Author Archives
Tamie Davis
Tamie Davis is an Aussie living in Tanzania, writing at meetjesusatuni.com.
A lady turns up at our gate. She’d seen us at Mama Velo’s wedding near her home. She wasn’t a guest at the wedding and doesn’t know Mama Velo but somehow she’s tracked us down. She asks for money. Primary education is free in Tanzania, but all children require a […]
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
I mentioned in my brief timeline of the Ugogo region, that Mnyampala’s The Gogo: History, Customs and Traditions was commissioned by the colonial authorities. The introductory essay explains that the colonists were worried about the rise of nationalism, which could potentially throw them out, and so they commissioned studies like […]
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
As Advent season kicks off, we’ve been watching all the Christmas preparations that are going on in Australia. This is our first Christmas not in transition for 5 years and with Elliot growing up it’s a good opportunity to start thinking some more about our family Christmas traditions. Living cross-culturally […]
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Ugogo is the region of Tanzania that Dodoma is in – basically, it’s the middle bit. The people of Ugogo are called Wagogo (plural); one person is an mgogo. Recently I’ve read an English translation of Mathias E Mnyampala’s The Gogo: History, Customs and Traditions written in 1954. While much of […]
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Every year Arthur and I try to do some sort of marriage enrichment. We read a book or do a course or see a counsellor. It’s not the only thing we do to improve our relationship but it’s one thing that helps us to be pro-active about it.
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Our house mama approached me a few weeks ago to say she needed help to bake a cake. As it turned out, the cake was for her wedding and she wanted me to do it for her. I quickly discovered that the cake itself is not the big deal – […]
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Our house mama had something a bit like a second wedding this weekend. We were honoured to participate and excited to learn about this aspect of Tanzanian culture. Every wedding may not be exactly like this, but here’s some of what we observed:
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes