The Maji Maji Rebellion

                                                The Maji Maji Rebellion

Pre-Rebellion Conditions

The first interest for Germany in establishing a colony in East Africa came from Carl Peters who came to East Africa in 1884. With the backing of the German East African Company, they set up protectorates in the area through ‘treaties’ made with headman. The trading company was forced out by the native peoples and replaced by an army force led by Hermann von Wissmann, which assumed administrative control on January 1, 1891. Resistance early in the German colony was difficult due to lack of coordination between the tribes in the area.This did not mean that the people of Tanganyika accepted the German rule. The Matumbi people felt like they were allowing the Europeans into their country, and because of that they should be the ones paying the people of Tanganyika. They consistently rejected things such as taxation believing that they did not have any debt owed to the Germans and that “we, who have for so long been used to govern ourselves, find laws of these Germans very hard, especially the taxes because we black people have not money, our wealth consists of millet, maize, oil, and groundnuts.” Similarly, forced labor was another source of significant suffering under colonial rule. Cotton had become an important cash crop for Europeans, but for the people of Tanganyika it was not any way profitable as they were not compensated for their work and were tortured through whippings. They believed that it would be better to die than to suffer under the horrible conditions they were living under while cultivating and harvesting cotton for the Germans.

A second reason for the Maji Maji uprising was because the Europeans had placed Arabs from other countries in the position of akidas, or native Africans or Arabs who were chosen as district administrators, who had some level of control over the people and “they began to seize people and reduce them to slavery; in fact they practiced complete fraud and extortion and tortured them unjustly. “ In 1904 the prophet Kinjikitile arose. Through Njqiywila, or secret communication, they were able to spread messages through the different tribes. The message that was sent by the prophet was meant to unify the tribes and included communications such as “This is a year of was, for there is a man at Ngarambe who has been possessed—he has Lilungu, Why? Because we are suffering like this and because…we are oppressed by the akidas. We work without payment. There is an expert in Ngarambe to help us. How? There is Jumbe Hongo!”   The expert that they talked about was a medicine man who was gifted in Usinga medicine. Upon word of a magic medicine, people began traveling to this location in 1905. The medicine was believed to provide many benefits in terms of health and a good harvest. It was also trusted to “give invulnerability, acting in such a way that enemy bullets would fall from their targets like rain drops from a greased body.”  Kinjikitile had prepared the people for war, but had instructed them to wait for his signal for the uprisings to begin. However, the Matumbi people grew tired of enduring the injustices of their “leaders” while they waited for the start of the rebellion. They took matters into their own hands and incited anger from the Germans by uprooting cotton, establishing themselves as the main group of people taking part in this rebellion. And so the war began.

In debates summarized by John Iliffe (1967) the question comes up as to how the people of Tanganyika were able to organize for their uprising. Iliffe argues that it was possible that they were able to do this through prior political and cultural groupings and that alliances were formed as they had been in the past when faced with emergencies. Other scholars have argued that Tanganyikans organized based on their “sense of common grievance arising from the economic pressures of German rule.” Finally, the aspect of religion was said to be a motivating force within the organization for the rebellion. From the discussion they came to the conclusion that organization may have started from a religious front with the use of the magic medicine and prophets. However, this was not enough to sustain the rebellion, which had to move more toward tribal organization. The unity that was once established by the religious connection was severed resulting in the movement losing some of its revolutionary character as they were no longer fighting as a collective unit. This weakened Tanganyikans in the face of European resistance as was seen through the rebellion.

REFERENCE

Iliffe, John. Tanganyika under German Rule: 1905-1912. Nairobi: East African Publ. House, 1969. Print.

 Agnes Achitinao to Rev. C. C, Child, 14 March 1899 in Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One Gwassa, G. C. K., G. C. K. Gwassa, and John Iliffe. Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One. Nairobi: East African House, 1968. Print. (7)
Mzee Ambrose Ngombale Mwiru of Kipatimu, interviewed 8 Aug. 1967. in Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One Mzee Mdundule Mangaya of Kipatimu, interviewed 7 Aug. 1967. in Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One Bw. Also Abdallah Kapungu of Kibata, interviewed 23 Aug. 1967. in Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One Iliffe, John. 1967. “The Organization of the Maji Maji Rebellion”. The Journal of African History 8 . Cambridge University Press: 495–512. http://www.jstor.org/stable/179833. (495)
 Iliffe, John. 1967. “The Organization of the Maji Maji Rebellion”. The Journal of African History 8 . Cambridge University Press: 495–512. http://www.jstor.org/stable/179833. (510)