BARRED FROM ANIMAL KINGDOM
The paragraph published in TA issue No. 57 under the above heading summarised an article published in the London Observer on April 5th. That article named the George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust and contained a number of grossly distorted facts and half truths.

I do not intend to comment on the Maasai claim to grazing rights in the Mkomazi Game Reserve since the Trust is not a party to the dispute but the statement that there are ‘…fly infested, stinking animal carcases, children with distended bodies …’ around the boundaries of the reserve is false. The lot of the local villagers is no better and no worse than that of most of the rural population in Tanzania. The famous ‘glass-fronted house with a satellite dish’ in which the Trust’s representative, Tony Fitzjohn, lives, was a one-room building constructed of local stone until a small nursery was added recently. Alas there is no satellite dish. Until he built his house, Fitzjohn lived for many years under canvas….

The Mkomazi Reserve is not privately run by the Trust and Fitzjohn is not the manager. It is a national reserve managed by the Tanzanian Government and has a Tanzanian manager. The George Adamson Trust was asked by the Government to assist in rehabilitating the reserve and it has acted strictly within its remit. It does not, as might be inferred from your comments, have the authority to negotiate with the Maasai.

The Trust and its sister trusts have raised millions of dollars for the building of roads and airstrips, equipping the ranger force, constructing the only purpose-built rhino sanctuary in Africa and for the Mkomazi Outreach Programme which funds resources and educational facilities for those living near the reserve. The Duke of Kent is not the patron of the trust. The trust has no such officer.

Most of the original Observer article is incorrect and indeed libellous …
Dr. S K Eltringham
Chairman of Trustees
The George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust

FREEDOM AND UNITY OR TRIBALISM?
Hasty, narrow research leads to shallow conclusions. The article ‘Barred from animal’s kingdom’ (Observer 6th April) which was referred to in your last issue, demonstrates both.

I am a Tanzanian. I have been working in rural extension for 23 years.. .I have worked in and around the Mkomazi Game Reserve for more than two years researching community conservation ….I and my colleagues have had considerable dialogue with villagers of all ethnic groups…we have lived there. From this research I have come to realise that the area is not just a Garden of Eden for Maasai that you fancy. There are other ethnic groups such as the Pare and Sambaa who have historical roots with the area inside and outside the Reserve, before the Maasai arrived…. Where was the voice of other ethnic groups in the article?

Another group whose viewpoint seems to have been omitted is that of the Tanzanian Government. Since the Reserve was gazetted there has been a great deal of consultation between the people and the government.. . .of course, where movement was not voluntary some force was used. Which government does not use force like this? Ask Swampy!!

…… It is vital that we Tanzanians solve our conflicts between different ethnic groups and between ethnic groups and the Government. This can only be done with good information and careful, broad research. Please do not antagonise and aggravate conflict between the government and the people, and between NG07s of the North and the South, with such poor information. Tanzania has 120 ethnic groups…. Groups in the Mkomazi area have coexisted for many years, they have intermarried, they have traded. They were and are still able to solve conflicts and have organised utilisation and management of rangelands and irrigation water together. It is wrong for outsiders to pick on one ethnic group, fancy it, sponsor it and promote it at the expense of other groups’ inclusion in debates.. . .
Yours, in love with my country,
Hildegarda Lucian Petri Kiwasila
University College, London

(I regret that it has been necessary to slightly abbreviate the above two important letters. I think it should be pointed out that our column headed ‘Tanzania in the Media’ is intended to tell readers what the international press is writing about Tanzania. What is written is not necessarily the view of the Britain-Tanzania society or of myself- Editor).

LAKE NYASA
Thank you for letting me have the address of Mr Clarke following my recent letter. On page 9 of Tanzanian Affairs No. 57 you refer to CCM’s candidate at the Magu vacant seat as being ‘a well-known local businessman who had been the NCCR candidate for the seat during the general elections’. If this refers to Dr. Festus Limbu, then our records show that Dr. Limbu is a member of staff of the Department of Economics at the University of Dar es Salaam. Dr. Limbu did contest the seat through the NCCR-Mageuzi during the general elections and lost. The description of the well-known local businessman I suspect fits one of the other contestants.
On page 12 there is a reference to Lake Malawi which is called Lake Nyasa by this side of the border!
Professor Geoffrey Mmari
Vice Chancellor, the Open University of Tanzania

STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT
One of the main tasks of a reviewer, dealing with writings on a controversial subject, is to place those writings in their context and let his readers know that there are two sides to the argument. John Budge, in issue No 57, simply fails to do this. There IS a debate on structural adjustment, but all he has done is to take a couple of writers from the ‘anti’ side and tell us how much he is in agreement with them.

Both Kaiser and Schatz, as he quotes them, draw their conclusions from shaky evidence. Tanzania’s admirable social cohesion was already there (in contrast to Kenya and Uganda) when Julius Nyerere took over the reins, and was not created later. Whatever you think about structural adjustment, the country’s economic and social decline dates from long before Government took to measures of economic liberalisation. It began as a spin-off of the one-party state and the centralisation of power; it continued with the policies of ‘nationalising everything’, pressures for people to leave their homesteads and migrate to ujamaa villages, and the unrealistically low producer prices fixed by Government which shattered national food production in the 1970’s. Crime and corruption went into a steep rise then, not after the adoption of IMF/World Bank policies.

Where WERE Messrs Budge, Kaiser and Schatz when all this was going on?
Dr Philip Mawhood
University of Exeter

‘SIXTY YEARS IN AFRICA: THE LIFE OF A SETTLER 1926-1986’
Thank you so very, very much for your wonderful review of Werner Voigt’s book in the last issue. I have long felt passionate about how great the story of Werner and Helga’s life is. You may not be aware that Werner died last February 8th. It is very unfortunate that we were not in touch just a year earlier because we stopped in England on the way to Tanzania and you could have met Werner and Helga (and myself and Evelyn, their daughter)……
Gordon Breedyk, Ottawa, Canada

‘PASTURES LOST’
I was delighted to read the kind review of my book about the Barabaig in your last issue. I am pleased to advise the reviewer, Christine Lawrence, that the book was published in Kenya…..but is also available from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) 3 Endsleigh St. London WClH ODD.

The quotation with which Christine ends her review is most apt. At this time in Tanzania the whole question of how land is to be administered is under consideration with a new land policy in place and a new land law to be passed by the Bunge in the near future.. . .Indications from the draft legislation suggest that customary tenure will be accommodated and the interests of pastoralists will be satisfied to an extent by its provisions. If this comes to pass then it will be the result of the efforts of many including pastoralists, a triumph of reason and as a result of good governance. I have made regular comment on this process in the IIED Bulletin Haramata.
Charles Lane

Reviewer John Budge has responded to the letters from Julie Jarman and Dr Astier Almedom in our last issue by writing to say that he is thoroughly ashamed of his ill-considered and inconsiderate comment about the handwashing of African children. He goes on ‘I suppose that foremost in my mind was the plight of country people in places where saving water is of paramount importance… I regret any implied devaluation of the magnificent work of WaterAid UNICEF, The Dodoma Hygiene Evaluation Study and the Tanzanian Government and above all, of devoted relief workers in close contact with village people. Perhaps I can take some consolation in the fact that their letters can play some small part in shedding even more light on a vital Issue of African rural life – the connection between water and killer diseases’ – Editor

HAND WASHING
I am writing in response to John Budge’s review of Astier Almedom’s article ‘Recent developments in hygiene behaviour research’ which appeared in Tanzanian Affairs No 56. John Budge comments “one cannot help being surprised ….. by the naivete and glibness of experts, who, sitting in a room in London, with no doubt an adjoining toilet, discuss the importance of teaching African children to wash their hands … ”

I was based in Dodoma myself for three years and worked on the WaterAid programme as the Community Involvement and Hygiene Education Co-ordinator. I was responsible for liaising with Astier Almedom whilst she conducted her field trials, and can assure you that she was not discussing the importance of hand washing with other experts but with Tanzanian villagers and government field staff. WaterAid staff and those of our partners, the Tanzanian Government, work extremely hard. They are in the field, visiting and staying in villages, five-six days a week, most weeks of the year. All of the work they do is based on the full participation of the people who will benefit, and they employ a range of community development techniques to ensure the involvement of the whole community (some of which are mentioned in Dr Almedom’s article. The hygiene education component of the work is a prime example. The villagers are involved in assessing and prioritising the hygiene behaviours that should be targeted for change. Sanitation improvements are also discussed with villagers using a sanitation ladder, an exercise which stimulates discussion about the usefulness of making incremental improvements to latrines. This means that villagers can make changes at their own pace. WaterAid carries out hygiene education activities at the same time as providing clean water to a community. Whilst not the same level of service as ‘an adjoining toilet’, clean water is an invaluable resource for hand washing.

I am not writing purely in a professional capacity, but also as a member of the Britain-Tanzania Society since 1989. May I add that I find ‘Tanzanian Affairs’ an essential lifeline to events in Tanzania.
Julie Jarman
Advocacy Manager, WaterAid

Tanzanian Affairs’s review of my paper on recent developments in hygiene behaviour research was brought to my attention by Ms Julie Jarman of WaterAid with whom I had collaborated in 1994.

My paper describes the development of a field handbook ‘Hygiene Evaluation Procedure’ which has been published by the International Foundation for Developing Countries (INFDC), Boston, 1996. Among the field studies which contributed to the handbook was the Dodoma Hygiene Evaluation Study. The results of that study are mentioned in my paper as examples of the value of involving rural women and children in discussions of health and hygiene as part of good planning and implementation of hygiene education projects. Looking at John Budge’s ‘review’ I am not sure that he has read my paper. This is the first task of any reviewer, to actually read and then comment. As it is I do not know which experts ‘sitting in London’ he is referring to. As an African woman with young children, I have no problems in emphasising the need to wash hands at ‘critical times’ with African children (or any other children) because it is a simple and effective way to prevent diarrhoeal disease which claims the lives of too many of our children. Where clean water is not available WaterAid and other agencies try to make it available as much as possible.

Your readers may be interested to know that the hygiene evaluation procedures handbook is already being used by WaterAid and its partners in the field as part of its ‘good practice’ package. In addition, UNICEF is disseminating it more widely by funding a French and Spanish translation of it.
Dr. Astier M Almedom
Medical Anthropologist

THE LANGI LANGUAGE
…… We have been invited by the Anglican Church, Diocese of Central Tanzania, to work on the language development, literacy and Bible translation project for the Langi (also known as kiRangi) language … .if any of your readers knows something about the Langi, be it from own experience or from other people’s writings we would be only too happy to hear from them …. Oliver and Dorothea Stegen, P 0 Box 1369, Dodoma

‘DYNAMITE DAN’
I am writing to ask whether there is anyone out there who knows anything at all about ‘Dynamite Dan’ – one of East Africa’s most colourful personalities. There may be a reader of ‘Tanzanian Affairs’ who remembers him or a least can add to my very meagre but vividly clear memory of him. I know he was a big game hunter in Tanganyika after the first World War. I was told he was a remittance man, that he came from a ‘good’ family, had been educated at Winchester College and that his surname was Eldridge. I was six years old at the time and clearly remember Dan leading his game scouts and porters to Songea, where my father was then D. O. The procession was enormous, with men, sometimes two to a tusk, carrying a vast amount of ivory which was taken to the Boma for storage. Dynamite Dan was a wiry weather beaten man with a huge felt hat, a bushjacket with many pockets and a sort of khaki kilt which came to the top of his snake-crusher boots. He was as fascinated by the small fair haired child as she was by him. My parents found him an interesting guest though my father complained that his stock of sundowner whisky was depleted very rapidly. I can’t remember if they ever caught any escaping would-be German spies or what had happened to all that ivory or even what became of Dan but I’d love to find out.
Mrs Fiona Marsland
contact editor for contact details

CAPITALISM VERSUS SOCIALISM
Joan Wicken (TA No. 55) complains about the price (£25) of Joel Barkan’ s ‘Beyond Capitalism vs Socialism in Kenya and Tanzania’. Readers might like to know that there is a paperback edition published by East African Educational Publishers (Brick Court, Mpaka Road, Westlands, P 0 Box 45314 Nairobi) at Shs 490, less than a fifth of the UK price. None of the authors forewent royalties to bring out this edition; there was never any question of receiving royalties in the first place. There are limits to market rationality! concerning Joan Wicken’s thoughtful review, probably all the authors would endorse our statement that ‘pluralistic politics and market economics are the two most important factors’ offering hope for ‘further (educational) decline being arrested.’ What alternative is there? The question is: how much hope is there? One problem is that supporting a market economy is taken by many on the left to mean supporting the Reagan-Thatcher ‘neo-liberal’ view of the market economy. I imagine few readers of Tanzanian Affairs would prefer dictatorship or one-party rule to ‘pluralism’, however defined. Functioning democracies are supposed to constrain the negative effects of unfettered markets. The fact that they do so less and less effectively is a cause of much concern. I believe, for example, that it is the responsibility of the state to provide basic education for all. Support for ‘the market’ does not mean that schools should be taken over by the private sector, as some neo-liberals argue. The market generates the wealth which the state taxes in order to run schools.

In the case of Tanzania, there is strong resistance from the ujamaa old guard in the government and ruling party to both market economics and democratic politics. To date, there is little evidence that there is a basis for the emergence of either effective markets or meaningful pluralism which would bring about the hoped for progress within the available time frame. If Tanzania’s new government has an alternative to ‘some kind of capitalist economy and society’ as Ms Wicken hints in her review, President Mkapa had better come out with it sooner rather than later. otherwise the country will end up as another convivial economic and social basket case, with the market represented by an influx of laundered drug money, and pluralism represented by politicians funded via donations from the same corrupted ‘private’ sector. If economic and cultural globalisation are unstoppable forces, then it is time Tanzanians started thinking what that means for them as we all career towards the 20th century.
Brian Cooksey

SPELLING
Regarding the spelling of my book ASANTE MAMSAPU reviewed on page 34 of Tanzanian Affairs No. 54 by Ben Rawlence, I would be grateful if you could print a correction in your next issue pointing out that the title was spelled wrongly and should have been as above and not Asante Masapu. E Cory-King
Apologies for this error – Editor. (Corrected in online version)

THE MUSIC CONSERVATOIRE OF TANZANIA
Since the unexpected death of Mrs Crole-Rees on May 3 the Music Conservatoire of Tanzania has been without means of support. Her earnings were meeting the entire costs of keeping the Conservatoire running.

The service offered by the Conservatoire is a serious and greatly needed one. From the beginning one of the aims was to further music knowledge. The Conservatoire’s Theory of Music exams Grades I to IV are now sat at every secondary school with a music curriculum in the country – over 80 institutions have used them. The Conservatoire makes arrangements for external practical exams and orders music and books for teaching which are available nowhere else. One of its first pupils, Senior Music Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam Dionys Mbilinyi, was knighted by Pope John Paul I1 in recognition of the music he wrote upon the occasion of the Pope’s visit.

Another aim of the Conservatoire has been to preserve local music. It has published a book – ‘Traditional Musical Instruments in Tanzania’ – many of these instruments and the music played on them are history now, existing only in the memories of a few and in the book.

The Conservatoire has never emphasised profit-earning, recognising the earning capacity to be severely limited by the number of tutors and the availability of musical instruments, particularly pianos, and has been dependent on grants and donations. In the past, the Ministry of Education and Culture gave a grant-in-aid but this has not happened recently for obvious economic reasons.

With the passing of Mrs Crole-Rees, need the Conservatoire also come to an end? Surely not. We must find some means to keep the doors open. We require Shs 100,000 (about £100) per month to retain the premises on Sokoine Avenue and meet other costs. The Board of Directors would welcome your support.

Mrs Nancy Macha
Music Conservatoire of Tanzania
P 0 Box 1397, Dar es Salaam.

EBONY CARVINGS
Brian Harris in TA No. 54 throws doubt on the correctness of using the word ‘ebony’ in connection with Makonde carvings. I am sure this word has been traditionally used for many years but no doubt a botanist might be more particular. J Anthony Stout in ‘Modern Makonde Sculpture’ (1966) consistently writes of ebony carvings. The Makonde carvings exhibition held in Oxford in 1989 refers to ‘African blackwood (a type of ebony)’. The Standard Swahili Dictionary translates ‘Mpingo’ as ‘the ebony tree – Diospyros ebenum and Dalbergia melanoxylon’ .

However, it does seem that the Mpingo tree has not been properly studied and this may account for some ambiguity in using the term ‘ebony’. Now steps are being taken to investigate the tree, particularly because the makers of clarinets and such musical instruments have become alarmed at the dwindling supply of Mpingo wood. In November 1995 Flora and Fauna International organised a workshop in Maputo to discuss the plight of the tree and as a result, a Cambridge University expedition is now under way in Lindi Region. They are researching all aspects of the tree with a view to producing a management plan for its sustainable commercial development. They have formed a charity called ‘Tanzanian Mpingo ’96’ and still need financial help. If readers are interested they should please contact Huw Nicholas. Christine Lawrence

CHUMBE ISLAND CORAL PARK (CHICOP)

With much interest we have read your well informed issue No. 54 but one note on page 19 needs correction. While we welcome and appreciate any progress made by the Mafia Island Marine Park Project (which enjoys a lot of donor support!) we would like to inform your readers that the Chumbe Reef Sanctuary in Zanzibar was finally gazetted as such on December 24 1994 and has thus become Tanzania’s first marine park.

Our project unfortunately receives little publicity through the government and donor community as it is based on a private initiative and is still to a large extent funded privately. Though our work is non-commercial, CHICOP had to be registered as a Ltd. company as there existed no legal base for NGO’s in Zanzibar before the end of 1995. We now try to get much needed donor support but may be affected by most donors1 reluctance to get involved in Zanzibar at this stage.

Visitors are welcome on Chumbe island to enjoy the nature trails in the forest, climb up the historical lighthouse built by the British in 1904 and, above all, snorkel in one of the most amazing and well preserved reefs in East Africa! Sibylle Riemiller (Managing Director)
CHICOP. P 0 Box 3203. Zanzibar.

BILHARZIA
On page 18 of TA No. 54 you mentioned TANNOL HOLDINGS and their Mr. John Mole in connection with bilharzia. I know quite a lot about bilharzia and would be obliged if you could let me know how to get in touch with him.
E G Pike. Oxford

Regret have mislaid address. Over to you Mr Mole – Editor.

MORE EXCITEMENT THAN ANTICIPATED

Two parties of British visitors had unpleasant experiences during recent visits to Tanzania. Founder of a school link between Cumberland and Rungwe, Roger Shipton-Smith, told TA that while his group were staying at the Lutengano Secondary School near Tukuyu the adult leaders of the group were awakened at 1.30 am by a loud crash when four men armed with a sawn-off shotgun, a pistol and knives invaded the room. “Give us money” they demanded. While each victim was forced to lie in bed the robbers then helped themselves in a leisurely way to money, wallets, boots, hats, and cameras. Mr Shipton Smith praised the action of the police who rapidly put up a roadblock and within the hour three of the raiders had been caught; later they got the fourth one too. Next day people walked in from all over the district to offer sympathy. Mrs Josie McCormack who is connected with the Redditch ‘One World’ link with Mtwara told TA that she was bruised and lost her handbag and glasses when she was knocked down by a mugger while walking in Mtwara in broad daylight.

NEIGHBOURS ENVY, TANZANIA’S PRIDE

This was the heading of an article by Ajay Jha in the ‘Express’ on July 25. It began: ‘What does one get when vision, capital, state of the art technology and good administration are blended in the right proportions? Serengeti beer of course.

Way back in 1988 when Tanzania was still experiencing hangover of the socialist brew … a local businessman responding to the name of Meghani was dreaming of setting up a private sector brewery …. the fermentation of the dream took nearly six years. And when it ultimately hit the market as Serengeti Lager Beer about a month ago it was lapped up by connoisseurs like the proverbial hot cake. … the investment is something like $6 million and the installed capacity is 70,000 bottles per day. The plant is in Changombe. The beer is pure barley which is fermented at specific temperatures. No alcohol or sugar is added. Malt comes from France; hops come from Germany ‘.

CURSORY COVERAGE
I wish to register my concern about the cursory coverage in the Britain Tanzania Society publications of ‘Africa: Art of a Continent’ (Royal Academy of Arts; hereafter RA) and the larger ‘Africa 95’ season held in the autumn to celebrate the contemporary arts of Africa. I appreciate that the review in Tanzanian Affairs No. 53 and the announcement in Newsletter No 102 for the RA’s ‘Africa: Art of a Continent’ exhibition were intended to be brief. However, even brief reports have a responsibility to convey some sense of the occasion and its content, which, in this instance, would include a choice of words informing readers of current approaches to the arts of Africa because this was the rationale of the season. Specifically, I am referring to the misuse of ‘artefact’ and ‘primitive’ with reference to the exhibition ‘Africa: Art of a Continent’. The Academy position is that ‘if an object is displayed in the RA galleries it is art’. This was restated as an aim of the show – to collapse the 19th century Western distinction between art and artefact (first advocated with regard to African objects in 1927 by British Museum curator Emil Torday, known for his study of the Kuba). In art historical studies ‘primitive’ (often with a capital P as in Primitivism’) refers specifically to European early 20th century works which were inspired by the art of Oceania and Africa (the most cited example is Picasso’s ‘Demoiselles’). To describe a 1.6 m tool made by a proto-human as ‘primitive1 or ‘simple1 was redundant/unnecessary. What I am suggesting, however, is that even using the word ‘primitive1 in the context of African art casts a negative shadow of prejudgement because the term is always pejorative when used in reference to African art and usually is inaccurate – very few works are naive or unintentional.

The Africa195 season featured modern art from Africa in nearly 50 events. Tanzanian artists had work in three key London shows: George Lilanga di Nyama at the Crafts Council, Sam Ntiro at the Whitechapel Art Gallery and Fatma Abdullah at the Barbican Art Gallery though Tanzania did not feature in any of the titles. Indeed, comparisons afforded by the season, may offer insight into why the contemporary arts, especially, the visual arts have been and are so underdeveloped there. Africaf95 was conceived, in the first instance, as a counterweight to the historical blockbuster show ‘Africa: Art of a Continent’, largely because the curator, Tom Phillips’ notion of ‘historical’ was ‘pre colonial’, ostensibly ending in 1900. This was long before the modern Makonde movement started, so it could not by definition be included in the RA show. However, the diversity of ethnic Makonde works on display there were fascinating and one wonders to what extent they are precursors for the modern styles (previously displayed in Oxford in 1989).

‘Africa: Art of a Continent’ was arranged by regions in part to decrease reliance on categories like ethnicity and nation that are, if you think about it, European colonial inventions. East Africa included works by ethnic groups living in Tanzania and by groups who live across boundaries with Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Zaire and Zambia e.g. most Makonde works are cited as Mozambique/Tanzania. In these circumstances it is not easy to take a numerical reading for a single country, though I counted 29 for Tanzania. These included two examples of Swahili carving: a bao game board and a door frame (omitted in the TA review); both kinds of carving are on the increase today. A major problem with the RA labelling is that no indication was given as to the continuity of traditions. There are many quibbles with ‘Africa: Art of Continent’ (aired in many reviews) but none takes away the fact that the RA created a watershed event for world art that was very well attended by the British public (crowds for four months, with the most wonderful responses from school children, simply inspiring). I hope members saw it despite the BTS blurbs! In general, the season’s approach focused on the artist or maker rather than the nation, or another unit of organisation which, in some cases, was a region, institution or movement; I mention this because it has implications for the Britain- Tanzania Society and how it views itself and whether this is too narrow for today’s world. Elsbeth Court

EBONY CARVINGS
In TA No 53 Christine Lawrence writes about ‘Africa: The Art of a Continent1: ‘Makonde ebony carvings are totally absent….’ I always understood that Makonde carvings are in African Blackwood or Dalbergia – this is the wood that is used for clarinet making. Ebony is from another tree (Diospyros) which belongs to another family. Maybe you can consult an expert on Makonde carving. Brian Harris

DECOLONISATION AND MULTI-RACIALISM IN TANGANYIKA
Having enjoyed reading Tanzanian Affairs for over 14 years, particularly its historical articles, I would like to ask if any readers would be willing to volunteer to participate in research on: ‘Decolonisation and Multi-racialism in Tanganyika; Witnesses Recollections’.

The 1950’s was a decade of radical attitudinal change. This study will rely on primary and secondary material dealing with the period as well as solicit an array of open-ended testimonies from people resident in the country at that time. I would be grateful to anyone who lived in Tanganyika for any length of time during the years 1945 to 1961 to send me their recollections, both their observations and their own opinions and attitudes towards one or another of the changes that occurred then.

While I look forward to receiving the views of people who worked in government or were politically active, this survey is by no means targeted at them. The only specification is that an informant lived through decolonisation in Tanganyika. I am hoping that both men and women will respond so I can compare responses to determine if gender was a demarcator of attitudinal differences.

There is no set format for your response. You are merely invited to submit your memories about the social and political changes that took place in the run-up to independence. Anecdotes are welcome. The length of your reply is up to you, ranging from a paragraph to a full essay. Anyone who wishes to be anonymous, is welcome to do so but in that case it would be helpful if you identified your gender, and your occupation and location of residence in Tanganyika. In the event of publication, if I were to quote from your correspondence, I would seek your permission in writing before hand. The following is a list of some of the public issues arising during that period which may jog your memory: race relations, African education and meritocracy, Local Government vs Native Authorities, TANU, peasant politics, rural land alienation, settlers1 interests, public disorder, the role of civil servants in political change, Africanisation of the civil service, criteria for citizenship, economic development.
Dr. Deborah Fahy Bryceson African Studies Centre, P 0 Box 9555 RB Leiden, The Netherlands.

‘RUFIJI’
I would like to comment on the short article in the last issue entitled ‘Three Ton Vermin1, being an extract from the Tanganyika Standard’ in 1946. This concerns a fisherman chest high in water (I assume he was in the River Rufiji) who was savaged to death by a hippo which was shot three days later by a Mr. A E Barker of Muhoro. I feel sure that this must have been De La Bere Barker, who, when I lived in Dar es Salaam, (1956-62), he lived in Muhoro and I often saw him in Dar – a tall, rather eccentric type of person, dressed in bush-type clothing with a double terai bush hat followed by an African lady carrying a couple of ‘kikapus’ with the shopping.
He was a fairly well known figure in the Dar area and was known by his adopted name of ‘Rufiji’ . He was the author of a number of books of short stories about the bush area where he lived, and gave regular weekly broadcasts on similar subjects, in Swahili over the Tanganyika Broadcasting system – certainly one of the characters of the Colonial area. Ronald W Nunns Adelaide Australia

VIDEOS ON BUSES
My wife and I have just made a short trip to Tanzania. It was our first visit since we moved to Rwanda in 1993 and were subsequently engulfed in that country’s civil war and its tragic consequences.
The purpose of this letter is to express our appreciation of the reception we received both from Tanzanians and expatriates. After the horrors of Rwanda it was a delight to be with people who were gentle and peace-loving. We had only one significant disappointment – the videos on the buses! We were travelling on public transport and had hoped to divide our time on the bus between admiring the scenery and talking to fellow passengers. In fact, neither proved practicable because of the videos, most of them noisy and extremely violent and some containing obscene language. It seems sad and insulting that Tanzanians should be exposed to this. The videos seem to be fairly popular with passengers. In a country like Tanzania, where education is much prized, is it not possible for the British Council, USAID or some other organisation to provide better quality informative material? Might there be a role for the Britain-Tanzania Society? I should be interested in comments, particularly from Tanzanians.
John E Cooper, National Avian Research Centre P 0 Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

AN EARLIER ELECTION
Your diary of the 1995 Tanzanian elections prompted recollection of Tanganyika’s first general election in 1960. Very few parliamentary seats were contested and TANU nominees were generally returned unopposed. Ukerewe, where I was the District Commissioner and Returning Officer (my wife typed the electoral role) was one of the few exceptions. The TANU candidate was Nicas Buhatwa and Joseph Mafuru boldly stood as an independent. Then the Local TANU branch officials claimed that several of the signatures on Joseph Mafuru’s nomination papers had been forged. The matter was followed up by Daudi Amri, our local Assistant Superintendent of Police, and a Resident Magistrate, Geoffrey Hill, hastened across from Mwanza, found Joseph Mafuru guilty and sentenced him to a short term of imprisonment, to be postponed until after the election.

Logic suggests that, at this point, Joseph Mafuru , having no intention of appealing, the election process might nave been halted and, in due course, Nicas Buhatwa returned unopposed. But legislation made no provision for this and the election had to go ahead. Had Joseph Mafuru been elected he would then have been disqualified and Nicas Buhatwa declared the winner. Nicas Buhatwa did win but the independent candidate took between a quarter and a third of the votes cast. After the count I was accused by TANU of rigging the election because Joseph Mafuru had got so many votes and by the opposition candidate because he hadn’t won! Don Barton

Thank you all those who have written from around the world to congratulate me on the election results issue of Tanzanian Affairs. Sorry it will not be possible to thank individually the writers of these letters but it was nice to receive them – best wishes from your swollen-headed editor!

LAETOLI FOOTPRINTS
In response to the letter in Tanzanian Affairs in May 1995 concerning the preservation of the 3.6 million years old Laetoli footprints, the Getty Conservation Institute in California wrote to me on 15/9/95 as follows: ‘Considerable thought has been given to the matter of reburying the footprints. Both the Antiquities Unit of Tanzania and the Getty Conservation Institute support the opinion that leaving the trackway open for visitation is impossible in the present situation. This is due to logistical difficulties and restricted accessibility as well as the limited financial capability of the Antiquities Unit. We consider reburial the most viable long-term preservation measure for the trackway, and have designed it to be easily reversible should the decision be taken one day to present the site to the public.

The possibility of removing the 30 meter long track and displaying it in the National Museum in Dar es Salaam was also considered but there were serious practical objections. It would also be against the conservation ethic which seeks to preserve sites in their original context. The prints were impressed in volcanic ash from the Sadiman volcano, 20kms away. They were buried under 30 metres of ash until, in the course of time, they became briefly exposed and were discovered by Mary Leakey in 1978. It is intriguing to speculate what our ancestors (a man, woman and child possibly) were doing as they walked in a hurry through the raining ash’. I am reassured that the Getty Conservation Institute and the Tanzanian Government have made the right decision for the time being.
Christine Lawrence

PROOF READER NEEDED
I have received recently the latest issue of ‘Tanzanian Affairs’. Included in the obituary notices is one referring to my late husband, Robert Paterson, in which his Tanzanian service is listed as being from 1974-60 (sic). Perhaps you need a proof reader! The surname Paterson is incorrectly spelt, and has one ‘T’ only. His term of service extended from 1947 to 1962. It included periods as DC Biharamulo, DC Ukerewe (during which time, if I remember rightly, you yourself served in Musoma), and included two terms at the Secretariat as well as being DC Kisarawe in between these two terms. I feel sure that you will wish to correct your notice at some future date.
(Mrs) C.O. Paterson

(I was very sorry to learn of your husband’s death, and apologise for the errors to which you draw my attention. You are correct in saying that I need a proof reader. A volunteer would be more than welcome – Editor).

SURPRISES
Recently I had two experiences which may be of interest to your readers. In a bar in Newcastle I was informed by the barman that a man who was also present was from the Kilimanjaro area of Tanzania. I greeted him formally in Kichagga. He was so surprised that he nearly dropped his glass of beer!. The man said that, as he was born after Uhuru, I was the first European he had met who could speak Kichagga. until Uhuru I commanded Field Force units in Moshi, Mwanza and Tanga.

Travelling by train from London to Newcastle on another occasion an elderly European couple suddenly started speaking to each other in Kiswahili. As their conversation was obviously meant to be private I interrupted and said, in Kiswahili “How nice to hear Kiswahili spoken again but I must point out that you are being ungrammatical”. Their mouths fell open with surprise. The man was a retired Director of Education in Kenya and whenever they wished to speak privately they always used Kiswahili. In the past thirty years they had never encountered anyone who had understood what they were saying.
R Hodgson

OLD NOTES AND COINS
I am a local businessman here in Musoma and I have in my possession a number of coins and bills issued in East Africa of which I would like to know the value. I am hoping that among your readers there might be someone who might send me information on this.
* Two 20 shilling Bills (in very good condition) from the East African Currency Board with the amount written in English, Kiswahili and Arabic with illustrations including a dhow, cotton, coffee and sisal and a watermark of a rhinoceros. No date is written but it must be Ca 1950.
* Bill from the Bank of Tanzania ‘Legal tender for twenty shillings’. One side has a picture of a young Nyerere and a national emblem ‘Umoja na Uhuru’. There is a giraffe watermark.
* Two 20 shilling Bills from ‘Benki ya Tanzania’ written completely in Kiswahili and with signatures from the ‘Waziri wa Fedha’ and ‘Gavana’. The pictures are of a man working in a textile factory and a cotton boIl. Also a 10-shilling smaller note with a picture of Mount Kilimanjaro.
* One Rupee ‘Deutsch Ostafrika’ coin (1906) with a picture of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the words ‘Guilelmus II Imperator’ and one ‘Eine Rupee Deutsch Ostafrikaanisch Gesellschaft’ 1892 with a picture of a lion and a palm tree and also the Kaiser. Both in fairly good condition.
* One shilling TANU 1978 ten-sided FAO Regional Conference for Africa coin with pictures of a tractor driven by a woman and ‘Rais wa Kwanza’ Nyerere.

Robert Kussaga
Box 1229, Musoma

LESOTHO AND TANZANIA
Your readers might be interested to hear some of my impressions when I recently attended celebrations at the Universities of Dar es Salaam and Lesotho. The Dar celebrations began with a sports bonanza on June 7 and culminated in a peak on July 1, the university’s Silver Jubilee anniversary. The fact that all my appointments did take place despite the shortness of the notice of my visit indicates a welcome efficiency in the management. Substantial expansion in the student enrolment is planned, this is feasible in terms of existing favourable staff:student ratios but may be difficult to achieve in terms of the physical infrastructure. New technology is here to stay – part of the anniversary exhibition was an impressive demonstration of the University Library’s CD-Rom facilities although the use made of these to date has been disappointing. The Faculty of Engineering is an honourable exception to this. In January, I had attended the celebrations by the National university of Lesotho – as a consultant to the Association of African Universities – of its Golden Jubilee. There was a substantial difference between the two occasions. At the Lesotho celebrations many other universities and donor organisations were involved. The Dar es Salaam celebrations were very much a national affair. I cannot help wondering whether the presence of people from abroad at the fund-raising dinner and dance in Dar es Salaam and the following day’s ceremonies might not have been beneficial.
John Theakstone
Consultant in Higher Education Management and Gender Planning

FOOTPRINTS
It was stated in The Times on 24/12/94 that ‘the world’s earliest footprints are to be preserved in a joint effort by the J Paul Getty Trust and the government of Tanzania … Over the next two years the tracks will be exposed, stabilised and buried again’.

I feel it is a great pity that the footprints have to be buried. Is it not possible, in these days of scientific ingenuity, that the prints could be somehow protected enough to remain visible to all who would like to gaze at them and marvel at this evidence of our ancestors 3.6 million years ago. I realise that possible tourist damage and the activities of over keen archaeologists would have to be guarded against, but I wonder if enough thought has been given to the matter.
Christine Lawrence

HISTORICAL DICTIONARY
I am at present working on the second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Tanzania for Scarecrow Press. As I would like to include an entry on the Britain-Tanzania Society I was hoping you could provide me with some information about your society.. . . . .I would also like to know when the Bulletin of Tanzanian Affairs started publication as I want to include it in the periodicals list.
Thomas Ofcansky
Arlington, Virginia, USA

THE NAME OF A MOUNTAIN
Thanks to Mr Duff for his response to my letter concerning the Morogoro mountain Mguru (ya) ndege. I should like to know more about the ‘upupu’ (macuna bean) which deterred people from hillwalking In the Morogoro region. Could this plant be the source of the penetrating thorns which dogged our ascent and which are still embedded in my hiking socks to this day?

It was intriguing to learn the local belief that Mindu was the home of a large snake. My ascent of Mindu in 1992 revealed no such serpent but future climbers should not assume that there are no snakes on this mountain. My father and colleagues at Sokoine University reported a number of species of snakes on and around her slopes and indeed, from time to time, reptiles found at the university were released there. Perhaps your readers could also throw light on the name ‘mafiga’, a village not far from Mindu and my parents’ home from 1991-93. We learned two theories as to how it earned this name which in Kiswahili means the three stones for supporting a cooking pot. First, the village was said to be a popular place for collecting good cooking stones which did not crack in the heat of a fire. Second, it is positioned between three mountains (Mindu, Mguru ndege and the Ulugurus), each apparently representing one of three stones of a giant mafiga. Or is there an entirely different explanation?
Max Cooper

THE NAME OF A MOUNTAIN
Re the article in Bulletin No 48 about the mountain, I thought you might wish to know that between 1943 and 1961 I was able to gaze from four different houses over Morogoro and the Wami plains and the three northern outcrops of the Uluguru mountains: Mindu, Igala and Nguru ya Ndege. The last was the name given to the most northerly of the three by the local people and by the 1:50,000 Ordanance Survey map; not Mguru as in Maxwell Cooper’s fascinating letter.

‘Nguru’ could have slipped into use by association with the Nguru mountains, about 60 miles North of Morogoro. Or it could be a Kiluguru form of ‘Nguu’ (Summit in Swahili) which would probably be pronounced ‘Ngulu ya Ndege’. Or again a variant of ‘mguu’ (foot).

I never heard tell of Cooper’s stories but there was, among hill Waluguru and townsfolk alike, a strongly believed tradition that Mindu, the hill nearest to Morogoro and itself well over 3,000 feet, was the home of a large and malignant snake. There was no enthusiasm for an expedition up Mindu, although so near, mainly because by the dry season, when the hill could be more easily tackled, the area was defended by ‘upupu’, the Macuna bean. Those of your readers who have been attacked by this beast will understand the general reluctance. But full marks to Maxwell Cooper for his initiative.
Patrick Duff

Thank you for including my son’s letter ‘The Name of a Mountain’ in the May issue of the Bulletin. However, you omitted the all important word ‘ndege’ (Mguu Ndege) from the name of the mountain. You also gave our Rwandan address and it will not be possible to contact us in Rwanda for some time. Our current address is 8 Sotchel Green, Pewsey, Wilts SN9 5AU. Also please note that the letter was from three persons – Maxwell Cooper, Livio Zill and John E Cooper.
J E Cooper

THE NEED TO KNOW MORE
There were a number of items in the last issue on which I think readers would like to have known more. For example the recall at short notice of Mr Anthony Nyakyi from his post as ambassador to the United Nations. One wonders what the reasons could have been. The fascinating article on John Okello leaves us in midair. What happened to him eventually? On the issue of mines laid by Tanzanian troops in Mozambique you wrote that no maps were left behind when Tanzanian forces left the country. Surely Tanzania was not so irresponsible as to sow land mines in a foreign country without making a record of where they were positioned. In the article on child labour and in other articles earlier I notice your tendency to convert sums given in Tanzanian shillings into US dollars. Would it not be more appropriate, as this is a publication of the Britain-Tanzania Society, to give the equivalents in pounds sterling?
Paul Marchant

Concerning Mr Nyakyi the Tanzanian High Commission tells us that his contract ended in April this year and he returned home at that time. Stories to the contrary in the media were incorrect. Perhaps readers can help on the later career of John Okello. No information is available on the mines. On the matter of currencies, your point is taken but the Bulletin is read in more the 20 countries around the world, in many of which the dollar is the better understood currency – Editor.

FISHING SMACKS
You recently published an article by my son Benjamin on his Rufiji expedition. He is now back in Tanzania researching into the use of sail compared with power for fishing as so many of the fishing boats are unable to be used because of lack of spare parts etc. They are just starting to build their first wooden boat – English fishing smack design…. If you were to know of anyone going to Tanzania who could take things out to them (unusual things connected with the work) I would be most grateful.
Clare Freeth, Woddgate Farm, Borden,
Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8JX