Human fat was supposed to alleviate rheumatism and arthritis, while a paste made from corpses was believed to help against contusions.... For some Protestants,... , it served as a sort of substitute for the Eucharist, or the tasting of the body of Christ in Holy Communion. Some monks even cooked "a marmalade of sorts" from the blood of the dead.
. . . . The assumption was that all organisms have a predetermined life span. If a body died in an unnatural way, the remainder of that person's life could be harvested, as it were -- hence the preference for the executed.... In 1492, when Pope Innocent VIII was on his deathbed, his doctors bled three boys and had the pope drink their blood. The boys died, and so did the pope.

When we read about Burundians and Tanzanians murdering albinos to make "medicine" of their victims, we should not forget that European Medical Cannabalism was an accepted practice as late as the 18th Century.
posted by orthogonality on Feb 1, 2009 - 51 comments

The LiveJournal community A Day In My Life is a glimpse via photos into a life of posters around the world. Compare and contrast the routines and pastimes, more is similar than different. But posts by a volunteer at a center for the blind in Tanzania show something far more enriching. His photos document an average day in the life of two of the village's seven-year-olds: a boy, Barracka and a girl, Nyemo.
posted by five_dollars on Dec 23, 2008 - 6 comments

Often referred to as “sope”, meaning something magical inhabited by powerful evil spirits, albinos have long been the victims of discrimination in Africa (scroll up). Although Tanzania recently nominated an albino MP, they are being killed and mutilated to support a growing trade.
posted by gman on Jun 8, 2008 - 66 comments

Six Masai warriors will face cultural challenges when they run in the Flora London Marathon to raise money for clean water for their village. Meet the runners (video clip) Think about making a small donation in their time of trouble because when we had problems here in the US, they were most generous to us. [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Apr 7, 2008 - 25 comments

In 1962, in a mission-run girls' boarding school in Kashasha, Tanzania, a student started laughing uncontrollably. Her laughter spread throughout the school, and the girls grew violent when teachers tried to calm them. Administration closed the school, sent some girls home, and the "epidemic of laughing and crying" spread to villages up and down the Bukoba district. [more inside]
posted by lauranesson on Feb 22, 2008 - 30 comments

Totally rad Frontline video about Hero Rats who sniff out unexploded land mines in rural Tanzania. Not only a great idea, but this story had me on the edge of my seat: are the rats on a suicide mission or not?
posted by dydecker on Jun 29, 2007 - 17 comments

"50,000 Years of Resilience May Not Save Tribe." A deal to provide a member of the UAE royal family with a personal Tanzanian playground may be the final nail in the coffin for the remaining 1,500 members of the ancient Hadzabe people and their unique language. Read a Westerner's account of living among the Hadzabe here.
posted by lalex on Jun 11, 2007 - 18 comments

Tanzanian Cartoons.
posted by plep on Sep 15, 2003 - 4 comments

UK government pushing sale of air defense system to Tanzania, one of world's poorest countries and proud owner of a grand total of 8 (eight) military aircraft This just reeks of Western hypocrisy: despite Labour's commitment to development goals and an ethical foreign policy, despite the World Bank's highly critical stance, despite a per capita income of £170 a year, despite a system that could be used for civilian air control at one fourth of the cost, despite all this and more, the jobs of 250 Brits must take precedence.
posted by magullo on Dec 19, 2001 - 5 comments

Tanzania 9th most corrupt country , of course the word here is that they bribed transparency international to place them above kenya....... according to the director "HIV AIDS is killing millions of Africans, and in many of the countries where AIDS is at its deadliest the problem is compounded by the fact that corruption levels are seen to be very high. While it is imperative that richer countries provide the fruits of medical research at an affordable price to address this human tragedy, it is also essential that corrupt governments do not steal from their own people. This is now an urgent priority if lives are to be saved." local traditions don't help either. what this story does not say is that 4,000 girls will be circumsised at this ceremony and the govt/police won't interfere.
posted by quarsan on Jul 16, 2001 - 5 comments

Bermi Village - I lived in this small community under Tanzania's Rift Valley for two years. After talks with village leaders, we started to build the site. I'm about to return to the village to develop it further. There's precious little written by Africans on the net and this seems to be the only site by a rural African community. Have you any thoughts or advice for me?
posted by quarsan on Apr 3, 2001 - 23 comments