Julius Nyerere, Comprehension of Slavery, and Nation Building: Some Notes on Popular Consciousness in Modern Tanzania

This article examines the image of Julius Nyerere, the first president of independent Tanzania, among present-day citizens. Spotting of both the presence and persistence of his image in popular consciousness became an unexpected result of unrelated field research on the historical memory of 19th...

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Main Author: BANSHCHIKOVA Anastasia Alekseevna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for African Studies 2023-12-01
Series:Ученые записки Института Африки Российской академии наук
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Online Access:https://africajournal.ru/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bancshikova_Dzhulius-Nerere.pdf
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author BANSHCHIKOVA Anastasia Alekseevna
author_facet BANSHCHIKOVA Anastasia Alekseevna
author_sort BANSHCHIKOVA Anastasia Alekseevna
collection DOAJ
description This article examines the image of Julius Nyerere, the first president of independent Tanzania, among present-day citizens. Spotting of both the presence and persistence of his image in popular consciousness became an unexpected result of unrelated field research on the historical memory of 19th century slave trade and its influence on interethnic relations in the country. The study did not include any questions about Julius Nyerere, colonialism, or Tanzania's independence. However, many respondents on their own will start talking about Nyerere's role in connection with the abolition of the slave trade (sic), about his contribution to building a peaceful nation without ethnic tensions, the spread of the Swahili language, and education. The variety of answers shows that almost any positive shift in the development of Tanganyika and Tanzania can be attributed to him in popular consciousness. This demonstrates the continuing importance of Nyerere's image and legacy for ordinary Tanzanians.
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spelling doaj-art-34d44cb49ff748f89fdc62c7ea95ca8c2025-08-20T03:05:21ZengRussian Academy of Sciences, Institute for African StudiesУченые записки Института Африки Российской академии наук2412-57173034-34962023-12-019412213010.31132/2412-5717-2023-65-4-122-130Julius Nyerere, Comprehension of Slavery, and Nation Building: Some Notes on Popular Consciousness in Modern TanzaniaBANSHCHIKOVA Anastasia Alekseevna0Senior Research Fellow, Centre for History and Cultural Anthropology, Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences. Russian FederationThis article examines the image of Julius Nyerere, the first president of independent Tanzania, among present-day citizens. Spotting of both the presence and persistence of his image in popular consciousness became an unexpected result of unrelated field research on the historical memory of 19th century slave trade and its influence on interethnic relations in the country. The study did not include any questions about Julius Nyerere, colonialism, or Tanzania's independence. However, many respondents on their own will start talking about Nyerere's role in connection with the abolition of the slave trade (sic), about his contribution to building a peaceful nation without ethnic tensions, the spread of the Swahili language, and education. The variety of answers shows that almost any positive shift in the development of Tanganyika and Tanzania can be attributed to him in popular consciousness. This demonstrates the continuing importance of Nyerere's image and legacy for ordinary Tanzanians.https://africajournal.ru/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bancshikova_Dzhulius-Nerere.pdfjulius nyereretanzaniaarab-swahili slave tradespread of the swahili languagepopular consciousnessnation building
spellingShingle BANSHCHIKOVA Anastasia Alekseevna
Julius Nyerere, Comprehension of Slavery, and Nation Building: Some Notes on Popular Consciousness in Modern Tanzania
Ученые записки Института Африки Российской академии наук
julius nyerere
tanzania
arab-swahili slave trade
spread of the swahili language
popular consciousness
nation building
title Julius Nyerere, Comprehension of Slavery, and Nation Building: Some Notes on Popular Consciousness in Modern Tanzania
title_full Julius Nyerere, Comprehension of Slavery, and Nation Building: Some Notes on Popular Consciousness in Modern Tanzania
title_fullStr Julius Nyerere, Comprehension of Slavery, and Nation Building: Some Notes on Popular Consciousness in Modern Tanzania
title_full_unstemmed Julius Nyerere, Comprehension of Slavery, and Nation Building: Some Notes on Popular Consciousness in Modern Tanzania
title_short Julius Nyerere, Comprehension of Slavery, and Nation Building: Some Notes on Popular Consciousness in Modern Tanzania
title_sort julius nyerere comprehension of slavery and nation building some notes on popular consciousness in modern tanzania
topic julius nyerere
tanzania
arab-swahili slave trade
spread of the swahili language
popular consciousness
nation building
url https://africajournal.ru/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Bancshikova_Dzhulius-Nerere.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT banshchikovaanastasiaalekseevna juliusnyererecomprehensionofslaveryandnationbuildingsomenotesonpopularconsciousnessinmoderntanzania