Social Justice Context: Environment and Setting
This project was conducted as part of the CIS 668 (Social Justice and Inclusion Advocacy) class during fall 2023 that involved collaborating with Bwagamoyo Africulture on establishing a community library and archive. On this page, I describe the environment and setting of Bagamoyo, Tanzania.
Figure 1. The East Indian Ocean coastline in Bagamoyo, Tanzania.
Bagamoyo, Tanzania is a Swahili coastal town located on the Indian coast of Africa. It is 47 miles north of the capital city Dar es Salaam and sits directly across the island of Zanzibar, on the mainland of Tanzania. Bagamoyo is recognized as a National Historic Site of Tanzania for its role in the East African Slave and Ivory trade industry. However, there is some debate around the etymology of the name. Some say it means "to give up all how," while others say it means "to take a load off your heart." The former is used by people who believe that the East African trade industry relied on humans, or captured and traded Africans, therefore referencing a period of captivity. The latter is used by people who believe that there is not enough evidence to support the claim was a popular industry, thereby interpreting the word to mean "an area considered a respite for traders who traveled long distances and could finally rest.
Bagamoyo is recognized as a National Historic Site of Tanzania for its role in the East African trade industry. However, there is some debate on the etymology of the name originally spelled “Bwagamoyo” based on different opinions related to what exactly fueled the industry. The name is said to have two different meanings based on two different perspectives. Some say it means “give up all hope”, while others say it means “take a load off your heart”. The former is used by people who believe that the East African Trade industry relied on humans, or captured and traded Africans, therefore is describe a period of captivity, while the latter is used by people who believe that there is not enough evidence to support a claim that slavery was a popular industry, but that it was an area considered a respite for traders who traveled long distances and could finally rest.
Over the course of its history, Bagamoyo has been used by explorers and traders from Portugal, Oman, Germany, and the United Kingdom creating a mixture of Muslim and Christian religious centers, communities, and practices. Tanzania achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1961 and Julius Nyerere, former Prime Minister, became the first president in 1962. In 1967, Nyerere presents the Arusha Declaration which established the principles of Ujamaa, a social, political and economic policy that forms the basis of their socialist position. Today, the country is led by the first female President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who assumed the position after the death of President John Magufuli.
Bwagamoyo Africulture is a performing arts organization located in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. I have been working with Bwagamoyo Africulture as part of a partnership with The Radical Archive of Preservation. This will act as the site of the library and archive. The parent organization is the Historic village of Bagamoyo. In 2006, Bagamoyo became a prime site in the application to establish the area as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of The Central Slave and Ivory Trade Route. The International interest in this site makes it a prime location in establishing a community archives and library.
Social Justice Agency/Organization Profile: Existing How?
BWAGAMOYO AFRI-CULTURE (AFRICULTURE) is a non-governmental organization registered No. 05908 under BARAZA LA SANAA LA TAIFA (BASATA) Tanzania arts council. Africulture invests in the local and national arts community through community engagement and instruction as well as performance contracts with governmental and large corporate agencies. At Africulture instructors teach African traditional dance, acrobatic, theater, drama and drumming.
Africulture was established in 2005 by professionally-trained local residents of the Bagamoyo community. Africulture has performed internationally since 2012 with Alliance Francie (Kenya), Bagamoyo International Festival (Tanzania), Zanzibar Film Festival (Zanzibar), Haba na Haba International Contemporary Dance (Tanzania), Green Peace festival (Tanzania), Kendwa Rocks Full Moon Party (Zanzibar), Dusud festival (France and Spain), Tyrolen Festival (Sweden), Surajkund Festival (India).
References
Fabian, Steven. “East Africa’s Gorée: Slave Trade and Slave Tourism in Bagamoyo, Tanzania.” Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne Des Études Africaines, vol. 47, no. 1, 2013, pp. 95–114. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43860408. Accessed 24 Sept. 2023.
Notholt, Stuart (2008). Fields of Fire: An Atlas of Ethnic Conflict. Troubador Publishing. p. 2.52. ISBN 978-1-906510-47-3.
Julius Nyerere Obituary", The Guardian, Guardian News and Media Limited, 15 October 1999, archived from the original on 31 October 2013, retrieved 28 February 2010.
UNESCO World Heritage Convention. The Central Slave and Ivory Trade Route - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed October 1, 2023