Mangi Meli

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Manga Meli called "Chief Meli" captured and killed by hanging for alleged particiating in an revolt agaist the "Deutsche Schutztruppe" in Old Moschi
Manga Meli

Mangi Meli (partly also Kiwusa , * 1866 ; † 1900 in Moschi , today Tanzania ) was a leader of the Chagga people .

Surname

The name is made up of Mangi for king and Meli ( Swahili for steam or mail ship ). Another name is Kiwusa , which can be translated as (human) crowd .

Life

Later chief Meli as boy standing next to Dr Hans Meyer visiting the Meli family before his Kilimanscharo ascent
Mangi Meli as a boy between his father and Dr. Hans Meyer during his stay in Moschi before climbing Kilimanjaro

Meli was the son of Chief Mandara , also known as Rindi in his old age, who gained power and influence from 1860 through the control of the caravan route south of Kilimanjaro and whose seat was his boma in Moschi. When the Germans expanded their influence from the East African coast inland in the 1880s, Mandara cooperated with them.

Mangi Meli became the leader of the Chagga in 1891 who live around the Kilimanjaro massif in Tanzania. Around the same time, a neighboring leader arranged a plot in which an African colonial soldier died in the area ruled by Mangi Meli.

The German colonial rulers, who controlled the area of ​​Tanzania at that time , demanded compensation, which, however, was rejected by Mangi Meli. In this context, the local Chagga warriors revolted against the German colonial power. With around 150 warriors armed with ignition lock rifles, the Chagga attacked the defending but better armed German protection force on June 10, 1892 in their garrison in Moschi, but were repulsed with great losses. The German Schutztruppe also suffered losses, and their scattered and partly destroyed grave slabs can still be found today in a field in front of the "Secondary School" that was newly built on the site of the old garrison. In August 1893 Mangi Meli was finally defeated by German troops, although he was subsequently allowed to continue to rule.

Death and conviction

Although Mangi Meli showed himself to be loyal to the German colonists, in 1900 the Germans accused him of plotting with other Chagga leaders. Other sources speak of an attempted raid on the Moshi military station. He and 18 other Chagga leaders were executed by hanging near Moshi. A short time later, the execution was viewed as a mistake and the person responsible, Captain Karl Johannes , was released from his responsibility.

1890 German Schutztruppe military base in Old Moschi.jpg
Contemporary photo of the Moschi garrison of the German protection force in German East Africa, ca.1890.
2014 Old Moshi former german administration building.jpg
Former administrative building of the German colonial administration at the place of execution of the Manga Meli in Moschi.
2014 Old Moschi in Tanzania, execution tree of Chief Meli with grave site.jpg
Minute of silence by German tourists at the grave of Manga Meli, which lies on the slope under the tree on which he was hanged. The branch (top right corner) on which it was hung has now been sawed off.
Nov. 1900 Old Moschi cover sheet for the colonial criminal record, penalty register.jpg
Cover sheet, Colonial Criminal Register German East Africa, No. 1067, to the Foreign Office.

It is believed that Mangi Meli's skull was subsequently severed and brought to Germany. It is also assumed that the skull is in a warehouse of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation . Not least against the background of the ritual significance of the skull, claims are made, but not from the official side of the government in Tanzania.

literature

  • Bartholomäus Grill: We gentlemen. Our racist heritage. A journey into German colonial history. Siedler Verlag, Berlin 2019.

Web links

Commons : Chief Meli  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Meli , in: Akyeampong, Emmanuel K. / Gates, Henry Louis Jr .: Dictionary of African Biography: Abach - Brand, Volume 1, p. 187.
  2. ↑ Hans Meyer : To the summit of Kilimanjaro , VEB FA Brockhaus Verlag, Leipzig 1989, ISBN 3-325-00207-2 , p. 69 f.
  3. ↑ a b Eckhard Schulz: In search of traces on Kilimanjaro. In: new Germany. January 29, 2005, accessed March 13, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Ronald Düker: A hundred glass beads for a head. In: Zeit Online. March 7, 2018, accessed March 13, 2018 .
  5. ↑ https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/aufteilung-des-deutschen-kolonialismus-auf-der-suche-nach.1013.de.html?dram:article_id=469909


personal data
SURNAME Meli, Mangi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kiwusa
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Leader of the Chagga people
DATE OF BIRTH 1866
DATE OF DEATH 1900
Place of death Moschi, Tanzania