(Re) Negotiation Marginality

Abstract

One hundred years ago, various societies in German East Africa fought the Maji Maji war, mostly in the southern regions of the colony. Maji is the Kiswahili word for water and refers to the war medicine as well as the messianic message carried by messengers of the Bokero cult who spread the word of the need for resistance. The war, which commenced in July 1905 and in most areas ended as a military conflict in the following year, was chiefly directed against the German colonial presence, collaborators with the colonial state, and individuals perceived to be foreigners, such as coastal traders in the interior. The colonial authorities were particularly concerned about the southwest region …