The Swahilis: an Afro-Shirazian lineage, a thousand-year-old crossbreeding
The majority of Zanzibarites - Swahilis - are of Afro-Swahili origin due to the rich mixed history of the archipelago: a Bantu settlement and Persian colonization in the Middle Ages. Then Arabs and Indians settled here massively in the 18th and 19th centuries, along with a number of African slaves of Bantu origin, captured in the Great Lakes region, who came to populate the countryside by working on the plantations. This ethnic mix of the Swahili people can be found throughout the Zanzibar archipelago and the coast of Tanzania. The Swahili culture and language are also the result of this mixing. The Muslim religion, dear to the medieval Persians, then reintroduced after the Portuguese interlude by the Sultans of Oman, is an integral part of this Swahili identity. Today, certain distinctions of peoples still exist, dating back to the ethnic differences of the first Bantus. The Wahadimu are found in the south and centre of the island, the Watumbatu in the north and on Tumbatu Island, and the Wapemba on Pemba Island.
The Arabs of Oman and the Indian traders, historical notables
Arab and Indian traders, especially the Sultans of Oman who colonized the island and brought in large numbers of slaves to work on the spice plantations, ruled the island at the expense of its inhabitants for centuries. It was the proletarian revolution of 1964 that brought this domination to an end. A revolution of the inhabitants that led to the flight of the island's notables, but also to the massacre of nearly 20,000 Arabs and Indians, often traders with political and economic power, mainly former slave traders. Today, some Arabs from Oman and Asians (mainly Indians from Goa, India and Pakistan) have returned to settle in Zanzibar and are now involved in business and tourism. Indians are particularly active on the island.
Large numbers of Europeans and mainland Tanzanians
There are a good number of European expatriates who own lodges, or work in resorts as managers, or who have a receptive agency. The Italians are historically settled here and are the most numerous, but there are also Germans, English, French... And recently, there have been many Poles. Finally, there are many tourists almost all year round, of all western nationalities, mainly Europeans.
Many continental Tanzanians (called "mainlanders" here) are trained in the tourism schools of Dar es Salaam and can hold positions of responsibility in the hotels in Zanzibar. They have a strong presence in senior positions.
The fascinating Maasai bring their culture to Zanzibar
We also see many Maasai attracted by the development of tourism. They work as night watchmen because, it is said, they are used to stay awake to watch their cows, protect them from lions and run very fast. So they make excellent night guards, which are essential here. They also act as beach guards to keep away insistent beach boys. Others sell Maasai jewellery, now the women who make it have also settled here with their children, a relatively new development. You can see them on the beaches unpacking their creations. Having a Maasai for a lodge is also a way of attracting tourists, it is very "exotic"... A questionable marketing argument, but one that allows the Maasai diaspora to find seasonal jobs. In reality, this pastoral people of Nilotic origin lives today on the highlands between Kenya and Tanzania. They are estimated to number around 300,000 people. The Maasai are originally from the upper Nile valley. They have the habit of shaving women's heads and pulling out the two lower incisors. They stand at rest on one leg, and spit as a sign of blessing. Their social life is organized in age classes, they practice circumcision and excision. The Maasai warriors wear a sword(mkuki), sandals, a toga(nagdo) tied on one shoulder, red in colour: it is the colour of blood, sign of courage. They eat almost only oxen that they raise, drink their blood in a ritual way, wear a very heavy polished tree root on their belt to stun lions(rungu). The women are often dressed in blue, the colour of fertility.
Kiswahili, a powerful regional language
Kiswahili integrates words from Arabic mainly, but also from Persian, Indian (Kutchi and Gujarati), English and Portuguese, reflecting its crossbreeding. Originally created on the coasts of East Africa by integrating the languages of migrants who came to settle here into the Bantu languages, it has an important regional influence. It is an official language in Kenya, Tanzania (since the country's independence), and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but it is also spoken in Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. It is understandable in the Comoros. Originally written in Arabic characters, it adopted the Latin alphabet in the 19th century. From 1930 onwards, the English colonists decided to standardize Kiswahili, which was then broken down into many dialects and related languages, by creating the Committee on the Territorial Language, based on a dialect of Zanzibar, that of Stone Town, Kiunguja. It symbolized the end of colonization when Nyerere decided to adopt it as the official language at the archipelago's independence in 1964. Two organizations were created, the Institute of Swahili Research and the University College in Dar es Saalam to continue research on this vernacular language. The aim was to replace the colonial English language. The "Swahilization" of society was rapid, and by 1970 the parliament was sitting in this language. Ten years later, secondary education was switched to Swahili. Thus, many Tanzanians, beyond their ethical origin, consider themselves as Swahili, without being from the coastal region or Muslims. English is spoken by educated Tanzanians, but little in the countryside.
