The Maji Maji Rebellion
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| The leaders of the revolt who were executed by Germany |
The Maji Maji Rebellion was an interethnic revolt by the people of East Africa under German colonial rule. It took place from 1905 to 1907 in what is now Tanzania. It began after the governor of East Africa, Count Gustav Adolf von Götzen, implemented a policy forcing the African natives to grow cotton as a cash crop. The backbreaking work involved in this, as well as the other ways in which it would disrupt the lives of workers and their families, incited anger from the native peoples. A spirit medium named Kinjikitile Ngwale, who called himself “Bokero,” told followers that they had been chosen to rid their homeland of the Germans and used traditional African religion and magic to gather support and begin fighting. The namesake of the rebellion was a key element of native war technique; a medicine called maji, made from water, castor oil and millet seeds, was purported by Ngwale and his followers to turn German bullets into water. This gave the revolting warriors confidence to fight the German military, but they were quickly defeated. While this landmark African rebellion did not meet its goal, it did prompt the German government to institute some reforms.