Fipa
Agitation Continues Against Lodge in Tanzania
A tragedy this summer involving a pregnant Fipa woman who was denied permission by a fancy resort in Tanzania from seeking medical help and died as a result, continues to merit news coverage in Africa. The back story is that the woman was traveling with companions along the shore of Lake Tanganyika heading for a […]
More Agitation at Lake Tanganyika Resorts
A tragedy a month ago at an expensive American-owned tourist lodge on the coast of Lake Tanganyika, which resulted in the death of a pregnant Fipa woman and her fetus, is back in the news again—at least in Africa. New allegations against the lodge and the callous insensitivity of its staff reveal the depths of […]
A Tragedy in Tanzania Near an American Hotel
A pregnant Tanzanian woman and her unborn child, quite possibly Fipa people, died along the shore of Lake Tanganyika recently, and the grieving family is blaming the hostile attitudes of a tourist hotel owned by Americans. The story raises the quandaries of protecting the security of the rich when they relax in luxury amidst much […]
Kidnapped Albino Child Found
A depressing story early last March about a three year old albino Fipa boy being kidnapped from his grandmother’s home near Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania had a surprising, but happy, ending last week. The little boy was found safely, though the news had not gotten out for a year, probably to protect him. The story […]
Resolving a Conflict in East Africa
Effectively resolving conflicts is an essential ingredient of all peaceful societies, so an article in a leading Tanzanian newspaper last Thursday provides an interesting glimpse into the ways a village in the Fipa section of the country is handling a local dispute. The difficulty concerns a Mr. Said Mohammed, who has been harassing his neighbors […]
Fipa Vitality
Last Friday, AllAfrica.com, an important source of news about Africa, carried a story about the cultural diversity of the Rukwa Region of Tanzania, particularly the Fipa people—or Wafipa, as they are also called. An article by Willis (1989a) indicated that finger millet (Eleusine coracana) was the primary staple crop of the Fipa, but according to […]
Witchcraft Killings in Tanzania
Have the Fipa heard of Lucrezia Borgia, the Renaissance Italian woman who was rumored to have murdered people with poisons that she allegedly hid in her ring? In 1968, Roy Willis described the beliefs and practices of sorcery by the Fipa in a couple articles that provide useful clues to understanding their reactions to witchcraft, […]
A Woman Healer for the Fipa
To judge by the news last week from a village near Sumbawanga, in southwestern Tanzania, the practice of traditional healing continues to be an important aspect of the peaceful Fipa culture. Recent news from the Rukwa Region of Tanzania has covered other stories about traditional healers. Last year, a predatory healer attacked his victims with […]
Do Raised Bed Gardens Foster Peace?
In a 1989 article, Willis describes how the agriculture of the Ufipa Plateau, where the Fipa people live in southwestern Tanzania, may have been a factor in helping foster their peacefulness. Finger millet, he writes, was the staple crop. The people kept large numbers of cattle, chickens, goats, pigeons, and sheep, with the numbers of […]
Witchcraft in Rukwa
Witchcraft and traditional healing, long associated with the Fipa people of Tanzania despite their conversion to Catholicism over one hundred years ago, continue to intrigue other Tanzanians, and outside observers. Several police reports last week from the Rukwa Region of southwestern Tanzania, the traditional territory of the Fipa people, concerned the practice of witchcraft and […]
