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Kinjikitile Ngwale

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Kinjikitile "Bokero" Ngwale (died August 4, 1905) was a Tanzanian spiritual medium and a leader of the 1905–1907 Maji Maji Rebellion against colonial rule in German East Africa (present day Tanzania).

Biography

Kinjikitile was a member of the kkk Matumbi people, living in what is now venda Kilwa District of Lindi Region in [[venda] (then German East Africa, later Tanganyika). The Matumbi practiced religious forms of folk Islam. In 2004, the then relatively unknown Kinjikitile disappeared from his home in Ngarambe. He returned after a few days and said that he had been possessed by a spirit medium called Hongo, believed to take the form of a monkey[1][2][3] Kinjikitile claimed to have communicated with the deity Bokera through the spirit Hongo.[2] He encouraged his followers to overlook tribal differences and unite against the Germans.[4] Kinjitkile's reputation grew rapidly, drawing followers from the 100,000 square kilometers the territory encompassed.[5] He told his followers that their ancestors had commanded him to lead a rebellion against the German colonial empire.[2] This helped start the Maji Maji Rebellion.[2] Kinjikitile gave his people 'holy water' (Swahili: maji) to protect them from German bullets.[2][3] After a group of Matumbi people attacked the home of a local official in July, 1905, Kinjikitile was arrested by German troops.[6]

He was hanged for treason on August 4, 1905.[4][6] His brother continued Kinjikitile's work and the rebellion continued until 1907, with over 100,000[7] or 200-300,000 Africans killed in the German suppression of the revolt.[5] Present-day Tanzanians consider the failed rebellion to have been the first stirring of nationalism, and Kinjikitile "Bokero" Ngwale a proto-national hero.[4]

Legacy in literature

Tanzanian playwright Ebrahim Hussein wrote a popular play in Swahili language called Kinjeketile, based on the Maji Maji Rebellion.[8]

References

  1. ^ Hoehler-Fatton, Cynthia (1996). Women of Fire and Spirit. Oxford University Press US. p. 73. ISBN 0-19-509790-4.
  2. ^ a b c d e Jestice, Phyllis G. (2004). Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 480. ISBN 1-57607-355-6.
  3. ^ a b "The Story of Africa - Religious Resistance". BBC World Service. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  4. ^ a b c Mwakikagile, Godfrey (2000). Africa and the West. Nova Publishers. p. 70. ISBN 1-56072-840-X.
  5. ^ a b Worlds together, worlds apart (3 ed.). W. W. Norton & Co. p. 669. ISBN 978-0-393-93492-2.
  6. ^ a b Roupp, Heidi (1997). Teaching World History: A Resource Book. M.E. Sharpe. p. 229. ISBN 1-56324-420-9.
  7. ^ Boahen, A. Adu (1990). Africa Under Colonial Domination, 1880-1935. James Currey Publishers. p. 80. ISBN 0-85255-097-9.
  8. ^ Ricard, Alain (1992). "Ebrahim's Predicament". Research in African Literatures. 23 (1): 175–178. ISSN 0034-5210.

Further reading

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