Majimaji
rebellion was called so because of the magic water (Maji ya Uzima in swahilli)
used by African participants believed to neutralise German bullets. Majimaji
rebellion has been considered by historians as the largest uprising against
German colonial rule in Tanganyika. Maji-Maji is a Swahili word which means
magic water.
At
first the water was believed to neutralise the bullets. It was commonly used by
Prophet Kinji Kiteli of the Matumbi. He had a belief that if the Africans
sprinkled their bodies with magic water, it would turn German bullets harmless.
This inspired people to rise up against the bad German administration.
Maji-Maji
rebellion started among the people of river Rufigi valley but later it spread
southwards from Songea to Lindi and from Dar-es-salaam to Kilosa in the North.
The most active societies included the Matumbi, the Wangindo, the Ngoni,
Uluguru, the Kichi, people of Lukuledi valley, Mahenge plateau, Kilombero
valley and Uzaramo. Some societies which had already experienced rebellion and
defeat like the Hehe, the Chagga and Nyamwezi did not join the fighting.
Causes
of the Maji-Maji Rebellion
· Colonialism
was one of the major causes of uprising. People of Tanganyika hated the
German administration and therefore wished to regain their lost political
independence.
· Heavy
taxation policy was one of the causes of the rebellion. The people of
Tanganyika generally hated the German imposition of heavy taxation
policies.
· This
was worsened by the harsh and brutal methods of tax collection for example
those who failed to pay were severely tortured, imprisoned and their property
was confiscated. Men were forced to move long distances looking for ivory,
rubber, honey, wax to pay taxes.
· Loss
of fertile Land also led to the rebellion. The Africans wished to
regain their better-lost lands. The Germans had grabbed the better lands
in Rufigi valley, Kilombero, Lukuledi, Mahenge plateau hence the Africans had
been pushed to remote and unfavourable areas.
· Majimaji
rebellion was also caused by forced labour. The Africans were
forced to work on German construction projects like buildings, road, and
railway networks as well as crop plantation. Therefore the people of
Tanganyika hated these forced labour policies. The methods of supervision
were even too harsh for example they worked for long hours and they were paid
little or no wages and could become severely beaten for not working.
· Use
of foreigners caused the Majimaji rebellion. The Germans used the Akidas and
Jumbes who made their system so unpopular among the Africans. These were
Arabs and Swahili chiefs who were imposed on the Africans communities to
collect taxes and to mobilise labour for the Germans. These people were
too harsh hence mistreated the Africans.
· The
need to maintain traditional customs resulted into the Majimaji rebellion. The
German colonial administration did not have respect for the African traditional
religions. Above all, the Matumbi and Wagindo blamed the German
mercenaries and house-boys for raping their wives and daughters. This behaviour
was abominable in African culture where parents valued the good discipline the
families.
· The
effective leadership and organisation abilities of prophet Kinji kiteli
inspired the Matumbi and the Wagindo to rebel. He even inspired high
morale and fighting spirit in his followers by sprinkling magic water on
people’s bodies before going to war.
· The
Maji-Maji rebellion was also sparked off by the establishment of the large
white cotton schemes in southern Tanganyika. People were forced against
their will to work on the plantations yet under poor conditions and even the
soils were not good. Hence forth, people were discouraged by the poor
harvest.
· Heavy
and corporal punishments also caused the Majimaji rebellion. People hated harsh
punishments the Germany administrators inflicted on them for example public
flogging was considered disrespectful especially to the grown ups and men of
integrity in the presence of their wives and children.
· Africans
were forced to grow cotton, people disliked it because of the following
reasons: Firstly, cotton picking was too tiresome and boring as it had to be
protected from wild pigs and birds. Secondly, cotton took long to grow so
people took long to get the benefits and because of that people failed to
produce foods hence famine occurred. Thirdly, Africans were paid poorly for
their cotton harvests.
· The
cotton crop in 1905 registered poor harvest and people were not paid at all for
their labour. This created discontent.
· The
coastal people hated competition with the Germans over trade in ivory and other
goods.
· Africans
hated Christianity which conflicted with the traditional customs. The
colonialists introduced Christianity that appeared more
· Presence
of magic waters gave a lot of false confidence to the Africans to declare an
uprising.
· Finally,
German leaders forcefully took African women and girls as their wives.
Women contracted Sexually Transmitted Diseases from Germans. This was
absolutely disgusting to African men.
Organisation
of the Maji Maji Rebellion
· The
war involved a diversity of tribes and a large area stretching from
Dar-el-salaam to Kilosa in the North and from Lindi to Songea in the south. The
Maji-Maji rebellion began in 1905 and ended in 1907. The leadership and
organisation of the Africans was centred on the efforts of prophet Kinji kiteli
Ngwale of Kolelo Snake cult.
· This
prophet started being prominent in 1904. He had his base at
Nagarembe. There was a pool on a tributary of the river Rufigi. The
prophet was possessed by a spirit called Hongo that lived in the pool. They
started to distribute maji ya uzima – water of life as it was the medicine
among the Pogoro, Matumbi, Zaramo and Ugoni.
· The
prophet started teaching people near his home area Ngarambe about the use of
magic water. Eventually his teachings spread among the people living
around the Rufigi valley and taught people about the use of a secret
communication from one person to another at Ngarambe. This was a
whispering campaign called “Njwiywilla” or “Jufila”. He also convinced
the people that the ancestral spirits had not died. Hence they would
protect the people during war.
· By
early 1905, people were making pilgrimages to Ngarambe where Prophet Kinji
Kiteli gave them the medicine against German guns and committed them to
war. The medicine consisted of a mixture of millet flour in water and was
smeared on the forehead of each fighter.
· The
rebellion was started by the chief and medicine men of the Pogoro and Gindo.
Later, it spread to other areas like from Dar-es-salaam to Kilosa in the
North. This was sparked off by the establishment of the cotton plantation
schemes. It took the Germans by surprise and a lot of property was
destroyed.
· The
worst rebellion was began by the Matumbi on 31st July 1905.
The people rose against the Akidas and all the foreigners of the district.
· On
2nd August, 1905 the coastal town of Samanga near
Kilwa was burnt to the ground. Many traders and government employees
were murdered in many areas.
· The
rebellion spread quickly east wards and Northwards. Soon the Matumbi were
joined by other tribes namely the Bena, Ngoni, Mpuga, Pogoro, Zaramo, Luguru,
Wagindo and other small communities against the Germans.
· On
30th August, there was a series of joint African attacks on the
German fort at Mahanga but the Africans were driven off with heavy losses. In
September 1905, the German imperial government sent re-enforcement. The German
military techniques and machine guns weakened African resistance.
Maji-Maji soldiers turned to guerrilla tactics of fighting.
· With German further re-enforcement, the African
unity was broken down area by area and the uprising was finally suppressed in
1907. Many of its leaders such as Kinji-kiteli and Mputagama were
executed
Consequences
of the rebellion
The
consequences of the Maji-Maji rebellion were social, political and
economic in nature. Some of them were positive but generally many of them
were negative.
1. MajiMaji
led to heavy depopulation of southern Tanganyika. Many people lost their
lives during and after the rebellion while others were crippled
permanently. About 75,000 people were estimated dead.
2. A
lot of property was destroyed during the rebellion for example cotton plants on
German farms were uprooted and destroyed. A lot of buildings occupied by
Germans in coastal town of Samanga were burnt to the ground. The Germans
also burnt the villages of the Matumbi, Wagindo and the Ngoni.
3. Insecurity
disrupted economic activities in southern Tanganyika. Trade and commerce
could not prosper anymore. People deserted their homes and
agriculture. It eventually led to severe famine and increased death
rates.
4. Confidence
in African traditional chiefs was lost especially the medicine-men and prophet
Kinji Kiteli because their tactics had failed. Many Africans lost lives
because the magic water could not protect them against the German bullets.
5. The
German colonial government learnt a lot from the uprising. A new Governor
Rechenburg was appointed to Tanganyika. He introduced administrative and
economic reforms such as abolishing forced labour, relaxed taxes and appointed
Africans to administrative posts.
6. The
Africans equally learnt a lot from the uprising. They realised that the
Germans were better organised and militarily superior to them. They
discovered the mistakes in their organisation hence rather than fight, they
resorted to use of diplomacy and negotiations with the Germans. It took
long before Africans picked up arms to fight the Germans again.
7. The
Africans generally lost in their wars of resistance to the Germans. The
German colonial administration reinforced its military force for effective
security, law and order. Thus African societies were finally colonised.
8. The
uprising also gave birth and inspired future nationalism in Tanganyika.
The mistakes of the early revolutionary leaders and the poor methods of
organisation were later corrected to give the people of Tanganyika more
effective leadership for example leaders like Julius Nyerere gained a lot from
the failure of Maji-Maji uprising. He used these lessons to form a
national political party called TANU. It was this TANU that finally led
Tanganyika to independence.
9. Also
the scotched earth policy used by the Germans caused permanent destruction of
civilian farms and livestock.
10. The
Germans proved winners because of their superior weaponry.
11. Other
changes such as abolition of public flogging granting freedom of Africans were
introduced. Taxation policies were relaxed, schools were built for Africans and
many native chiefs were encouraged to send their children to school.
12. Germans
started to use a system of indirect rule that was similar to that of the
British. The African chiefs were allowed to rule their people with the advise
and supervision from the Germans.
13. Many
leaders of the rebellion were hanged and those who managed to escape ran to
Mozambique
REFERENCE
http://file1.hpage.com/009737/90/html/maji-maji_rebellion_of_1905-1907.htm
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