Social marginalisation among the gogo: the roots and social history of gogo street beggars in Dar es Salaam city, 1890-2000s.
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Date
2018
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
This study analyses the roots and social history of street beggars in Dar es Salaam City in the period from 1890 to the 2000s, using street beggars from Dodoma Region as a case study. The study investigates three issues. First, it traces the transformations in the circumstances underlying the migration of male and female Gogo beggars to Dar es Salaam City. In this regard, it examines the historical forces that ultimately transformed the traditional social mechanisms for supporting vulnerable groups in Gogo society. Secondly, it examines the beggars’ experiences, health risks and survival strategies in Dar es Salaam City. Lastly, it assesses state interventions toaddress the beggar question by taking into account the changes and continuities in the interventions as well as the outcomes of such interventions. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, drawing on in-depth, narratives and illness interviews, and on archival and other primary documentary sources. The collected information was analysed using content and thematic framework of qualitative data analysis. Analysis of the study was guided by a multi-faceted conceptual framework in keeping with the complexity of the issues under study. The findings show that, with the advent of colonial rule, the traditional systems for supporting socially vulnerable groups began to break down, ultimately leading to the rural-urban migration of people, including the migration of street beggars. The agency of the Gogo beggars in their quest for a decent life is seen in their migration from Dodoma to Dar es Salaam City, in their adoption of various coping strategies and in the ways in which they responded to state interventions in their affairs. The findings also indicate that both colonial and post-colonial governments viewed street begging in negative terms and therefore instituted measures that essentially sought to deter people from begging rather than to improve the quality of their lives.
Description
Available in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr. Wilbert Chagula Library, Class mark (THS EAF DT443.G64H3L4)
Keywords
Gogo tribe, History aspect, Beggars 1890 - 2000s, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Citation
Halii, B. (2018). Social marginalisation among the gogo: the roots and social history of gogo street beggars in Dar es Salaam city, 1890-2000s. Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam.