Trip to Bujora, museum of the Sukuma tribal region

The Easter break was an excellent opportunity to explore the region neighboring Mwanza, but where were we to go? Adrian asked his graduate students for suggestions, and some mentioned a regional museum dedicated to what was once the dominant tribe of the area, the Sukuma. Most people in Mwanza and at the university speak Swahili, but the Sukuma are the largest tribe in Tanzania. But we are not so much aware of tribalism and tribal distinctives here as we were in Nigeria. So we decided this would be a very good way to discover something of the local history and see as well how the people of  Tanzania lived during the pre-colonial period. 

Sign for the Sukuma Museum

One of Adrian’s students, Pascal, was interested in visiting this museum himself; so together with Albert, his former fellow student, who is now teaching at SAUT, we took off in Albert’s vehicle, heading for Bujora, about a half hour ride east of Mwanza. Once we left the highway we found that the “short distance” to the museum (according to our guidebook to Tanzania), was a few kilometers, and we were glad we did not have to walk that part, since most of it was uphill. The museum, and particularly its chapel, was built on the highest ground in this region. The museum itself was established in 1954 by a Canadian priest, Fr. David Clement, together with local committees to help preserve some of the local culture. At the time, Bujora was a forest, an area known for violent death, whether from predatory animals or from tribal groups who specialized in twisting the necks of their victims.

A prominent feature of the museum, a map of the area, once dominated by the Sukuma and its various subordinate kingdoms. Bujora, the location of the museum, is directly east of Mwanza; the town is not marked, but identified by the end of the railway tracks on the water. Our university is located in the area to the southwest of Mwanza, labeled Negeji (Nyegezi is the name today).

The chapel, a central focus on the grounds of the museum

The community worshiping on the grounds was practicing for the Maundy Thursday services to be held later that day. The singing, typical of Catholic services in East Africa, formed a lovely backdrop for our visit. 

This museum was built by the Roman Catholic Church, which began work in converting the tribe over the last 100 or more years. The chapel, built in the shape of a traditional tribal house (though much bigger than such a hut!) represents the heart of this open-air museum. We noticed it before we saw any other parts of the museum, since it took a little while to locate our guide.

View inside the chapel; the altar also incorporates traditional shapes

A special feature for a Catholic chapel is the container and cupboard to keep the reserved host. In this chapel the container had been built, on a smaller scale, of course, as a typical two-storey royal residence, as below.

The royal pavilion, for the chief or king of the tribe; it is also designed in the shape of a royal throne

Pascal, modeling the king, with attributes of royalty, especially his feathered crown and shield

The wooden throne for the king was carved out of a single piece of wood. The smaller stools were of interest to us, because the shape is exactly like those still constructed and used by the Tiv of Nigeria; indeed the Tiv are a Bantu tribe, as are most of the tribes of Tanzania. But also of interest in this scene is the gameboard displayed here; although the rules are a bit more elaborate, the principle for the game is the same as that which we discovered as a favorite in the Philippines, where it is called “sunka.”

One of the prerogatives of royalty was to call the people to assembly, and for this purpose the drum was essential. The museum collected a number of drums, most of them are rather well preserved.

Our guide, Sylvester, was helpful in explaining the significance of what we saw, particularly the central importance of the drum, also featured at the signature exhibit marking the opening of the museum. 

Drums are important especially for traditional dances. As focal point for an annual dance competition at harvest time (June to August), the Dance pavilion at this museum was instrumental in keeping alive the traditional tribal dances. The competitions feature competing dance societies each trying to attract the largest crowds through innovative dance steps or props. The dances are performed with use of different implements (like those in farming); some use very distinctive clogs, and we noted dances which feature a python.

The skin of a python is used in dances. Even a live python is a favorite feature in some dances. Sylvester told us that a python is kept on the museum grounds for this purpose (although we did not get to see it).

Dancing with high clogs 

 

Wendy with plaque acknowledging donors for the construction of the dance pavilion. It was interesting for us to note that donations had come especially from Canadians. 

Aside from these central structures, the museum also featured items of everyday life.

A representative hut of the blacksmith

Some ironwork implements of the blacksmith 

Inside the family homestead of a representative of the tribe, containers for milking cows or goats, as well as containers for drinking

Pots for keeping water, and gourds used as ladles, or spoons

Especially interesting was the hut of a medicine man, or traditional healer, featuring photos of well-known medicine men, with their implements, like horns for medicinal ingredients.

More implements, a skin on which the sick could rest, and bracelets as amulets against danger and evil.

Outside the hut of the medicine man, shrines as replicas of huts for the ancestors, as the focus of prayer to the gods; as 'living-dead' the ancestors were to intercede with deity on behalf of the family.

A chicken coop used to protect chickens from predators

Ferry trip to Nansio, Ukerewe Island

We used the Easter break, a week without classes and teaching, to explore our surroundings here in Mwanza. One of the things we looked forward to doing was to take a ferry ride to one of the nearby islands on Lake Victoria. We had planned to take the ferry to one of the bigger islands, Ukerewe, on Tuesday, but that morning it was raining so hard that we decided to postpone the trip a day or more. For Wednesday we had expected a visit from some colleagues, but when that fell through decided to go ahead with the ferry even though it was raining a bit in the morning. So we packed a picnic lunch and headed for the docks early in the morning, to catch the 9 am ferry.

It was rather overcast leaving Mwanza, but the rain had stopped

It was a passenger boat with no vehicles, so the loading did not take long. We were off; we sailed for quite a while with land and/or islands on both sides. Lake Victoria is a huge lake, but we were always within sight of land. Yet there were times when we saw mostly water on the horizon.

Some of these islands looked habitable. 

But this one had the same kind of bare rock formation which we find all around Mwanza; in fact, it reminds us of the rocky outcroppings around Jos in Nigeria. 

The trip took about three hours; it was pretty slow, actually, so we could enjoy just being out on the lake, seeing the islands around us and other boats out on the lake.

These sailboats are used for fishing, which is main industry on lake

We rode on the upper deck of the ferry, so we remained protected from rain or sunshine.

Wendy at our table on the upper deck

In fact, the day cleared, and by noon the sun was shining. By 12.15 we arrived at our destination, Nansio, not a very big town.

Approaching Nansio

After reserving tickets for the return trip we took a walk into town. We did not have much time - loading for the return trip was at 1.30 - but we also found there was not that much to see, certainly without taking a taxi and going to one of the resorts of which we had read; the town was as 'scruffy' as the tour book said it was. Most of the picnic ingredients we had taken were already exhausted by our arrival at Nansio, so we were happy to find a fairly decent small restaurant. It was clean, and the food arrived within five minutes of ordering. So we had our warm meal. When we returned to the ferry, going back with the same one on which we arrived, we found out that food had been prepared for the passengers (2 pm. is the normal time for lunch here).

Adrian, after lunch, ready to board ferry for return trip

The return trip took about the same amount of time as the trip going. As we went, it got more sunny, so the lake looked different, the water was more blue.

Leaving Nansio

Adrian on board, a relaxing day

People even sat on deck during the return trip

Rocky coastline

Near Mwanza

Views of Mwanza from the lake

Bismarck rock, seen from the lake 

We got back to Mwanza just after 5 pm. We were exhausted - from what? sitting? But we found the trip worthwhile, expanding our horizons just a bit, especially since the lake is certainly the dominant and most interesting feature of Mwanza. For trivia lovers, it is the second largest freshwater lake in the world.

Teaching in Tanzania

We want to begin by wishing all of you a happy Easter. Today is a holiday here and thus we have a one week break from teaching (that started last Tuesday, so classes begin again tomorrow).

This time we want to share some reflections on our teaching here in Tanzania. Although the teaching itself does not differ greatly from our work in Nigeria, the context is certainly different, and that impacts our relationship with students, and our methods as well. 

Chapel on Malimbe campus

Plaque commemorating founding of SAUT as a university in 1999 (before that it was Nyegezi Social Institute)

To begin, we realize that a big difference between our work here in Tanzania and in Nigeria is the factor of language. As in Nigeria, English is the medium of instruction, but outside of class, Swahili, the national language, is used almost exclusively by both faculty and students. If competence in English left much to be desired for Nigerian students, we find that Tanzanian students, for the most part, have at least a passive acquaintance with the language. Many students in both countries find it difficult to write well in English, largely because they do not read enough good books and articles. The library, here, as in Jos, is not adequate even for undergraduate, much less graduate students. Yet SAUT is commited to building a decent library, certainly by African standards. The new library building indicates that.

Entrance to library

New library building

No bags are allowed into the library, but books disappear anyway

Students studying in the library

Our students at SAUT are also more shy than in Nigeria. They are not so ready to offer answers when a question is raised. Perhaps the context has its impact, because Wendy's class in introductory philosophy is large: 122 students in all. But they do have a chance to talk when the Friday tutorial is given. A course typically meets three hours per week. While two hours are devoted to lectures, the third hour involves ‘tutorials.’ Students are divided into small groups for discussion. But we have discovered that such group discussions spill over outside the classroom. The campus is dotted with groups of students comparing notes, explaining the lecture materials to each other. To judge by these groups, students here seem more committed to their studies than those in Nigeria.

Wendy talking to students in a discussion group

One of about ten discussion groups in her class

 

Discussion groups can be found all over the campus

Adrian's graduate course in the “History of Political Ideas” has fourteen MA students, a fairly typical size for a class at that level. Again he uses the two-hour period to lecture; in the tutorial hour students read and discuss portions of texts of major political philosophers. He has discovered that his students are not used to this kind of intensive reading. They have never been exposed to reading either Plato or Aristotle, or any other major authors introduced; and they have little or no background in philosophy to prepare them for the challenge. Students who have graduated from SAUT have had as least two required philosophy courses: the introductory course that Wendy is now teaching and a course in logic. But students who graduated from other Tanzanian universities were not required to take any philosophy courses. At SAUT, the philosophy program will soon be expanded; the department is proposing a new BA in Philosophy for students in education which will have many more courses in philosophy. 

Adrian teaching his class

Wth about 6000 students, SAUT is already the largest private university in Tanzania and the second-largest overall. It appears that education was not a priority in Tanzania for the first years after independence, but that has changed in recent years. Universities are springing up out of the ground, as it were, and are scrambling to find enough lecturers. This is the reason why SAUT invited us. Each of us is teaching one course this semester, which is not unusual here, especially for foreigners. This leaves us time to learn a bit of Swahili and to finish some research projects.

As you can see in the photos below, the buildings are springing out of the ground to accommodate the new students expected each year. All these buildings, including the library, are very close to our house. This is the new campus of SAUT. 

The new administration building

 The new classroom building, with ten very large classrooms

One of the women's hostels, with Lake Victoria in the background; this hostel is across the road from our house

Prayer notes

"Your prayers and gifts to the poor have not gone unnoticed by God"

 (Acts 10.4).

1. We are grateful that so many prayers about our new work in Tanzania are being answered. We have very pleasant working relationships with colleagues in administration, and more particularly in philosophy. Although students use Swahili almost all the time, except for lectures, we find we are managing to get around with what little we know, with gestures and other forms of communication, which work fine when there is goodwill.

2.  We are thankful for the opportunity we had to visit Jos and meet with our graduate students in January and to encourage them in their work. There was some unrest at the time, but reports we have received indicate that things are calming down. Please continue to pray with us for an end to the violence and for true peace for Jos. But last week IICS colleagues who live a few hours driving distance outside of Jos experienced armed robbery; please pray for the Lotzgesells as they cope with the trauma and loss. 

3. We are thankful for the safety in travel we have experienced these last weeks, both internationally and locally. Here in Tanzania we do not have a car, and get around in public mini-buses, which are great for getting us back and forth to the campus from Mwanza for visits, shopping, etc. Please pray for our safety on local transportation.

4. When we first arrived, we were warned that mail by regular post might not get through; but over the past two weeks we have received a number of pieces of mail! On campus we are able to use internet, although it is rather slow much of the time (that's why we are using only our gmail accounts at this time). And our cell phones work fine here. Thank God with us for good communications. 

5. One of our concerns on arrival was to find a worshiping community. During these first weeks we visited some local churches; the singing is almost invariably beautiful, but the services are best described as loud and louder. So we are thankful that we found a local Anglican church which holds a traditional service; the attendance is not large, and the English service is sandwiched in between two services in Swahili which are much better attended. As a result the priest tends to hurry the service somewhat, but we are very thankful that we can understand what is going on! 

The Anglican church in Mwanza, where we worship on Sundays

Thank you for praying with us! 

The challenges of life at SAUT

We were spoiled during the first days of our stay in Mwanza! We experienced water coming from the taps every day, and the electricity being on almost nonstop. Yes, we were warned that we might experience some problems with water and electricity, but those brief interruptions were nothing compared with what has become the norm in Jos, where we talked about the hours when we actually had power, and when water did flow. Well, that wonderful situation did not last. But by the second week of our stay here, the situation went increasingly downhill. First, it was a day or two without water, although still not bad when compared to Jos, where we got water once a week at most. The difference is that in Jos we had large storage tanks for water, while here we only have a few pails of water to tide us over. So three days without water was the limit. During the second week one night without power was not so bad, but this time the power didn’t come back until the end of the day. People at the university explained that only the phase coming to our house was affected; the other phases, which include the women’s hostels across the road from our place, continued to have power. But last weekend we experienced a severe thunderstorm, which seems to have taken down some poles and wires and damaged a transformer. Our phase went out again, this time for a day and a half. We can live with candles for a day or so, and even get warm food at the student cafeteria, but to keep the food in the refrigerator from spoiling we finally brought it to a neighboring house which was not affected. The residents were gracious in even providing hot water for our thermos, so we could make tea on those mornings when we were without power. Our stove is half electrical and half with gas burners, which is ideal for our situation. Unfortunately, the gas tank had not yet been provided, so we were still dependent on electricity for cooking. 

The water tower being installed, concrete was poured around posts

None of these problems are insurmountable. University officials promised to help solve both the water and electrical problems. Already in the first week a tower for the water tank was deposited in the back yard, but it stood up side down there for a few weeks. No water tank was available, we were told; and the gas tank did not materialize either—it was difficult to find the right kind, apparently. But one day, a little over a week ago, the plumber came (there is only one for the whole university), together with his assistant, and they started working on the tower. They put it in place, and a few days later poured concrete around the four legs. “Tomorrow we will bring a water tank,” they promised. And, indeed, they did. It still took several days, but finally this past Friday, March 6, the installation was complete and water started flowing into the tank. Now all the water for the house is routed through the tank, which holds 1000 liters, and we find that water flows in our house, even when the water has been turned off; and we should have enough to cover the emergencies.

That Friday really was a banner day! While the plumber was putting the final touches on the water tank, our Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic, Mfumbusa, came by to deliver a gas tank, with a regulator and hose. He did not have the necessary clips to fasten the hose, so we had to go into Mwanza for that. It was not easy to find the right ones — only one hardware store carried them. But Adrian managed, and that evening we celebrated—to think that our immediate water and cooking-gas problems had been solved on one and the same day! Around supper time the power went off for a while, but it did not bother us much that evening, we were able to prepare our meal at home. We have heard of major problems looming in Tanzania’s provision of electricity, because the demand is more than the available supply, and some transformers which are needed are not available. Thus we are grateful that we will not be so vulnerable now, at least for cooking our meals. 

The newly delivered gas tank that still needed to be installed

The assistant plumber resting after a job well done

We have not managed to overcome all the challenges we face. There are still problems with the working of our cell phones, which is a common problem in Tanzania, as in Nigeria, with the system often overloaded; also with the internet, since we have to walk about half a kilometer to go to a computer room, but again, not insurmountable, though it does limit the opportunity for us to do email. We generally go early in the morning, when there are only a few students online. Later on in the day with heavier use it gets very slow. 

A flower and a bird can brighten our days here

Thus we do have our share of challenges in living here. The university personnel have been very helpful in solving such problems, however, even if it did take a few weeks. We continue to experience a warm reception here, and our teaching seems to be appreciated greatly.

Wendy in front of Bismark Rock, a local attraction

A bird perched not far from Bismark Rock