Read me, read me!

http://www.zanzibarstc.org/about/blog.php

Just just read me :)

LET US PRAY. FINALLY!

Please click on the title of this post so that you can eventually watch the video of the children at the pre-school in Nkhata Bay, Malawi, as they say grace before their meal.

Only the strong

If you click on the title of this blog post it will take you to a video on you tube and I urge you to visit this address.

This is one of the songs that we sing as we play Capoeira. The best version that I could find on the net is one with a backing track. We only use the birimbau and Pandeiro (a Brazilian tambourine). These are the lyrics:

Paranaue, paranaue, parana
Vou me embora enquanto e cedo
que a noite tenho medo!

Parana Paranaue, paranaue, parana
Mulher pra ser bonita, parana
Nao precisa se pintar, parana.

Paranaue, paranaue, parana
A pintura e do artista, parana,
A beleza e Deus que da, parana.



Paranaue, paranaue, parana
I'm leaving while it's early
because at night I'm afraid!

Parana Paranaue, paranaue, parana
for a woman to be beautiful, parana
she doesn't need to paint herself, parana.

Paranaue, paranaue, parana
A painting is by an artist, parana,
Beauty is given by God, parana.


Here is a explanation of the song from capoeira.com

"Parana is the name of a state in Brazil. It has come to represent freedom and is used symbolically in many capoeira songs. Aruande and Luanda (the capital of Angola) are often used similarly representing freedom, or even heaven, and often carry a feeling of nostalgia. Of course this would be a common theme among slaves singing of desired freedoms. What types of freedom might modern capoeiristas be seeking?"




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=creOWJGnowo&feature=related

here is one final link to listen to another well known Capoeira song. Also with a backing track but at least this one has the birimbau on its own at the beginning

Yes this is late, but this is what I looked like for sikuku! Poa!

...and then...

...the reason for lingerie shopping in Zanzibar is revealed.

If you go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/30199568@N05/sets/72157627715660248/ you can browse the underwater photo shoot pictures that Angela and I modelled for.

Much fun, much water in the nose, burning eyes and beautiful coral reefs.

If there are any problems with accessing the pictures, look for the underwater h2o section.

POA!

Pilau

The hina has faded, the bellies have recovered from too much chai and biscuits and cake and chapatis and rice. Now in memory of sikuku, here is a recipe for pilau.

I learnt how to cook pilau from two people: one, my friend who is a photographer and a local, and the other from a lady whom I chatted to on the day that I was painted in hina and piko.

I learnt this one from the famous and very talented photographer. She invited me to her home and I followed the progress of the lunch being cooked. Every friday, the family eats Pilau with some fort of meat. Here it is:

1. fry onion in A LOT of ghee (or oil). Fry the onion for a long time, until is it nice and soft.
2. then add about four chunks of potato (or more if you so want, this meal was to serve about 4 peopl)
3. then add garlic, ginger and then after a few minutes, cinnamon, 2/3 cloves, cumin, cardamon and black pepper.
4. cook for a few minutes and the add the amount of rice you need and stick and leave to cook until the rice is done.

This is pilau. As I have mentioned before, the people whom I have met do not work with exact measurements, this I am afraid need to be cooked with taste.

The second recipe I learnt from the dear hina ladies. The sister told me in mixed kiSwahili and English, interupted with excited additions by her sister. Her recipe will be remembered here, in absence, for alas I cannot remember it!

Please enjoy the Pilau.

The Zanzibar Leopard

There was once an animal called the Zanzibar leopard.

This story begins with the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, to make Tanzania. Zanzibaris do not like the fact that they are no longer their own independent country. Zanzibar has its own president and Government. They are basically their own country, except for the fact that they no longer have the final say about what happens to their country.

Zanzibaris tell me that they do not like the union because Zanzibar has just become a money making tool for the mainland. Their architecture is a World Heritage Site. Their spices, especially their cloves and clove oil is world renowned and exported widely under the banner of Tanzania and most of the money, I am told, returns to the mainland and very little finds its way back to the island.

And then a few days ago a local told me that there were once leopards on the island. And I argued with him, saying that there were never leopards on the island. Until that is, I learnt of this specific animal called the Zanzibar leopard. He told me that the mainland came onto the island and got rid of the leopards. Just another of the many atrocities that happened to Zanzibar.

And then not a minute later I was told a rather bizarre story about this leopard. But no one had been able to verify this. The lady in question had heard it from a guide in the Jozani forests.

Once upon a time witchdoctors* of old used to train these leopards and when someone came to them to use their powers to get revenge on a person, the leopard would be unleashed. The leopards had been trained to kill and destroy livestock of a person. They were even trained to kill people. Apparently it became a huge menace.

And so one day the government (here she stops and giggles, finding it funny that even the government became involved) hired clairvoyants to come in and find out where the leopards were and who owned them. Thus the leopards were removed. Which government was involved she had no way of knowing.


*witchdoctors are very different from healers. Wichdoctors use potions, spells and magic, usually for evil ends. Healers use herbs and plants for healing purposes only. The wichdoctor may also give cures for ailments. But a healer only heals.