Some of us foreigners in East Africa are driven to distraction by the popular
lack of competitive spirit.  As if the Tanzanian has chosen cooperation and
togetherness as a way of life.  The first inkling I had of an equalitarian
standard here was a field day organized by Maryknoll Sisters for the grammar
school students at Sayusayu.  There was no shot put or javelin nor even
tug-a-war, just foot races. 

    Well, after half-dozen contests of 50-yard dashes Sister sensed that something
was fishy.  She had a hard time declaring the winner of each race – the girls
were all breasting the finish tape simultaneously.  Before the seventh heat
Sister asked, "What’s going on here?  Nobody is winning."  Oh, Sister," came the
reply from the least shy of the youngsters, "it’s better when we all come in
together."

    Another straw in the wind was by way of reminiscence by a retired Dutch Aid
resource person who had spent years in East Africa:  "While I was training young
men in dairy techniques there was one clever fellow with bright eyes and quick
hands.  I liked the cut of his jib so much that before I returned to Holland at
the end of my first tour here, I bought the lad a two-acre plot on which he
could raise hay.  He was delighted at
the experience of growing plenty of grass in the summer, harvesting and storing
fodder for the dry season: for him a quantum leap in husbandry. 
Well, imagine my chagrin when I came back for a second tour two years later to
find that he had not continued putting his hard-earned skill to use. When I
asked him why he had let go of a chance to get ahead economically, this bright
young man replied, “Aw, sir, you don’t want to stand out and be noticed.”

   
As for singing, I’ve never heard an amateur African sing a solo. And it is
remarkable that even when some one does start out singing a melody, before you
can say "Jack Robinson" bystanders can’t resist chiming in with harmony,
counter-point and musical filigree worthy of "Palestrini.”  Almost as if the
cultural value of not sticking your neck out has fostered a way of interaction
favoring cooperation over star quality.