Kipimo cha DNA chaonesha mafuvu yaliyoporwa na Ujerumani kutoka Afrika yatokea Tanzania

[Kinyungu]

Moja ya fuvu katika maonesho Makumbusho Berlin​

Watafiti wa Kijerumani wamefanikiwa kupata kwa uhakika ndugu wa watu ambao mafuvu yao yalichukuliwa na Wakoloni wa Kijerumani kwa ajili ya "utafiti".

Watafiti hao wanasema wameweza kupata ndugu wa watu toka jamii ya Wachagga ambao mabaki ya ndugu zao yalipelekwa huko Ujerumani. Baadhi ya ndugu waliopatikana ni wale waliokuwa karibu na Utawala wa Mangi Meli aliyekuwa mtawala wa huko Kilimanjaro.

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Germany DNA study links colonial skulls to living relatives

German researchers have matched the DNA in looted colonial-era skulls from East Africa with living descendants. The connection paves the way for the remains to be returned.

A Berlin museum said on Tuesday it had established a clear link between three skulls taken to Germany during the colonial era and living relatives in Tanzania.

The German capital's Museum of Prehistory and Early History carried out DNA analysis on hundreds of skulls with the aim of returning the remains to descendants.

Why is the research important?
Berlin's SPK museum authority said in a statement that it was the first time that DNA research had provided a clear link between such remains and living descendants.

"The relatives and the government of Tanzania will now be informed as soon as possible," the statement said.

Some 1,100 skulls were tested as part of a pilot study. They came from a collection of some 7,700 such objects that the SPK acquired from Berlin's Charite hospital in 2011.

Museum researchers gathered enough information on eight of the skulls to make a search for specific descendants viable, the SPK said. Saliva samples were taken from possible descendants.

A complete genetic match for one of the skulls was found with a man still alive today.

The skull was marked with the title "Akida" which already indicated that it belonged to a known senior adviser to Mangi Meli (1866-1900), a powerful leader of the Chagga people.

Scientists confirmed an almost complete match to other descendants of the Chagga people in two more of the eight skulls examined. A direct biological relationship in an unbroken paternal line is at least "probable" in these cases, they said.

"Finding a match like this is a small miracle and will probably remain a rare case even despite the most meticulous provenance research," said Hermann Parzinger, president of the SPK.

Why were the skulls in Germany?
The skulls are thought to have been pillaged from cemeteries and other burial sites during the time of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. They were then taken to Germany for "scientific" studies that served to underpin racist ideas.

Many of the skulls had been collected by anthropologist and doctor Felix von Luschan when Germany was a colonial power in East Africa. Others were from a collection of the Charite hospital's former anatomical institute.

German East Africa covered present-day Burundi, Rwanda, mainland Tanzania and part of Mozambique.

The German Empire maintained colonies until its end. The largest were German East Africa, German South West Africa and Cameroon in West Africa, but there were also other areas, such as in the Pacific. After defeat in World War I, all colonies were ceded according to the provisions of the Versailles Treaty.

Citizen Digital

 

[Puna]

Ni wakati wa kufunguliana kesi za madai juu ya mauaji ya kikatili yaliyofanywa na hao makima.

 

[Chillah]

Hiyo ndio gharama ya usaliti, una msaliti mangi mwenzio una ungana na mjerumani ukiahidiwa ahadi hewa

 

[MUBENDE]

Ni wakati wa kufunguliana kesi za madai juu ya mauaji ya kikatili yaliyofanywa na hao makima.

Taifa letu ni moja kati ya mataifa yanayoogopa wazungu bahna.

 

[Rare Sapphire]

Moja ya fuvu katika maonesho Makumbusho Berlin
​

Watafiti wamegundua ndugu walio hai kutoka Tanzania ambao mavufu ya jamaa zao yaliporwa na Ujerumani kipindi cha Ukoloni. Makumbusho ya Berlin wametaja jambo hili kama muujiza mdogo.

Makumbusho ya kihistoria ya Berlin imekuwa ikifanya utafiti kwenye mavufu takriban 1,100 kutoka katika iliyokuwa inajulikana Ujerumani ya Afrika Mashariki tangu mwaka 2017, wakiwa na lengo la kurudisha mabaki hayo katika nchi husika.

Uongozi wa Makumbusho hiyo umesema uchambuzi huo wa DNA kwa mara ya kwanza umeonesha uhusiano wa wazi kabisa kutoka kwa ndugu walio hai nchini Tanzania, ambapo ndugu na jamaa pamoja na serikali ya Tanzania watapewa taarifa haraka iwezekanavyo.

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Germany matches DNA from skulls stolen from Africa to relatives in Tanzania​

Researchers have identified living relatives in Tanzania of people whose skulls were pillaged and taken to Germany during the colonial era, Berlin's museum authority said on Tuesday, a discovery hailed as a "small miracle".

Berlin's Museum of Prehistory and Early History has been carrying out research on around 1,100 skulls from what was known as German East Africa since 2017, with the aim of eventually returning the remains to the relevant countries.

Now, for the first time, DNA analysis has provided a clear link with living descendants in Tanzania, the SPK museum authority said in a statement.

"The relatives and the government of Tanzania will now be informed as soon as possible," the statement said.

The skulls are part of a collection of around 7,700 that were acquired by the SPK from Berlin's Charite hospital in 2011, the museum authority said.

Many of them were part of a collection assembled by doctor and anthropologist Felix von Luschan during German colonial rule.

Others belonged to the skull collection of the hospital's former anatomical institute.

They are thought to have been looted from cemeteries and other burial sites around the world and brought to Germany for "scientific" experiments.

German East Africa included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, mainland Tanzania and part of Mozambique.

Researchers at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History were able to gather enough information on eight of the skulls to merit a search for specific descendants, the SPK said.

For one skull, a complete genetic match was found with a man still alive today.

The title "Akida" on the skull had already indicated that it belonged to a high-ranking advisor to Mangi Meli, a powerful leader of the Chagga people.

The DNA sample provided a direct match with a descendant of Akida, the SPK said.

An almost complete match to descendants of the Chagga people was also confirmed in two more of the eight skulls examined.

- Poor condition -​

"Finding a match like this is a small miracle and will probably remain a rare case even despite the most meticulous provenance research," said Hermann Parzinger, president of the SPK.

Interest in the skulls waned after World War I and they were in very poor condition when the museum acquired them in 2011, the SPK said.

Before beginning the research, which was carried out together with scientists from Rwanda, the museum had the skulls cleaned and conserved.

Over the past 20 years, Germany has been gradually starting to talk more about the crimes it committed during the colonial era.

In German South West Africa, now Namibia, Germany was responsible for mass killings of indigenous Herero and Nama people that many historians refer to as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Germany has returned skulls and other human remains to Namibia that it had sent to Berlin during the period.
In 2021, the country officially acknowledged that it had committed genocide in Namibia and promised a billion euros in financial support to descendants of the victims.

Germany has also started to return cultural artefacts looted during the colonial era.

Last year, it began returning items from its collections of Benin Bronzes, ancient sculptures from the Kingdom of Benin, to Nigeria.

The 16th-18th century metal plaques and sculptures, among the most highly regarded works of African art, are now scattered around European museums after being looted by the British at the end of the 19th century.

Citizen Digital

 

[Mcqueenen]

Kuna fuvu langu hapo, waniletee fasta

 

[nzalendo]

Ule mti aliponyongewa bado upo na pana vibweka fedenge hivi kimtindo kama we fitna.🙂