ZANZIBAR UNVEILED
Goa and Zanzibar
(Author unknown)
The Goan presence in Zanzibar is now hundreds of years
old . Though always small in numbers the enduring presence of talented Goan
merchants, teachers and craftsmen allowed them to leave quite a mark on
Zanzibar history and society.
A Goan presence in the early exploration of East Africa
must also be noted. In 1856 the explorer Richard Burton traveled to Bombay with
his second in command Lt John Hanning Speke, in order to obtain leave for Lt.
Speke from the Indian Army. There Burton engaged two Goans as traveling
assistants. They were Valentine Rodrigues and Gaetano Andrade.
They traveled with Burton to Zanzibar in December that
year and in January 1857 they accompanied him on short coastal explorations,
traveling to Mombasa, Tanga and Pangani. Then on June 16 they crossed to the
mainland and after hiring more porters in Bagamoyo they and almost 200 others
marched out toward the vastness of central Africa looking for the source of the
Nile.
Both Goans would survive this arduous trek which lasted
almost two years. Gaetano Andrade was one of only 35 men who made the last push
with Speke when Burton fell ill. These 35 men marched the last 226 miles in 25
days. Finally on August 3,1858 they stood together on a small hill overlooking
that huge inland sea that Speke named Lake Victoria.
Back in Zanzibar in 1859 and despite some complaints by
Burton about the performance of some of his workers including the two Goans,
they were paid off. Speke in responding to these complaints noted that "it
was simple justice to give them their pay, for they came through with us to the
last..." He also noted that "Valentine Rodrigues picked up Swahili
and was handy at cooking and sewing, while Gaetano Andrade was a kindly nurse
and, though physically weak, courageous."
It is unknown if Rodrigues and Andrade stayed on in
Zanzibar but it is clear that other Goans soon arrived. In 1870 a British
physician recorded that there were 31 Goans living in Zanzibar City. By the1948
census 598 people of Goan ancestry are recorded to live on Unguja Island and 83
goans were recorded to reside on Pemba. This gives us a total Goan population
in Zanzibar at the middle of the 20th century of 681 individuals.
The following images and text attempt to shine some light
on this important minority and to perhaps spur more study of the contributions
they made and the struggles they endured during their long sojourn in East
Africa.
In old Stone Town there was a Goan Institute, a social
club and a Goan Sports Club but the heart of the community was the Cathedral.
After religion, education of the children was the highest
priority of the Goan community on Zanzibar. They enthusiastically participated
in the operation of St. Joseph's School, many of the teachers were Goan. There
was also a small school in Pemba.
After religion and education came the economic priorities
of life. In commerce no one surpassed the Goan businessmen for industry,
creativity and hard work. Goans excelled in both government administrative and
professional positions and in the trades. Jewelry and Photography were fields
they once dominated on the Isles. The streets seems full of Goan shops in the
old photographs.
There were also Goan artists, landscape designers and
musicians in old Zanzibar. The Sultan's excellent Band had many Goan musicians
and for more than 10 years was lead by a Goan Bandmaster; Isaac Koth D'souza.
In most all public events in old Zanzibar there were sure
to be Goans in attendance. As in this 1880's description of a parade by the
American, Edward Ropes Jr.
"This A.M. I saw the Sultan... He went down to call on
the English Counsel General and passed our house.
The road on one side from the Palace to the English Cousin
General's house was lined by soldiers. First came the band playing 'God
save the Queen.' This band is fine. They are all Europeans. (Ropes mistook
the Goans for europeans.)
Their equipments are fine, their uniform red and gold
with white pants, and their playing is really good ... Then came lots
and lots of old bucks and Arabs...then came a few fine looking old fellows in
gorgeous uniforms, then more Arabs, one of whom was the Sultan, then drums and
fifes and more soldiers, then the greater part of the natives of Zanzibar."
One of the most sucessful Goan men in old Zanzibar was a
veternerian and later a Goverment official, Dr. Louis Antonio De Andrade.
In the mid 1900's Goan youth on Zanzibar followed their
musical traditions and formed bands playing 'modern' amplified music, for the
first time on Zanzibar.
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