Abstract: | A few studies carried out in Africa suggest that people with disabilities are marginalised. In some communities, teaching people with disabilities is forbidden and in others they are considered sub‐human. Such a stereotypic suggestion runs the risk of being generalised to other communities. This study counters this proposition in relation to communities in Tanzania. Interviews and a collection of proverbs, riddles and poems indicate that people with disabilities are not marginalised and that the principles of normalisation and integration underlie traditional community living. |