Ndugu M’Hali or Kalulu ( – 28 March 1877) was an African slave and adopted child of the explorer and journalist

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missi ...

. Kalulu died young, but in his short life he visited Europe, America and the Seychelles. He had a book dedicated to him, a model in

Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in London in 1835 by the French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud. One of the early main attractions was the Chamber of Horrors, which appeared in advertising in 1843. In 1883, the restricted space of ...

, and was a guest at

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

's funeral.Colonialism and homosexuality p.43-44
Robert F. Aldrich, 2003, Routledge, accessed July 2010

Biography

M’Hali was born in Africa and became Henry Morton Stanley's favourite after being given to him at

Tabora Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226, ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. M'Hali was freed but was renamed by Stanley. His original name was "Ndugu M’Hali" which meant "My friend's brother". Stanley disliked the name, calling him instead "Kalulu," the Swahili word for rabbit. After Stanley found Dr. Livingstone, he returned to England and decided to take Kalulu with him. He was Stanley's constant companion, and Stanley would record his reactions to new things. He commented on how good he was after drinking wine and upset after trying mustard. Stanley went on a lecture tour to America and to Paris, and Kalulu went with him. At one point they were delayed in the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

, and whilst there and in London, Stanley had his photograph taken with Kalulu in the background. Moreover, Stanley wrote and published a book called ''"Kalulu, Prince, King and slave"'' in 1873. The book has been called a homosexual love story, and it describes a growing friendship between a character called Kalulu (an "Apollo"), who is older than the real Kalulu and another boy called "Selim" (Stanley's translator in Africa was called Selim). Death of Kalulu MILNG005315

Kalulu dined with members of society but often felt he was being humiliated as a result of a previous racist encounter. It was only when introduced to Lord Freeth that he really started to flourish in western society. Stanley said of Kalulu that he had "taken him to England and the United States, and whom I had placed in an English school for eighteen months."Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, Vol. Two, London: G. Newnes, Stanley was sent back to Africa under a mission supported by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' in London and the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

'' as an “ambassador of two great powers.” He was to take with him an “army of peace and light,” and this included his protégé Kalulu. Stanley was to map central Africa and report on suspected slave traders whom Stanley had lectured against whilst in England. M’Hali died in "Kalulu Falls" (part of the Livingstone Falls on the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

), when one of the expedition's canoes was taken over the waterfall. He and four others were killed. After learning of the tragedy, Stanley vowed to rid the empire of its only remaining slave master, the one they called 'Marsh'. It was his last request to have the Livingstone Falls renamed after Kalulu. Unlike many new names that Stanley gave to places, the title of Kalulu Falls stuck.Stanley
princeton.edu, accessed July 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalulu 1860s births 1877 deaths Tanzanian children Servants Deaths by drowning Accidental deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo African slaves Child deaths