"Sunday, August 8, 1909 [underlined] […] In the village, watched and photographed a Waschamba-Goma [dance]. [...] When I wanted to go for a walk, the dancer from this morning came by to collect his bakshish; he also brought one of his bells for sale. It looks like a hammer. On top, a bell made by bending iron together, below a wooden handle, joined with funo (bushbuck) fur. The device is used by the Wabondei during dancing and is called Gong’ongo in Kibondei, and Shuka kubwa in Kiswahili. – [...]" [translation]

source: Museum der Kulturen Basel, VI 56197, 53 (107)
author: Karl Braun

In 1934, the former director of the Biological Imperial Institute for Agriculture and Forestry (Biologische Reichsanstalt für Land- und Forstwirtschaft) Karl Braun (1870–1935) gave the so-called “Kolonialsammlung Braun” (Colonial Collection Braun) to the Hanseatic City of Stade, or rather its representative, the then mayor Hans Arthur Meyer (1884–1961). See the file „Transfer of a colonial collection from the senior government councillor Professor Dr. Karl Braun in Stade to the City of Stade” („Überlassung einer Kolonialsammlung vom Oberregierungsrat Professor Dr. Karl Braun in Stade an die Stadt Stade") at the Lower Saxony State Archives Stade (Niedersächsischen Landesarchiv Standort Stade).

source: Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv Standort Stade, Dep. 10 Nr. 03025

In 1997, the then city archivist Jürgen Bohmbach concludes a permanent loan agreement with the Museum Society Stade (Museumsverein Stade e.V.), for which the then director Gerd Mettjes signs. Thereafter, the collection from Karl Braun is transferred to the care of the Museum Society Stade (Museumsverein Stade e.V.).

source: Museen Stade, Vereinbarung Leihgabe "Brauns'sche Kolonialsammlung"

I: Okay thanks, now we go to another photo with equipments, here I have another picture which is registered with the number 2018_18309_1, see if you can identify what this is? R: This is 'Mbuhi', in Swahili we can say it is a 'bell', but if you come to Pare language it is called 'njugha' which were tied to the legs when dancing 'mwelema', or sometimes it was made a big one and tied to a cow that you saw it likes walking too much, so when they went at a certain area you heard it making noise, you knew the cow is somewhere, so that is how this was used. I: So, the 'njugha' was most exactly used by people of which communities? R: The Pare people when dancing, the Sambaa people as well had their dance called ‘upauu' or 'kajanja’.... I: You said it was used as a bell, and as well it was used to animals, so we will look on to all uses to the animals and the bell, you mentioned different names used when dancing it had its name and if used to animals it had its name, if used to animals what was it called? R: ‚Mmanga' I: What language is that? R: A Pare language. I: That was for the animals, what about ot the dance? R: ‘Njugha’, they were small, and they were tied on legs, when hitting them like this they were producing a nice sound and the drum were played. I: In which regions were these ‘njughas’ exactly produced and distributed? R: They were especially produced in Upare areas at a place called ‘Vudee Nyika' and ‘Gonja Maore’, there is a place called Gonja Miamba, that was where the Pare’s were saying ‘Jishanwa' which means they were being made, so you will find the ‘mivuri’ as I told you they called 'kuvugutha' which means blowing, but you were not blowing with your mouth like this 'fuu', you were supposed to give a sheep and get cooled, otherwise your stomach will get full. I: And this tool was mostly used by people of which gender and age? R: Young people were being trained those who were strong to play that dance ngoma I: Let's start with what is seen because what is seen was held by hand. R: This was held by hand, when drums were played people were seated round like this, this was one of the tool you held it and another one was hiting the canes like this, so you were getting a nice certain music of the dance from this, but also the drum used with this thing was held and played like this and some elders were seated there, know that there were two things to be discussed, they wanted to discuss about a market place, in the past markets were not set up like this present moment saying 'go to that place and arrange your things’, it was not like that, so the elders used to go with things like these and met for 3 or 4 days there, but they were calling each other from different hamlets, for example our village has 4 hamlets, so they were called all the elders from the 4 hamlets and meet here with their instruments, the people playing the drums smoke their tobacco with their long smoking pipes, in Pare language they were called ‘vipunde’, they were smoking and they started, so this was played and the drums were played then they started discussing, the day they will say go and set the market, this means it will never stop and there will be no quarrels or theft in that market, but nowadays markets are set and people fight in the markets, so the situation goes like that. I: ‘Kipunde’ R: It was a long smoking pipe, there were seats with 3 legs called ‘vichumbi’ which the elders were sitting on them. I: The elders were from what age? R: They were from the age of 70s onwards, but there must be one of them called 'mfumwambaha', he was the eldest of all and other things, so he was the first his chair was led and he seated at the middle, his smoking pipe was filled with tobacco by his fellows, it was lit and his work was just to smoke only, if he wanted to rest he was stretching his hand like this and there were young people taking to keep it for him, the market was set up like that and it caused no problems. I: So, it was like a place for a certain kind of ritual... R: But through things like that, we can say now we are used to that and saying they are musical instruments. I: So, it was played on special dances on such big events? R: Yes, these ‘njughas’ were played during the harvesting period, during wedding ceremony, or a guest visiting, so they were prepared for the boss to come and see them playing it, but this was played on something special, either it was a rain ritual that brought problems, so they were staying with these things, after finishining there was a place they went, in this forest there was a place we called it 'wina wamuungu' in our Handei forest, there was a hole that we called it 'wina wa mugungu' arriving at that place it was surrounded by many trees. I: What is the mening of ‘wina wa Mungu?’ R: It is a hole that was seen dug and the person who dug it was not known, so they went there with things like that, and at the same time in that forest there was a place called 'kungukaaghe', which means a someone committed a crime there, so the Jumbe was deciding he should be lost in that rock known as 'kaage', you were tied and taken there, arriving there a soldier called 'tarishi', he was given a long club, you won’t escape and you go there to die then they turned back. I: Okay fine, we have got the answer to the coming questions, what was the importance of that ‘njugha’ to the Pare culture. R: First it was important in decorating, secondly for improvements and thirdly to be seen especially when someone comes...in fact with their dressing on top hear there were ostrich feathers, and the hat was made with colobus monkey skin, here he wore another skin probably a leopard skin, if you saw him wearing like that with the things on his legs hitting them like this, actually you’ll be scared if you were a stranger, you won’t be able to join them carelessly if you were not welcomed, you’ll be asked what you have followed and you may even be fined, you will give a sheep or otherwise you’ll die, the sheep will be slaughtered to be eaten then you were allowed to go that you won’t die. I: In this current circumstance, do you think the ‘njugha’ will continue to be needed and used in the culture of Pare people? R: Oh! Currently it’s very impossible, this is because all the elder people who used to play them died and many children refused to follow that tradition, I have my brother who was a doctor doing operations in a hospital, my uncle was a local healer, he called my brother telling him that he was about to die, he called him to give him his njugha, tunguri (magical man’s gourd), and a pembe (horn), 'luhembe', it is the pembe, 'luhembe lwa mbala', that means pongo horns, in Sambaa language they call it 'kuungu', that is the pongo, so my brother was called with my uncle who said ‘ I am sick and that whenever I am testing my things my time is gone and my dreams have appointed you to inherit the things’, he then said to him ‘father I went to school, look at my clothes I have dressed, how comes I start holding tunguri, better you tell me about something else but about that you will forgive me, because you are the one who sent me to school’, then my uncle told him ‘ I said all my dreams and my views are on you,’ and he replied to him it was impossible and thank you I am leaving I have left my patients I will be sucked from my job for nothing, then he left, my uncle told him ‘ my time is limited but you will be back’, when he reached home a crow came and stood on his shoulder, when he went to the office the crow was with him, when he went to the toilet the crow was with him, when he went to take a shower the crow stood at the door and when getting out it was back again on his shoulder, he was walking with it like that and at last he had confidence that in fact it will attract the white people because they liked birds, so let it stay there and the good thing it does not poo on me, he stayed with it and finally some elders looked for him and told him he will get problems better he gets back to the old man, at last he told my uncle he had agreed to take those things, he was then told because you have accepted you have allowed me to die, so call for me some certain elders and they were called, he said this man annoyed me but because he has turned back find for me a hen, a black hen was found, it was a hen with many up right feathers, so he was told to call his fellows and they came and stood up there, the hen was slaughtered and released to flap its wings, it went around those who were standing, and finally ended its movement at the feet of my brother. The elders then said that was a sign of forgiveness being granted, and now he was accepted to inherit the items. After that, he was instructed to bathe using special herbal water, and to be dressed in a special ceremonial garment, then officially he was given the njugha, the tunguri, and the luhembe. From that point onward, he began to have various dreams guiding him on what to do, where to go, and how to help people. He became a respected traditional healer, yet still had modern medical knowledge. This made him a very unique person in the community, as he was able to wisely blend modern knowledge with traditional wisdom. So, although the use of njugha and other traditional tools has significantly declined due to generational changes and modern perspectives, they still hold a special place in the history and identity of Pare culture. These instruments may continue to be preserved as cultural heritage symbols, even if they are no longer used as they once were. I: Did he stopped working as a doctor? R: No, from his work as a doctor when he came back home there were people waiting for him to get the local treatment, some came for the treatment of small intestine stomach disease and he was giving them the treatment, so it was like that, but nowadays there are no such things like that, in fact the old people died and they are not existing, our village leader had his father that when a white man's cow was slaughtered, if it brought troubles they used to call him, because the cow was harsh……actually the cows belonged to the white men, after slaughtering they were giving meat to people, so he was giving it just one slap and it fell down, he would then say immediate slaughter it or else you will eat a dead meat, a sheikh will immediate come and slaughter it, that old man died and he inherited that medicine to no one, hence those traditions are no loger existing. I: Mr. [Anonym], do you think it's because the young people didn't want to take those things, or it’s the elders who didn't want to share it to their young people? R: In fact the traditions had procedures that were not compatible with young people, it can be possible that you were needed to shower once a month, and you were not needed to wash your clothes until they become clean, you were not allowed to provoke but defend yourself, you should not provoke but defend yourself, if you provoke you have broken the taboo, so it is something like that, now to the current young people if you give him that medicine it will end on the same day. I: Which people were making the ‘njugha?’ R: They were people called 'washanaa', it is like calling them 'engineers', but in Pare language they were called 'nimshanauo eshana njugha', that means, the one who makes these ‘njughas’ and in Sambaa language they were these 'mbughi' I: What gender were they those who were making those njugas? R: They were men. I: Of what age? R: They were young people, they were taught by the old men and handed over. I: Can you identify what items were used to make the njugha? R: There were old metals, hard metals sheets and others were made by metals found from certain stones, for example there are stones that this moment if you break them, you get a stone called ‘jiwe la nyoka’ (black snake stone), it was burnt then they got the metal of making njugha. I: So, it was metal and what else, for example I can see there is a handle, what is that handle made of? R: They used to make this handle using a metal, and there were others with wooden handles, but the wooden handle was only for bending here on top because it was split like this, so when bending you were supposed to use a soft hammer such that it is not pressed more not to allow expanding. I: The materials used to make the njugha in those past years, did they change, or it was the same materials in all the years R: It was the same materials; they have not changed until they got disappeared.

source: Amani-Stade Project / Amani Field Research 2023, Interview No. 19
author: I: Mohamed Seif, R: Anonymous