Telling our own stories : : local histories from South Mara, Tanzania / / by Jan Bender Shetler.

• Superior document: African sources for African history ; 4
• Author: Shetler
• VerfasserIn: Shetler, Jan Bender,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, The Netherlands ;, Boston : : Brill,, [2003]; ©2003
• Year of Publication: 2003
• Language: English
• Series: African sources for African history ; 4.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.

In this collection of ethnic group histories, written by authors from the Mara Region of Tanzania, local people tell their stories as a way to inspire development that builds on the strengths of the past. It combines histories from the small, but closely related, ethnic groups of Ikizu, Sizaki, Ikoma, Ngoreme, Nata, Ishenyi and Tatoga in South Mara, east of Lake Victoria and west of Serengeti National Park. Many of the authors compiled their stories by meeting with groups of elders. They were concerned to preserve history for the next generation who had not taken the time to learn the stories orally. The stories were written in Swahili and translated into English with annotations and an introduction so that readers not familiar with this region might also share in the experience. It also includes transcriptions of oral interviews with some of the same stories to get a sense of the ongoing conversions about the past. This collection makes local history told in a local idiom accessible to students of African history interested in social memory and the creation of ethnicity.

Table of Contents

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Editors' introduction -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction The Historical Context of South Mara Narratives -- Chapter I The History of the Ikizu and Sizaki -- Chapter II Short Histories of the Ishenyi, Ikoma and Tatoga peoples -- Chapter III Three Histories of the Ngoreme -- Chapter IV Oral Transcriptions and Shorter -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Authors index -- African Sources for African History.