchant capital, concession capitalism, Anglo-Boer rivalries which culminated in the Anglo-Boer war and the consolidation of British colonial rule. The British colonial state emerged as the skilful manager of sharp contradictions within Swaziland. In its effort to consolidate itself and to effectively discharge its responsibility as overseer of c apitalist penetration the colonial state endeavoured to balance conflicting interests, the Swazi aristocracy, settler farmers, mining interests, and the Union of South Africa. Skilfully, the colonial state succeeded to control the finances of the Swazi royalty, partitioned the territory for effective exploitation, curtailed the judicial powers of the Swazi ruling aristocracy, broke the neck of the monopoly concessions, streamlined mining interests, intervened in the acquisition of labour, and successfully handled the issue of incorporation into the Union of South Africa. Indeed, it turned out that the colonial state became the chief beneficiary of that process since it emerged as the biggest capitalist' landowner. The picture which emerges out of all this is that the colonial state did succeed to resolve serious contradictions in the overall interest of a peaceful subjugation of the Swazi and of capitalist penetration and consolidation in Swaziland.
Aspects of Ki-Bena phonology: the case of Ki-Mavemba variety
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1989) Chaula, Egidio H. Y
This study examines some phonological aspects of the Ki-Bena language, taking Ki-Mavemba variety as a case study. The study is organized in five chapters. Chapter one introduces the problem area. It shows the geographical location of Ki-Bena with its main varieties (dialects). Further, the significance and scope of the study are also stated here. In addition, the literature review reveals that this language has been less studied. In fact, some of the varieties, Ki-Mavemba included, have not been studied at all; thus, remaining undescribed. The theoretical framework adopted (i.e. generative phonology GP) is also briefly discussed here. The sound system of Ki-Mavemba is examined in Chapter Two. The sound inventory, the phonemes as well as the morpheme structure conditions are identified. The study reveals that this sound system is typically Bantu. The phonological processes affecting vowels are examined in Chapter Four. The study reveals that these processes are natural and take place in order to accommodate the phonetic an morpheme structure conditions of the language. Further, the study reveals that processes take place at morpheme/word boundaries. Chapter Five summarises the findings and concludes that although the findings have widened our knowledge on the phonology of Ki-Bena, it is not exhaustive, therefore more research is required.
Phonological aspects of foregrounding in Kiswahili poetry
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1993) Mutembei, Aldin K
This study addresses itself to phonological aspects of foregrounding in Kiswahili poetry. To speak of phonology is to speak about sound and how it is perceived in a particular language. We have selected few phonological aspects to be covered by this study. These aspects are vowels, consonants stress, rhythm and pitch. The pattern of distribution of vowels and consonants in a literary work gives them linguistic labels of assonance and consonance respectively. Phonological aspects of foregrounding, is taken as a stylistic approach towards the analysis of Kiswahili poetry. It is the approach which observes the distribution and frequency of occurrence of phonological elements and how in turn such frequency has something to do with the meaning of the poem. It is the approach which takes into consideration two sides: the background and the foreground sides of a literary work but gives more emphasis to the latter side. The major argument being that, the foregrounded elements in a literary work play a mojor role in relating meaning to form. The study is organised in five chapters. Chapter one, as an introductory part, presents certain relevant preliminaries including the problem discussed, hypotheses, significance and objective of the study and the theoretical framework followed by this study. Chapter two is a review of literature. It takes into consideration the relevant literature that deals with a similar problem, the theoretical part of the problem and the practical part which casts light on the analysis of poetry. Chapter three is devoted to research findings and analysis of the data. It is in this chapter where questions asked throughout the research are analysed, with the aim of understanding the attitudes and knowledge of respondents on Kiswahili poetry. Chapter four forms the main body of the study. In this chapter four Kiswahili poems are analysed. This chapter attempts to see if there is any correlation between the foregrounded sound segments and the meaning the poems gives. Chapter five summarises what has been explored in the previous chapters. It concludes by observing the fact that in Kiswahili there are some phonological aspects which have a relationship with meaning. It is however pointed out that the concept of meaning is very controversial and sometimes subjective. The chapter ends with a recommendation for further research.
Transition to capitalism and reproduction: the demographic history of lake Nyasa region 1850s-1980s.
(University of Dar es Salaam, 1999) Mihanjo, Eginald Pius Alex Nongelo
African countries are passing through a period of economic crisis and reforms. While the economy is in crisis, population has been increasing in most of the states, thus reducing further incomes of the people. Given this imbalance between economic and population growth, a number of African states have adopted population policies whose aim is to limit population growth as a way to economic growth. Tanzania is one of the states that has developed a population policy whose intention is to create a balance between income and population growth. This study examines this position and shows that it is historical and mechanical. It argues that population dynamics are historically determined by the dominant mode of production. Africa's economic and population dynamics at current conjuncture are historically related to the International capitalist system which is the dominant mode of production. Using Lake Nyasa region as a case study, and historical sources, such as: parish registers, hospital registers, oral and archival sources, the study shows how the capitalist integration of the area from mid nineteenth century to 1980s, led to the disintegration of the domestic mode of production, i.e. clan fishing. This integration into the world system through slave trade transformed both social and biological reproduction. More importantly, it reduced population in the area and affected generational stability. By mid 1920's colonialism had succeeded in restoring generation stability with the result that by mid 1940's and 1950's the population had doubled. Both the emerging capitalist exchange economy and cultural intervention, such as Christianity, had by the 1940's not only eroded pre-capitalist controls but also activated increase in population. Evidently population dynamics are directly linked to the socio-economic and political process characteristics of the dominant of the mode of production. Capitalist as the dominant mode of production under the current epoch has shaped production, death, disease, birth, food and migration patterns in Lake Nyasa. In the final analysis capitalist relations are, in fact the main rational explanation for the demographic features currently found in Lake Nyasa area.
The implications of bilingualism in learning and teaching: the case of Tanzania secondary schools
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2000) Kadeghe, Michael
This study aimed to investigate the context and the interactive patterns of bilingual practices in secondary school classrooms. It further aimed to measure the students' academic achievement in physics tests conducted in English, Kiswahili and in both English and Kiswahili to see in which medium they would achieve better. The manner in which the teaching was carried out using these languages was also examined. The study was conducted in four science secondary schools; two in Dar-es salaam (Makongo and Zanaki) and the other two in Kilimanjaro Umbwe and Uru). Makongo and Uru were control schools while Umbwe and Zanaki were experimental. The four schools were distinguished by various variables, such as rural / urban, single- sex / co-educational with good performance) poor performance and private/ public. Data for the study were collected using ethnographic observations, interviews, questionnaires, documentary reviews and achievement tests. As regards the first aim, the findings showed that there were pervasive code alternations in the physics classrooms. Using the analytic conversational framework grounded in ethnographic observation, it was noted that code switching was purposeful and patterned, contrary to the popularly held view that the practice was a sign of laziness, a waste of time and a source of embarrassment. Code switching was strategically exploited by the physics teacher as a communicative resource. A change of discourse function in the classroom was signaled by a series of shifts from English to Kiswahili and back to English. Yet, classroom language alternation was not seen as a distinguishable variant of CS. When the corpus was placed against Auer's bilingual speech continuum (CS-LM-FL), it was found out that CS was still at the beginning of the continuum because the contrast between Kiswahili and English was not only meaningful to the participants but also had discourse related functions. While ambivalence was confirmed in the study, bivalency was not. Responses from interviews and questionnaires varied considerably. For example, while a bigger percentage of the interviewees argued in favour of bilingual practices in the classroom, the rest indicated that the practice would impair the students' academic achievement. On the choice of an effective teaching medium, the general view was that switching completely to Kiswahili as a medium of instruction in post primary levels would just create more problems. Concerning students' academic achievement in tests conducted in English, Kiswahili and in both English and Kiswahili, statistical computations revealed that there was positive correlation (P< 0.01) between any pair of tests. Recommendations include gradually introducing bilingual programmes to Form one classes and the encouragement of tolerance of code switching in spoken and written discourse in both classroom activities and in final examinations. This encouragement should be reflected in official language policy, which can make use of the synergy which has been created by the two languages in the classrooms rather than treating English and Kiswahili as separate hostile entities, so that their combined effect becomes greater than the sum of their individual effects
Gender stereotypes in the folktales and proverbs of the Baganda.
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2001) Kiyimba, Abasi
This research examines the portrayal of gender stereotypes in the folktales and proverbs of the Baganda people of Uganda, as part of the attempt to understand the way gender works in a society that heavily relies on oral literature for education and entertainment. Unlike previous studies, which concentrate on female images, this work studies the stereotypes of both men and women. It also examines the relationship between men and women, against the assumption that the literature casts men into positions of social and political advantage. The study reviews both the positive and the negative images of men and women, and also considers their relationship to each other in situations of marriage, parenthood and political power. On the positive side, the woman is portrayed as a caring mother while the man is presented as the powerful guardian of social order. On the negative side, the woman is portrayed as lazy, evil, cruel (as a stepmother) and useless (when barren); and the man is portrayed as greedy, irresponsible and good-for-nothing (when impotent). In some cases, the men in positions of social and political power are shown to be mere figureheads, fronting for strong-willed women. From the evidence adduced in the study, certain forms of data stereotype women very severely, while others similarly stereotype men. It is therefore not possible to say whether the overall image of the man in the folktales and proverbs of the Baganda is worse than that of the woman, and vice versa. What is not in dispute, however, is that the literature negatively stereotypes both of them. The study maintains that oral literature is still a valuable medium of entertainment and social education, and recommends that the problem of gender stereotyping in it should be directly addressed through formal and informal education, to enable its consumers to resist its dichotomising effect.
Phrase structure and functional categories in the kirundi sentence
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2003) Hukuru, Denis
This study tackles the analysis of the Kirundi sentence according to the concepts of “phrase structure” (PS) and “functional categories” (FCs) as defined in the Principles and Parameters (P&P) Theory. P&P Theory is a linguistic theory developed in the 1980s and early 1990s by Chomsky (1981, 1986, Chomsky and Lasnik 1993) and his followers (Webelhuth 1995, Cook and Newson 1996). The study describes the syntactic behaviour of Kirundi FCs, their distribution in the Sentence and their functions, as well as their morphological structure. In so doing the study checks whether the major claims and hypotheses of the P&P Theory about FCs in general syntax apply or do not apply to Kirundi syntactic structures. The study realized two major findings. The first finding is that inflection (INFL) is not a category of phrase, because it belongs to the word morphology. This has been referred to as the WORD INTERNAL INFLECTION HYPOTHESIS (WIIHI WIIH assumes that phrase structure grammar should deal with fully inflected words. According to this new hypothesis, only FCs morphologically realised as full words are phrase constituents and may be heads of phrases, but inflectional FCs cannot. WIIH replaces the Split-INFL Hypothesis (SIH) and (ii) the Full Functional Projection Hypothesis (FFPH), which assume that in all languages, all FCs, whatever their morphological structure, are phrase constituents and heads of phrases. However, in agglutinative languages like Kirundi and other Bantu languages, SIH and FFPH may not work, because inflectional FCs fail to be accommodated in phrase structure. However, it was observed that all full word FCs function as heads of phrases, this has led to a new hypothesis, namely, the FULL WORD FUNCTIONAL HYPOTHESIS (FWFPH), which is a compromise between WIIH and FFPH. The second major finding of the study is that syntactic structure interacts with discourse structure. Many Kirundi syntactic structures may not be interpretable if one ignores discourse functions of Topic and Focus. The BASIC TOPIC PHRASE STRUCTURE HYPOTHESIS (BTSH) is one of the important devices suggested in his study to deal with kirundi phrase structure in higher sentence nodes. The wider significance or implication of this finding is that the interpretation of the sentence structure can no more rely on purely syntactic functions. The involvement of discourse functions in phrase structure weakens the Autonomous Syntactic Principle (ASP). ASP denies the role of non-syntactic features functions in syntactic descriptions. However, for some Kirundi specific constructions, the key for their interpretation has been found to be both semantic and discourse functions.
Commercial Rice Farming and Economic Well Being of Peasants: the case study of the Usangu Plains -1945-200
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2003) Ambindwile, George Katoto
This study examines the impact of commercial rice farmig on the peasants economic wellbeing in the Usangu plains between 1945 and 2000. The main assumption of the study is that, the development of capitalist production in the Usangu plans had an impact on peasant wellbeing and their self-sufficiency. The study used the political economy approach in explaining this relationship. It used interviews as well documentary review as the main methods for data collection. The study reveals three main findings. First, the study finds out that the introduction and development of rice production in the Usangu plans led to the rice of social stratification based on the ownership of land and utilization of labour among peasants. This gave rise to the consolidation of private family property ownership and exchange relations. Second, the study points out that consolidation of rice production of rice also led to food shortages in the Usangu plans. Peasants put efforts in the production of rice of commercial purpose and spent less time on food production. Third, the study shows that commercial rice farming expresses the exploitative nature of capitalist relations of production and that this is revealed by various mechanisms employed by capital. Peasants are exploited as labours in production as well as at the market place. The study concludes that the poor economic wellbeing of peasant in the Usangu plans is connected to the history of commercial rice farming in the area.
Developmentalism and its failings: Why rural development went wrong in 1960s and 1970s Tanzania
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2003) Schneider, Leander
The central puzzle addressed by this study is the remarkable persistence of development agents, be they state officials or otherwise, in their pursuit of often ineffective or even harmful development policies. I contend that most existing approaches to explaining this phenomenon and concomitant developmental failures rely far too exclusively on a strategy of asserting that development policies ‘fail* because they are typically usurped for unstated exploitative purposes. This study demonstrates that such an argument does not fit the Tanzanian record, suggesting also that the broader universe of cases might warrant a re¬examination. The study’s main empirical focus is the pillar of rural development policy in 1960s and 1970s Tanzania, the forced ujamaa/villagization program that culminated in the mid- 1970s and - according to official claims - resettled 70 per cent of Tanzania’s rural population into ‘planned villages. I seek to understand this policy and its problematic dimensions and failings as the product of what I call ‘developmentalism. At the toot of developmentalism lies state elites’ strong sense of developmental mission and their unshakable conviction that in this mission they, as competent developers, confronted ‘backward’ rural masses. This study centers on an examination of these developmentalist imaginings and hierarchies. Developmentalism’s most critical effect was that it apparently blinded Tanzanian developers to the fact that they often pushed initiatives with wholly inadequate forethought and preparation- As they read the rural populace as backward, ignorant, and in some instances indeed ‘savage*, riding roughshod over the often legitimate concerns of rural people - in the name of their development - seemed palatable to the interveners. I show through a series of micro-historical studies that coming to grips with developmentalism and its roots and effects is essential to an adequate understanding of the initiation and persistence of foiling rural development policies in Tanzania. Through a close-up focus on agents and actions within their historical, social, and discursive matrices, this study seeks to produce an ethnography of the Tanzanian state in development.
Modelling the development of appropriate equipment to support: labour-based technology: the case of Tanzania
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2005) Kaena, Njunwa Pontian Angelo
Literature has revealed that labour based technology (LBT) Is technically feasible for a wide range of road construction activities and can generally produce the same quality as equipment based methods. However, there are activities that are very difficult to do with labour because they are time consuming and uneconomic. For such activities, the use of equipment is recommended to support human labour. There are clear advantages of producing such equipment locally, especially in less developed countries such as Tanzania. Although local capacity and technology exists, previous attempts of producing such equipment In Tanzania have not been successful mainly due to lack of coordination, cooperation and government support. Previous studies have not addressed this problem. To address this situation, action research was used. Over 270 individuals from institutions within eight clusters of stakeholders were contacted in order to formulate a model which can guide equipment developers to develop equipment for LBT locally. The model was validated through a pilot study, which established compaction as a priority activity to be supported by equipment; and, a vibratory compactor as the appropriate piece of equipment. The compactor was developed successfully; and, its market was predicted satisfactorily, which validated viability of producing and commercializing the equipment in Tanzania.
The form and content of the Wigashe dance songs of the Sukuma
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2005) Songoyi, Elias Manandi
This study focused on the relationship between context, content and form in oral poetry as exemplified in the wigashe dance songs of the Sukuma in Tanzania. The concern was to investigate how context influences the content and form of the wigashe dance songs. Context is defined as the social, cultural and historical setting of a work of art. The objective of the study was to establish the influence of context on the content and form of the wigashe dance songs. The data was collected using various methods and techniques which included tape recording, photographing, interviews, observations and discussions. These songs were analyzed with regard to their social, cultural, historical contexts in order to establish the influence of these aspects on the content and form. This study has come up with four major findings: the primacy of context in oral poetry composition, performance and interpretation, composition as a method and technique in wigashe dance songs, collective memory as an aid to remembering long compositions, and the role of medicine (the occult) in the composition and performance of oral poems as exemplified in the wigashe dance songs. The study's recommendations are that further musicological studies should be conducted for further understanding of the nature of oral poetry issues related to it.
history of malaria and its control in British colonial Tanganyika, 1920-1960: the case of Dar es Salaam
(Unversity of Dar es Salaam, 2007) Machangu, Hamish Mathias
This study examines the history of malaria and its control in Dar es Salaam during the British colonial period. The study is guided by the premise that transformation in political, social and economic activities increase incidences of the disease. The study employed an historical approach in investigating the transfomation of malaria and successes of the measures taken on its control. Data were collected through primary and secondary sources. These were obtained by using library, archival and oral sources. The study has shown that, first, the Chances for the spread of malaria in the town before 1850's were few because of the minimum interactions of the people that were caused by limited amount of trade. Secondly, cases of malaria increased between 1850's and 1890's compared to the previous periods due to the slave and ivory caravan routes which encouraged movements and settlements of the people. People's attempts to control the problem could not help because of little knowledge they had on the disease. Thirdly, there was an increase of malaria incidences between 1890's and 1920's due to the expansion of German economic activities that transformed the area into town. This situation led to the influx of people that created slums. Medical policies on preventive and curative measures were ineffective because of lack of funds, colonial segregation and ecological changes. And also, cases of malaria increased between 1920 and 1 960 because of high movement of people and the mushrooming of slums due to the fact that the British increased economic activities in the town. Medial policies to check the problem could not work because of lack of funds and changes in ecology.
Language and power in the courts of Tanzania: a critical discourse analysis of 30 land case judgments
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2008) van Grieken, Anna Martha
This is a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) study of 30 written land case judgments, originating from Tanzania's District Courts via the High Court to the Court of Appeal, dating from 1974 till 2005. The study seeks to determine the extent to which the ideological affiliations of magistrates and judges may result in empowerment or disempowerment. CDA is used to clarify the ideological affiliations reflected in the language of the 30 written land case judgments. A set of 10 guiding questions proposed by Norman Fairclough (2001b:92-93) are deployed, modified to gain further insights by drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday and Matthiessen 2004). This resulted in the elicitation of detailed lexical, syntactic and inter textual manipulations assumed to have informed the productions of those 30 judgments as texts. Based on the elicited lexical, syntactic and inter textual manipulations the experiential, relational and expressive values of the magistrates' and judges' language were established. The findings of the study suggest that on the one hand the magistrates and judges seek to demonstrate their affiliation to the common law notion of impartiality by employing lexicon that is abstract, formal and metaphorical. They also seek to project impartiality by deploying syntactic manipulations of detachment such as passivation, nominalization, dummy Subjects and relational and expressive modality. However, the magistrates and judges did also exploit meaning choices, such as the use of I think, I feel, that on strategic occasions in the course of text production required projection of a sense of involvement and humane commitment specifically with regard to interpretation of points of law. It is noted in conclusion that when cases are appealed they become more and more about abstract points of law, and the interpretation of those points, couched in formal and abstract legal English. It is suggested that this may be a source of possible disempowerment especially to those not familiar with common law notions of justice as well as English.

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