Zanzibar Culture

Mwaka Kogwa

The Mwaka Kogwa Festival happens every year in July-August (the exact date depends on the moon) in the town of Makunduchi in the south of Zanzibar . It is the local "New Year" - a celebration of the end of the old growing season and the beginning of a new one.

The festival lasts for four days, but the first day is the most interesting. The theme is purification. The locals want to start the new year with a clean sheet, and the logical solution is for all the men in the village to beat each other up with big banana stalks. It's Zanzibar 's answer to paint balling.

It might sound painful and a bit confusing, but actually nobody gets hurt. The banana stalks split on contact and after a while they disintegrate. At this point, the fiercely-dueling combatants leave the field with big grins.

The festival actually originates in Persia and is designed to get rid of all feuds and arguments through the ritualized act of aggression. A straw house is also burnt and the worries of the past year are meant to burn away with it.

Throughout the day, the women of the village accompany proceedings with song and dance. This is strongly influenced by the Middle East - unsurprising since this part of the world has been trading with other countries on the Indian Ocean for centuries.

At the end of the day, the villagers return home to prepare for the New Year, while you can head back to the other delights that Zanzibar has to offer: the twisting alleys and shady squares of Stone Town or the stunning tropical beaches.

Festival of the Dhow Countries

Festival of the Dhow Countries take place between 27th June - 04th July 2009 every year.

The festival of the dhow countries is the greatest cultural festival in East Africa . It celebrates the cultures and arts of the Africa continent, India , Pakistan , Iran , the Gulf  states and Indian Ocean islands.

The dhows has for countries been playing the Indian ocean region bringing people and cultures together, signifying the ways in which the arts can unite diverse people in a spirit of creativity and sharing.

The aim of the festival of the Dhow countries is to implant education and generate cultural development to the people of Tanzania , Zanzibar the region.

Workshops, seminars, exhibitions, symposiums, education events for school and women’s group run parallel to the main programmes, placing the festival as an international platform for the promotion of the wider horizons

Bull Fighting

Bullfighting is a popular, traditional and annual sport in Pemba Island . Pemba bullfights are relic of Portuguse occupation of the island, which occurred during the16th and17th centuries. Drum beats, men and women sing local songs to make the event lively and spur on both bull and manador. It’s a purely sporting event and the bulls are not killed as Spanish do.

There is no specific dates when the bullfightings are organized but the hottest time of the year. This between August and February.But some times it is done after clove harvesting or during the state ceremony such as Revolutionary Day of Zanzibar.

Arts and Crafts

Art lovers will find paintings by several Zanzibar artists, including the popular Tinga Tinga painting style, and contemporary views of Stone Town .

Zanzibar is famous for its' carved chests and doors (each carving has a meaning).

   

During the 1800's, special craftsmen in Zanzibar achieved a style and tradition of carving wooden doors that can be found nowhere else in the world! Their special style combined methods used in west India with Islamic decorative elements with Swahili tradition. When a house was built in Zanzibar , the door was traditionally the first part to be erected. The greater the wealth and social position of the owner of the house, the larger and more elaborately carved his front door. Many doors are studded with brass spikes.


At last count, there were 560 carved doors in Zanzibar . The oldest door discovered in Zanzibar is dated AD 1694.

Glossary

Swahili is the language spoken by the people of Zanzibar . Although many speak English, you will go a long way with a few polite words in Swahili and remember, especially greetings are important. Here are a few pointers:

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