Tanzania: In Search of the Talented Tenth - Kuwatafuta Moja ya Kumi Wenye Talanta

[Companero]

Tusijifanye hatujui kwa nini Wamaasai wengi wamekuwa walinzi. Hao hao Wamasai waliotoa mawaziri wakuu wawili, mawaziri, maprofesa, wanasayansi na '1 ya 10 wenye talanta' wengi katika nchi hii ndio hao hao tuliowafukuza kwenye maeneo yao ili tuupishe Ufalme wa Kigeni kule Loliondo, wawindaji na wawekezaji wa kigeni. Ni hawa hawa Wamaasai ambao wanachanganya 'modernity' (usasa) na 'tradition' (uzamani) katika namna ambayo inayojibu lile swali la 'Is it Possible?' (Je, Inawezekana?'). Ndio inawezekana kutohoa utamaduni wa nje ili kuendeleza utamaduni wa ndani. Hiyo ndio kanuni pekee ya kuleta maendeleo endelevu ya ndani na yenye tija kwa jamii husika.

Mtanzania akichukua modeli ya Mmasai atagundua kuwa Wamasai wanapinga 'brain drain' (upotevu wa rasilimali akili) katika jamii zao. Ndio maana wanahakikisha vijana wao wanabaki kundini na kuchanganya maarifa ya kimagharabi na ya kiafrika ili kujiletea maendeleo yao. Kamwe Mmasai hakatai kitu cha 'kisasa' chenye uwezo wa kumletea maendeleo yanayoendana na mazingira yake. Mifano hiyo nimeshaitoa.


Hebu tutulie na tumsikilize Mmasai mmojawapo akieleza mustakabali wao na wetu:

In Defense of John Cheyo and Pastoralism


By Navaya ole Ndaskoi, February 12, 2009

I listened with disgust the Tanzanian Prime Minister, Mizengo Peter Pinda, answer the questions asked by John Cheyo, MP for Bariadi East in parliament on Thursday February 5, 2009.

I arrived home and found the state owned TBC1 beaming live from Dodoma. Suddenly John Cheyo, a very wise and extremely serious opposition MP, stood-up straight like an arrow. He asked the premier something to the effect that when will the Government allocate pastureland for pastoralists who are being hounded from around the country?

I doff my cap to Cheyo for asking such a legitimate but rarely asked question. Keep up the good job our John. Do not give up hope. One day Tanzania will be a fair nation.

Delicately, but hardly surprisingly, Pinda took up the microphone and said very loudly something, translated from Kiswahili to English by the author, to the effect that the Government will no longer tolerate nomads who are destroying the environment.

The Prime Minister added that the Government will deal with the pastoralists according to the laws with immediate effect. He stressed even, 'enough is enough.'

I will try, to the best of my ability, to engage the Prime Minister hoping that the Government will come out of the woods and treat pastoralists fairly.

When I went to primary school we were lectured about the environment. our teacher, out of guilty, listed the causes of soil erosion. She hardly listed two causes of erosion before hurling accusations to pastoralists and their livestock.

To be sure, too much energy has been devoted to painting out how excessive grazing by livestock, but not wild animals, has caused the country to deteriorate. Henry Fosbrooke was Chief Conservator for Ngorongoro Conservation Area for a very long time.

In 1972, he wrote the earth shattering Ngorongoro-The Eighth Wonder. He argued that one 'hears a great deal of talk about soil erosion, much of it nonsense, especially amongst those who wish to appear knowledgeable about conservation.'

Pastoralists move from one place to another. Moringe ole Parkipuny is a former MP for Ngorongoro. He says, 'They talk about the migration of wildebeest, zebra, gazelles and others. That is wildlife transhumant paten of use of natural resources on a seasonal basis. The Maasai, like other pastoralists from around the world, are transhumant.'

'During the rainy season livestock are moved by young people to the plains where then there is plenty of lush green grasses and water. They leave the highlands fallow so that the grass can grow. At the end of the rainy season the water ponds dry out and the grass being so fragile and short would be depleted. At the end of the rainy season wildlife retreats West [of Serengeti National Park] in the woodlands where there is water in the rivers and the Maasai retreat to the Ngorongoro highlands.' Where are you Pinda?

'You said let us find a place for pastoralists to go to, where did they come from?' Pinda asked rhetorically. A lot of praises were heaped on him. You would think zombies were celebrating. By then Cheyo was literarily shaking his head in utter disbelieve.

Where did the pastoralists come from? The Sukuma, the Maasai and the Barabaigs are the main societies currently portrayed by the Pindas of this world as one of the main causes of the conflict between pastoralists and farmers in Tanzania.

It is in records that in 1959 the British colonial Government drove the Maasai out of Serengeti National Park. Prof. Issa Shivji and Dr. Wilbert Kapinga documented this in fine details in their book titled Maasai Rights in Ngorongoro, Tanzania.

Parkipuny adds that Sukuma, Barbaigs, Sonjo, Ikoma, Kurya and others were also driven out of Serengeti. The colonialists favored the Maasai, for tourism reasons, and treated other tribes as dirty. So what one reads today is that Serengeti is Maasailand alone.

Sifuni Mchome has detailed how the Maasai were forced out of Mkomazi Game Reserve. The title of his book is self explanatory, Evictions and the Rights of People in Conservation Areas in Tanzania. The Maasai were among the victims according to him. Today Mkomazi has been elevated to the status of, yet, another national park. Ah!

Colonialists left behind only Serengeti National Park. Currently there are 15 national parks. How many people lost their lands when these parks, and other conservation areas, were created may never be known. Suffice to say pastoralists are among the losers.

It should be remembered too that the Government and well-connected capitalists, local and foreign, alienated massive lands under natural pastures in the name of 'maximum utilisation by all citizens.' This is so because politicians see such lands as being wasted.

No doubts, in a perverse and masochistic sort of way, this was immensely satisfying to all concerned. Mwalimu Nyerere was an eloquent spokesman for this point of view.

Nyerere, with due respect, wrote in Freedom and Development, 'When I use my energy and talent to clear a piece of ground for my use, it is clear that I am trying to transform this basic gift from God so that it can satisfy a human need. It is true, however, that this land is not mine, but the efforts made by me in clearing the land enabled me to lay claim of ownership over the cleared piece of ground. But it is not really the land itself that belongs to me but only the cleared ground which will remain mine as long as I continue to work it. By clearing that ground I have actually added to its value and have enabled it to be used to satisfy a human need. Whoever then takes this piece of ground must pay me for adding value to it through clearing it by my…labour' [original emphasis].

This type of thinking, which is used to claim that pastoralists are wasting the land, remains a shocking performance by a man of Nyerere's high intellectualism. What about pastoralists who depend entirely for survival on communally owned pasture lands?

In the 1980s the Tanzanian Government in collaboration with the Canadian Government started a gigantic wheat complex in Hanang at the detriment of the Barabaig pastoralists. This too is well recorded by Charles Lane in the book published in 1996 under the title Pastures Lost: Barabaig Economy, Resource Tenure, and the Alienation of Their Land in Tanzania. As I write this the Barabaigs are still struggling to get back their land.

How big is the land which was formerly pastureland that has been converted into national parks, game reserves, forest reserves, wildlife management areas, buffer zones, nesting sites, corridors, hunting blocs as well as wheat, barley and other plantations?

Even if Pinda is a rocket scientist, it sounds that he is not, common sense demands that he still should have at least a faint idea as to how the Hadzabe hunter-gatherers of Lake Eyasi use sticks to dig-up tubers and poisoned arrows to bring down an elephant to survive. He should have known that the Saami people of Norway, Finland and Sweden still live almost entirely on the reindeers and in fact practice transhumance.

Even Russia, the first country to send man into space, has its own nomads and hunter-gatherers in this very century. They live from the West of Russia to Siberia.

It is immaterial for the Prime Minister to emotionally speak for the hapless albinos and ending up trampling too heavily the constitution which he as recently as February 8, 2008 vowed to protect. It is alleged that Pinda shade tears for saying killers of albinos must be killed instantly to revenge before taken to court and proved guilty beyond doubt.

While the on going killings of albinos is regrettable and must be stopped it is perhaps not unlike the state-made paupers who are being hounded from Loliondo to Ihefu.

I challenge Pinda to order the Maasai, the Sukuma, the Kurya and all the others to return to Serengeti. The Barbaig must return to Basuto. Let the Pare, the Sambaa, the Maasai and all the others who were evicted from Mkomazi return to their ancestral lands.

The world will soon see what Pinda is made of.

 

[Eric Cartman]

Part One…. Companero and his general ideas.

Brother don't get ('that') personal. Also don't do the same thing you are accusing of others of doing i.e. contradicting yourself. Read all the underlined words of your above and see the inconsistency therein. Surely a scientific and open-mindedness person cannot close an argument that way, with one-sided evidence.

Sir Companero, samahani tena ni Comrad Companero, jamani na mimi wewe ni ujamaa mambo leo basi ni between Sir/Comrad, Hivyo basi wachaniweke sahihi kwa kuunganisha title hizo mbili hili nitoe salamu kwa heshima sahihi ni SiMrad Companero, amna mtu anae chukulia anything personal na wala amna mtu anae ku-accuse ya kwamba unaji-contradict its just a matter of fact based your own posts. Like I said science deals with facts na facts zako na model zako zinaji-contradict; that is the model you choose to mirror the whole society (Masai), The importance of the ten percent and finally the political/economical stand view ujamaa mambo leo.

Its one of those days ambazo nina muda therefore the scarcity of time wont affect my time on the computer today. Hivyo nianze na kusema ukweli mapepa kabisa leo copy and paste ni nyingi ila kwa faida ya kukufafanulia, Ki-U-Malinowski kwenye jamii kama ulivyotaka also quoting others with regard why we need mass education in society rather than the ten percent to guide the rest of us.

Let me start with economical reasons and why I believe the ten% is an old ‘adage’, crucial as it might seem or should I say sound; economists tells us ‘entrepreneurs’ plus three other factors are vital for economical progression in any society.

Why entrepreneurs; because they come up with novice ways of making money in the process expanding employment sectors, they invent new products (thus improving the quality of life) and always looking to maximise what they can get out of their societies. Clearly its something the ‘Masai’ haven’t got apparently, no wonder life hasn’t changed since the 16th century.

Facts tells us, the most richest people today have moderate level of education, lakini wana employ a hell lot of people with higher qualifications in comparable. Again this is due to their entrepreneurship skills, rather than the education. That explains why modern economists insist on this phenomenon.

Therefore I do not see how the 10% would improve the national living standards beside many on your list are highly educated and under the employment of some sort either in World organisations or in teaching institutions in other nations: thus creating future entrepreneurs and scholars in those regions; just as Japan did not long ago and look where it stands now.

It seems we luck (Tanzania as a society) the understanding on how to use our scholars, we do not value them in Tanzania. And we don’t even have the basics of economy yet our president is supposed to be (one) something I have learnt in ‘JF’ what a joke of a country.

For us entrepreneurship ni mtu kuchukua mkopo na kuajiri familia yake na kufanya biashara ndogo ndogo na kupata hela ya kula kisha kuingia mitini na mkopo kwa namna za kifisadi ambazo uishia kuziua hizo benki zenyewe.

Mambo makubwa kwenye ‘private sectors’ hayo tunawaachia foreigners watufanyie, wazungu, wachina na sasa tunataka kuwaalika na wakenya sijui EAC waje kutu-exploit zaidi kwa kutumia comparative advantage yao ya manufacturing goods ambazo sisi wenyewe tunaweza ku-make with equal quality hila uzembe tu wa viongozi wetu, too busy scheming the next trick to milk us. Rather than focusing on the tasks we elect them for.

Vile vile wameshaona (wakenya) how we waste our assets na jinsi tulivyokua na vikorosho vya kukomoana kimaendeleo wenyewe kwa wenyewe especially pale bandarini kwenye tamaa za ajabu na watu wengine wenye kugawa contract za serikali, therefore they can not wait for the Tanzanian leaders to sign those contracts so they can join the party in milking Tanzania.

Kwani kwao hawawezi hivyo Kenya is almost a class society with colonial social hierarchy created during colonial rule with much of the land in the hands of Mzungu, at the same time its almost a caste like society in tribal order. As a reslut some graduates haven’t got an equal fighting chances in the employment . No wonder the’re rushing to Tanzania and now their pushing for the legitimate right to exploit the advanteges many young Tanzanians entrepreneurs and scholars are being denied, by the government.

This is why I stress the 10% percent wont solve our economic miseries, but good governance policies with simple economic rules and fair play. Giving each others chances particularly our young talents, and value our scholars (Like you and Zakumi). And let the real ‘laissez fair’ to do its wonders with a watchful eye from the government to protect the needy and regulate the market when needed to.

 

[Eric Cartman]

Part two SiMrad Companero….. acknowledges his teacher views about masai needs to change.

Now to the parts where I say your contradicting yourself especially in defence of Masai and the mirror image your so fascinated with.

By the way if ‘Nyerere’ was this clever how come he never used his intelligence to build our nation, although at the end he bowed out like a perfect ‘gent’ knowing it was wrong, understanding his mistakes; thank to one of his students (you) for exposing that.

The man seemed to know the causes but was stubborn at the time funny you’re the stubborn one now. Kwa mfano hapo chini……. Ni post yako kutetea wamasai lakini kusema Nyerere alishawaona nae kwamba hawa ni nuksi tupu in the future development na nakubaliana nae.

Alafu kwa taarifa yako Nyerere alikuwa kigeugeu na haambiliki dhidi ya Wamaasai kama dondoo hizi zinavyodhihirisha:

As Chachage (1986) notes, in 1956 Nyerere even confided to a Marknoll father that the British had romanticized the Maasai but they would have to develop like anybody else. He stressed that they have to fall in line and thus asserted that we had to build a strong presidency into the constitution of our country and yet somehow protect the individual...

The social customs of the people also vary to some extent. The Masai are traditionally a nomadic cattle people; their family structure, their religious beliefs, and other things, have been shaped by this fact. They are therefore somewhat different from the social beliefs and organization of, for example, the traditional agricultural Wanyakyusa. The steps which will be necessary to combine increased output with social equality may therefore vary; the important thing is that the methods adopted should not be incompatible with each other, and should each be appropriate for the attainment of the single goal in the particular circumstances (Nyerere 1967: 14)

That was Nyerere at his best. Our departure from this fairly balanced application of universal/global and particular/local approaches to culture and development is what still hinders sustainable development in Tanzania...

Hata mimi hapo nakubaliana na huyo jamaa 100% particularly on the last paragraph with the vision ambayo Nyerere alishaiona na matatizo ambayo hawa wamasai wanatuletea leo sasa kwanini wewe uelewi?.

Wakati second paragraph inaelezea ya kuwa hawa wako too much driven with their beliefs of centuries created by myth something you keep referring to us that its the western misreprentation of the masai that is corrupting us. Aren’t they also living on the myth that their fore grand fathers created to justify, kuranda kuranda hovyo mapolini: don’t you think they ought to reason with facts too if what they believe in, really justifies all the hassle to roam, clinging to cultures that only create problems upon themselves in the modern world ruled by modern man or do they expect special treatment because they are masai’s with a long history tradition and life style. No wonder your teacher said we should stop romanticizing this primitive lifestyle as a heroics one tales created by Mzungu.

Well most tribes had their cultures and beliefs, all societies had theirs, that is including Mzungu societies though in the west they are almost non existence at the moment. But they too, had extreme primitives beliefs, at one point in time example prior to the introduction of Christianity in the book ‘Religion and the decline of Magic’ by Keith Thomas, he writes: systems of beliefs which were current in the sixteenth and seventeenth-century England, but which no longer enjoys much recognition today were astrology, witchcraft, magical healing, devination, ancient prophesies (something masai still endorse to date to justify their pastoral rights), ghosts and fairies, are now all disdained by intelligent person. But they were taken seriously by equally intelligent person in the past.

He writes about other bizarre rituals that were being practised at the time and Christians priest participation to tie those rituals with divine in-order to teach them god through their perspective so as to lure them into churches: the common rituals were benediction of salt and water, for the health of the body and the and the expulsion off evil spirits. But the liturgical books of the time also contained rituals devised to bless houses, cattle, crops, ships, tools, armour, wells and even kilns.

The medieval church thus acted as a repository of supernatural power which could be dispensed to the faithful to help them in their daily problems. It was inevitable that the priests, set apart from the rest of the community by their celibacy and ritual consecration, should have derived an extra cachet from their position as mediators between man and god.


However the ancient worship of wells, trees and stones was not abolished as modified by turning pagan sites into Christians ones and associating them with a saint rather than a heavenly divinity.

Sasa tunaambiwa walianza kuranda rand during that period na wao walikua na beliefs za kipuuzi kama za hao wazungu before religion and they are still stuck with those beliefs which honestly do not save any purpose than justify their roaming about purposelessly. Sasa sijui kwa kweli mwenzetu unaona nini sisi wengine tusichokiona kutoka kwa hawa wanajamii ambacho kitatufaa.

Kwa hivyo hizo process jamii zote zilishapitia na si sisi tu Waafrika hivyo basi wengi wamezi-model kutanguliza maendeleo mbele ili ku-dili na fact ambazo zinaleta maendeleo sasa sijui utaleta maendeleo gani kama huna permanent base. Hivyo wao wanachotoka ni kuzulula zulula ovyo, kuharibu mazingira na kwenda kwingine no wonder a small minority is asking for too much land kwa kweli inabidi watulie. Land ni kitu muhimu sana kwenye nchi inayo taka kuendelea na si kumwendekeza Mmasai aichezee wakati kuna mbinu zingine za kuangalia n’gombe zake.

The ideology of the Masai thinking has been well, explained by Zakumi on his last post akitumia mfano was sir Isaak Newton and the expectations of him from the society where he was born. The process by which scholars in social studies refer to as socialization (primary socialization) which is done by mainly parents and other members of the society you interact with, at an early age. That is where the thinking is embedded into the individuals in the form of culture ie morality, rituals and beliefs sasa wanaokulia vijijini hilo linakuja kua shida ukubwani particularly kama wana highly regards to their culture hapo ndipo anatoka mmasai wa kule……

This is where we all get our self awareness that distinguishes us from others mentally but not realistically (I’m thinking in terms of a single race) i.e, mimi ni kabila hili, mimi ni wa dini hii etc lakini ukituangalia atuna tofauti alafu kuna wapuuzi wanakatana na mapanga kwa fikra (beliefs) hizi. Ndio jamaa akasema tatizo kubwa la hawa watu ni hizo beliefs zao ambazo zinatokana na culture ambazo unataka tuzi-copy jamani.

So what are beliefs (quote): All of the various beliefs you hold about the little things and the big things serve as the very building blocks of your life. When you believe in something you have a level of commitment to it. Agreeing or disagreeing with an idea can indicate you have a belief about it. Whereas, simply having an idea about something does not automatically indicate commitment, nor a belief.

• Beliefs are the ideas you have a commitment to, and support.
• They are the views and opinions that you have accumulated, that represent you.
• Your beliefs are positions that you endorse.
• Beliefs express your attitude about things, and your way of thinking and looking at things.
• Beliefs dictate your approach and outlook to life.
• What you believe is what you stand for.

Unfortunately some of this beliefs are justified by myth rather than actual events as a result a believers’ are made to live with false ideologies, the closest definition of myth I could find was: A myth is a story based on tradition or legend, which has a deep symbolic meaning. A myth 'conveys a truth' to those who tell it and hear it, rather than necessarily recording a true event. Although some myths can be accounts of actual events, they have become transformed by symbolic meaning or shifted in time or place. Myths are often used to explain universal and local beginnings and involve supernatural beings. The great power of the meaning of these stories, to the culture in which they developed, is a major reason why they survive as long as they do - sometimes for thousands of years.

Since the two terms are part of culture, its best we define it: culture is defined as the shared patterns of behaviours (this in include beliefs that justify actions) and interactions, cognitive construct (this include ideas that are justified by Myth) , and effective understanding (the product humans logical centre) that are learned through a process of socialization. These shared patterns identify the members of a cultural group while also distinguishing of others.(I call this traditional definition of cultural)

Ps: culture as many other definitions hayo baadae.

Sasa una suggest to follow primitive thinking ambayo ina elekwezwa na unjustified myth hii hatari bwana mkubwa kwani hata Wagiriki walikua na za kwao lakini ukweli wa mambo ni hadithi tupu hivyo wamezitupa, hila wanazi hadithia kama hadithi na si imani ya kweli (beliefs). Na mawazo tunayo jipa kwa mtaji huo maisha ya kimasai ni ya uongo kwa kujiongopea tu. Si wao ukabila ni uongo tu wote sisi ni kitu kimoja sema tunajazana pumba ambazo azina faida kutoka kwa wazazi wetu, na wao walipewa na mababu zetu life is all about facts and dealing with reality than speculations, hiyo ndio sayansi ya Malinowski. Katuelewa vizuri ndio maana ikawa raisi kwa wakoloni kutupanga kwani walijua weakness hipo wapi na fikra hiliko sasa ni maneno gani ya kutulaghai lakini mwalimu wako alishtukia long time duh jamaa alikua kiboko kumbe ila selfish tu.

 

[Eric Cartman]

Part three SimRad Companero needs to understand this first

Beliefs and Myth that masai follow to justify kuranda randa ovyo

The Maasai are thought to have originated in the Upper Nile Valley. Their myths speak about climbing up from a broad and deep crater bounded on all sides by a steep, long cliff. By the 1600s they had begun migrating with their herds into the vast arid, savanna-like (grassland) region of East Africa straddling the Kenya-Tanzania border. Today, their homeland is bounded by Lake Victoria to the west and Mount Kilimanjaro to the east. Maasailand extends some 310 miles (500 kilometers) from north to south and about 186 miles (300 kilometers) at its widest east-west point.
Estimates of the Maasai population include more than 150,000 in Tanzania, and close to 150,000 in Kenya.
Maasai legends and folktales tell much about the origin of present-day Maasai beliefs. These stories include their ascent from a crater, the emergence of the first Maasai prophet-magician (Laibon), the killing of an evil giant (Oltatuani) who raided Maasai herds, and the deception by Olonana of his father to obtain the blessing reserved for his older brother, Senteu (a legend similar to the Biblical story of Jacob and Esau).
One origin myth reveals much about present-day Maasai relations between the sexes. It holds that the Maasai are descended from two equal and complementary tribes, one consisting strictly of females, and the other of males. The women's tribe, the Moroyok, raised antelopes, including the eland, which the Maasai claim to have been the first species of cattle. Instead of cattle, sheep, and goats, the women had herds of gazelles. Zebras transported their goods during migrations, and elephants were their devoted friends, tearing down branches and bringing them to the women who used them to build homes and corrals. The elephants also swept the antelope corrals clean. However, while the women bickered and quarreled, their herds escaped. Even the elephants left them because they could not satisfy the women with their work.
According to the same myth, the Morwak-the men's tribe-raised cattle, sheep, and goats. The men occasionally met women in the forest. The children from these unions would live with their mothers, but the boys would join their fathers when they grew up. When the women lost their herds, they went to live with the men, and, in doing so, gave up their freedom and their equal status. From that time, they depended on men, had to work for them, and were subject to their authority.
While the Torrobo were destined to endure bee stings, and the Kikuyu famines and floods, the Maasai received the noble gift of raising cattle. A Torrobo, jealous of the Maasai's gift of cattle, cut the "umbilical cord" between heaven and Earth. For many Maasai, the center of their world remains their cattle, which furnish food, clothing, and shelter.

The greatest challenge the Maasai face concerns adaptation to rapid economic and social change. Increasing encroachment on Maasai lands threatens their traditional way of life. In the next decade, Maasai will need to address integration into the mainstream modern economies and political systems of Kenyan and Tanzanian society. The Maasai may fear losing their children to Western schooling, but a modern education has increasingly become a necessity for the Maasai in order to remain competitive with their neighbour and survive.

 

[Eric Cartman]

Part four SimRad Companero ……….accusing other of ku-ape.

Then defends those who he adores for imitating modern trends

Imitating. Aping. Copying. Pasting.

Thats what we have been doing religiously since Africa's 'Uhuru'!

-Mkukuta is aping Euro-America

Your words Kama Mmasai sio modern creature basi asingetumia modern things kama simu, mikanda na vifaa mbali mbali kama matairi ya magari alivyovitohoa vikatengeneza katambuga. Ndio maana nasema Mmasai is the most complete traditional-cum-modern Tanzania. Wengi wetu tunaiga tu bila ku-contextualize alafu tunajiona ndio tumeendelea. Kasumba si maendeleo!

Siku Tanzania itakopomuelewa na kujifunza kutoka kwa Mmasai huyu tunayemsakama daima ndipo hakika itaendelea:

Globalization is not just about conglomerates bali ata life style inafika mpaka umasaini kwani Mmasai ni binadamu tu anaejidai yeye ndio apewe priorities kwenye mila zake wakati huo, anakubali ku-adapt others ways of improving lives kwa namna ila tu kwa namna inayo mfaa yeye. What it demonstrates is others ways of improving lives is reaching in those regions pole pole. Na hata Tanzania nzima today we have so many modern necessities that we haven’t made, cultures kama rap music, sijui Big brothers, Miss Tanzania mavazi etc. Huu ni ushahidi wa kwamba kujua kwingi kuna improve people’s choices and how they choose to spend on those resources. Sasa kama vijana wa kimasai walivyooelewa mjini kuna raha gani na faida zake kuliko huku msituni ni wengi wameeanza kutiririka faida si starehe tu kipato nk all in trying to improve people live chances. Kwa hivyo unachokiona ya kwamba ni mmasai anatumia mkanda au sijui mobile wenzako wanaona mmasai anaanza kubadilishwa taratibu na globalization ni reasonable being sema kujidai kumezidi.

Kwani kubadilisha watu ni watu kufuata kipya bwana mkubwa. Sasa nani anaemfuata mmasai au mmsai ndie anaefuata modern necessities taratibu.

Ebu iangalie vizuri zaidi hii ya mmasai na trend yenyewe who is following what.

 

[Eric Cartman]

[THE MAASAI IN THE MODERN ERA: MYTH AND REALITY]
This myth also made use of the image of the Maasai as a “savage” so as to create the myths of “the white man country” i.e. a land that white settler could take over as if it did not belong to the Maasai. These, in essence, are the myths that preceded the colonization of East Africa in general and the Maasailand in particular.

So in 1891 we find Lord Delamere, at the age of 21 and having read a number of travelogues, making his first trip to Africa. The following excerpts illustrate how he, as a product and producer of the above-mentioned myths and images, paved the way for colonialism:

Sasa kwa nini unasema mwalimu wako alikua kigeugeu wakati unajua athari za myth, huyo lord apo unasema aliaanza kupewa hadith za uongo tangia ana miaka kumi na kumi na nne by the time he was twenty one akili ilishachotwa na uongo kuhusu jamii ya kimasai kwa faida ya ku-colonizde na ndugu zetu wameshaongopewa miaka mingapi? ili wazurure.

 

[Companero]

Sasa hivi DSM ina wakazi 4Millioni. Na wengi ni wahamiaji. Na sababu kubwa ya hii explosive ya uhamiaji ni kuwa na watu wenye fikra kama za Companero za kugawa watu kwenye makundi ya wakulima, wafugaji na wafanyakazi na kushindwa kuona kuwa modernity ya nchi ni lazima ije na transformation .

Si kweli. Watu hao hawana fikra kama za Companero. Wao wanafikiri kama Zakumi na Juma Contena. Wanataka ku-modernize watu bila kufuata misingi ya ku-adapt modernity kwenye mazingira ya Kitanzania. Hata Mwalimu naye alikuwa anafikiri kama ninyi kama posti nilizoweka zinavyoonesha. Na Mzee Mwinyi hivyo hivyo ndio maana Wamaasai walifukuzwa Loliondo enzi zake. Big Ben naye aliwaza hivyo hivyo ndio maana wawekezaji waliingia kwa kasi wakati wa uongozi wake. Naye Muungwana JK anawaachia wadau wa TIC wagawe ardhi yetu kama pipi. Hivyo, tuwe wakweli kuwa waliopo wanafikiri kama ninyi ndio maana hali iko hovyo kama ilivyo na inahitaji Ujamaa Mamboleo = Usasa wa Kiafrika.

 

[Mkandara]

Si kweli. Watu hao hawana fikra kama za Companero. Wao wanafikiri kama Zakumi na Juma Contena. Wanataka ku-modernize watu bila kufuata misingi ya ku-adapt modernity kwenye mazingira ya Kitanzania. Hata Mwalimu naye alikuwa anafikiri kama ninyi kama posti nilizoweka zinavyoonesha. Na Mzee Mwinyi hivyo hivyo ndio maana Wamaasai walifukuzwa Loliondo enzi zake. Big Ben naye aliwaza hivyo hivyo ndio maana wawekezaji waliingia kwa kasi wakati wa uongozi wake. Naye Muungwana JK anawaachia wadau wa TIC wagawe ardhi yetu kama pipi. Hivyo, tuwe wakweli kuwa waliopo wanafikiri kama ninyi ndio maana hali iko hovyo kama ilivyo na inahitaji Ujamaa Mamboleo = Usasa wa Kiafrika.

Hapoo basi mkuu umenifikisha..
WATU na MAZINGIRA...
Jamaa wanataka kumvisha nyani suti acheze sarakasi ktrk maonyesho ili atofautiane na nyani mwingine aliyeko Mikumi!.

 

[Zakumi]

Mkandara:

Nikisoma posti zako naona unakubaliana na ndivyo tulivyo kwa shingo upande tu kwa sababu huna jinsi ya kuelezea vingine.

Tukitumia msemo wa Ndivyo Tulivyo naweza kusema Companero hana point yoyote ya kuelezea zaidi ya kushindwa ku-swallow pride. Kama anaona watu wa jamii zingine wanaweza kujifunza kutoka kwa waMasaai, vilevile waMasaai ni lazima wajifunze kutoka kwa jamii zingine.

Pamoja na hayo kujifunza kutoka kwa jamii zingine ambazo ziko kwenye daraja moja hakuna cha maana cha kujifunza. Na kama kungekuwepo cha kujifunza, basi hayo yangefanyika kabla sisi kuzaliwa.

Kwa mfano waarabu walikuja na mabaya na mazuri. Tumejifunza kutoka kwao. Kwa mfano zaidi ya 20% ya maneno ya lugha ya kiswahili, chanzo chake ni kiraabu.

Waajemi walikuja tulijifunza kutoka kwao. Wareno tujifunza kutoka kwao. Maneno kama meza, leso, bendera, pesa yametokana kireno. Vilevile hatukukawia kuchukua mbegu za mahindi, mihogo na vyakula vingi kutoka kwa waReno.

Wangoni walipokuja tulijifunza kutoka kwao. Mbinu za kivita zilizotumika na makabila mengi zilikuwa ni kopi ya wangoni.

Hivyo watu hawakatai kujifunza kutoka kwa waMasaai iwapo kutakuwepo na kitu cha kujifunza. Infact miaka ya zamani makabila kama vile ya kiKurya yalijifunza ujasiri wa kiMasaai. Makabila haya yalikuwa yanavamia sana na waMasaai na hivyo yalianza kutoboa masikio na kuwa na sherehe za kutahiri kama vile waMasaai.

Na kama kuna cha kujifunza kutoka kwa waMasaai, basi hata hii thread isingeanzishwa kwa sababu talented tenth ingekuwepo tayari.

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Tukitumia msemo wa Ndivyo Tulivyo naweza kusema Companero hana point yoyote ya kuelezea zaidi ya kushindwa ku-swallow pride.

Ni kweli hana pointi yoyote zaidi ya majivuno na hataki kuyameza na kukubali ukweli.

Hivi unadhani angekuwa na mifano hai ya kuunga mkono hoja zake si angekuwa keshaisambaratisha hoja yangu? Wewe huoni alivyo mwepesi wa kubandua na kubandika maandiko ya akina Nyerere na Fanon ili tu kuunga mkono hoja zake? Lol

Zakumi, ni hivi. Wakati wa vita dhidi ya nduli si Nyerere alituambia kuwa sababu tunayo, nia tunayo, na uwezo wa kumtwanga nduli tunao? Na tulifanya nini? Si tulimtwanga (ingawaje pale Lukaya walitumia virungu na mishale na upinde..Lol)?

Sasa sababu ya kuondokana na umaskini tunayo. Hakuna mtu apendaye kuishi kwa dhiki. Nia ya kuondokana na umaskini tunayo. Kasheshe ni uwezo wa kuondokana na huo umaskini. Kila siku tunajiaminisha kuwa tumejaliwa maliasili nyingi tu. Sasa kama maliasili tunazo, sababu tunayo, nia tunayo....tatizo ni nini kama sio uwezo?

And in uwezo, there lies in Ndivyo Tulivyo. Hatuwezi.

 

[Zakumi]

Ni kweli hana pointi yoyote zaidi ya majivuno na hataki kuyameza na kukubali ukweli.

Hivi unadhani angekuwa na mifano hai ya kuunga mkono hoja zake si angekuwa keshaisambaratisha hoja yangu? Wewe huoni alivyo mwepesi wa kubandua na kubandika maandiko ya akina Nyerere na Fanon ili tu kuunga mkono hoja zake? Lol

Zakumi, ni hivi. Wakati wa vita dhidi ya nduli si Nyerere alituambia kuwa sababu tunayo, nia tunayo, na uwezo wa kumtwanga nduli tunao? Na tulifanya nini? Si tulimtwanga (ingawaje pale Lukaya walitumia virungu na mishale na upinde..Lol)?

Sasa sababu ya kuondokana na umaskini tunayo. Hakuna mtu apendaye kuishi kwa dhiki. Nia ya kuondokana na umaskini tunayo. Kasheshe ni uwezo wa kuondokana na huo umaskini. Kila siku tunajiaminisha kuwa tumejaliwa maliasili nyingi tu. Sasa kama maliasili tunazo, sababu tunayo, nia tunayo....tatizo ni nini kama sio uwezo?

And in uwezo, there lies in Ndivyo Tulivyo. Hatuwezi.

Nakusikia mkuu. Afu Companero na Mkandara wanataka kufanya dhiki kuwa ni ustadi wa maisha. Maisha ya watanzania wengi ni dhiki.

Katika dunia hakuna mchungaji wa mifugo ambaye atapata malisho katika eneo la karibu, na akahamua kuyafuata malisho yaliopo mwendo wa kilomita 20.

Hapa ni sawa na mtu kuwa na kisima karibu, lakini akahamua kwenda kuchota maji kisima cha mbali hili kuonyesha kuwa anaweza kubeba maji sana.

Mfano wako wa vita vya Uganda ni sahihi kabisa. Lakini hili watanzania waelewe somo ni lazima uwaeleze kwa kutumia soccer, they call it football.

Nilipokuwa Ulaya tuliunda timu ya vijana wa kiAfrika. Na tukacheza mechi na wazungu. Kwa technic vijana wa kiAfrika tulienea sana. Tulijua kupiga danadana na ku-control ball. Lakini mechi ilipokwisha tulipigwa 7-0. Wazungu wao, walikuwa wanakimbia mbele, kutumia mabavu na kulenga golini tu. Mpira ukiwa wetu wote wanarudi golini kwao kulinda. Nilichojifunza ni kuwa mara nyingi tunafanya exercise za mambo mengi for sake of it. Lakini wenzetu, hata kitu kidogo wanakuwa na lengo la kufanya.

Mwaka jana wakati wa olimpiki, Ivory Coast walicheza na Argentina. Kocha mmoja akasema timu nyingi za Africa hazina nidhamu ya kufuata ushauri wa kocha. Hivyo timu inaweza kucheza vizuri sana, lakini ikafungwa goli la kipuuzi kwa sababu beki alihamua kuacha nafasi yake na kujaribu kuwa mfungaji au kiungo. Ukiangalia timu kama Manchester united, kocha saa zote yupo kwenye touch line kuwambia wachezaji wafanye nini. Na mchezaji ambaye hafuati ushauri wako, huo ndio mwisho wake.

Vilevile ukingalia NFL na NBA, utaona jinsi makocha wanavyopanga wachezaji wakati wa mchezo au kununua wachezaji ku-fit system ya mchezo wao.

Ukiwa Tanzania, Simba au Yanga wanatafuta mchezaji anayecheza vizuri. Lakini hata siku moja hawatafuti wachezaji ku-fit system ambayo wanayotumia au watakayotumia. The worst of all hata system yenyewe hawana. The just play and kick the ball.

Katika thread hii, sioni hata sababu ya Tanzania kufikiria talented tenth. Dunia imesomesha watu kibao na kuna watu wenye sifa kemkem wanaotafuta sehemu za ku-ply ujuzi. Kama una system, na viongozi wa kuongoza hiyo system, wapo watu wa kukusaidia. Ukienda UAE, wao wana mitaji tu, lakini talent zinatoka sehemu zote za dunia.

Kwangu mimi maendeleo ya jamii ni sawa na collective team sport kama vile soccer, basketball or American footie. Unatakiwa uwe na talent katika timu. Unatakiwa uwe system ambayo ina maximize talent iliyopo na ku-minimize weakness. Tanzania kuna watu bado wanaomba kazi kwa kutumia GPA, wakati wamemaliza shule miaka kumi iliyopita.

 

[Zakumi]

[THE MAASAI IN THE MODERN ERA: MYTH AND REALITY]
This myth also made use of the image of the Maasai as a “savage” so as to create the myths of “the white man country” i.e. a land that white settler could take over as if it did not belong to the Maasai. These, in essence, are the myths that preceded the colonization of East Africa in general and the Maasailand in particular.

So in 1891 we find Lord Delamere, at the age of 21 and having read a number of travelogues, making his first trip to Africa. The following excerpts illustrate how he, as a product and producer of the above-mentioned myths and images, paved the way for colonialism:

Sasa kwa nini unasema mwalimu wako alikua kigeugeu wakati unajua athari za myth, huyo lord apo unasema aliaanza kupewa hadith za uongo tangia ana miaka kumi na kumi na nne by the time he was twenty one akili ilishachotwa na uongo kuhusu jamii ya kimasai kwa faida ya ku-colonizde na ndugu zetu wameshaongopewa miaka mingapi? ili wazurure.

JC:

Posti zako ni nzuri. Lakini Companero anataka tuelewe mazuri ya waMasaai bila hata ya kusema ubaya wao.

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Cheki Miafrika in action

 

[Zakumi]

Cheki Miafrika in action

Don't tell me that is an ambulance. That technology is prehistoric. Angalia ancient egyptian chariots were much better and advanced.

 

[Eric Cartman]

Posti zako ni nzuri. Lakini Companero anataka tuelewe mazuri ya waMasaai bila hata ya kusema ubaya wao.

Honesty is the best policy Mh, Zakumi

Kwa kweli i can not paint a good picture of these tribe even if i want to particularly on their persitence with their out of date thinking, Which serve no purpose of development in a society. Nikisema nitete ni kuliongopea taifa na maendeleo huo ndio ukweli wenyewe.

Personally Im sorted and I think hela hipo hapa nilipo acheni na hizo myth ya kwamba watu wote ni wabeba ma-box, still educating my self freely under the government grants, attending a reputable university and i have so many tricks off my sleeves. Hivyo ni mimi kuitafuta hela kama wengine walivyo ikamata thats what a free market can offer if you have the right papers na ujuaji hela ipo wapi hapo; ndio kila mtu anakamata angle yake.

Sina mpango wa kurudi Tanzania within the next six years ku-settle apart from monthly breaks or two weeks breaks. Lakini kitu ambacho kimenitesa ni kunyanya sika kwa watu weusi hapa tulipo particularly wana-funzi wanao kuja kusoma sasa kutoka nchi za kiafrica. Na sheria zilizopo hapa kwa sasa watakao kuja niwale watoto wa mafisadi, watanzania wakaida hushia kufunga mabegi nakugeuza wenyewe jinsi hali ilivyokua ngumu baada ya kumaliza masomo yao. Na vyuo vyenyewe ni vya ajabu ajabu tu. Apart from vyou wanavyoingia watoto wa mafisadi. Kwani ada ya shule kwa international student ni £7000 kwa mwaka kwenye degree ya kawaida na £11000 kwenye laboratory degrees. Sasa ni watu gani wenye hela hizo bongo. Bado ajalipa accomodation about £80 per week, aja kata travel card ya week almost £30 ajakula aja socialize maisha ni magumu mno kwa hawa watu. Hawalali vizuri kutwa kufanya kazi mpaka mtu unaona du kweli hii noma kuishi kwa visa huko.

Sasa unajiuliza kwanini? sio kwa sababu sio wewe ndio uone sawa tu kama Lowassa alivyo. Unaangalia tatizo la nyumbani na vyanzo vyenyewe vya matatizo, kasumbaa za kwamba elimu ya ulaya ni bora kwani ulaya wana malaika kwenye vyuo vyao au yote ni vitabu tu ambavyo mwalimu anakwambia kasome baada ya short lecture, kwani degree yenyewe ni kama unajifunza mwenyewe tu unless your doing a laboratory one wao kazi yao ni kutoa maswali kwa namna za essay na mitihani na criterias ambazo wana mark.

Sasa unaangalia the amount of scholars ambao tunapoteza kwa ajili ya siasa za nyumbani wacha wale wanaokimbilia politics bali wale ambao skills zao kanada kila siku ina waiba kuwafundisha wanafunzi na kuwaweka kwenye laboratory zao hapo ndio mtu roho inakuma kama kweli we ni mpenda Tanzania. Hawa watu wangeleta changamoto kubwa nyumbani na kutoa helimu muhimu kwa hawa vijana leo hii wanao kimbilia ulaya bila ya uwezo wenyewe kwa hali ya sheria za sasa.

Mimi chuo nilichokua na soma ni kina utaalamu wa engineering, na course nyingine ndogo ambazo si engineering ambazo akina avaraje Juma tunaingia na hawatukaguwi kwa A'levels, lakini humo ndani nimewakuta 'wabongo mates' (watoto wakitanzania ambao walikuja wadogo kwa hivyo lugha ambayo kwao wao comfartable ni kizungu) wapo kama sita na wanasoma heavy engineering wao kama una four A'levels uingi wana kaguliwa tangia 0'level kwa jinsi ya uaba wa nafasi kwa kweli mtu anaesoma engineering hiko chuo muogope kwani ni chuo kinachoeshimika uingereza kwa kozi za engineering lakini hivi ni vipaji ambavyo tanzania itavi poteza kama wasomi wengi tunavyo wapoteza kwani amna vishawishi vitakavyo wafanya hawa watoto warudi.

Sasa kama ni kusema kitu cha kujifunza kwa wamasai ni displine ya maisha ambayo wanatukuza mila zao na tanzania ijifunze kuweka discipline kwenye theories ambazo zinaleta maendeleo kwenye jamii. Kama wamasai walivyoweza kuendeleza maisha yao kwa karne kadhaa na sisi tunaweza leta maendeleo kama tuta eshimu kanuni za maendeleo hiyo sasa ni kazi ya Kikwete na ukweli wenyewe hiyo aiwezekani mpaka tue na sheria zinazo fanya kazi kihalali. Labda kesho wote tutarudi kujaribu maisha nyumbani kwa kutumia realistic approaches na si kujiopngopea hivyo mmasai kitu ambacho anchoweza kutufunza ni discipline hila kwenye kuendeleza theories za maendeleo na kuwacha kuwafanya baadhi ya vijana kuja kupata tabu huku, kwani mimi sitaki wanangu waje angaika ulaya nataka waone kwao bora kuliko huku.

 

[Companero]

Naona mjadala umepoteza mwelekeo. Badala ya kujadili hoja, mtoa hoja ndio anajadiliwa. Nashauri tufunge huu mjadala. Kesho nafungua mjadala wa 'Modeling Sustainable Development by using Local Cultural Practices - Kumodeli Maendeleo Endelevu kwa Kutumia Njia za Kiutamaduni za Jamii'. Nitawasihi mtumie na kuthibitisha dhahania na nadharia kwa kutumia mifano halisi kutoka kwenye jamii zetu.

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Naona mjadala umepoteza mwelekeo. Badala ya kujadili hoja, mtoa hoja ndio anajadiliwa. Nashauri tufunge huu mjadala. Kesho nafungua mjadala wa 'Modeling Sustainable Development by using Local Cultural Practices - Kumodeli Maendeleo Endelevu kwa Kutumia Njia za Kiutamaduni za Jamii'. Nitawasihi mtumie na kuthibitisha dhahania na nadharia kwa kutumia mifano halisi kutoka kwenye jamii zetu.

Acha visingizio bana. Kama unataka kuufunga mjadala kwa kukosa au kushindwa hoja sema lakini sio kusema eti watu wanamjadili mtoa hoja. Come on dude

 

[Companero]

Acha visingizio bana. Kama unataka kuufunga mjadala kwa kukosa au kushindwa hoja sema lakini sio kusema eti watu wanamjadili mtoa hoja. Come on dude

Haya tuendelee, talented tenth mwingine huyu hapa:

IB graduate profile <http://www.ibo.org/graduates/stories/mmahiga.cfm >

At 28, woman director grooms professionals <http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/newe.php?id=14652>

 

[RealTz77]

Haya tuendelee, talented tenth mwingine huyu hapa:

IB graduate profile <http://www.ibo.org/graduates/stories/mmahiga.cfm >

At 28, woman director grooms professionals <http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/newe.php?id=14652 University in England, studying for an LLB Law degree. My plans for after graduation are primarily to work for international development agencies in England or elsewhere in Europe. I will defer postgraduate studies for the next academic year.>

wewe mtoa mada nahisi hujaielewa hata unachotaka kutuambia kutokana na watu unatuwekea hapa,hawa wadada wote wamesomeshwa nje ya nchi ok si mbaya but hawana kipya walichofanya,sio talented hawa wamelazimishiwa na wazazi wao au walezi,soma huyo anaetaka kufanya kazi uk na europe utamsema nae tunamhitaji tz kwa lipi? hata masomo waliyosoma si ya kuendeleza nchi ni ya kuendeleza au kusustain kilichoendelezwa tayari,si wanamageuzi hawa mzee,thats why naweza sema pia kina michuzi, thabit hasheem..aagh,hujajua watu wako na ambao ni muhimu kwa tanzania!!thanks

 

[Companero]

wewe mtoa mada nahisi hujaielewa hata unachotaka kutuambia kutokana na watu unatuwekea hapa,hawa wadada wote wamesomeshwa nje ya nchi ok si mbaya but hawana kipya walichofanya,sio talented hawa wamelazimishiwa na wazazi wao au walezi,soma huyo anaetaka kufanya kazi uk na europe utamsema nae tunamhitaji tz kwa lipi? hata masomo waliyosoma si ya kuendeleza nchi ni ya kuendeleza au kusustain kilichoendelezwa tayari,si wanamageuzi hawa mzee,thats why naweza sema pia kina michuzi, thabit hasheem..aagh,hujajua watu wako na ambao ni muhimu kwa tanzania!!thanks

Haya mambo ya kukurupuka bila kusoma definition ya 'talented tenth' inayotumika kwenye mada hii ndio yanasababisha mposti comment kama hizi. Kuto-follow instruction kwenye mtihani kunatosha kukufelisha. Re-read the first post hasa kwenye linki ya muasisi wa nadharia ya 1 ya 10. As you say, "problems are messages"!