The Chag­ga Con­cepts of Di­sa­bi­li­ty

This stu­dy in­ves­ti­ga­tes and ana­ly­ses the con­cept of di­sa­bi­li­ty among the Chag­ga com­mu­ni­ty, a group that li­ves near the slo­pes of Ki­li­man­ja­ro Moun­tain in the nor­t­hern part of Tan­z­a­nia. This work ex­ami­nes the be­liefs, ri­tu­als, in­itia­ti­on ce­re­mo­nies and other prac­ti­ces by the Chag­ga peo­p­le that in­vol­ve har­ming, de­gra­ding and ex­clu­ding peo­p­le with di­sa­bi­li­ties. Ac­cor­ding to the fin­dings, the­se prac­ti­ces en­force in­hu­man be­ha­viour towards peo­p­le with di­sa­bi­li­ties. This pre­sent stu­dy of­fers sug­ges­ti­ons for the Chag­ga com­mu­ni­ty to re­new their un­der­stan­ding of hu­man beings and trans­form their ex­clu­si­ve com- mu­ni­ty to an in­clu­si­ve one. Peo­p­le in the Chag­ga com­mu­ni­ty must un­der­stand that peo­p­le are equal and that every in­di­vi­du­al is wort­hy and uni­que. Churches, mos­ques, go­vern­ment, and non-go­­ver­n­­men­­tal or­ga­ni­sa­ti­ons should act as tools for li­be­ra­ti­on.