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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The Rise and Decline of Bungu Power: A Forgotten Episode in the History of Nineteenth Century Tanzania |
Author: | Shorter, Aylward |
Year: | 1974 |
Periodical: | Tanzania Notes and Records |
Volume: | 73 |
Period: | July |
Pages: | 1-18 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Tanzania |
Subjects: | Bungu history 1900-1999 Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) History and Exploration |
Abstract: | The Bungu (Wungu) people of south-western Tanzania number only some 21,000. In spite of their numerical insignificance and the poverty of their resources, there are 19th century records - acclaiming the Bungu as 'warlike', 'rich', 'well-armed', 'adroit at rapine' and even 'very numerous'. At a time when the Arabs were newcomers to the Tabora area, the Bungu were already working closely with Arab traders. Did they owe their military prowess to the superior weapons brought them by the Arabs, or had they already a history of conquest which attracted the Arabs as allies? These questions are examined in the article in the following sections: Introduction - Formation of the Bungu people through conquest - The Ngoni occupation of Ubungu (the country of the Bungu) - The campaign of Kilanga I and Amran Masudi against the Sangu - Arab disenchantment with the Bungu - Conclusion. Notes; Appendices; Map. |