Kathleen R. Smythe
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 […]
The Education of Fipa Girls 100 Years Ago [journal article review]
Fipa girls between the years 1894 and 1920 gained good educations, as well as a Catholic upbringing, at the Karema Mission Station in what was then called Tanganyika. While the Karema Mission Station was located along the shore of Lake Tanganyika just to the north of traditional Fipa territory, many of its students were drawn […]
Catholic Beliefs, Fipa Adaptations [book review]
The Catholic Church in the Tanzanian village of Chala is healthy and prosperous—but so are many traditional Fipa beliefs and practices that the church dislikes. Kathleen R. Smythe, an Associate Professor of history at Xavier University in Cincinnati, did field work in Chala between 1994 and 1996. She observed a flourishing congregation, Roman Catholic funds […]
