Culture in Dar
es Salaam Part
3
By Mary Wright
This week we continue our series of cultural riches in Dar es Salaam with a look
at the National Museum and the US Embassy library.
This renowned building, pleasantly situated on the right of Samora Avenue as it
leads to the Indian Ocean, really must not be missed in your exploration of the
culture of Dar es Salaam city. Wear comfortable shoes and take reading glasses
if you have them.
The first room is an attempt to portray the history of Planet Earth and of the
human race. It’s very well done. A wall chart shows geological history and the
order of the species as they evolved through about 300 million years. It’s
useless trying to grasp such extents of time. Nor should anyone feel they’re
obliged to accept Darwin’s theory of Evolution. On the other hand, one can
believe in creation by God and in the theory of evolution at the same time: the
Bible says God created the world in 6 days but they were his days not ours, each
one maybe 100 million years long, he’s not pushed for time. The contents of this
part of the museum are very well presented and fascinating: early stone tools,
fossils, skulls and bones. An example given of evolution shows that of the
horse, donkey and zebra. All started with the early horse, the size of a large
dog and having four toes. Photos are shown also of man’s presumed relatives,
different sorts of monkey (some more beautiful than us) – but none of the
gorilla, why not?
The next area is a favourite for some visitors, it shows replicas of the rock
paintings from all over East Africa, they’re incredible, how did people paint
and sculpt things on sheer walls fifty or so feet off the ground? You can wander
round and wonder.
Leaving this room you enter the patio of lawns and trees; there is sculpture
commemorating the attack on the American embassy and those who died in it,
there’s also a really famous and amazing piece of work, this is the Ujamaa
sculpture done on a blackwood treetrunk, figures intricately carved all the way
up. It’s to celebrate ten years of independence, having been made in 1971 by an
artist called Pajume. By the side are monkey figures made in concrete and done
in the museum itself. I have to tell you that in the Ethnography section there’s
another exquisite blackwood tree sculpture, the Makonde tradition is unique.
Also in this section are artefacts that include magnificent musical instruments
like drums and zeze (fiddles), as well as examples of craftsmanship that you’re
familiar with no doubt but they are worth seeing.
Lastly there’s the Biology room; “Conserve nature and nature will conserve you”,
how true! Here are a lot of good pictures, also stuffed birds and reptiles,
tanks of tropical fish, the coelacanth – treat him with respect for his
pedigree’s longer than ours – many kinds of shellfish preserved in jars, and, in
a large case, the dugong, a sea mammal weighing 157 kg.
If after all that you don’t go to see the National Museum, well, pole sana!
The US Embassy library is a wonderfully advanced library, particularly for
Science students, graduates, undergraduates, anybody looking for information. It
emphasizes electronic resources, in particular Internet and CD Rom databases.
What’s more, if you want to use these and don’t know how, you can make an
appointment and the IRC staff will instruct you. In addition there are numerous
reference books, encyclopedias, for every kind of knowledge. As for cultural
activities – sorry! There is cultural services man but he told me there wasn’t a
programme (nice work if you can get it), however he is always ready to engage in
the ongoing debate on biotechnology. Membership of the centre is free.
There’s one drawback, an understandable one considering recent history, the
massive security, which many young Tanzanians are discouraged by. The guards
didn’t frisk this grey-haired old lady, but I did have to leave everything
except specs, pen and exercise book. Was escorted across the vast precinct to
the library, presumably so I wouldn’t make off with any flowers or with one of
the attractive paintings displayed.