tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27923821393018724632026-01-20T14:15:36.945+03:00I blog what I observe around me, and I end up writing on a wide range of subjects including cultural tourism, customs and traditions, travel, and mountaineering. Specifically, what happens in and around the village of Butiama, the birthplace and final resting place of Tanzania's founding president, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.comBlogger624125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-68140910543359100622018-02-28T05:57:00.000+03:002018-02-28T05:59:22.314+03:00

32 years ago today Swedish Premier Olof Palme was assassinated. His murder remains unsolved. Palme was walking back from a cinema to ride a subway home after watching a film with his wife and was attacked by a lone gunman who immediately fled the scene. Numerous investigations have failed to solve the murder after an initial conviction of manslaughter of Christer Pettersson was

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-11121762300928572862017-12-27T18:06:00.000+03:002017-12-27T18:06:06.806+03:00

Former soccer player George Weah has won Liberia's elections, held on 26th December 2017. When I wrote about his possible political ambitions in 2008 it appeared to me that he placed a higher priority on his soccer career. George Tawlon Manneh Opong Ousman Weah is 51 years old and was FIFA Footballer of the Year in 1995. He also won the Ballon d'Or and was the first African to win these two

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-35322716031281498282017-11-15T11:29:00.002+03:002017-11-15T11:29:39.131+03:00

At the end of World War I the allied victors formed the League of Nations, later to become the United Nations, as part of the outcome of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The first session of the League of Nations was held in Geneva on this day, 97 years ago. The principal objective of the League of Nations was to maintain world peace, a quest that has remained elusive throughout. The

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-810480191524516872017-11-12T13:56:00.001+03:002017-11-12T14:06:07.894+03:00

This day, 37 years ago, NASA's Voyager I spacecraft approached Saturn and sent back images of the outer planet. Saturn from Voyager I. Photo: NASA The spacecrafts' statistics are mind-boggling: it has travelled through space for forty years and two months - and counting it's the spacecraft that has covered the farthest distance from Earth it became the first craft to enter interstellar space,

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-32625192431516484682017-10-11T01:10:00.000+03:002017-10-11T01:10:05.013+03:00

It's United Nations' International Day of the Girl Child today. It has been commemorated since 2011 through resolution 66/170 of the UN of 9th December 2011 and has been observed since October 2012. It is a day for reflecting on the plight faced by adolescent girls worldwide and the challenges that constrain their empowerment and human rights. **********************************************

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-64397619608707796592017-08-16T01:13:00.000+03:002017-08-16T01:13:00.175+03:00

Ever since Zanzibar merged with Tanganyika to form the United Republic Tanzania, there have been continuous discussions on the ideal structure of government. A two-government structure has remained in place since the union's inception on 26th April 1964 with a government for Zanzibar and a union government. Tanganyika's affairs were absolved into the union government machinery. Although Sheikh

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-51563218053107157772017-08-09T05:11:00.000+03:002017-08-09T09:18:15.098+03:00

Not until early this year did I learn of the existence of this language. Esperanto is a language you probably haven't heard about. I always thought of myself of being capable of identifying many of the world's most-spoken languages, but when a group of visitors showed up at Mwitongo in January I realized I had overestimated my capabilities. Through their own introductions I learnt that the

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-3445487333056633962017-08-02T01:54:00.000+03:002017-08-02T01:54:06.153+03:00

During rare moments a few times every year weather patterns over Butiama produce colourful images. It begins in the late afternoon with a dark rain cloud that hovers and moves slowly from a northerly direction towards the south. The cloud covers the sun, and a period of light rainfall begins, seen on the right edge of the photo. At a certain point, just before sunset, the sun drops below

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-61728851327982313062017-07-26T01:02:00.000+03:002017-07-26T01:02:05.346+03:00

This is one of numerous articles I wrote for the Sunday News (Tanzania) column "Letter from Butiama" between 2005 and 2011. Publication date: 2 July 2006. I posted it in this blog in 2013, but I felt it warranted being dug up from this blog's archives for readers who have not read it.                                

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-91438806727711212462017-07-19T16:21:00.000+03:002017-07-19T16:21:41.764+03:00

Not quite a long time ago, I would have failed to list the benefits of rising up early. Now, having tried it for a while, I find there are distinctive benefits to beginning the day when almost everyone else is asleep. My timeless Utopia was a world where the day extends to 30 hours, and the year to 16 months, enough to accomplish all my tasks. If a day on Earth was similar to a day on Pluto, my

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-74626230475241123882017-07-08T12:23:00.000+03:002017-07-08T12:23:13.086+03:00

Only a fool would take 1.2 billion shillings to a village. These are words quoted from an interview with Kenya's Deputy President, William Ruto. For some of us who have chosen to move back to the village, they are words that are, at the very least, disappointing, and at worst, offensive. Deputy President of Kenya, William Ruto (Photo: World Trade Organization) I normally avoid commenting on

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-82441700843484829992017-03-20T12:29:00.000+03:002017-03-20T12:29:37.680+03:00

This is my greatest fear of traveling. To sit next to someone who talks endlessly. I am not anti-social; I just lack the ability to constantly come up with topics of conversation. And when I have exhausted what I have to say, which rarely takes long, I find the quite moments, referred to in the Swahili language by the expression: shetani kapita (the devil has just passed by), rather

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-88323571445667233622016-12-29T15:31:00.000+03:002016-12-29T15:31:06.684+03:00

The roof is up today for one of the grain silos at Mwitongo, Butiama. Tilting the roof provides access to the finger millet stored in the silo. The finger millet flour is mixed with cassava or maize flour to cook ugali (hard porridge), a favorite meal among members of the Zanaki ethnic group. Occasionally, as is the case in this occasion, the roof of the silo is tilted to permit visitors to

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0Butiama, Tanzania-1.7680031998251502 33.959255218505859-1.7838741998251502 33.939085218505859 -1.7521321998251502 33.97942521850586tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-13413488991439420562016-12-17T18:15:00.000+03:002016-12-22T00:09:01.595+03:00

I am not a mzungu is something I have to keep on repeating at least once a month to children. I am baffled why children should call me "mzungu" a Swahili word for Caucasian. And there is no confusing me with a white man; I am unmistakably black. There is at least one other meaning of the word, but in general Tanzanians understand "mzungu" to mean a white person. But I have had to consider

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-90722392187529695572016-12-01T10:30:00.000+03:002016-12-01T10:30:09.241+03:00

I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with Le Huynh in August 2008. He travels the world, and shares images and experiences of the places he visits. He shares the following stunning photos and a poem from his recent visit to the Great Barrier Reef off Australia. He writes of his experience: Dear friends We come from the sea we bleed salty blood we cry salty tears we're humble

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-7799484438258166732016-11-17T21:52:00.000+03:002016-11-17T21:52:15.734+03:00

I had the occasion to launder some US currency this year. As I saw it then I had no choice and I did not think there would be consequences. The saga began when I traveled to Harare, Zimbabwe for a workshop and after the organizers refunded me some of the meeting expenses, including an old US dollar 100 banknote. I didn’t think much of it until I tried to change the money in Tanzania. The

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-50829743551154328532016-11-16T15:59:00.000+03:002016-11-16T15:59:11.609+03:00

I noted some interesting reactions after Donald Trump won the elections.  There is a group of voters who had preferred that neither Hillary Clinton nor Trump were on the ballot box and these voters spent a lot of time telling anyone who listened how unfortunate for Americans that they were forced to select one of two rather bad choices. They went further. In airing this disappointment

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-45806198149744595432016-11-03T19:56:00.000+03:002016-11-03T19:58:27.335+03:00

When Tanzania's ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) gradually abandoned its socialist policies and moved towards capitalism those members who defended the shift said: "we have to change with the times." Consequently, successive CCM-led administrations presided over an unbridled form of capitalism that opened up the country to economic rape and plunder. The business community monitors and

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-62904429328583339922016-08-21T19:58:00.001+03:002016-08-21T19:58:34.823+03:00

How we remember the good old times when Butiama retained the character of a village! The new reality struck home recently after I strained my ankle, having fallen off my bicycle. Remember the good old days when, if hurt, you could receive medical attention in hospital by obtaining the Police Form 3 (PF3) and then proceeding to hospital for treatment? The law has apparently received a minor,

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-35655976457744338432016-08-14T13:15:00.000+03:002016-08-14T13:15:05.472+03:00

I have had enough hard disk crashes, and lost enough mobile phones to know that traditional methods of storing information are more reliable than the latest computer based backup systems, Nothing beats pen and paper when it comes to preserving your data. And nothing beats backing up your information written on paper than a backup system that is based on pen and paper. So, for a while, I have

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-25394391746430025022016-04-15T19:52:00.001+03:002016-04-15T19:52:58.192+03:00

I recently opened my Christmas present (Yes, because I have been traveling rather frequently and only had the chance to get to the post office in late March), and it contained contents of a coveted brand of biscuits. The biscuits reminded me of the following article I wrote.The article, from my column "Letter from Butiama", was published in the Sundays News of 1 November 2009.  ............

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-74652449250725581142016-03-31T18:41:00.000+03:002016-04-08T06:46:10.253+03:00

If you have 36 hours in Butiama here's what I suggest you should do. Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Tanzania's founding president was born in Butiama in April 1922 and was buried here in October 1999. The village of Butiama is located south east of Lake Victoria in north-eastern Tanzania. There are two principal ways of traveling to Butiama. By road, Butiama is 40 kilometres (35 minutes)

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-61978483568841138532015-12-06T15:16:00.002+03:002015-12-06T15:16:12.101+03:00

Part of my work as coordinator for the Butiama Cultural Tourism Enterprise is to receive visitors and respond to questions on Butiama's historical and cultural heritage. Recently I had another privilege of receiving visiting students and teachers from Kowak Girls' Secondary School. The students did not have a lot of questions to ask, but we posed for several photographs, including the one

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-87755259354601351242015-12-02T20:58:00.000+03:002015-12-02T20:58:50.974+03:00

For more than ten years I have paid school fees and other related expenses for two orphaned students who have recently completed secondary education. Today, I visited their grandmother at the neigbouring village of Muryaza. A few days ago she asked to see me and I told her to remain at home and that I would visit her instead. Over the years she has been walking all the way from her house to

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792382139301872463.post-56581911683130509782015-11-10T18:38:00.000+03:002015-11-10T18:38:56.772+03:00

As Tanzanians wait eagerly for newly-elected President John Magufuli to unveil his new cabinet in the next few days, I share an old article I wrote over ten years ago when Tanzanians, in quite similar circumstances, were attempting to make sense of newly-elected President Jakaya Kikwete's campaign slogan. The article, from my column "Letter from Butiama", was published in the Sundays News of 15

Madarakahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266253025401128699noreply@blogger.com0