Askari Monument to World War I African Soldiers - Dar es Salaam - Tanzania

The Askari Monument or Dar es Salaam African Memorial in

Kivukoni Kivukoni is an administrative ward located in Ilala District, Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania. Kivikoni's name come from the Swahili word meaning "a crossing place". The ward is bordered by Upanga East ward to the west, Kisutu ward to the s ...

Ward in

Ilala District Ilala District (Officially known as Ilala Municipal Council ) is one of five districts in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the others being Temeke to the South and Kinondoni to the North and Ubungo to the northwest. The 2012 National Tanzania Census s ...

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, is a memorial to the

askari An askari (from Somali, Swahili and Arabic , , meaning "soldier" or "military", which also means "police" in the Somali language) was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa, particularly in the African G ...

(African soldiers) who fought in the British campaign against the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

in East Africa in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. It was unveiled in 1927. The monument is located at the centre of a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...

on Samora Avenue at the perpendicular junction to Maktaba Street and Azikiwe Street, a place that reportedly also marks the exact centre of downtown Dar es Salaam. The monument was erected in honour of the

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...

and the

Carrier Corps The Carrier Corps was a labour corps created in Kenya during the First World War to provide military labour to support the British campaign against German army forces in East Africa. Service Whereas the Germans, commanded by Paul von Lett ...

. The main feature of the monument is "The Askari", a

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

of an African soldier. It was realised in the United Kingdom by British sculptor , who worked for

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

's Morris Bronze Founders. Stevenson signed the statue with his pseudonym "Myrander". Before being sent to Dar es Salaam, the statue was exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, receiving critical praise. The soldier has a rifle with

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

pointed towards the Dar es Salaam harbour. The statue stands on a stone

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

. On the narrow sides of the pedestal are plaques with a dedication in Swahili (Arabic and Latin script) and English; on the wide sides of the pedestal are two pictorial plaques showing fighting African soldiers and the Carrier Corps. The English inscription includes "If you fight for your country even if you die your sons will remember your name". In the place where the Askari Monument is located, there used to be another statue, namely that of German explorer and army major

Hermann Wissmann Hermann Wilhelm Leopold Ludwig Wissmann, after 1890 Hermann von Wissmann (4 September 1853 – 15 June 1905), was a German explorer and administrator in Africa. Early life Born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Wissmann was enlisted in the Army in 18 ...

, governor of

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mo ...

in the late 19th century. This former statue, unveiled in 1911, represented Wissmann standing, one hand on his hip and one on his

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

, looking towards the harbour; at his feet, an African soldier covering a dead lion with a German flag. When the British entered Dar es Salaam in 1916, they removed this statue along with those of

Karl Peters Carl Peters (27 September 1856 – 10 September 1918), was a German colonial ruler, explorer, politician and author and a major promoter of the establishment of the German colony of East Africa (part of the modern republic Tanzania). Life H ...

and

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...

. The monument in Dar es Salaam belongs to a group of three Askari Monuments that were unveiled in the same year in what was then

British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...

; the other two are at

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town ...

and

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

. A separate Dar es Salaam British and Indian Memorial, commemorating by name more than 1,500 British and Indian officers and men who died in East Africa during and after January 1917 and who have no known grave, is now in Dar Es Salaam War Cemetery.

Gallery

Askari makumbusho Dar - Askari wenyewe.jpg, Memorial plaque of eight fighting African soldiers Askari makumbusho Dar - Wapagaji.png, Memorial plaque of eight Carrier Corps If You Fight for Your Country ... Your Sons Will Remember Your Name - Inscription on Askari Monument to World War I African Soldiers - Dar es Salaam - Tanzania.jpg, Inscription in English Askari makumbusho matini Kiswahili - Kiarabu.png, Memorial inscription in Swahili - Arabic script Askari makumbusho matini Kiswahili - Kilatini.png, Memorial inscription in Swahili - Latin script

Notes

References

* Michael Hodd, ''East Africa Handbook'', Footprint Travel Guides 2002, . * Anne Samson, ''Britain, South Africa and the East Africa Campaign, 1914–1918'', J. B. Tauris 2005,

External links

Askari Monument (Planetware)
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Dar es Salaam Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials Monuments and memorials in Tanzania Tourist attractions in Dar es Salaam World War I memorials Statues by country