Religious Experiences of Life After Death in Buha and Unyamwezi Cosmologies, Western Tanzania

Ideas of life after death dominate African religious practices in the societies. The people of Buha and Unyamwezi in Western Tanzania maintained the relationship with the departed ancestors to address issues arising from the living members of the family, clan and the society at large. With exception of theologians and cultural anthropologists, ideas on life after death have not attracted attention of African historians. In this paper I envisage the ideas of life after death from a historical perspective using Buha and Unyamwezi as illustrative cases. I argue that issues of life after death are historically grounded and involve the interplay of natural and human-induced forces. This study relies on both archival and oral sources that I collected between 2011 and 2012. I employ a comparative approach to provide an account of how issues on life after death have had impacts on the lives of the people in Western Tanzania.

潜心钻研，上学生喜欢的历史课

“历史”，光从字眼来理解，就给人以神秘、遥远、深不可测的印象，这也恰好印证了这一学科的复杂性和可塑性。每次看着新踏入校门的初一学生对历史是那样的充满兴趣和期待，就觉得教这个学科是多么荣幸、而又任重道远。可是随着教学的开展，一些学生的热情开始大不如前，透出的眼神也从曾经的光彩明亮变成了暗淡木然。不得不说这是教学的莫大失败。所以我在思考，到底什么样的历史课才是学生喜欢的，或者说能够让学生不那么快就陷入乏味枯燥之中。我认为老师除了要用心，耐心地研究教材，研究学生，研究教法以外，也要积极适应当今教育改革，尝试着让学生参与到历史课堂中来。