Returning Life : Language, Life-Force and History in Kilimanjaro

A group of Chagga-speaking men descend the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro to butcher animals and pour milk, beer, and blood on the ground, requesting rain for their continued existence. Returning Life explores how this event, along with many others, affects life-force in different forms. Diverse sources demonstrate how this phenomenon extends to coffee cash-cropping, Catholic Christianity, and colonial and post-colonial rule, featuring cognate languages from throughout the area. This vivid ethnography explores how life projects through beings of different kinds, bringing to life concepts and practices that extend through time and space, transcending established analytics.