Dowe rituals and football Rituals_and_football1 Documenting the Dowe language

Various offerings and rituals, e.g. rain making, unemployment, female infertility; a selection of expressions used during an improvised football training Summary of deposit The Dowe language is a Bantu language spoken in the hinterland of the Indian Ocean coast in some villages of Msata and Miono Ward (Bagamoyo District, Coast Region) of the United Republic of Tanzania. “Ethnologue” claims that there were 24,000 Dowe speakers in 1987. The Language Atlas (MLT 2009:3) lists 7,944 Dowe speakers. The language can be rated highly endangered for the low number of Dowe-speakers, the lack of intergenerational language transfer and the heavy influence of Swahili. This collection will include material from fieldwork conducted between 2012-2013 and is expected to deposit in the near future. Group represented Dowe. Language information The Dowe language (autonym Chidowe, xenonym Kidoe, Doe) is a small Bantu language of Guthrie’s G zone. It is spoken in the hinterland of the Indian Ocean coast in some villages of Msata and Miono Ward (Bagamoyo District, Coast Region) of the United Republic of Tanzania. “Ethnologue” claims that there were 24,000 Dowe speakers in 1987. The Language Atlas (MLT 2009:3) lists 7,944 Dowe speakers. The language can be rated highly endangered due to the low number of Dowe-speakers, the lack of intergenerational language transfer and the heavy influence of Swahili. Acknowledgement This deposit is the result of generous ELDP funding and committed fieldwork as well as text editing in close cooperation with Dowe language experts. Plant collector, recorder Plant collector, transcriber, Swahili translator