Chapter 02 : Keeping records of historical events

Introduction

In Standard Four, you learnt about various events that took place in your family, in neighbouring families and at school. You also learnt about different kinds of instruments used to record historical events and the methods used to keep historical information about such events for future use. In this chapter, you will learn about different historical events that occurred in Tanzania from 1961 to 2002. Also, you will learn about the sources and methods of collecting historical information. In addition, you will identify different places where historical information is kept.

Historical events in Tanzania, 1961-2002

There are different historical events that have happened in Tanzania. Some of the events happened between 1961 and 2002. Table 1 shows some of such events.

Exercise

Answer the following questions:

1 . When did Tanganyika get her independence?

2. When did Tanganyika and Zanzibar unite to form the United Republic of Tanzania?

3. In which year did the Kagera war start?

4. What leadership position did Edward Moringe Sokoine hold?

5. Who was the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania?

Sources and ways of keeping records of historical events

In order to understand events that happened in the past, historians use a number of sources to get and keep information. This section analyses some important sources and ways of keeping historical information.

(a) Oral memories

These are sources of information. Such information is conveyed through the word of mouth. There are two types of oral memories, namely oral traditions and oral testimonies.

Oral traditions refer to information about the distant past. They are transmitted from one generation to another through the word of mouth. In oral tradition, a person who narrates a story about a past event did not witness the event. Rather, he/she learnt about that event from previous generations. For example, a person can talk about the development of his/her society since the 1800s, not because he/she witnessed the development in question but because he/she learnt about it from previous generations.

Oral testimonies are sources of information about the past. They are given by people who witnessed a historical event. Historical events can be about an accident, death or war. Oral memories are easy and less expensive to collect but need careful analysis to avoid bias in recording information.

(b) Archaeology

Archaeology is the study of material remains of the lives of human beings in the past. Those who study such remains are called archaeologists. Through the excavation method, archaeologists dig the soil in order to find and recover remains of buildings, tools, animals, plant fossils and others. They interpret the remains and write reports on what they have found. Historians use the remains and reports prepared by archaeologists as a source of information and as evidence for understanding the past. They also write about it. They can use that information to write about the culture of past societies, events that happened in the past and the time when the events happened. For example, British archaeologists Dr Louis Leakey and his wife Dr Mary Leakey discovered the skull of a Zinjanthropus at the Olduvai Gorge in 1959 (Arusha, Tanzania). This discovery is used by historians to justify the historical truth about the origin of mankind.

(c) Historical anthropology

Historical anthropology is the study of human, social or cultural institutions and their relationships over time. It studies cultural systems such as ideas, beliefs, religions, practices and institutions that regulate a particular society. Historians use this information to understand past human activities and cultural practices. By using data from anthropology, historians can collect information about the culture, lives, traditions, taboos, behaviours and the development of a particular society in time and space.

(d) Historical linguistics

Historical linguistics is the study and analysis of the sounds, structures and formation of a given language and the way in which that language reflects the culture of a particular society. It pays attention to the time when the language started, ways in which it changed over time, the time when certain words began to be used and the reason why they are used. Historical linguistics also studies the relationship between one language and others in order to understand cultural interactions between different societies.

Therefore, historical linguistics is an important source of information for understanding events and processes about the human past. This is due to the fact that language carries important information about the history, culture and development of a society. For example, some Kiswahili words such as chupa, dunia, shukrani and shule resemble words spoken by people from the Middle East, the Far East and Europe. By studying the Kiswahili language, it is possible to get information about the origins of, and interactions between, the people in Tanzania who speak Kiswahili and those in the Middle East, the Far East and Europe.

(e) Written records

Written records are also a very important source of information about events and processes that happened in the past. They may include books, diaries, letters, official correspondences, newspapers and institutional reports. Some of these records are very old. Others have been written recently. Many of these written records can be found in libraries and archives. For example, in Tanzania, some written sources were produced by the early Muslim traders who visited Tanzania. Other written records were produced by the early European explorers, missionaries and traders who visited the country and the colonial officials who worked in Tanzania during the periods of German and British rule. Some of these written records have been produced by officials who worked in the post-independence period. Historians use these written records to understand what happened in the past.

(f) Museum records

A museum is a place where memories of historical events about the past are kept. Many objects representing cultural events and developments about the past are stored in museums. Tanzania has many museums such as the National Museum and House of Culture in Dar es Salaam, the Village Museum in Dar es Salaam, the Maji Maji War Museum in Songea, the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Museum in Butiama, the Arusha Declaration Museum in Arusha, the Natural History Museum in Arusha and the Moravian Church Museum in Rungwe. In these museums, you can find objects showing social, political and economic events that happened in the past. Historians use these objects and their descriptions to understand and write about the past.

(g) Historical sites

Historical sites are places where one can find information about historical events. There are various places with records of historical events in Tanzania. They include those mentioned below:

(i) Sites of the Slave Trade and Arabic influence

The sites include Mji Mkongwe in Zanzibar, Kilwa in Lindi, Kaole in Bagamoyo, Ujiji in Kigoma and Songea in Ruvuma. Other sites are located along the Lake Nyasa region, Tanga, Singida and Tabora.

(ii) Sites of ancient civilization in Tanzania

They include the Olduvai Gorge in Arusha, Isimila in Iringa and Kondoa-lrangi in Dodoma.

(iii) Sites of colonial wars and the First World War

They include Lugalo, Kalenga, Songea, Kilwa, Mahenge, Tanga, Nyangao and Masasi.

Historical sites are very useful sources of historical information, which show the reality through the physical existence of past experiences or development.

Methods used to collect historical information

There are four methods which historians use to collect information about past events.

(a) Oral interview — This method is used to collect oral memories, especially oral traditions and testimonies.

(b) Documentary research — This method is used to find written information about events that happened in the past. This kind of research is conducted in libraries, archives and other documentation centres.

(c) Direct observation — In this method, historians visit historical sites where records about past events can be found.

(d) Questionnaire — This method is used to collect written information from a big number of respondents.

Tools used to record historical information

(a) Tape recorders — They are used to record sound.

(b) Cameras — They are used to take pictures, both still pictures and videos.

(c) Notebooks — They are used to take notes. (d) Pens or pencils — They are used to take notes.

Vocabulary