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… Continue reading…
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… Continue reading…
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… Continue reading…
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… Continue reading…
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… Continue reading…
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… Continue reading…
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… Continue reading…
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… Continue reading…
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… Continue reading…
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… Continue reading…