MajiMajiRebellion Maji-Maji uprising was called so because of the magic water (MajiyaUzima in swahilli) used by the army which was believed to neutralize German bullets. It was aninitiative by Prophet Kinji-Kiteli of the Matumbi. He had a belief and oracle interpretation that if the Africans sprinkled their bodies with magic water before going on the attack, it would turn German bullets harmless. This inspired people to rise up against the bad German administration.Maji-maji uprising has been considered by historians as the largest uprising against German colonial rule in Tanganyika. Maji-Maji uprising started among the people of river Rufigi valley but later it spread southwards from Songea to Lindi and from Dar-es-salaam to Kilosa in the North. The most active societies included the Matumbi, the Wangindo, the Ngoni, Uluguru, the Kichi, people of Lukuledi valley, Mahenge plateau, Kilombero valley and Uzaramo. Some societies which had already experienced uprising and defeat like the Hehe, the Chagga and Nyamwezi did not join the fighting
Causes of the Maji-Maji uprising 1. Colonialism was one of the major causes of uprising. People of Tanganyika hated the German administration and therefore wished to regain their lost political independence. 2. Heavy taxation policy was one of the causes of the uprising. The people of Tanganyika generally hated the German imposition of heavy taxes. 3. This was worsened by the harsh and brutal methods of tax collection. For example, those who failed to pay were severely tortured, imprisoned and their property was confiscated. Men were forced to move long distances looking for ivory, rubber, honey, wax to pay taxes. 4. Loss of fertile Land also led to the uprising. The Africans wished to regain their better-lost lands. The Germans had grabbed the better lands in Rufigi valley, Kilombero, Lukuledi, Mahenge plateau hence the Africans had been pushed to remote and unfavourable areas. 5. Maji- Maji uprising was also caused by forced labor. The Africans were forced to work on German construction projects like buildings, road, and railway networks as well as crop plantation. The methods of supervision were even too harsh. For example, they worked for long hours and they were paid little or no wages and could become severely beaten for not working. 6. Use of foreigners caused the MajiMaji uprising. The Germans used the Akidas and Jumbes who made their system so unpopular among the Africans. These were Arabs and Swahili chiefs who were imposed on the Africans communities to collect taxes and to mobilise labor for the Germans. These people were too harsh hence mistreated the Africans. 7. The need to maintain traditional customs resulted into the MajiMaji uprising. The German colonial administration did not have respect for the African traditional religions. Above all, the Matumbi and Wagindo blamed the German mercenaries and house-boys for raping their wives and daughters. 8. The effective leadership and organization abilities of prophet Kinjikitile inspired the Matumbi and the Wagindo to rebel. He even inspired high morale and fighting spirit in his followers by sprinkling magic water on people’s bodies before going to war. 9. The Maji-Maji uprising was also sparked off by the establishment of the large white cotton schemes in southern Tanganyika. People were forced against their will to work on the plantations yet under poor conditions and even the soils were not good. Hence forth, people were discouraged by the poor harvest despite the Germans insistence on production. 10. Africans were forced to grow cotton; people disliked it because of the following reasons: Firstly, cotton picking was too tiresome and boring as it had to be protected from wild pigs and birds. Secondly, cotton took long to grow so people took long to get the benefits and because of that people failed to produce foods hence famine occurred. Thirdly, Africans were paid poorly for their cotton harvests. 11. The cotton crop in 1905 registered poor harvest and people were not paid at all for their labor. This created discontent.
12. The coastal people hated competition with the Germans over trade in ivory and other goods. 13. Africans hated Christianity which conflicted with the traditional customs. The colonialists introduced Christianity that appeared more…..not well captured and explained… 14. Presence of magic waters gave a lot of false confidence to the Africans to declare an uprising. 15. Finally, German leaders had forcefully taken African women and girls as their wives. Women contracted Sexually Transmitted Diseases from Germans. This was absolutely disgusting to African men.