Maji-maji

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Maji-Maji ( maji: Swahili for "water") was the name of the miracle water Kinjikitiles for the fight against the German protection force in the Maji-Maji uprising 1905–1907 in German East Africa .

It consisted of a mixture of water , corn and sorghum grains that you could drink, put on your neck in small containers or rub yourself with it. It was also simply poured over the head.

Depending on the area, the effects of Maji-Maji were adapted to the needs; it should help against war , hunger and displacement and victory , invulnerability , wealth , luck and much more. bring. In order not to destroy the supposed effectiveness of the medicine, the wearers of such containers had to comply with a large number of prohibitions. They were not allowed to turn around in battle, use medicine or magic other than maji-maji, eat certain foods, or have sexual intercourse as combatants before battle . The bans had numerous regional variants, which in principle could not all be adhered to. So there was always a reason if magic medicine should not work.

The so-called Bokero cult of the Matumbi was an important part of the Maji Maji cult . The cult knows a snake god named Bokero who, according to ancient Bantu myths, lives in the Pangani rapids of the Rufiji River. He contacts the outside world through the spirit Hongo , who needs a human medium that has the magical power of Lilingu .

Outside the Rufiji area, in Ulunguru , Bokero was also known as Kolelo . According to the belief, Kolelo was sent by the divine creator of the world ( Mungu ) to “put everything back in order that is corrupted here on earth”. Kolelo and Bokero are not visible to normal people and therefore need the Hongo.

Anyone who could prove his lilingu through extraordinary wisdom or great charisma and showed that he was possessed by a Hongo could have a major influence on the politics and religion of his ethnic group and possibly even the entire religious community.

This cult was the basis on which Kinjikitile built his Maji Maji cult in 1904.

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• Michael Schubert: The black stranger. The image of the black African in the parliamentary and journalistic colonial discussion in Germany from the 1870s to the 1930s . Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-5150-8267-0 , p. 224