In this installation Kapwani Kiwanga continues her research into the legacy of the 1905-1907 Maji Maji uprising against German colonial rule in what was then Tanganyika, German East Africa.

The rebellion was fueled by the spiritual medium Kinjiketile, who galvanised the fighters with a sacred water, which would make one invincible to German bullets. She uses this event, and its adaptation in folklore and popular culture, as a starting point from which to trace how historical accounts weigh on a nation’s identity long after their occurrence. Source texts are represented as recordings and performances by actors, who interpret the transcripts both in English and Swahili in the exhibition space.

Archival material compiled in the course of her research, is housed in a custom- made exhibition architecture. The installation also features a collection of castor oil plants (Ricinus communis „Zanzibarensis“) which will grow throughout the duration of the exhibition. According to accounts, this fast-growing species, native to Tanzania was one of the ingredients in the water Kinjiketile distributed to his followers. Interspersed throughout the exhibition space is a sequence of short audio vignettes of Kiwanga’s voice. The narration offers a subjective and personal entry point to the story of the Maji Maji uprising, and functions as a fragmented guide through the show.