COLLECTING AFRICAN FOLK TALES

My native language is Mfipa and Swahili so the texts are written in "Kilaka" English. Most of the photos are from my village.

To find the stories is the hard job which you are not sure if you will succeed. When you meet with some one you have to ask him in good communication if he knows the stories, If not you have to move to try to ask other people.
But also it is enjoyable job if you get lucky day to succeed to get the best story teller or some one who still remembering as well the stories. Soon you will enjoy listening to amazing stories!!
Every day at dawn I was walking by foot, some hours, looking for people who know the stories. To walk by foot for hours is hard if you want to work well, later I rented bicycle from my host so that I could be able to get in some places where I wanted to go for finding story tellers.
Because the cultural of telling stories is not available any more, so is not many people who know stories. So it was necessary to me to spend time riding the bicycle looking some one who knows perfect stories.
Sometime children they can sleep and leave others listening the story. This photo is showing the children sleeping during the night story telling. It is one of the best adventure stories from story collection project, July 2007
African Children Sleeping

MY HOME

The land of Fipa tribe, is in south west of Tanzania, a region called Sumbawanga bordering to deepest African lake Tanganyika.

You can spend 19 hours by bus from Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania situated at the Indian Ocean. This is place where I was born some years ago, the place where my tribe fipa lives.

The ufipa land is the part where you can’t find a good transport, just a few pick up cars in the summer. The community who lives in that area they must walk by foot some hours  for getting  where they want to go, using the natural ways.