Dare to be a contrarian and take the journey less travelled

High-risk takers

We all know in the business, science, or corporate world, high-risk takers are the ones who move the needle in invention, those who push the envelope as far as possible are the ones who are rewarded. Many places in Tanzania are celebrated for their natural beauty, pristine beaches but if you are one of those who are addicted to adventure.

Then Tanzania has so much more than the popularised tourist attractions and some are not for the faint-hearted.

Mafia Island’s Underwater Cemetery, is not a formal tourist site neither do the locals talk about it, if you stay long enough at a local lodge, maybe you will catch a late night conversation about the submerged gravesite, buried there are German colonial officials, Swahili merchants, Arab traders and Islamic scholars from the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The sea has been claiming the land for the last 100 years, some tombs are completely submerged under water while some are partially in the water and are visible when the tides are low. You will never hear or find this site in tourist attractions brochures or websites.

Rich history

This place is great for historians and those who want to go snorkelling and see how the tombs with Arab inscriptions are now part of the coral and marine life, fish swimming oblivious to the rich history this place holds, or its haunting stories. Locals will tell stories of the place’s past, and even speak of the ghost experience some have claimed to encounter.

If this is a place for you, a few minutes’ boat ride from Mafia’s main island will get you to Chole island where the commentary can be found.

And just for a bit of history and clarity, Mafia Island is not named after any Italian criminal enterprise or fictitious movie, the name is presumed to have come from the Arabic word ‘morfiyeh’ which basically means many islands, and that is what Mafia Island is made of.

Just like the voodoo and hoodoo markets in New Orleans or the Caribbean run occult supply in New York, in Tanzania’s Kigoma region, the Ujiji open air market has its witchcraft section, hidden from visitors, a section you go to if you need traditional healers’ potions, or charms, a fascinating scene, obscured sacks carry monkey skulls, birds claws, herbs and barks.

The section run by old men and women is not viewed as harmful witchcraft by the locals, but rather traditional practices that keep them in tune and harmony with the spiritual world.

They can more easily detect a stranger and if deemed not trustworthy, they will show you the ordinary herbs and grass used to treat everyday ailments. Kigoma is a multicultural blend of communities, from the Congo traders, immigrants who assimilated into Kigoma communities to Rwandan and Burundians who emigrated from the region during the 1990s conflict

Part of the rituals and practices were brought by the Congolese who crossed over and now it's fully embedded into the locals’ practices. Photography is shunned upon and the flashes emanating from the cameras are believed to disturb the spiritual world.

The evil eye

It is a norm to see babies and adults alike wearing ‘hirizi’, which is a black bracelet-like material tied around the baby’s waist or wrist for protection against the evil eye. For adults it's mainly for protection against business competitors or bringing luck and prosperity in their businesses.

Love charms are available in small powder bottles, the buyer is advised how to win the love of his/her life with clear instructions from the herbsman. Not all herbs and roots available here are harmful or tied to the dark spiritual practices, some are purely for healing purposes and some people travel far from other regions in Tanzania and across the border to receive treatment from these healers.

Ujiji market has historic importance in East Africa, this is where the Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone met the Welsh-American journalist Henry Stanley who worked for the New York Herald newspaper, who was sent to find Livingstone in 1869 and met him in 1871 in Ujiji by the shores of Lake Tanganyika.

The present-day communities are evolving and are more receptive to visitors, a friendly smile and polite requests with a few dollars can get you access to a whole new world of understanding their spiritual practices and the historical context. If you are a fan of horror movies, well, you would love to spend a day living in the shrouded mysteries of the Ujiji witchcraft market. The Pompeii of East Africa is what some European historians referred to as the Kua ruins. The ruins in Juani Island are another hidden treasure rich with historical evidence left in the 19th century, the evidence of the wealth the Kua people possessed.

The ruins contain what used to be a double-storey place and several complex structures that are believed to have housed wealthy families. There are other ruins in the surroundings that are believed to have been homes or ordinary families, coexisting with the affluent neighbours.

The ruins left are also of mosques that bear constructional significance that can be traced to Middle Eastern architecture. These medieval Swahili home ruins include the Arab architectural style ceramic from the 13th and 14th centuries. The island was ruled by the Portuguese and the Oman before their departure. Left in the ruins is the historical civilisation that once thrived here; parts of the walls of these settlements are now protruding from the trees they are entangled with.

The strong structures have withstood time and Mother Nature, it is one of the 50 at-risk cultural heritages. For the archaeologists, the Kua ruins are a trove of historical findings, from the coral rags that were used in the construction of the buildings that are still there today. The walls of many of the ruins were built with a Middle Eastern mud brick style influence.

With the timber used to support the ceiling, doors, and windows still there, centuries after the Omanis abandoned the island.

Mkadini village located on the northern side of the Ruvi River, is revered by the locals, no wonder they are not so eager to sell it as a tourist spot, its cultural and spiritual significance to the community is sacred  ‘Mzimu wa Binti Chanuo’ the spirit of Binti Chanuo as the locals call it, is a reef crest where they go for their rituals and spiritual connection to their ancestors. Alongside the stone tombs.

Everyday lives

These places are interconnected with everyday lives in the community, and family and community disputes are normally resolved at these sites.

While the area is mostly unexplored, Mkadani village, 13 kilometres north of Bagamoyo offers a unique spectrum of the tangible and untangle heritage. The architecture has not been fully studied and documented.

The stone tombs are believed to be the burial of influential men in their society hence respected and revered. The surrounding baobab trees only add more to the spiritual connectivity, as the trees have been used by many communities in Tanzania as a gathering place and for spiritual practices.

Though tourism in Mkadini has not fully blossomed, approaching this deeply spiritual and closed society requires caution and respect for their way of life.

Travelling to these communities and away from everyday tourism, gets rid of the foreigner feeling, the alienation that comes with the visitor tag.

You get to immerse yourself with the local community at a deeper level and understand the culture and way of life that is different from what you have considered the norm.

A health journey as one gets to understand the vastness of the planet that is home to more than 8 billion people.