Fipa
Fipa Village Women Humiliate and Punish a Man
A young Fipa man was punished by the women of his village for the crime of verbally, and publicly, abusing his mother. The crimes he committed violated Fipa traditions, so the women disciplined him with harsh, traditional punishments of their own. The story was reported widely in the middle of last week in such African […]
The Fipa Confront Witchcraft
Nine women and 14 men in a village of Tanzania’s Rukwa Region were arrested last week for allegedly destroying the homes of other villagers whom they suspected of practicing witchcraft. Mr. George Kyando, the Rukwa Regional Police Commander, announced that the suspects in Kazila, a village in Mwazye Ward, Kalambo District of the Rukwa Region—in […]
Can Farming Foster Peace?
The agricultural productivity of the Ufipa Plateau in southwestern Tanzania may have helped prompt the Fipa in the region into forming a peaceful society. That was one of the conclusions reached by Roy Willis in his 1989 article “The ‘Peace Puzzle’ in Ufipa.” Because of its intriguing analysis of that society, the article is included […]
Do Fipa Parents Value Education?
Two news stories last week highlighted the challenges involved with educating children raised in Sumbawanga, the major city of Tanzania’s Rukwa Region and the traditional heartland of the Fipa people. The first article, published by the Daily News from Tanzania on January 15th, described the concerns officials have for the fact that local parents appear […]
Fipa Men Boil the Maize
The headline for the news report was arresting: “Rukwa Men Learning to Treat their Partners with Love.” A story from the Tanzania Daily News last week, reprinted by AllAfrica.com, describes the ways men in the Rukwa Region of Tanzania are treating their wives and how some of them are trying to improve. While the news […]
Witchcraft Violence among the Fipa [journal article review]
Accusing, and even killing, others because they are supposedly witches is a widespread plague in Africa, particularly in Tanzania. Many people in the homeland of the Fipa people—the Sumbawanga District in the Rukwa Region of that nation—claim the magical powers of witchcraft. Sometimes those supposed magical powers are used for beneficial purposes, proponents argue—to cure […]
Celebrations for Fipa Babies
A news story from Tanzania last week describes the celebrations that take place in a Fipa village when a woman gives birth to a baby. The article also provides information about the tragedy of maternal mortality in Tanzania’s Rukwa Region, an issue that news stories covered back in September. While the text of the news […]
Deaths of Pregnant Fipa Women
Stella Manyanya, the Regional Commissioner for Tanzania’s Rukwa Region, made a special plea last week for reducing the number of deaths of pregnant women. She issued her appeal to regional leaders at a meeting in the city of Sumbawanga, the historic center of the Fipa people—who traditionally had interesting ways of advancing the health of […]
Homeless Fipa Children
Out of 6,872 children living on the streets of Sumbawanga, well over half, 52.4 percent, are girls, according to a report a week ago from that municipality in southwestern Tanzania. Many of the people in the small city, located in the heart of the historic Ufipa territory, are of Fipa ancestry. The interest in the […]
Equality for Fipa Women
On Wednesday last week, the First Lady of Tanzania, Salma Kikwete, extolled the importance of education to over 1,000 girls at a school in Sumbawanga. The wife of President Jakaya Kikwete said that many young females have been dropping out of school due to pregnancies. She urged girls in the major city of the nation’s […]
