Tom von Prince

[Chris Dale]

Hello Tagati,

Welcome to the Forum.

Thanks for the piece of information, details like that bring history to life.

Cheers
Chris

[Sesshomaru]

Hi!
I came in here by pure chance, doing some research about Bwana Sakkarani. I visited his grave in Tanga/Tanzania and can offer some photos. If you are interested, write an e-mail to [email protected], no charge. By the way, does anyone know, what sakkarani really means? In German literature it is always translated as 'fearless'.

[SkilledCooper]

Hi Guys,

I have come across this forum while researching about Von prince's wife, Magdalene. I work for a company that owns a ranch (in Taveta, Kenya) on which an infamous baobab http://www.flickr.com/photos/38577759@N06/6073738808/ tree stands. Legend has it that when Von Prince was killed, she armed herself and went to this tree where she sniped at British forces close by, http://www.flickr.com/photos/38577759@N06/6073205341/taking out almost 30 (this figure varies) to avenge his death.

Different accounts of her eventual capture/escape abound, and i would love any info that can collaborate this legend.

Any help would be appreciated. Sorry for reviving a very old thread (seems like ages since '03!)

Cheers,

Kariuki

[Chris Dale]

Hi Kariuki,

Welcome to the Forum!

I'd never heard that interesting story before, the only reference I have found of her is that she wrote a book,"Eine deutsche Frau im innern Deutsch-Ostafrikas" in 1903, updated in 1905 and 1908, so I guess that wouldn't tell the story either. I wonder if any other readers here have heard of her?

Cheers
Chris

[Alexderome]

Taveta was the only britisch land where the german imperial flag could float.
Alex

[Tanzania]

I still found some older pictures from him.







Cheers Holger

[danebrog]

[arche-foto]

I have an autograph by Tom v. Prince.

The postcard showing his house on his Sakkarani plantation. Maybe an original drawing.

He writes that he has just returned from Europe. Probably the reason for the trip was that he was raised to the nobility. He signed with "von Prince".

prince-tom_von_autoraph_1906_a.jpg

prince-tom_von_autoraph_1906_b.jpg

[Chris Dale]

Amazing, thanks for sharing!

[Kirimba]

That could be the place we lived in from 1959 onwards until some plantations were nationalised. We were pushed out by the powers that be. I am thrilled to see the place! I have so much to say about it. If it is, then it sits atop Kirimba Hill. The hill in the background would be Kilulu Hill. I personally visited Kilulu, Von Prince's daughter in the Bay Area in 2006, I think it was. She used to be an occupational therapist in the American army. We had a chat. She would be my Mum's age, 90.

I'm still trying to figure out the difference between Kilulu Plantation and Sakkarani. I saw a pic of a double storey building referred to as h
Prince's mansion. I'd love to hear more from everyone.

It may have been a rubber plantation, at first. There's someone by the name of @Kilulu somewhere around here on this site, as the name is already registered. Would love to meet this person. What a forbidding legend was Tom von Prince!

The house is in ruins since before 2000. We were crazy enough to go back to develop this place because of our pristine memories and desire to restore a sense of home. Kilulu was also ready to do something here that would benefit the people and protect them. We had similar aspirations.

[Kirimba]

Worry
The chronology leaves much to be desired. I met Kilulu von Prince in 2006. She was 74, if my memory is on the better side of what it has become, now. Even if she were 80 then, she would have been born in 1926. According to one person here, Tom von Prince was killed in 1914. I have to find out more to establish the timeline. I hope someone here can help.

[arche-foto]

autograph by Tom v. Prince

Hello and sorry,

I have to correct: it is not an autograph by Tom von Prince, but by Magdalene von Prince.

I have a second postcard from her.

cheers

[Rafikiyamufindi]

Hi!
I came in here by pure chance, doing some research about Bwana Sakkarani. I visited his grave in Tanga/Tanzania and can offer some photos. If you are interested, write an e-mail to [email protected], no charge. By the way, does anyone know, what sakkarani really means? In German literature it is always translated as 'fearless'.

Standard Kiswahili now spells the word "sakarani." [See the TUKI Kamusi ya Kiswahili - Kiingereza] It comes into Kiswahili from Arabic سَكَّرَ and perhaps via Sudanese sources (many troops were hired out of Sudan). The Kiswahili -ni ending gives the idea on "in a condition or place." The foundational meaning of the Arabic triliteral means "sweet, sugar", but just as sugar easily becomes alcohol, many of the derivative meanings of the word are related to alcoholic drink, intoxication, or the bad character traits associated with beverage alcohol. The TUKI simply gives the word "lunatic." I strongly suspect that the enlisted troops who applied the term to Tom Prince (he earned the moniker well before his receipt of the "von" n 1906) were being more pejorative than he knew, but perhaps he consciously was making lemonade when dealt lemons, We would perhaps opt these days for the word "maniac," with a hint of admiration for the "chutzpah" involved but mostly aversion to the risky behavior displayed.

[Chris Dale]

Hi!
I came in here by pure chance, doing some research about Bwana Sakkarani. I visited his grave in Tanga/Tanzania and can offer some photos. If you are interested, write an e-mail to [email protected], no charge. By the way, does anyone know, what sakkarani really means? In German literature it is always translated as 'fearless'.

Standard Kiswahili now spells the word "sakarani." [See the TUKI Kamusi ya Kiswahili - Kiingereza] It comes into Kiswahili from Arabic سَكَّرَ and perhaps via Sudanese sources (many troops were hired out of Sudan). The Kiswahili -ni ending gives the idea on "in a condition or place." The foundational meaning of the Arabic triliteral means "sweet, sugar", but just as sugar easily becomes alcohol, many of the derivative meanings of the word are related to alcoholic drink, intoxication, or the bad character traits associated with beverage alcohol. The TUKI simply gives the word "lunatic." I strongly suspect that the enlisted troops who applied the term to Tom Prince (he earned the moniker well before his receipt of the "von" n 1906) were being more pejorative than he knew, but perhaps he consciously was making lemonade when dealt lemons, We would perhaps opt these days for the word "maniac," with a hint of admiration for the "chutzpah" involved but mostly aversion to the risky behavior displayed.

Thank you for that in depth translation.
Cheers
Chris