Kalulu

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Kalulu in a suit

Ndugu M'Hali or Kalulu (* around 1865, † 1877 on the Lualaba River in the Congo) was the African servant and adopted son of Henry Morton Stanley . Although he died young, in his short life he visited Europe, America and the Seychelles . A book was dedicated to him, a model in Madame Tussauds, and he was at David Livingstone's funeral.

biography

M'Hali was born in Africa and became Henry Morton Stanley's favorite after getting him in Tabora , Tanzania . M'Hali was liberated and renamed by Stanley. Its original name "Ndugu M'Hali" meant "my friend's brother". Stanley played around with a number of names and eventually settled on Kalulu. Stanley said it meant "baby antelope", other sources translate it as "rabbit".

A picture of Kalulu and Stanley

Some have labeled Stanley and Kalulu's relationship as homosexual, but there is no firm evidence for this. After Stanley Dr. Livingstone found he returned to England and decided to take Kalulu with him. He was a constant companion of Stanley, and Stanley recorded Kalulu's reactions to new things. He commented on how well he was after drinking wine and how excited he was after trying mustard. He and other passengers on the train were amused when Kalulu complained that he found the ice cream too hot to eat. Stanley went on a lecture tour to America and Paris and Kalulu accompanied him. Stanley had business cards made with Kalulu in the background. In addition, in 1873 Stanley wrote and published a book entitled, "Kalulu, Prince, King and Slave". The book was seen as a homosexual love story and it describes a growing friendship between a character named Kalulu (an "Apollo") who is older than the real Kalulu and another boy named "Selim" (Stanley's translator in Africa was called Selim) .

Death of Kalulu - contemporary engraving

Kalulu dined with members of society and wore western clothing. He modeled a statue of himself at Madame Tussauds and as Dr. Livingstone died, he went on the funeral procession with Stanley.

Stanley was sent back to Africa on a mission sponsored by the London Daily Telegraph and the New York Herald as "Ambassador of the Two Great Powers." He was to bring an "army of peace and light" with him, and his servant Kalulu was part of it. Stanley was supposed to map Central Africa and report on the slave traders, Stanley had lectured on them while he was in England.

M'Hali died in Kalulu Falls on the Lualaba River (a tributary of the Congo ) when one of the expedition's canoes went over the waterfall. He and five others were killed. Stanley was shocked and renamed Livingstone Falls to Kalulu. Unlike many other places that were renamed by Stanley and renamed again after Stanley's death, Kalulu Falls was preserved.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Colonialism and homosexuality pp. 43-44 , Robert F. Aldrich, 2003, Routledge, accessed July 2010
  2. ^ Henry Morton Stanley , Princeton.edu, accessed July 2010
  3. ↑ Stanley , princeton.edu, accessed July 2010
personal data
SURNAME Kalulu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES M'Hali
BRIEF DESCRIPTION African servant and adopted son of Henry Morton Stanley
DATE OF BIRTH around 1865
DATE OF DEATH 1877
Place of death Congo