CATTLE DIP and SHARK LIVER OIL in A TECHNO-CHEMICAL COLONIAL STATE: The POISONING at MALANGALI SCHOOL, TANGANYIKA, 1934
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-1-2016
Abstract
In October 1934, a group of schoolgirls at Malangali School in Iringa Province, Tanganyika received doses of what the school headmistress thought was shark liver oil. Many girls began to spit and vomit the medicine, while others attempted to leave the szchool grounds to return home. Within three hours, several pupils had died and within three days, another 32 girls succumbed to the toxic draught. This article examines this little known and poorly understood tragedy through the lens of the scientific and social experimentation that occurred at Malangali School. As one of two government- run schools that enrolled girls, Malangali provided the colonial state with an opportunity to conduct a variety of experiments upon a captive audience. This article argues that the 'discovery of colonial malnutrition' in the interwar period not only depoliticized hunger but its emphasis on techno-chemical approaches to social and material problems led to tragedy.
Publication Title
Journal of African History
Volume
57
Issue
3
First Page
437
Last Page
463
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1017/S002185371600030X
ISSN
00218537
E-ISSN
14695138
Citation Information
KELLY. (2016). CATTLE DIP AND SHARK LIVER OIL IN A TECHNO-CHEMICAL COLONIAL STATE: THE POISONING AT MALANGALI SCHOOL, TANGANYIKA, 1934. Journal of African History, 57(3), 437–463. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002185371600030X