As German colonialists swept into East Africa, they came up against a force none had reckoned with: Li'ti Kidanka. We meet one of Tanzania's most unusual and unsung heroines.
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00:00Liti Gidanga was a spiritual leader from the Nyarturu people in Singida, north-central Tanzania.
00:06She was born in the 1860s to a family of traditional healers.
00:10It is said that she could predict the future.
00:13German forces came into her region in 1901 as they tried to expand authority over their colonial claims.
00:20Liti called on her people to resist German colonial rule.
00:24When the Germans got wind of the resistance, they hunted her down.
00:29Liti Gidanga is said to have used bees to protect her people and counter the Germans' advanced weapons.
00:34Hence her name, Queen of the Bees.
00:37According to oral tradition, Liti Gidanga could summon bees to distract German forces,
00:42after which local fighters would attack.
00:45In local folklore and songs, Liti Gidanga's power over the bees was ruined by an informant,
00:50her best friend, in an act of betrayal.
00:53Liti Gidanga was captured by German authorities with help from rival collaborators.
00:59She was beheaded and her skull allegedly taken to Germany.
01:03Today she is still remembered in Tanzanian folklore as a courageous fighter and a fearless woman.