ABSTRACT

The Majimaji War (1904–1908) was a resistance against German colonialism in Tanzania and one of the famous anti-colonial war in African history because of its uses of a water concoction (maji) as a bullet proof. Between 100,000 and 300,000 people died of hunger and war perils whereas the Germans executed leaders of the war, traditional healers, warriors and suspects who were buried in mass graves or suspiciously amputated and taken to German for craniological studies. More than a century after the war, repatriation, identity and remedy have remained the challenges that face contemporary Majimaji communities. While repatriation serves as a catalyst for processes of communities mourning, the broad and entangled identity of the victims and the absence of graves on the battle landscape have made remedying from the Majimaji a complicated undertaking. This chapter uses Majimaji mass graves to present communities’ perspectives on repatriation, identity and remedy, and informs how colonial memories are lived through in the postcolonial Tanzania.