Narratives of Ujamaa and the constitution of the Tanzanian nation through the verbal art of Euphrase Kezilahabi and Marijani Rajabu

Abstract

Euphrase Kezilahabi’s novel Dunia Uwanja wa Fujo (1976) carries on a debate with other Tanzanian texts about the forced migration and economic displacement being carried out at the time of its composition. Songs such as “Masudi” (n.d.) and “Mwana Mpotevu” (1978) by Marijani Rajabu, together with a host of others such as the song “Gezaulole” by Urafiki Jazz, participate in discussions, carried out across genres, demonstrating the ambiguous position Ujamaa then occupied within both intellectual and widespread sociocultural circles. These two works also serve to emphasize the centrality of this debate, in Swahili, regarding the formulation of Tanzanian society as an imaginary, postcolonial, and national space. A consideration of these texts alongside the rhetorical artistry of Tanzanian politicians allows us to formulate responses to the following: what are the ideas expressed in these works about the validity of the Ujamaa project as hyper-forced intranational migration and how did artists such as Kezilahabi and Rajabu formulate meaningful articulations of these situations?