Masanja Goes to Dar es Salaam (story alone)

There is a well-known Sukuma, Tanzania riddle that goes like this:

“I have a riddle.” “Let it come.”
“He went to the coast naked and returned fully clothed?” … (answer) “GROUNTNUT.”

This riddle is based on the following adapted African story:

“Masanja was a Sukuma man who lived in Maswa in Shinyanga Region of Tanzania. After getting married and building a new house Masanja got many difficulties. His wife ran away, his youngest child died, his house fell down and thieves stole all of Masanja’s cows. Suddenly he was a beggar. He thought he had been bewitched.

Masanja started to despair. But finally he decided to leave Shinyanga Region, that is the interior of Tanzania, and go to the coast, to the city of Dar es Salaam. He travelled as a beggar without clothes, without money, without anything.

After arriving in Dar es Salaam, Masanja started to get lucky. First he found work and a house. After a while he opened a store, then a small hotel. He began to make a lot of money. He built a permanent house, which he rented. Then Masanja built a soft drink factory. Finally he became very rich with many possessions. But he didn’t want to live in Dar es Salaam. So he returned to his home in Maswa in Shinyanga Region with great wealth — a car, new clothes, many goods and a lot of money.” (Sukuma Ethnic Group, Tanzania Story-Riddle)

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