52 East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences (EAJESS) 1(3)52-59 The Role of Women in Maji Maji War from 1905 to 1907 in Matumbiland, Ngindo and Ngoniland War Zones, Tanzania Athanasy Gregory, PhD Scholar St. Augustine University of Tanzania Corresponding Author: athanasygregory@gmail.com Abstract: This paper explored the role of women in Maji Maji war of 1905-1907, which was carried in Matumbi land/Ngindo areas, especially at Nandete village, Kibata village and Kilwa-Kipatimu in Lindi Region where the event started and in Ngoni land at Mahenge area, Old Igumbiro village, Kitanda village, Namabengo village, and Peramiho area in Ruvuma Region where the war ended. A qualitative research design was employed through an in-depth interview method to gather specific information on the role of women in the Maji Maji war. Secondary sources were obtained from libraries and memorial museums and YouTube historical clips transcription as well as short film historical analysis were also used. Content analysis was used to explore and analyze the role assumed by women in the Maji Maji war. The study revealed that women in the Maji Maji war of 1905-1907 played a pivotal and nationalistic role through planning, organizing and dividing strategic war zones. Some women carried and distributed the Maji-Medicines to the Maji Maji fighters in the fighting camps. Moreover, women prepared and supplied food to the Maji Maji fighters which enabled them to prolong fighting with their rivals – Germans despite the poor weapons the natives were using. The researcher recommends that for Tanzania to strive and ensure fair and progressive society, women should not be left behind and neglected in the reconstruction of its objective historical knowledge. They should be effectively used in building the economy of the nation by being given positions in both government and non-government organizations. Key words: Historiographies, Women, Maji-medicines, Maji Maji War, Matumbi land, Ngindo, Ngoniland Introduction Throughout history, women have been perceived differently basing on cultural norms, among other factors. Unlike the patriarchal societies, in matrilineal societies, offices and wealth are occupied by the female line. For instance, among the Tonga in West Africa, women chiefs controlled very limited units of production. However, around 1900, a woman chief named Mammy Yoko, in the interior of Sierra Leone, made a powerful confederation. The tradition of women chiefs was also observed in pre-German central Cameroon, among the Flup of Casamance in South Senegal and among the Mende and Sherbro of Sierra Leone (Coquery-Vidrovitch, 1997). Between 1914 and 1970, out of 146 recognized chiefs in Sierra Leone, where patriarchal system dominated, there were 10 women chiefs. This indicates that during both pre- colonial and colonial eras, women were not left behind in making history. More importantly, around 1610, Queen Nzinga Mbande (Mbundu) of the Ovimbundu in present day Angola, an eminent heroine of the slave trade and political activist, built a strong fortress in her dominion, Kongo Kingdom, which made the Portuguese fear her because she was able to conduct open warfare when required. Additionally, she consolidated her power as a tembanza with a Jaga chief named Kasanje – a political alliance between the two leaders until the Jaga allied with East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences EAJESS October – December 2020, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 52-59 ISSN: 2714-2132 (Online), 2714-2183 (Print), Copyright © The Author(s) Published by G-Card DOI: https://doi.org/10.46606/eajess2020v01i03.0042 URL: http://eajess.ac.tz