Zanzibar Island Local Customs

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I had no idea that you could grow seaweed until I visited the east coast of Zanzibar. In fact I did not realise that it was eaten in many countries in the Far East. Seaweed is tied to poles out in the ocean. Because the east coast of the island is protected by a close barrier reef, the seaweed thrives in these sorts of undersea groves. The ladies of the village harvest this in large sacks and bring them into dry.

You will most probably get away with USD, but I did find it very useful to have Tanzanian Shillings as well. At smaller shops, which is not very tourist orientated the local money comes in handy.
There is an ATM in Stone Town where I could draw money.

As we were travelling to the hotel as well as on arrival at the hotel, we were warned against engaging with the beach boys. We were told that they are dishonest, you will never get what you paid for, and that they do not have permits etc. We took a walk to the village not far from the hotel we stayed. Here we noticed that the hotel actually make use of the same services the beach boys do. We saw a minibus at the home of one of the guys staying in the village, the same minibus and driver which brought tourists from an excursion to the hotel.
We made use of the services of the beach boys and had excellent service at half the prices charged by the hotel. The hotel wants a monopoly on services and excursions.
On the other hand, we had very negative experiences with the ‘beach boys’ operating in Stone Town; they are extremely persistent and does not understand ‘no-thank you’ at all.
So, you have to make up your own mind about the ‘dangerous beach boys’.

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On one of our evenings at the Breezes Beach Club we were treated to a Swahili-themed barbeque and a performance by local drummers and dancers. The music was great (very hypnotic beats) and the dancing, illuminated by lanterns set in paper bags, was very lively and performed with a lot of enthusiasm. The main feature of all the dances was the use of wooden sticks. Sometimes these were used to pound the ground and add an extra beat to the music; sometimes they simulated weapons in a form of mock combat; at other times the dancers performed different steps over them, and even limbo-danced under them. Additionally the dancers stamped their feet to emphasise the rhythms.

The women wore colourful traditional costumes, though the men’s t-shirts advertising the dance company were a little more prosaic. As in many cultures, Swahili dances have specific meanings and play an important role in religion and social ceremonies. Traditionally women and girls are not allowed to participate in public dances – I’m not sure whether these women were ignoring that taboo or if they were not actually Swahili but were simply performing their dances.

If you get a chance to see a traditional dance performance, do take it, as it will certainly add to your appreciation and enjoyment of the local culture of Zanzibar.

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A popular activity for tourists in Zanzibar is to have a hand or some other body part adorned with traditional henna painting. We saw signs for this all over Stone Town (se Chris’s photo, no. 2) but it wasn’t until we got to the beach that I decided to have one. There were several women offering to do this at competitive prices – they would approach us on the beach, but rarely hassled us (I think they were carefully monitored by hotel staff and chased away if they became too aggressive).

Henna painting, also known as mehndi painting from the Hindu word for henna, is a traditionally used on the hands and feet. The leaves of the henna plant are dried and powdered to be mixed into a paste which is used to dye the skin a reddish/brown colour. The resulting pattern lasts between 1-3 weeks. Aware that I would have to go back to work the next week I chose this fairly subtle design, and was very happy with the handiwork. If you’d like a henna painting you’ll find plenty of opportunities wherever you stay.

One of the most distinctive features of Stone Town’s architecture is the number of elaborately decorated wooden doors, which are all the more striking given the relative plainness of the buildings to which they provide access. They show various design influences – Arabian, African and Indian (many of the builders and craftsmen used in building Zanzibar were from the sub-continent). The simplest are usually the oldest, and these have traditional Arabian features with horizontal lintels. The more elaborate are those with rounded tops, such as the one in this photo, heavily influenced by Indian design. Many of these have brass studs which were used in India to protect buildings against elephants – unneeded here except for decorative purposes and to demonstrate the owner’s wealth.

Look carefully for the different motifs used in the carving, such as fish, chains, flowers, leaves, lotus and many more. Some of these can be used to determine the age of the door; many of the oldest have a symbol resembling a fish near the bottom of the side posts, which in time gradually evolved into a pineapple. If therefore the carving shows a clear and distinct pineapple the door is likely to be newer. Another symbol that became part of the decoration was a chain-like row at the very outside of the whole door. The chain was said to protect the entrance from evil spirits. Look closely at my photo to see this chain.

For more images of Stone Town’s doors check out www.zanzibarstonetown.org/gallery/doors/.

We sampled two local beers while staying in Stone Town, most often from the sunset-viewing vantage point of Africa House (see Nightlife tip). These were Safari and Kilimanjaro, both (as their names suggest) brewed on mainland Tanzania in Dar Es Salaam. Both were pleasant lager-style beers, very refreshing when served icy cold. Safari is brewed by Tanzanian Breweries, with an ABV of 5.5%, while Kilimanjaro has an ABV of 4.5%. Both are quite light in appearance and are very drinkable, but of the two I preferred Safari’s slightly hoppier flavour.

On the Sunday morning in Stone Town we decided to attend mass in the Roman Catholic Cathedral, St Joseph’s. The cathedral was built by French missionaries between 1893 and 1898 and with the exception of its heavily ornamented wooden door which echoes the traditional ones seen elsewhere in the town, is rather incongruously European in style.

We were fascinated to find that the mass, like the building itself, borrowed elements from the local culture, especially in the music with its strong rhythms, drumming and Swahili chanting. This is definitely something worth experiencing, but be warned – you’ll need some stamina. The mass lasted far longer than the one hour usual in England (closer to two) and as we had arrived not long before it started we found ourselves having to stand in what was a very hot and close atmosphere, despite the ceiling fans and open doors and windows. Local practice by the way is for men to occupy one side of the aisle and women the other, but no one seemed to mind that visiting couples like ourselves chose to stay together on the men’s side (we weren’t sure that the women would like to be joined by an unknown man).

If you would like to experience a different side to life in Stone Town do consider joining some of its people in worship, either here or in the Anglican Cathedral.

Directions On Cathedral Street, a little to the east of Kenyatta Road