Mkwawa Museum in Kalenga (15 km west of Iringa) ⅼ Instagram: @mkwawa_museum / @mkwawa.heritage.museum
Kalenga served as the headquarters of Chief Mkwawa. He resisted the German colonisers until 1898, when he was finally hunted down and committed suicide. His head was severed and sent to Germany. The Treaty of Versailles stipulated that it had to be handed over to the British. In 1954, they brought it back to Tanganyika. The (presumed) skull is on display in the small Mkwawa Museum. The exhibition also shows a number of his weapons, including spears, shields and rifles. Outside the museum are the graves of Sapi Mkwawa, Chief Mkwawa’s successor, and Adam Sapi Mkwawa, his grandson. You can also see the remains of the fort wall.
Further Information About Chief Mkwawa
- Remembering the Dismembered: Mtwa Mkwawa: www.rememberinghumanremains.wordpress.com/mkwawa/
- Who was Chief Mkwawa? The Legacy of Uhehe’s Resistance Leader: www.mkwawa.com
- Baer, Martin & Schröter, Olaf (2001): Eine Kopfjagd. Deutsche in Ostafrika – Spuren kolonialer Herrschaft. Berlin: Ch. Links.
Decolonial Travel Guide Tanzania 