Zanzibar's Diverse Communities by Abdulrazak Fazal

Zanzibar's Historical Religious Tolerance - her diverse communities

Among the Indians in Zanzibar, the Parsees and Goans formed fairly average-sized communities. We had earlier talked about the Parsees. We now bring up the Goans. They were hardworking and flamboyant people. In actual fact, they did not consider themselves Indians as Goa then was under the colonial rule of the Portuguese. Also with their Christian background and fluency in English, they could easily connect themselves with the colonials. No doubt the Barretos and Carvalhos featured prominently in Zanzibar’s banks and administrative setups. Some were specialized as tailors. A Goan tailor shop in the stone town was a common sight. They had their twin-towered cathedral with statues of the Virgin Mary located in Vuga beside the Samachar Printing Press across Portuguese street. What comes to mind is the spectacle of their funeral procession in Zanzibar. There was somberness about it. The cortege would be led by a cross-bearer followed by a black cart with wreaths laid over it, and then the relatives carrying the coffin over their shoulders. The mourners in their black attire walked behind in a dignified manner.

Some of Zanzibar’s prominent doctors like Demello, Menezes, D’silva and Maitra were Goans. The Goans also excelled in sports. They had their ‘Goan Club’ and ‘Goan Institute’. The burly James D’lord was one of Zanzibar’s hardest hitters of the cricket ball. The Goans along with Hindus and Comorians were dominant in field hockey. Their school, St. Joseph Convent, run by the Catholic Mission was one of Zanzibar’s most prestigious schools that admitted besides Catholic only selective non-Catholic pupils. The school was located behind the High Court which was on the main Shangani Road where many Goans resided. The road stretched up to the Post Office at the far end of Portuguese street where mainly the Hindu community resided.

The Hindus in Zanzibar were an enterprising community, and foremost among them were the Bhatias. It is said that the brothers Jeraj and Eebji Shivji were the first to settle in Zanzibar. Later their surname Shivji changed to Swaly which is derivative of the term ‘Swahili’. Narandas Swaly, a reputed contractor, whose expertise our forefathers sought in having their walls and ceilings bricked up, and Vinod Swaly, a very popular teacher at the Agakhan Secondary School, were the descendents of Eebji Swaly.

Here we need to point up a significant and historic incident. It was the visit of Mahatma Gandhi to Bhatia Mahajanvadi at Ziwani en route from South Africa to India. There is an interesting anecdote relating to this episode. Gandhiji refused to enter the Bhatia Mahajanvadi building as there was a notice saying 'Bhatia sivay koine andar aavavani raja nathi' (only Bhatias are allowed to enter) . That really embarrassed the committee. The notice was immediately removed and after persuasion, Gandhiji consented to enter the building. Years later in 1948, Gandhiji was assassinated and sadly this time his ashes were brought to Zanzibar when a large number of Asians gathered at the dock as a mark of respect for this great Mahatma. The ashes were then taken to Jinja (Uganda) to be scattered in the Nile.

The Hindus observed Diwali with great pomp and ceremony. The Diwali illumination brightened up Shangani/Portuguese/Hurumzi (Vaddi Bhajaar) streets and they burst with crackers. On the eve of Diwali ‘chopra puja’ was held in every shop. Even Muslim shopkeepers participated in this ‘puja’. Every Indian shopkeeper had his ‘namu’ (accounts) done in ‘Gujarati’ and he closed his books to transfer the balances into the new ones on the Hindu New Year. Also the rupee was Zanzibar’s legal tender. The Bhatias were held in very high esteem by the Sultan and some even acted as advisers to him. The Jetha Leela Private bank located in Portuguese Street may be recorded as one of the oldest financial institutions in East Africa. The street also housed the clinics of the well-known Hindu doctors - Dr. Goradia, Dr. Mehta, and Dr. Patel who were immensely popular with the settlers.

Zanzibar was indeed blessed with great professionals and formidable intellects. The round clock protruding from the building on Shangani signified Zanzibar's High Court. Its Chief Justice, Sir John Grey, formed an authority on Zanzibar's judicial system. Other prominent personalities included Judge Green, Magistrate Husain Rahim and Registrar Husain Nazarali. Zanzibar boasted a Secular Court and a Sharia Court. Sheikh Omar Smet and Abdullah Saleh Farsi were Chief Kadhi for the Sharia Court. The Talati brothers of 'Wiggins and Stephens' and the Lakha brothers were some of Zanzibar's leading lawyers. Wolf Dourado went on to become the Attorney General in the post-Revolution phase. 

Zanzibar's oldest newspaper was a weekly Samachar published by Fazel Master whose establishment dated back to 1903. The bilingual (English and Gujarati) paper was circulated on Sundays only. Such another was 'Zanzibar Voice' by Ibrahim Kassam. Also, Rati Bulsara entered with his very own Adal Insaaf. The Government Press besides the gazette delivered Maarifa on Thursdays.

Portuguese street adjoined Sokomohogo/Mkunazini streets which were largely occupied by the Bohoras who were old settlers and dealt in hardware, crockery or had tin/glass cutting workshops. They had as many as three mosques which were situated at Kiponda, Mkunazini and Sokomohogo. Their gym/club was the finest with excellent facilities. The famed Karimjee Jivanjee family belonged to the Bohora community. Two of the Karimjee brothers were honoured with a knighthood by the British Colonial Government, Sir Yusufali & Sir Tayabali. The late His Holiness Syedna Taher Saifuddin visited Zanzibar in the late 1950s (or was it early 1960s?). On that occasion the Bohora Scout troop displaying their classic band marched majestically through the streets of Stone Town. At night Mkunazini and Sokomohogo were transformed into a glitter. The spacious Bohora School compound exhibited a spectacular replica of the ‘Sefi Mahal’ (Syedna’s Bombay mansion). In adherence to the salutary advice by Syedna,  a great number of Bohoras staked their livelihood in Zanzibar. Presently theirs is the largest community abounding in prosperity..

There was a great concentration of Kutchi Sunnis too in Mkunazini/Sokomohogo. They comprised Memon, Khatri, Sonara, Sumra, Surya, Loharwadha, Girana, Juneja, Sameja, Chaki, Kumbhar, Hajam, Bhadala and such Kutchi artisan/smith communities. There were also Sunni communities other than Kutchi such as Kokni (Muslims from Maharashtra) and Surti Vora (Muslims from Surat, Gujarat). Equally early settlers were the Kutchi Sunnis. As a matter of fact, our forefathers were brought to Zanzibar in dhows navigated by the Kutchi Sunnis. In the instance of Kutchi Kumbhars (a pottery class) some inhabited Makunduchi. They built up contacts with the locals there, spoke fluent Kiswahili, and attended school in Makunduchi where the medium of instruction was Kiswahili. The owners of ‘Sura Store’ and ‘Muzammil’ who were destined to flourish in the post-Revolution phase are the progeny of this ancestry.

Portuguese Street also converged on Hurumzi (Vaddi Bhajaar) where the Hindu and Jain temples were located. The street extended up to Saleh Madawa's shop or the monumental Ismaili Jamaatkhana that stretched all the way from one road to another. It formed a terminus for several by-ways and lanes that headed towards the Khoja-dominated Kiponda/Malindi. In the early days, the Ismailis had jamaatkhana even in Sateni, Bumbwini and Chwaka. Obviously, the Khojas (Ithnashris & Ismailis) formed the bulk of the settlement (amply evidenced by the earlier days’ census)) and were scattered all over Zanzibar including Ngambu, Bububu, Mfenesini, Bumbvini, Chwaka and Makunduchi.

The light died, the fan stopped, I fell for Zanzibar. by Zehr Peera

Memories of Zanzibar by Zehra Peera 2002

From  http://www.dewani.ca/af/guestbook/ of Abdulrazak Sheriff Fazal

I enjoyed going through your Memoirs. It brought back a lot of pleasant memories, in particular those of Vaddi Bhajar(Hurumzi). It was indeed a lively street and probably nicknamed “Vaddi Bhajar” by the Kutchi-speaking settlers. The rows of houses facing each other, within earshot, shops on ground level and dwellings above shops, created an atmosphere that made the early migrants feel as if they were at a home away from home.

The shops in the street catered for most daily needs, such as grains, spices, and herbal medicines. Most of the goods were imported from India. Chocolates and biscuits imported from Britain were also available in our shop on the street. Our shop carried the signboard advertising Cadbury’s Chocolate over the door. In 1988 Issa, my husband, visited Zanzibar. He was shown a book in the planning department about Zanzibar streets, prepared by a team of Swedes working in Zanzibar. The book had a picture of the Cadbury’s Chocolate signboard over our front door. The Swedish architect who showed the book to Issa said that the signboard was a feature of such curiosity that it deserved to be included in the book.

Name-tags were common in Zanzibar as you mentioned in your Memoirs – some no very complimentary though! Mostly they indicated businesses. In Vaddi Bhajar we had Jafu Msumari who sold nails and cement, and we had Saleh Madawa who sold herbal medicines. As children we were often sent to Chacha Saleh’s shop to buy herbal medicine. No sooner we named the ailment to him, e.g. constipation, he stretched his hand out and drew the right box from the shelf at the side or back without turning his head. He knew precisely the position of the box on the shelf, and its contents. He wrapped the right amount of herbs in the paper and handed it to us.

Our shop was a meeting place with Marhum Bha Taki on his chair (left on baraza day and night) presiding over the group until late at night. We had regular daily visitors from your end of the town as well as the other, Soko Mohogo. The grand chair was on the baraza for a long time after the family’s departure. In 1997 though, when I visited Zanzibar, after nearly 25 years, both the chair and the Cadbury’s signboard had disappeared.

The Wednesday evening Majlis for men, and distribution of fateha to children on Thursday evening were weekly family features. Besides men, a couple of elderly women also came to Majlis regularly and we all sat in the room across from the Men’s area, with curtains drawn across the door, listening to recitations. As to Thursday’s fateha, I remember standing at our shop door chanting “ Wa toto fateha” and hearing the response “ Kina nani” from afar. I replied “Kina Ali Khaku”.

You must have been in the group of children returning from Forodhani and knew what to expect. Besides the Wednesday Majlis at my house, one evening every year Vaddi Bhajar would be closed to the traffic for celebration of Hazrat Abbas’ birthday. It was like “Khushiali Ya Bankro” at Junni Masjid. On one occasion Laila (your sister Zainab’s sister-in-law) and I, together with some other children from the street, took part in reciting Kasida. I was reminded of this occasion when I was talking to Laila recently.

Issa remembers attending a function once and being given a “ladu”. These ladus were made by Laila’s aunt, Mami Tahakro, who lived in the vicinity. The barazas in Zanzibar served multiple purposes. The elderly on their long walks used to sit on them for resting and the hawkers like Ali Bajia (another name-tag) put their wares on the barazas to serve their customers.

As children we used barazas to play a game called “ crocodile chase”. The street was the ocean and the barazas were the shores where we would be safe from the crocodile’s jaws. Also, to avoid being run down by fast-moving hamali carts delivering goods from the wharf to the shops, we jumped onto the baraza when we saw one coming.

The street separating the rows of houses on either side were so narrow that we could hear and see what went on inside the households around us. Neighbours standing at their windows gossiped across the street space. We threw packets of eatables to our friends through their windows. We also sat at the windows to listen to new songs from the Indian films being played in the neighbourhood, to memorise the lyrics.

Growing up as children in Vaddi Bhajar, life was never dull. During Ramadhan, as the dusk approached, someone from my household and someone from your grandparent’s house would stand at the windows. Laila would be at her window from which she could see the minaret at Nai Masjid. When she saw the Muazzin reaching the top, Laila would come over to the window overlooking our house and cry, “Haya”, at which we rushed to the dinner table.

We had good connection with Parsees. We were friendly with quite a few Parsee families because we attended the same school as their children, Saint Joseph’s Convent School. Dara Mistry’s family lived in the neighbourhood and as children we spent a good deal of time with them. According to Issa, I speak Gudjerati as Parsees did, which was somewhat peculiar.

In your memoirs you describe Washiri coffee sellers. Their style of pouring coffee in tiny cups and stopping in time to avoid overfilling the cup was a skillful performance. So was the juggling of cups to announce their arrival. A coffee seller had certain streets for his territory by common consent with others to avoid competition. On his rounds, he would stop at the shops and pour coffee for the shopkeeper and whoever else was present in the shop.

A shop was a venue for trading gossip and rumours. The coffee seller was also a purveyor of news, rumours and gossip which he picked up on his rounds. To this day, Issa brews coffee which he calls Kahawa ya Unguja every morning and drinks it from one of the tiny cups brought from Zanaibar. I even have a doll replica of the coffee seller in his traditional costume carrying his dele.

Occasionally I make Haloowa Ya Manga which I learnt to make from Ukera Kassamali Peera on one of my visits to California. Dinesh Pandya's letter took me back to my student days in Arya Samaj.as well as my teaching days at Bait ul Raas. I remember his father panpati shop under Arya Samaj. Harish Pandya was my student at the Teachers' College Zanzibar. 

I have written a couple of articles on Zanzibar too. One article was prompted by an article I had read in the local paper which opened with the words "The light died, the fan stopped, I fell for Zanzibar.