Mapinduzi Daima – Revolution Forever : Using the 1964 Revolution in Nationalistic Political Discourses in Zanzibar

This Master's thesis examines two opposite nationalistic discourses on the revolution of Zanzibar. Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the party in power since the 1964 revolution defends its revolutionary and "African" heritage in the current multi-party system. New nationalists, including among others the main opposition party Civic United Front (CUF), question both the 1964 revolution and the post-revolution period and blame CCM for empty promises, corruption and ethnic discrimination. This study analyzes the role of a significant historical event in the creation of nationalistic ideology and national identity. The 1964 revolution forms the nucleus of various debates related to the history of Zanzibar: slavery, colonialism, racial discrimination and political violence. Representations of these Social constructivist principles form the basis of this study, and central concepts in the theoretical framework are nationalism, national identity, ethnicity and race. I use critical discourse analysis as my research method, lean on the work by Teun A. van Dijk and Norman Fairclough as the most significant researchers in this field. I examine particularly the ways in which linguistic methods, such as stereotypes and metaphors are used to form in- and out-groups ("us" vs. "others"). My material, both in Swahili and English, was collected mainly in Tanzania in the fall of 2007 and from online sources in the spring of 2009. It includes publications by the Zanzibari government between the years of 1964-2000 (12), official speeches for the Revolution Day or the Union Day (12), articles from Tanzanian newspapers from the 1990s until the year of 2009 (15), memoirs and political pamphlets (10), blog posts and opinion pieces from four different websites (8), and interviews or personal communication in Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam and Uppsala (8). Nationalistic rhetoric often creates enemy images by using binary good-bad oppositions. Both discourses in this study build identities on the basis of "otherness" and exclusion, with the intent of emphasizing the particularity of the own group and excluding "evilness" outside the own reference group. These opposite views on the 1964 revolution as the main axis of the history of Zanzibar build different portraits of the nation and Zanzibari-ness (Uzanzibari). CCM still relies on the pre-revolutionary enemy images of Arabs as selfish rulers and cruel slave traders. For CCM, Zanzibar is primarily an "African" nation and a part of Tanzania which is threatened by "Arabs", the outsiders. In contrast, the new nationalists stress the long history of Zanzibar as multi-racial, cosmopolitan and formerly independent country which has its own, separate culture and identity from mainland Tanzanians. Heshima, honour/respect, one of the basic values of Swahili culture, occupies a central role in both discourses: the main party emphasizes that the revolution returned "heshima" to the Zanzibari Africans after centuries of humiliation, whereas the new nationalists claim that ever since the revolution all "non-Africans" have been humiliated and lost their "heshima". According to the new nationalists, true Zanzibari values which include tolerance and harmony between different "races" were lost when the "foreign" revolutionaries arrived from the mainland. Consequently, they see the 1964 revolution as Tanganyikan colonialism which began with the help of Western countries, and maintain that this "colonialism" still continues in the violent multi-party elections.

Thomsenista Kalimaan : Vanhimpien itämerensuomalais-balttilaisten kielikontaktien tutkimushistoria vuoteen 1936

Itämerensuomalaisissa kielissä esiintyy suuri joukko sanoja, jotka muistuttavat balttilaisten kielten sanoja sekä muotonsa että merkityksensä puolesta. Yhtäläisyyksiä oli yritetty selittää eri tavoin 1700-luvulta lähtien, kunnes Vilhelm Thomsen vuonna 1869 osoitti tämän sanastokerrostuman olevan lainaa jostakin muinaisbalttilaisesta kielimuodosta nykyisten itämerensuomalaisten kielten yhteiseen kantakieleen. Vuonna 1890 Thomsen julkaisi aiheesta laajemman tutkimuksen, jossa hän esitti noin 200 muinaisbalttilaista lainaetymologiaa ja käsitteli lainojen äännevastaavuuksia sekä kielellisten kontaktien paikkaa, aikakautta ja kulttuurikontekstia. Nykykäsitys itämerensuomalaisten kielten vanhoista balttilaisista lainasanoista perustuu tähän Thomsenin esitykseen, ainoastaan kontaktien ajoituksia on arkeologian tulosten myötä siirretty taaksepäin. Thomsen sovelsi ensimmäisenä suomalais-ugrilaisten kielten tutkimukseen aikakautensa uusinta kielitieteellistä metodia, nuorgrammatiikkaa. Nuorgrammatiikka keskittyi kielihistoriaan ja antoi eksaktit välineet etymologialle. Suomeen nuorgrammatiikan toi E. N. Setälä, jonka johdolla metodi uudisti nopeasti koko fennougristiikan ja nosti Suomen tutkimuksen kärkeen. Suomalaistutkijat tarkensivat myös Thomsenin luomaa kuvaa vanhoista balttilaisista lainoista. Setälän ohella keskeisiä etymologeja olivat J. J. Mikkola ja Heikki Paasonen. Muualla tutkimus ei ollut yhtä intensiivistä: vain liettualainen Kazimieras Būga perehtyi mainittavasti aiheeseen, ja hänenkin tutkijan uransa jäi lyhyeksi. Vasta 1910-luvun puolessa välissä Thomsenin ja Setälän teesejä alettiin kritikoida. Torsten Karsten ja K. B. Wiklund esittivät vanhimmille balttilaiskontakteille paljon kauemmas menneisyyteen ulottuvia ajoituksia kuin Thomsen. Setälän auktoriteetti kuitenkin torjui uudet teoriat, jotka on vasta paljon myöhemmin yleisesti hyväksytty. Sotien välinen kausi oli erittäin vilkkaan etymologisen tutkimuksen aikaa, ja balttilaisiakin lainoja esitettiin kymmeniä lisää. Ajan uutterimmat tutkijat olivat Heikki Ojansuu, Yrjö Toivonen ja Jalo Kalima. Luonnollisesti myös monet Thomsenin balttilaiset etymologiat korvattiin paremmin sopivilla lainaetymologioilla tai rinnastuksilla sukukielistä. Mikkola arvosteli hyvin voimakkaasti Thomsenin lainaetymologioita. Mikkolan kritiikki osoittautui pääosin pätemättömäksi, mutta on päässyt epäsuorasti vaikuttamaan myöhempään tutkimukseen. Eino Nieminen taas esitti vuonna 1934 hypoteesin, jonka mukaan ainakin osa vanhoista balttilaislainoista voisi olla peräisin muinaiskuurin kielestä, jota baltologit olivat parin vuosikymmenen ajan pyrkineet rekonstruoimaan. Jalo Kalima julkaisi vuonna 1936 oppikirjan itämerensuomalaisten kielten vanhoista balttilaislainoista. Kalima pyrki antamaan kattavan kuvan aiheesta, mutta ei onnistunut kovin hyvin. Kaliman tiedot balttilaisista kielistä eivät olleet ajan tutkimuksen tasolla, ja hän jätti kirjassansa käsittelemättä suuren osan uudempaa tutkimusta, mm. Thomsenin ajoituksia kohtaan osoitetun kritiikin sekä kymmenittäin niin Thomsenin kuin myöhempienkin tutkijoitten esittämiä etymologioita. Kaliman kirja on kuitenkin selkeästi laadittu ja sisältää uusia, ansiokkaitakin etymologioita. Kaliman jälkeen kukaan ei ole kirjoittanut yleisesitystä aiheesta. Tämän tutkielman tavoite on antaa kattava kuva vanhimpien itämerensuomalais-balttilaisten kielikontaktien tutkimuksesta ennen Kaliman oppikirjaa. Näin se voisi tasoittaa tietä uudelle alan yleisesitykselle.

Trust, participation and health among ageing people : A cross-sectional cohort study of men and women born in 1926-30, 1936-40, and 1946-50 in the Lahti region, southern Finland

The purpose of the present study was to explore the associations between good self-rated health and economic and social factors in different regions among ageing people in the Päijät-Häme region in southern Finland. The data of this study were collected in 2002 as part of the research and development project Ikihyvä 2002 2012 (Good Ageing in Lahti region GOAL project). The baseline data set consisted of 2,815 participants born in 1926 30, 1936 40, and 1946 50. The response rate was 66 %. According to the previous studies, trust in other people and social participation as the main aspects of social capital are associated with self-rated health. In addition, socioeconomic position (SEP) and self-rated health are associated, but all SEP indicators do not have identical associations with health. However, there is a lack of knowledge of the health associations and regional differences with these factors, especially among ageing people. Regarding these questions, the present study gives new information. According to the results of this study, self-perceived adequacy of income was significantly associated with good self-rated health, especially in the urban areas. Similar associations were found in the rural areas, though education was also considered an important factor. Adequacy of income was an even stronger predictor of good health than the actual income. Women had better self-rated health than men only in the urban areas. The youngest respondents had quite equally better self-rated health than the others. Social participation and access to help when needed were associated with good self-rated health, especially in the urban area and the sparsely populated rural areas. The result was comparable in the rural population centres. The correlation of trust with self-rated health was significant in the urban area. High social capital was associated with good self-rated health in the urban area. The association was quite similar in the other areas, though it was statistically insignificant. High social capital consisted of co-existent high social participation and high trust. The association of traditionalism (low participation and high trust) with self-rated health was also substantial in the urban area. The associations of self-rated health with low social capital (low participation and low trust) and the miniaturisation of community (high participation and low trust) were less significant. From the forms of single participation, going to art exhibitions, theatre, movies, and concerts among women, and studying and self-development among men were positively related to self-rated health. Unexpectedly, among women, active participation in religious events and voluntary work was negatively associated with self-rated health. This may indicate a coping method with ill-health. As a whole, only minor variations in self-rated health were found between the areas. However, the significance of the factors associated with self-rated health varied according to the areas. Economic factors, especially self-perceived adequacy of income was strongly associated with good self-rated health. Also when adjusting for economic and several other background factors social factors (particularly high social capital, social participation, and access to help when needed) were associated with self-rated health. Thus, economic and social factors have a significant relation with the health of the ageing, and improving these factors may have favourable effects on health among ageing people.