Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Tanzania Tuesday #2



Mount Kilimanjaro has two peaks: Kibo and Mawenzi. Their names, in the Chaga language, describe their appearance. Kibo means "spotted", and Maweni means "having a broken top".

According to Chaga legend, there were once two sisters, Mawenzi and Kibo, who were both the same height. Mawenzi was lazy and used to take Kibo's food to avoid having to cook for herself. Kobo finally had enough, got angry, and hit Mawenzi on the head with her wooden label. According to the Chaga, that is why Kibo's peak is lower and has bumps on its head.

Source: Jay Heale & Willie Wong, Cultures of the World: Tanzania. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2009.

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