ABSTRACT
Some of the most relevant artistic narratives in Tanzania lie outside of the traditional purview of literary studies. That they express concepts fundamental to communities within this East African nation is made clear through their wide dissemination and avid discussion within Tanzania itself. Three texts from Zanzibar Ghost Stories (2006) collected and translated by Amir Mohamed will be studied in conjunction with the song “Amekoma” by Mheshimiwa (Mh.) Temba from his album Ipo Siku (2007[?]). All of these works grapple with potentially destructive sexuality in urban contexts and the manner in which the narrators have employed supernatural phenomena tells us a great deal about the historical as well as contemporary lives of both narrators and audiences. This chapter seeks to answer the following key questions: Why and how do themes of sexuality figure so prominently in these Tanzanian narratives? How are conceptualisations of gender, as linked to sexuality and in other socio-political arenas, iterated? Finally, what does the presence of paranormal beings in these texts tell us about the intentions of authors and their fabrication of messages regarding the dangers of sexuality as well as the socio-cultural sources upon which the tales have been formulated?
