Af-riikka

No niin, festariraporttia kyseltiin jo. Vietin lopulta vajaat kolme päivää (ja yötä : )) Bagamoyon taidefestareilla. Tarjonta ulottui monipuolisesti perinteisestä ngomasta (tanssia, lyömäsoittimia, huiluja, laulua) teatteriin ja pantomiimiin. Joukossa oli myös reggaeta (Suomessakin viime kesänä kiertänyt Jhikoman asuu Bagamoyossa) ja hip hopia (mm. alimmaisessa kuvassa oleva Professor Jay, jonka biisin ”Hapo vipi hapo sawa” varmaan jokainen Tansaniassa viime aikoina oleillut on kuullut useaan kertaan). Tamanvuotisen teeman mukaisesti – ”ART AND CULTURE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION" (taide ja kulttuuri talouskasvun puolesta ja köyhyyden lievittamiseen) lauluissa oli poliittista väriä: pari artistia keskittyi kokonaan HIV/AIDS-sanomaan, kun taas joissakin saarnattiin korruptiota vastaan. Esitysten taso oli varsin ailahtelevaa, sillä mukana oli niin ammattilaisia kuin aloittelijoitakin, ja niin aikuisia, lapsia kuin kehitysvammaisiakin. Ihmisten reaktiot esityksiin ol...

Here is finally some photos of my lovely bui-bui. It has been getting hotter lately, so I haven't really felt like wearing an extra layer every day. But it is an interesting social experience to compare people's reactions when I'm wearing it and not wearing it. When not wearing it, I'm being treated as any white person: "Jambo jambo honey, how are you?". When I am wearing my bui-bui, I get comments such as "Umependeza sana" (=I like you very much - this I get also without a bui-bui, but the amount of comments increases from half a dozen of umependezas to maybe two dozen...), "Are you a Muslim?", "Congratulations!", and a lot of salaam aleikums ...plus many approving smiles and comments especially from women, something that doesn't really happen without wearing a bui-bui. Some closer details, with a perfume bottle I also got today - from a shopkeeper who also spoke a bit of Swedish, had been living in Malmo many years ago. My...

Tahaan valiin kuulumisia suomeksi, tosin ilman skandeja (koettakaa kestaa...). Ramadan loppui varsin riehakkaasti, ja juhlinta jatkui todellakin nelja paivaa. Sansibarin puoliautonominen asema tuli taas esille, kun Sansibarin presidentti Amani Abeid Karume (ensimmaisen, hyvin autoritaarisen presidentti Abeid Amani Karumen poika, kappas vain) julisti maanantain juhlapaivaksi ja siis yleiseksi vapaapaivaksi - mutta vain Sansibarilla. Vaikka manner-Tansaniassa vietetaankin seka kristittyjen etta muslimien juhlapyhia (molempia on suunnilleen yhta paljon), oli maanantai siella tavallinen tyopaiva. Ramadanin viimeinen viikko oli muutenkin hektista aikaa, kun ihmiset parveilivat iltamarkkinoilla etsimassa itselleen ja lapsilleen uutta, mahdollisimman kiiltavaa paallepantavaa juhlaa varten. Itsekin loysin lopulta paljettien seasta hameen, jota kehtaa ehka pitaa paalla Suomessakin. Lisaksi mukaan tarttui pari huivia, joista toinen vivahtaa vahvasti vaaleanpunaiseen (vaikka itse kutsuisin sita e...

I bought myself a bui-bui on Sunday, after a long search. I’ve been going to the market, looking for the perfect (but still affordable - the price ranges between 10 and 50 euros) bui-bui , and finally I found the one . It is really beautiful, I must say. Now, what they call bui-bui in Zanzibar, is not technically a bui-bui anymore. Bui-bui (meaning also ‘spider’ in Swahili) used to be one big black cloth wrapped around ones body and held with both hands – thus not very comfortable for moving around. Based on my observations, about 95 % of the women in Stone Town don’t wear this old-fashion bui-bui anymore, but the new, modern one, familiar for those who’ve been to Arab countries where it is known as abaya . It is either a long, black dress or a long, jacket-like cloth that you wear on top of your clothes. The one I got is an open one ( bui-bui wazi), with some cream-coloured embroideries and glitter – all in all very feminine, I would say. I didn’t really understand why they want...

This post will probably be more interesting for those who want to study or do research in Zanzibar - or those who just want to read about different bureaucratic procedures! So, (people seem to start their sentences here very often with a "so"), this week I have finally started activelly doing something for my Master's thesis. I started my Swahili lessons at Taasisi (The Institute for Swahili and Foreign Languages) - every morning from Monday to Friday, 8-12 am. I can tell you, four hours of Swahili is quite intense! But I can feel progress already, so I guess it's worth it. It's also not very cheap: 4 $ per hour, which adds up to 80 $ per week, and I'm intending to do a whole month in order to get a proper certificate and everything. Plus the obligatory residence permit, 100 $. I wonder what they are going to do with all those five (5) photos that were required for the permit? Good thing in getting the permit is that I don't have to worry about extending m...

Wow, October is already here, and as for the Muslim months, there is still some 9-10 days of Ramadan left. The Ministry of Tourism from the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government (it is the official name!) has distributed announcements of Ramadan and all the restrictions involved in it in hotels - I tried to attach a picture of the paper here, but unfortunately Blogger failed to import the photo...anyway, it is being reminded time and time again that especially during this month - the holiest month for the Muslims - it is advisable not to wear short skirts or sleeveless shirts, to smoke on the street or kiss on the street. I decided to dedicate this post, and some of the next ones as well, to dressing and all the connotations involved in it. Dress code I wouldn’t want to turn into a dressing police, but I can’t help my eyes attaching to some of these many, many tourists in Zanzibar: despite mentions in every single guide book, and probably in every single hotel, people just don’t care about...