MANGI MELI REMAINS In Old
Moshi the head of Chief Meli is missing. A strong figure of resistance, he
fought bravely against the German colonialists and was hanged in 1900. His head
is said to have been shipped to Germany, where thousands of human skulls are
still stored in museum depots. The grandson of Chief Meli has been searching
for the head for more than 50 years, until now without success. Yet traces of
Chief Meli can be found in songs, stories and archives. This has formed the
basis for a Tanzanian-German collaboration where an animated video sculpture
and re-examined historical photographs portray the life story of Meli – and his
legacy today. Mangi Meli Remains premiered in Berlin, November 2018 and will
display in Dar es Salaam before concluding in Old Moshi, March 2019 where it
will remain as a place of remembrance and a placeholder for Chief Meli’s
missing head. A Flinn Works (DE) production with Mr. Isaria Meli (TZ), Old
Moshi Cultural Tourism (TZ), BSS Projects (TZ/UK), ArtEver (TZ) in cooperation
with Ethnologisches Museum Berlin and Tieranatomisches Theater at Humboldt
University Berlin. Supported by Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa, Goethe
Institute Tanzania and Between Bridges.
