Icelandic fiction: two reviews
Having never read even one book about Iceland before, this year I have read two historical fiction novels set in Iceland.
The Wagogo, colonialism and independence
Mnyampala notes that life for the Wagogo changed significantly with the coming of colonialism. Even naming is significant. Prior to colonialism, the inhabitants of Ugogo still primarily identified by clan; to speak of the Wagogo as a tribe was an artefact of colonial organisation and labelling. Aside from being drawn into European conflict […]
Life for the Wagogo
Continuing in our series on Mnyamapala’s The Gogo: History, Traditions and Customs, which was written in 1954 about the region where we now live… The Wagogo were not an ethnically pure tribe: there were the original Bantu migrants but lots of other people passed through Ugogo region for trade. On […]
What would you do with the lady at the gate?
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 […]
Mnyampala’s ‘The Gogo’ as an artefact of colonialism
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 […]
Opportunities of a cross-cultural Christmas
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 […]
The Gogo: History, Customs and Traditions
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 […]
Meet Jesus at uni 