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Sirimaua (: ᨔᨗᨑᨗᨆᨕᨘᨕ) is a and former   located in the province of Kasuku, Mwambaya district, in south-central Jangwali. Located on the south-facing side of the Trans-Kasaren Mountains in the Utupu Mkubwa Desert, the town was first founded in 1837 under Agar colonial rule. Between its foundation in 1837 until its eventual abandonment in 1977, the ethnic makeup of the town's population saw a severe incline and decline for specific people groups, a phenomenon attributed to the events that took place during the first half of the 20th century in the country and former colony.

With the start of the civil war in 1930, Sirimaua would face a severe decrease in production, attributed to the living conditions and safety hazards, a consequence of the government’s inability to continue funding the town. This abandonment at the hands of the government gave way to a continuous surge of fatal accidents taking place in the town, resulting in its population leaving over the course of the years. The town lost its last resident in 1977, after which Sirimaua would go on to earn the title of ghost town. Over time, rumors started surfacing about the town’s sudden decrease in population and the amount of fatal accidents, which came to a total of around 298 annually between 1935 and 1975.

Today, though still uninhabited, the town has risen as a tourist attraction for both foreigners and locals visiting the Mwambaya district. Its popularity in the present day has been linked to the numerous and horror stories made around the town’s history and numerous casualties, most of which have been labeled as ‘unresolved’.

Name origin
The name Sirimaua, comes from the words siri (ᨔᨗᨑᨗ) meaning 'hidden' or 'secret', and maua (ᨆᨕᨘᨕ) meaning 'bloom' or 'flower'. The name was chosen by its inhabitants and acknowledged by its inhabitants soon after the start of the civil war, in 1935, as replacement to the former Manuak name. The name was made official in 1997, as part of the National Decolonization Act, which included, as one of its clauses, the renaming of all Manuak-named settlements.

History
Construction of Sirimaua began in the mid-19th century, in 1835, while Jangwali (formerly known as Agar Jawwal) was still a colony to the state of Agarad. Its formation was first suggested by former colonial commander, Dahawah ha-Qareshri, as part of the slow increase in Agarad's exploitation of natural resources in its Kasaren colonies, particularly that of from the Trans-Kasaren Mountains running parallel to the continent's northern coast. Edification began on 23 December 1835, of which nearly 100 people were part, all ethnically Mwenzi. Harsh desert environment, poor working and living conditions in the region, mistreatment by the colonial armed forces, and the numerous casualties as consequence, were major reasons for the delay of the project, which was finished on 31 October 1837, more than a year after the estimated completion date. Due to the lack of complete lawful transparency of the situation from the colonial government, the total number of deaths during construction is estimated to be somewhere between 50-100 people, based on death records on-site, as well as the reports of sudden deaths or disappearances of men living in the region around this time period.

Two months after the town’s construction was finished, nearly 300 men, aged 18-50, living across eastern and southern Jawwal were relocated to Sirimaua to work as miners. Excavation began on 18 January 1838, and within the first 6 months, nearly 75 people were reported dead, most of whom were under the age of 25. Despite the poor living conditions and treatment, the town continued to expand over time, eventually reaching its peak at around 570 active workers between 1867 and 1879. Sirimaua became the largest mining town in Agar Jawwal and one of the most active mining sites across northern Kasare. During the mid 1880s, however, workers' treatment went into rapid decline as the demand for faster and larger production and extraction from both the colonial and central government increased. Death toll rose exponentially between 1889 and 1899, reaching an annual average of fatal casualties of around 190. With the start of Agar interventionism and World War I, the citizens of Sirimaua became subjected to extreme exploitation practices, abduction by the military or torture. Unlike most settlements in southern Jawwal during the early 20th century, Sirimaua remained entirely under colonial control until the signing of the Desert Accords in 1910. Throughout all of World War I, the extraction of minerals continued to be transported to the rebel independentist front. After the end of the war, the town’s mining activity stopped almost entirely between 1914 and 1918. On 23 July 1919, the new Manuak government enforced the reinstauration of mining activity across the entire province, despite of what had been established in the Desert Accords, and passed the Slavery Concession in 1920, giving Manuak citizens the rights to purchase and trade captive Mwenzi citizens. Between 1920 and 1930, Sirimaua became one of the towns with the largest slave population in the world in the 20th century. It was during this decade that the town would become witness to its largest amount of casualties, reporting an annual average of nearly 230 people.

Once civil war broke out across the country in 1930, Sirimaua became one of the first settlements to rebel against the local government officials as the Mwenzi rebels gained control over the western half of the country. By 1940, nearly 60% of the population had migrated to neighboring nations or larger cities further north, as the government cut off the supply for resources across all urban settlements out of Manuak control. The desertic conditions toppled with the cut in the chain of supply, and the shortage of mining work, resulted in the prompt evacuation and progressive abandonment of Sirimaua, losing its last resident by 1977.

With the end of the civil war and the start of the 21st century, many of the settlements in the Utupu Mkubwa Desert began to gain popularity, not only due to their historical significance in helping reconstruct the events of major national conflicts in the region, but also to the spreading of and  about the shocking amount of deaths the town had experiences since before its foundation, as well as alleged rituals, sacrifices, and cultic practices that had taken place short after its abandonment. Today, Sirimaua has become a touristic destination, as well as the filming site for national and international film productions, and its story has starred in several national productions, particularly in the and.