SIT: TANZANIA COASTAL ECOLOGY

COASTAL PEOPLES, SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

By
Simeon Mesaki
simeonmesaki@yahoo.com
0713 407 625

COAST and marine ecosystems

Tanzania’s coastal and marine ecosystems cover the mainland coast, three principal islands
(Pemba, Unguja, and Mafia) all of which are less than 100 km offshore, numerous small near
shore islands and islets, and one oceanic island, Latham I. The continental shelf, covering an
estimated 17,500 – 17,900 sq km (to 200 m depth) is generally narrow (narrowest point 2 km,
widest 80 km), and drops sharply after 60 m depth. Pemba and Latham are separated from the
mainland by relatively deep water (c. 400-500 m and 200-300 m depth respectively). Pemba is
believed to be part of the mainland that broke away about 10 million years ago. Unguja and
Mafia are limestone islands on the continental shelf and were probably part of a
Pleistoceneinshore coral reef system which is now separated from the mainland by relatively
shallow (30-50 m deep) channels.

Regions, districts and islands/islets

The coastal regions of Tanzania have 15% of the country’s physical area and
25% of the about 37million Tanzanians.

Caplan, “the coast of east Africa has long been an area of perpetual change-over
a millennium it has interacted with both the West Indian Ocean littoral and the
African interior. It has been argued that it s the role of coastal dwellers as
intermediaries, traders, merchants and cultural brokers that has given this area
its distinctive quality” (in a recent workshop on “modernity”).

Climate
The monsoons-a word derived from an Arabic word meaning seasonally
reversing winds. The monsoons have dominant influence on wind direction and
strength, climate (temperatures and rainfall) and fishing regimes, among other
things. Two rainy seasons: short (November) and long (March- May); rainfall=
750 mm. Temperatures are high (25-30 degrees C).

Soils are sandy and coralline with poor moisture and poor drainage-alluvial soils
are found in river valleys.

Features of the coast

Both the mainland and the isles have spectacular ecosystems, e.g. the Rufiji
delta described as “...stunning complex and contradictory in its expression of the
elements that make up the environment…calm and violent, extraordinarily
productive and destructive, dangerous and soothing (Gibbon, 1998:2).
Spectacular fringing reefs, river mouths, outlets and deltas, lagoons creeks
The open sea, beaches
Ruins and relics such as those found in Kilwa and Bagamoyo

1
Corals abound and mangrove stands are extensive e.g. Rufiji.

Urban centres include Tanga, Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, Lindi, Zanzibar etc.

Marine reserves and parks e.g. Menai Bay in Zanzibar, Misali in Pemba, Mafia
and Mnazi Bay in Mtwara in mainland Tanzania have been established. Also
Selous Game reserve is within the districts: Kilwa, Lindi, Rufiji
The coast is unique: powerful meeting of landscape and seascape (e.g. Saadani
game reserve extends as far as the seashore).
Scenic beauty and attractions, economic potential as well as aesthetic value…

ATTRACTIONS
Bagamoyo: ranging from the old Boma to the old post office; from the baobab
tree (whose circumference in metres has grown 1912 (5.44); 1927 (6.80); 1955
(7.84) 1991 (10.20); to 2000 (12.50) to the Caravan Serai and the Kaole ruins
 Saadani: “the perfect union of beach and bush”
Zanzibar: from palatial ruins to the pristine beaches, from the narrow streets to
the Changuu island tortoises.
 Kilwa: another world heritage site since 1981.
 Mafia

Importance of the coast

 Length 800 kilometres; powerful meeting of land & sea: attractions &
aesthetics
 75% of country’s industries located along the coast: implications for
migration and environmental impacts.
 Has 25% of the population
 Cultural heritage importance-Archaeological sites e.g. Kilwa Kisiwani;
Kaole (Bagamoyo)

Importance of the coast range from historical legacy to its contribution to the
economy and potential for further developments: Fishing, shipping, salt making,
industries and agriculture, forestry and tourism. Economic importance rests on
the untapped potential in agriculture, offshore fishing, shipping, mining, minerals
and manufacturing.

Diverse ecosystems and resources

The coastal and marine ecosystems of the URT are part of the East African Eco-
region (EAME), a WWF Global 200 Eco-region, and considered globally
outstanding for marine biodiversity. The eco-region has been identified as a
global priority, and WWF has supported development of an eco-regional
biodiversity vision and action plan through a multi-stakeholder process. A long-
term (50 year) Biodiversity Vision is “to have a healthy marine and coastal
environment that provides sustainable benefits for present and future generations
of both local and international communities, who also understand and actively
care for its biodiversity and ecological integrity”.

2
Marine resources
MANGROVES
SEAGRASSES
CORAL REEFS
SEA TURTLES
SEA CUCUMBERS
FAUNA
FOREST RESOURCES
DOLPHINS
THE COCONUT PALM
CLOVES
Honeybees
There is a long tradition of beekeeping on Pemba, particularly in combination
with clove production since clove honey commands high prices..

Tanzania has three types of MPAs: Marine Parks, Marine Reserves and National Parks.
Currently, mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar have a total of 10 MPAs, with more planned in the
near future. The Marine Parks and Reserves Unit (MPRU) was set up under the Ministry of
Natural Resources and Tourism. The Marine Parks are: Mafia Island Marine park; Mnazi Bay-
Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park and the Marine Reserves are: Fungu Yasini Island, Mbudya Island,
Bongoyo Island, Pangavini Island and Maziwi Island. In Zanzibar: Chumbe Island Marine
Sanctuary, Menai Bay Conservation Area (MBCA) in Unguja, Mnemba Conservation Area in
Unguja and Misali Island Conservation Area (MICA) in Pemba.

The Human dimension/Coastal communities:

“…the coast of east Africa has long been an area of perpetual

change-over a millennium it has interacted with both the West
Indian Ocean littoral and the African interior. It has been argued
that it is the role of coastal dwellers as intermediaries, traders,
merchants and cultural brokers that has given this area its
distinctive quality” (P. Caplan in a recent workshop on
“modernity”).

 25% of the 33 million Tanzanians live in coastal areas.

 Urban migration to double of this in the next decade (Rate between
2 and 6%; DSM-8%)
 Density ranges from 1,793 in Dar es Salaam region to 72 in Lindi; in
Tanga =61; Coast=27 and Mtwara =68 persons per square km.
 Note: the density for Tanzania is 39 and Zanzibar is 400.
 Household sizes: DSM=4.3; Coast region = 4.9; Tanga =5.1; Lindi
4.6, Mtwara = 4.4 and for Tanzania = 5.2.
 The ideal (mean) number of children is 5.8 for rural Tanzania; along
the coast it is 5.2

3
 All this indicates that contraceptive use is low, fertility is high and
attitudes towards many children are positive.

Living along the coast poses difficult in achieving stable relationship with the
earth’s environment
Main threats to the coasts are: unplanned coastal development, pollution and
over fishing
IDENTITIES: PLURALISM, COSMOPOLITANISM AND WA-SWAHILI
The question of identities on the East Coast is a complex one which has generated
a large literature. It is clear that identities have shifted over time, as an examination of
the census data reveals. It has recently been argued that the Swahili are indeed a
single people and have thus constituted a single African civilization for a variety of
reasons including language, architecture, stratification system, religion but that they are
‘quite different from their neighbours’ (Horton and Middleton 2000: 2). Yet within the
group termed Swahili, there are numerous differences for example, between ‘patricians’
and ‘commoners’ or between townspeople and rural dwellers. The Swahili themselves
distinguish difference in terms of origin and lineage: Wa-Arabu, Wa-Shirazi, Wa-Bajuni,
Wa-Mbwera, Wa-Mrima and so on. The term ‘Wa-swahili’ has also at various times
signaled someone who cannot lay claim to any of these statuses, and who is therefore
perhaps even of slave origin. Thus within the broad category, the Swahili have many
identities from which they can select in different contexts.
More recently, however, there have been calls for the term to be applied to all those
coastal dwellers who have lived there for a long time, practice Islam, and speak Swahili
as their first language. Such a definition recognizes a common identity which subsumes
some of the above differences, but distinguishes between coastal Swahili, with a
particular history and culture, and Africans from inland areas.
Digo, Segeju, Zaramo, Rufiji, Nyagatwa, Ndengereko, Ngindo, Makua, Doe,
Kwere, Makonde are the main ethnic groups along the mainland coast
In the islands (Zanzibar, Pemba & Mafia) the population is more cosmopolitan-
difficult to identify ethnic groups or “kabila” (tribes).
Need to explore the intriguing concept of the Swahili. Who is an Mswahili?
Ethnic (racial) group, a religious category or linguistic entity?
1000 years of history involving African mainland, Asian and Arab immigrants)
and rule by Oman Arabs.
Trading, colonial, Islamic influences/impacts: slavery, esteem, status, power and
property, civilised Vs uncivilised (mstaarabu and mshenzi).
Mswahili- ambivalent concept, a sophisticated person, cultured, “cheat”, cunning,
witty etc.
As opposed to a person from upcountry –a mshamba, wa-kuja etc.
Ki-Swahili language (rich and subtle), vocabulary e.g. on human qualities,
characteristics, mannerisms and etiquette, poetry, novels, proverbs, riddles and
messages
The Swahili, as observed by Middleton, is a century’s old mercantile society with
an unusual structure that does not conform to the same boundaries as ethnic
identities. He argues that the Swahili is a unique and so complex an that it has
virtually never been adequately studied by anthropologists, it is a poly-ethnic

4
society A more recent definition: “…a people of both Zanzibar and the mainland,
who speak Swahili as their mother tongue, who are Muslims and who share a
unique coastal culture, hence it is a cultural and not an ethnic term (Bakari,
2000:69).

INTANGIBLE ASPECTS
• History
• Languages
• Literature
• Poetry
• Rituals
• The Pande Ziara
• Tales, stories and legends
• Linking culture and nature
• Songs
• Wit and Humour
• Hospitality

MIGRATION
Migration plays a large and important role in the demographic make-up of the villages.
Seasonal migration dominates population dynamics in coastal villages. Throughout the
year, men-mostly between the ages of 15 and 39 move between villages according to
fishing and farming seasons. In Saadani, for example, the high shrimp season between
February and May attracts over a thousand young men (an increase of 60%) to the
coastal village.

POPULATION COMPOSITION
Like most other developing countries, a high percentage of Tanzania’s population is
under the age of 15. In the eight coastal villages included in the PEACE Project area,
40% of the population is between the ages 0-15. Such a large proportion of young
people indicates a future of rapid growth. This is due to the large numbers of children
who will soon enter into their childbearing years.

Primary and secondary livelihood activities in the villages

Matipwili Farming (corn, peas, plantain, rice)
Fishing (Wami river) and fish processing, house building, selling water, carpentry, tailoring
Saadani Fishing (primarily shrimp).
Salt making, firewood cutting, producing andselling local brew and selling meals and beverages
during high fishing season
Mkalamo Farming (corn, rice, peas, coconuts, cassava, sesame, pineapples, oranges, and
cashews)
Fishing in ponds, livestock, charcoal making, food processing, house building, carpentry,
tailoring. Women operate small businesses to supplement household income: making and
selling mats, selling meals and beverages, selling vegetables and fruits.
Mkwaja Fishing (22 sailing outrigger canoes and 140fishers)

5
Farming (coconuts, cashew nuts), seaweed farming (150 seaweed farmer; 90 percent women)
Ushongo Fishing (30 sailing outrigger canoes and 120fishers)
Coconut farming, seaweed farming
Sange Fishing Agriculture (crops, coconuts, cashew nuts),seaweed farming, charcoal making
Buyuni Fishing Agriculture (coconuts, cashews, cowpeas and other non-cereal crops)
Mikocheni Farming (coconuts, cashews, cassava and rice)
Fishing, charcoal making
Other livelihood activities in the project site include salt making and salt storage
(Saadani, Matipwili), charcoal making (Mkalamo, Mikocheni, and Sange), seaweed farming
(Mkwaja, Ushongo, Sange), and other small business activities (making and selling mats and
baskets, running small “hotels”, preparation of simple meals for customers and sale of
beverages, drying and selling fish, selling water and fuel wood, and making and selling of local
alcohol). Small and large-scale salt production involves cutting of mangrove trees to provide
space for drying reservoirs for large-scale salt works and cutting of fuel wood for small-scale salt
works involving boiling. Large-scale salt works cover approximately 1000 ha employing about
365 staff, some of whom stay in campsites close to the salt works.

GENDER AND LIVELIHOODS

Despite women’s significant contributions to household and resource management, women
have little decision-making power and suffer from a very low status relative tomen throughout
the Project area. Women participate in limited numbers in women’s group activities and
occasionally hold membership in a village committee; but generally, women do not participate
fully in local political organizations and are largely left out of the community leadership.
Furthermore, despite a newly enacted national law guaranteeing a Tanzanian woman’s right to
inherit land and property after the death of her husband, women in these coastal villages are
denied this right.

Women in this coastal area of Tanzania have primary responsibility for rearing children and
ensuring sufficient resources to meet family needs. Women also are the main managers of
essential household resources like water, fuel for cooking and heating, and food for household
consumption. Despite these significant responsibilities, the male
head of household makes most decisions concerning income expenditure, labor allocation,
health care provision, food production and acquisition (both agriculture and fishing), and mobility
of family members. Access and control exercises, which were carried out in four of the eight
coastal villages, were particularly informative, revealing deeply embedded inequalities in access
to income, transportation, educational opportunities, and political representation. Over the past
decade, women have been forced to devote more time to income generating activities for three
main reasons: limited access to cash income earned by men, an increased number of female-
headed households, and increased expenditures on food and health care. Women reported that
while women use their cash income on family expenses—food, medicines, school fees, etc.,
men spend their cash on “their individual wants.” Women may never see the money that is
earned by men (or goods purchased with this money), and are expected to say nothing of it. As
a result, women have become more entrepreneurial and have adopted coping strategies in an
effort to retain some control over at least a portion of household income. The PRA exercise
showed that in many of the villages there has been a steady increase in female-headed
households over the past five to ten years resulting from divorce, separation, and widowhood.
Women reported that women now head most households in Mkalamo. This may be partly
attributed to HIV/AIDS as well as a general dissolving in rural areas of social bonds as a result
of stress and changes in agrarian livelihood opportunities (Bryceson, 1999). The result is an
increase in female marginalization and arise in poor and vulnerable female-headed households.
Women’s’ Income-Generating Activities in Selected Pilot Villages

6
Village Activities
Matipwili Fish frying and marketing in village and outside, water collection and sale, selling
beverages and preparing simple meals for customers
Saadani Selling beverages and preparing simple meals for customers, collecting and selling
firewood, making and selling local brew, fish processing and marketing
Mkalamo Water and firewood collection for sale, hair plating, mat making
Mkwaja Fishing in shallow water for small fish, seaweed farming, fish processing and marketing,
making and selling local brew, buying charcoal and selling it to middlemen, making and selling
woven mats and baskets, selling vegetables, chapatti, donuts, and other snacks.
Ushongo Seaweed farming, buying, processing, and marketing fish, fishing from the beach for
small fish for family consumption, making and selling thatch, running small hotels
Seaweed farming, once a lucrative business in Mkwaja and Ushongo and enthusiastically
embraced by women, is now in decline. One reason for this is seaweed die-offs, the suspected
cause of which is rising average water temperatures. Coconut and cashew farming—two other
popular income-generating activities in several of the villages—are also no longer viable as
income-generating businesses. In this case, it is a result of the combination of disease and
neglect, loss of ownership and access, and foraging by wild animals which has largely
decimated the coconut and cashew crops.
The PRA exercise also found that women in coastal villages such as Saadani, Mkwaja, and
Buyuni fish by foot with cloth in shallow water along the shore for small prawns and small fish.
These small fish are used for household consumption.
To compensate for the decline in these activities, other strategies for income-generation have
been developed. This includes working harder and longer in farming, fishing, and fuelwood and
water collection (so “extra” fuel wood or water can be sold); engaging in alternative, non-
traditional income-generating activities such prawn fishing, alcohol brewing, weaving and selling
mats and baskets, acting as “wholesalers” in the charcoal trade; and exchanging sex for money.
Table 13 shows women’s income-generating activities in selected pilot villages.
These relatively new income-generating activities have placed new burdens on women’s time
and energy, and have implications for their health and well-being. Women walk upto 12
kilometers everyday to collect fuel wood, spend more time in the collection and hauling of water,
and spend hours stooped over in shallow waters fishing for prawns and small fish. Even more
than simply expanding the time and strain of increased physical labor, however, particular
activities can threaten women’s health and safety directly. For example, in Ushongo, women
have begun to sell fried fish in villages along the Tang highway. They travel by bus and typically
stay out for three weeks before returning for more fish—traveling farther and staying away
longer than they ever used to. The difficulty of traveling by bus, the stress of being away from
families, the increased burden on women’s time and energy, and the threats to their health and
security are tolerated, women say, for the small income that they can earn doing this kind of
work.
In sum, understanding the tremendous gender inequality that currently exists in this coastal area
is necessary to understand the root causes of risky sexual behavior, the
HIV/ASIDS epidemic and poor health in general, and unsustainable resource use. Therefore,
over the long term, redressing gender inequality is central to any mitigation strategy. Actions
should aim to provide women with increased autonomy over and diversification of income-
generation activities; improved access to health care and
educational services regarding nutrition, HIV/AIDS and other STIs, and property and ownership
rights; leadership development training and increased opportunities to participate in decision-
making processes.

7
Households
• Households in coastal communities tend to be large families with low per capita
incomes and high illiteracy rates.
• They are faced with poor housing conditions, little to no access to credit and
market facilities, few personal savings, and lack of property ownership.
• The average size of coastal households is 4.9 persons in Mainland Tanzania,
and 5.3 per household in Zanzibar.
• Many coastal villages, especially on the Mainland, have high fertility rates,
countered by a high population migration to larger urban centres.
• Many coastal communities remain relatively isolated due to poor infrastructure
such as roads, communications, electrical service, water supply, and ports.
• The National Bureau of Statistics household budget survey in 2000-2001
indicated that 2% of households in rural areas have electricity, 6% have bank
accounts, 25% have modern walls, and 45% need to travel more than 1 km for
drinking water.
• Access to health resources remains an issue for coastal households, with the
demand for social services being directly related to a lack of safe drinking water,
and access to medical facilities being hampered by a need for infrastructure
investments. The average distance for communities to access hospital facilities
ranges from 29 km in Tanga to 2.8 km in Dar es Salaam.
• Life expectancy in coastal regions is 47 years for men and 50 years for women;
this is marginally greater than the national average of 44.56 yrs.
• Infant mortality remains high in coastal areas with a large number of malnutrition
cases among children under five. The most common disease in coastal areas is
malaria, affecting 69% of children and 60% of adults.
• Coastal communities in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar are highly dependent
on natural resources extraction for their livelihood activities.
• Traditional activities undertaken in coastal communities are based around
subsistence and small-commercial initiatives. These are activities that either
provide food or a source of shelter, or which involve income-generation within the
local market.
• Key activities include: artisanal fisheries, agriculture and animal husbandry,
mariculture, salt and lime production, beekeeping, small-scale trade and crafts,
and mangrove and coastal thicket-related activities.
• A characteristic of households in coastal communities is the necessity to
undertake several livelihood activities simultaneously to supplement incomes and
ensure a consistent food source for family members.
• Social Capital is defined as the attitudes and values that govern interactions
among individuals, and the norms and traditions through which community-level
decisions are made and individuals have access to power. It is defined by a
social group's characteristics, intra-group and inter-group relationships, and the

8
 relationships of those groups at the village level with public and private
institutions.
• There are several social capital structures although the level of organization and
participation in decision-making varies greatly between locations.
• In general, coastal villages are organized internally into social groups based on
participation in common livelihood activities (fishing groups), on gender or age, or
to facilitate the provision of emotional and spiritual support religious institutions
through local mosques).
• These groups function to bring individuals together around common problems or
issues that they face, and assist them in coping with difficult situations (income or
food insecurity)
• Many coastal villages are active politically. A study conducted found that the
general level of political participation was high, with 91% of heads of households
voting in local elections
• Villagers in coastal communities also have access to government decision-
making and activities through local government structures such as the Village
Council and village committees (see Section 6.5.1).

Vulnerable Groups are those characterized by higher risk and reduced ability to cope
with change or negative impacts. This may be based on socio-economic condition,
(gender, age, disability, ethnicity) Vulnerable persons include the elderly, orphans,
people with disabilities, HIV/AIDS affected or infected persons, widows, widowers,
people suffering form serious illness, and women and children at risk of being
dispossessed of their productive assets.

Abundant Resources but Poor people

The above facts indicate availability and abundance of resources
Yet coastal dwellers are poorer than typical peasants in Tanzania, with less than
USD 200 per capital incomes
Some of the coastal regions of Tanzania are the most deprived in the country in
terms of infrastructure, per capita income, human capabilities, survival
mechanisms and well-being.
Mtwara and Lindi have the country’s highest mortality rates for infants and under-
fives
Coast, Lindi and Mtwara are among the regions with the highest percentage of
underweight children.
Only 22% of the people in Coastal rural areas have access to safe water.

Other aspects: Migration

Centrifugal and centripetal forces: “push” and “pull” factors
Poverty, lack of livelihood opportunities and poor performance of agriculture and
fishing are the main contributing factors to the rural-urban influx.
Fishing not as viable due to low technology, inappropriate gears and marketing
problems.
Need to enhance productivity of current economic activities in rural coastal
communities and provide alternative livelihood opportunities.

9
VISION of the National Integrated coastal Environment management Strategy is
“having a coast with thriving coastal settlements where people rely on its
abundant resources for their food and livelihood and are actively working to
protect and sustain the resource base for future generations “and maintaining
their global values”.

ETHNICITY, COSMOPOLITANISM AND WA-SWAHILI

Digo, Segeju, Zaramo, Rufiji, Nyagatwa, Ndengereko, Ngindo, Makua, Doe,
Kwere, Makonde are the main ethnic groups along the mainland coast
In the islands (Zanzibar, Pemba & Mafia) the population is more cosmopolitan-
difficult to identify ethnic groups or “kabila” (tribes).
Need to explore the intriguing concept of the Swahili. Who is an Mswahili?
Ethnic (racial) group, a religious category or linguistic entity?
1000 years of history involving African mainland, Asian and Arab immigrants)
and rule by Oman Arabs.
Trading, colonial, Islamic influences/impacts: slavery, esteem, status, power and
property, civilised Vs uncivilised (mstaarabu and mshenzi).
Mswahili- ambivalent concept, a sophisticated person, cultured, “cheat”, cunning,
witty etc.
As opposed to a person from upcountry –a mshamba, wa-kuja etc.
Ki-Swahili language (rich and subtle), vocabulary e.g. on human qualities,
characteristics, mannerisms and etiquette, poetry, novels, proverbs, riddles and
messages
The Swahili, as observed by Middleton, is a century’s old mercantile society with
an unusual structure that does not conform to the same boundaries as ethnic
identities. He argues that the Swahili is a unique and so complex an that it has
virtually never been adequately studied by anthropologists, it is a poly-ethnic
society A more recent definition: “…a people of both Zanzibar and the mainland,
who speak Swahili as their mother tongue, who are Muslims and who share a
unique coastal culture, hence it is a cultural and not an ethnic term (Bakari,
2000:69).

SOCIAL ORGANISATION
Urbanisation and settlements: pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial.
Traditionally the Waswahili were urban dwellers and their civilisation is an urban
one.
The basic unit of their society was and has been the town (mji) composed of
mitaa (streets).
Swahili towns varied greatly some densely built up areas and many have
declined or even died (ruins)…Saadani, Kilwa, and Bagamoyo etc. Bagamoyo
thrived up to 19th century, into being the headquarters of German colonial rule
but declined as a result of the end of slave trade/caravans and new modes of
transport e.g. railways
Kilwa was one of the greatest of Swahili (coastal) towns, since 13th century (its
palaces, baths and mosques);

10
Zanzibar once dominated and controlled even the interior, hence “when the pipe
in Zanzibar they dance in the great lakes”
Others have grown into modern cities. Dar es salaam from mere fishing village at
the turn of the last century has grown in the past 100 into a city of 3 million and
Fishing villages more compact than farming settlements that are more spread out

ASPECTS OF SOCIAL ORGANISATION

Swahili sayings and messages in khangas
There is a great Swahili tradition of making up sayings and expressions; also the
khangas have become mediums of communication, decoration and consumption. Many of
the expressions often demonstrate wit ... For example:
1. Siku utakayokwenda uchi, ndiyo siku utakayokutana na mkweo (The
day you go naked, is the day you will meet your mother-in-law).
2. Kitanda usichokilala, hujui kunguni wake (You cannot know the bugs
of a bed you have not lain on)
3. Zanzibar ni njema, atakae aje (Zanzibar is beautiful, please enjoy)
4. Nifae la mvua nikufae la jua (Do me a favour in the rainy season and I’ll
reciprocate in the dry season)
5. Mgeni ni kuku mweupe (A stranger is like a white fowl)
6. Anayekataa wengi ni mchawi (A person who dislikes company is a
wizard)
7. Taratibu ndiyo mwendo (lowly is indeed the way to walk)
8. Kikapu cha mama kimejaa ndago (My mother's basket is full of straw)
9. Samaki akioza usimtupe ataokotwa uje ujute(If a fish goes bad don't throw it
away lest you regret when someone picks it up)
10. Usiache mbachao kwa msala upitao(Don't abandon your old rug for a passing
mat)
11. Utamaliza limau shaba haiwi dhahabu (You will run short of lemon juice
(rubbing), but never will copper turn into gold)

Role of ruling party e.g. for a long time ten cell leadership (multiparty today)
village chair persons/sheha (appointed) and ward secretary/ village executive
officers appointees of the executive
• Political affiliations
• Language
• Marriage (1971 law 7 four types of marriage)
• Beliefs and practices: Religion and shrines
• Festivals and celebrations
• Social differentiation in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, and social status
influence
• Language and folklore
The predominant language along the coast, in common with the rest of the East
African coast is Kiswahili. As its name implies, Kiswahili is the language of the
Swahili people and as such is very much a Bantu language, with strong Arab
influence. Similarly, equivalents of many of the words in Kiswahili can be found in
other tongues. In Portuguese for instance, words such as ‘mesa’, meaning ‘table’

11
are common to both languages and lay testament to the two hundred years of
Portuguese occupation; also shule that is German in origin and many others.
Kiswahili is the national language fro Tanzania.

SOCIALISATION
The life cycle: birth, puberty, marriage and death rituals

GENDER RELATIONS
Bed rocks of gender relations e.g. reproduction, fertility rates, kinship/ patriarchy,
sexuality, culture norms and customs, stereotypes etc.
Coastal (Swahili) society full of contradictions and ambiguities, marginal groups.
E.g. the glaring different spheres of men and women; the public arena for men
who do the shopping, sells crops/fish catches vs. the private [domestic] domain
of the women
The visibility of men and the invisibility of women,
Sexual segregation, division of labour and different access to land and other
resources…rely on father, husband, brother or son.
Constraints on women e.g. seclusion, easy/fragile/early marriage and equally
easy divorce (fate of children), the veil, high fertility rates (frequent and difficult
pregnancies).
Inequalities in opportunity e.g. education for girls
Decision-making, imbalances in representation hence not consulted on coastal
development plans.

Marriage
The marriage institution has witnessed a number of changes since the 1960s.
With respect to Mafia Island, Caplan has analyzed the changing features of the
marriage institution in the island.
She notes that in the 1960s the seclusion of girls was common as well as
arranged marriages
The 1970s were characterized by the villagisation programme, in compulsory
primary education was instituted with implications to the age of marriage.
The 1980s saw liberalisation measures which led to many women migrating to
Dar es Salaam in search of jobs and men marrying late in life than before.
With more economic and political changes of the 1990s other developments
have surfaced. For example it has become more difficult to marry as bride price
rates have increased.
At the same time “illegitimate” pregnancies are on the increase as well as single
parenthood. Also contraceptive use has become acceptable.
Over two thirds (68%) of the marriages in Rufiji district are monogamous; 32%)
are polygamous marriages.
Divorce is high e.g. in Mafia Island 30% of all marriages end in divorce (Caplan,
1995).

Social differentiation: the case of Mafia (cf Caplan, 2006)

12
 Economic differences-ownership of coconut or cashew-nut trees or large
boats - have rarely solidified into class differences.
 Households have remained mainly dependent upon their own labour,
 Shortage of enough people of the right sex and age, lead to being
disadvantaged in terms of felling, marketing coconuts and planting new trees.
 High birthrate and Islamic laws of inheritance mean that even if someone
builds up a fair amount of capital during a lifetime, the estate will be divided on
death.

Cultural capital: education?

Those who have had their Islamic education away from the island, or outsiders
who have come to teach and settle there, who are given the most prestige and
attract students.

Secular education, Mafia Island has produced few highly educated men or
women and many Mafians refer to themselves as ‘sisi tusiosoma’, (cf Walley,
2004b).

Coastal hierarchy?
 In the 1970s and 1980s there was a greater tendency for people to identify
themselves as ‘Washirazi’ and ‘Waswahili’. More recently, ‘Arabness’ has again
become a salient factor, tied in with Islamic missionization, and particularly
noticeable in both female and male dress1.
 There have also been some changes in terms of age and gender. In the
mid-1960 older people tended to have more wealth than younger ones – they
had inherited coconut trees or planted them, and they could command the labour
of younger people.
 Such a situation has changed, or at least is different (Caplan 1998).
 Young men have the option of going to Dar and there are new economic
activities such as lobster fishing which command relatively high incomes.
 New forms of consumption have emerged: bicycles, watches, radios,
video shows and clothes
 The change in the distribution of assets has led, according to older people,
to the lack of respect they now receive from the young, who are seen to be ‘going
with the times’ (kwenda na wakati).

Gender
 Previously women had a good deal of sexual autonomy, playing a major
role in production and in certain rituals…mila (custom) them significant roles and
social importance.
 Yet due Islamic inheritance laws, women owned much less property than
men, and had fewer rights in relation to divorce. No women held public office in
any of the villages then

1
In 2002, for example, I filmed a village wedding where the groom wore a kaffiya (a la Arafat) and when I
asked about this was told ‘Nowadays we want to be as much like Arabs as possible’.

13
 In the 1980s female children died in larger numbers than male, and that
girls’ and women’s entitlements to food was less than that of men, Women did
not have access to contraception at village, only at district level, involving a long
and expensive journey, and they had to have written permission from their
husbands before they could obtain it.
 By the 1990s many aspects of mila, such as the women’s puberty ritual
(unyago), were under attack from a new Islamic orthodoxy emanating from the
middle east.
 Women were beginning to cover themselves up more, a trend which had
intensified greatly by the time of my next visit in 2002.
 Yet at the same time women were playing a greater role in public life.
Thus five out of 18 councillors were women by 2002.
 Also women felt that in many respects, life had improved: more girls were
at school, including secondary school, women had a clinic in which to give birth,
contraception was now available at the village clinics, more husbands were likely
to agree to their wives playing public roles and attending training courses.
 However in other respects, women still remained worse off than men: they
worked much harder; many girls married too early, sometimes to men not of their
choosing, and so their education was cut short; some girls who had passed the
examination to go to secondary school were refused permission to do so by their
parents; many husbands still preferred their wives not to get involved in public
activities.
 HIV/AIDS was beginning to make an impact and was worse by 2002,
because men going to Dar es Salaam to sell coconuts would have had casual
sexual relations, thus risking the health of their wives on their return to the
village.

Traditional Resource Management systems

• Fishing and resources use had for many years been managed sustainable
by the local populations by using low impact fishing gears. In fishing a
conservation system similar to fallow in agriculture was used to ensure continued
supply of fish. Thus heavily fished areas were closed against fishing for seasons
or an agreed period through mutual agreement between elders of various
villages so that fish stock could recuperate and protecting village owned areas of
reef (Shunula)
• A good example is Kisimkazi village where a traditional management
system involved seasonal closures of fishing areas, particularly for octopus, with
controls on fishing gear and use of the area by visiting fishers.
• In some villages there was also a system of forbidding the killing of certain
creatures such as dolphin because of special magical powers,
• There would also be limit in the number of turtle eggs taken, Seasonal
octopus closures (kurimbika pweza)
• Another method was for the reservation of certain fishing grounds or
species for certain groups of people: women, elders and youths etc.

14
• The creation of special fishing areas that can only be fished to generate
money for collective communal activities like special celebrations. These forms
were in practice at Bweleo, Uzi, and Fumba.
• Crabs (kaa) fishing was confined to low water during spring tide…
• With respect to mangroves there was selective felling technique of in
Chwaka bay.
• Kamba (prawn) were subjected a closure for 2-3 months by Charawe and
Chwaka villagers between the short and long rains the time when they were
hatching and growing
• The closures and reopening were ritually announced and enacted. Such
systems were enforced with the authority of elders (wazee wanne). The
violations of such conditions were usually met with punishment in the form of
fines, ostracism and even bakora (canning). It was also believed that if a one
went against the laid down prohibitions he might end up losing his boat
mysteriously or catching a snake instead of fish, anasimbwa.
• In Michmavi an area called Kimazingia nets and weirs were forbidden.
• Outsiders and migrant fishermen had to seek permission to fish in zones
controlled by particular communities

THE ECONOMY
Tanzanian coastal areas are abundant in natural resources that are important
socially, nutritionally, economically, and environmentally, yet they are vulnerable
to both overexploitation and degradation of their habitats. Natural resources are
important for living conditions, human and health, food security and economic
development.

• The coastal dwellers are semi-autonomous and artisanal users of the adjacent
marine and terrestrial environment.
• An economic transition leading to changes production strategies due to
environmental and economic changes
• Factors in the choice of production strategy, production constraints, and risk
diversifying behavior and transitions in the subsistence economy.
• Increased integration with the market economy
• Specialization in production
• Diversifying production sources between ecosystems.
• Subsistence has increased in terms of market value
• Composition of products used for home consumption has changed
• The main consequence is increased income inequality where the most exposed
group seems to be individuals who have many agricultural activities in their
production strategy caused by lack of the necessary financial wherewithal to
invest in new technologies and to transfer capital between production sources.
• From the beginning of the 20th century the coastal villages on these islands have
undergone several economic transformations mostly triggered by external
factors.

15
 • Before the 20th century most villages were close to self-sufficient in the
production of most of the articles of consumption and input to production. The
exceptions were a few essential imports such as iron and textiles
• First was the abolition of slavery caused a labour shortage on the clove and
coconut plantations, which enticed villagers to provide labour in return for cash.
• Traditional production practices were not abandoned, but productions strategies
ere altered to cope with the new situation.
• The pattern of consumption began to change from locally-produced goods only,
to a combination local products and foreign made goods.
• The next transformation was the gradual adaptation of production strategies to
allow for the marketing of traditional produce mangrove poles were sold as a
source of tannin already in 1903.
• The lime industry (produced from burning corals) expanded in the 1930s, but
decreased when cement became available.
• Improved transportations system in the 1960s made it possible to transport fresh
and dried fish to the town market and to the plantation belt.
• Inputs, production practices, and techniques changed as equipment and gear
were imported to the local market.
• Cotton nets were replaced by nylon, wooden traps were replaced by traps built
from chicken wire, motorized boats (less common) were imported, destructive
fishing methods such as beach seine-netting and dynamiting became known and
increasingly practiced.
• Economic liberalization programmes of the 1980s, inaugurated the most recent
transformation
• The most important factor that had a major impact on the lives of the coastal
dwellers is the boom in the tourist industry.
• Together with increased market integration and increased migration in and to the
coastal zone has prompted several changes in villagers' individual production
strategies.

DETERMINATION OF PRODUCTION STRATEGY

Production opportunities available to a coastal dweller:
• to exploit common property resources by fishing,
• to cut mangrove or to collect seashells,
• cultivate the agricultural land,
• to sell produce from rope-making or gear-constructing,
• to hire out labour or capital assets,
• to lease out land or fishing equipment.

One consequence is that production is less conditional on seasonal variations, because

the coastal dweller is able to spread out production, and keep the flow of cash and
subsistence fairly constant for the whole year.
Although, this requires planning as well as an inherent under-standing of natural
processes there is room for more flexibility in production compared to farming.

16
A farmer does not only have to match the quality of the soil with the most appropriate
grain, but needs to consider future production costs as well as potential regulations
when making decisions.
The seasonal aspect to agricultural production is more likely to constrain yields because
of different input bottlenecks, such as, labor, fertilizers, seeds, and irrigation water (15).
Thus, attempts to change farmers behavior requires correct timing.

For a fisherman, a mangrove cutter, a seashell collector, a new policy is more likely to
have an overnight effect.
The particular character of fishing, which is the single most important production activity
in most coastal areas, has prompted differences in the nature of income, remuneration
schemes, and other economic arrangements, compared to most non-fishing
communities.
Fishermen are exposed to high degrees of risk and uncertainty in terms of personal
safety as well as income, which has prompted a greater emphasis on cooperative
behavior.
In the study area, a share system insured the respective fishermen against days without
catch.
This sort of system was often built on kinship.
Agrarian peasants on the other hand have been described as adamantly individualistic
and reluctant to join in cooperative endeavors.
Coastal dwellers rely more heavily on common property re-sources (CPR). There are
distinct differences between decision making for the management of a private plot of
land, and for a sea without tenure-ship. Although a farmer does not necessarily own the
plot of land he is farming, his production decisions normally entail larger legal security
and predictability.
If a fisherman does not catch the fish somebody else will. A large literature has
developed within this field and most promising is self-governed common property
resources (CPR), which has shown that local management systems can provide
efficient governing of common resources.

Fishing, for example, is one of the most capital-intensive activities in the coastal zone
since it requires expensive equipment and a boat.
In addition, it requires knowledge and familiarity with sailing, gear handling, bait
collecting, maintaining of equipment and marketing of catch.
According to tradition, small boys accompany their fathers when fishing on Sundays,
when they learn how to navigate and locate the best fishing grounds. In the evenings
and after school, they assist their father in the maintenance of gear and in preparing for
the next days fishing activities.
In their early teens, they either inherit a small ngalawa (canoe) or borrow money
together with a companion of the same age to buy one. In this way, tradition provides a
comparative advantage through easier access and it also acts to provide security,
familiarity and a sense of identification. In the studies in 1997 and in 1998, the number
of individuals following tradition had decreased; only 46% followed their parents'
production activities. The underlying reason for this was "economic" or "lack of
alternatives".

17
The majority, 25%, were women who previously collected inter-tidal products such as
octopus, seashells, and sea cucumbers and are now engaged in seaweed farming.
Collecting inter-tidal products was, apart from collecting sea cucumber, a traditional
activity performed by women for generations. Profitability decreased dramatically when
men, equipped with snorkeling gear, started to dive for the same products. Requiring
small financial investments, merely labor time, it was an attractive income source for
newcomers and immigrants.
However, the pressure on this resource increased to the extent that several species
collapsed. When seaweed farming was commercially introduced in 1989 it rapidly
absorbed most of the existing female labor.
Within a period of a few years it became a major industry. Production increased from
260 Figure 2. Incomes (cash + subsistence) generated by the respective production
strategies in 1993 compared to 1998.

INDIVIDUAL INCOMES IN COASTAL VILLAGES

Fishing is particularly interesting since the literature often referred to it as not only a
livelihood, but also a lifestyle. This sort of identification can sometimes be so strong that
it overrides all rules of economic theory.
It seems that being a fisherman provided security in the form of identification and
belonging, and individuals that derived comparatively smaller share of their income from
fishing still preferred to identify themselves as fishermen.
In general, however, and in particular among non-fishermen, fishing was thought of as
an activity conferring low societal rank.
Fishing was the single most important income source, in total 67% of those interviewed
fished.
A predominately male activity it was in some areas also preformed by women who
caught dagaa (small anchovies) in cloths.
Only 11% of the respondents relied on a single production activity for their livelihood.
The rest designed individual production strategies based on two or more production
activities.
Based on the respondents' own definitions the most common production strategy was to
combine fishing as a main income source, and agriculture as a second.

PRODUCTION CONSTRAINTS
• Based on generations of accumulated experience coastal dwellers are able to
optimize production strategies subject to a number of local constraints naturally
inherent in the environment.
• Factors that influenced production behavior were; tides, winds, currents, weather,
morphology, soil fertility, accessibility to reefs and forests and natural production
cycles of resources and ecosystems.
• Local variations of those variables are large, and every village has in a unique
way adapted to the constraints, opportunities, risks and uncertainties offered by
the environment and ecosystems surrounding their village.
• Over the past years, several reports have documented decreasing stocks of
marine resources…catches have decreased for several species (e.g. lobster,
octopus, sea-cucumber, and sharks),

18
 • the composition of fish has changed and ecosystems have been degraded or
totally destroyed.
• Increasing environmental damage and loss of ecosystem resilience have
reduced coastal dwellers' ability to "read" the environment, impairing their
capacity to efficiently incorporate restrictions and opportunities into the
production strategy.
• Resource and ecosystem-related (traditional) production strategies are
increasingly exposed to uncertainty, unpredictability, and risks.
• The traditional mechanism for coping with risk and uncertainty is to diversify
production between several different sources, confirmed in the large number of
villagers (89%) that included more than one production source in their production
strategy.
• Diversification between different production sources might, however, not suffice if
they rely on the same ecosystem.
• The majority within this group combined fishing with agricultural activities, but
also activities such as seaweed farming and the collection of inter-tidal products
was combined with agriculture or firewood collecting.
• The second group includes marine-based activities combined with non-resource-
related activities. As discussed earlier, this is the combination that has grown the
most.
• Despite the growing market for non-resource-related income sources there were
few that combined this with agriculture, which denotes the third combination.
• The fourth ecosystem combination includes individuals who combined closely
related marine ecosystems, for example fishing and inter-tidal activities.
• However, two inter-tidal activities such as sea cucumber and shell collecting are
regarded to be within the same marine ecosystem, registered as the fifth
ecosystem combination. The sixth combination includes respondents that
combined different terrestrially-based activities in their production strategy. The
grouping is simple and general. It does not, however, fully capture the high
complexity of the inter-linkages and interactions between and within the relevant
ecosystems.
• Further, the grouping is solely based on how individuals combined different
production sources. There are likely to be ways to diversify risks by applying
different production techniques and using local knowledge of seasonal variations
and ecosystem linkages. A larger sample of individuals would allow for a more
refined and detailed grouping that is able to provide a more comprehensive
picture of the dwellers' ecosystem diversification behavior.
• This indicates that ecosystem diversification might be one response to the
transition and maybe a response to increased environmental uncertainty and lack
of predictability.
• An interesting area for further research would be to assess if this is a traditional
mechanism to cope with abnormal periods of stress or if it is a permanent change
in the production strategy

The Role of Agricultural Land

19
The implications of different agricultural opportunities or coastal production strategies
were assessed…weights of agricultural activities in the individual production strategy
were stronger in villages with better agricultural opportunities. This result is not
surprising and its contribution confirms the need for integrated approaches to coastal
zone management.

20