Zanzibar 88, Part Two

Three months after his first visit, Robert Philipson returned to Zanzibar in July of 1988 and reconnected with his friends: Haroub, the object of infatuation; Abou, the civil servant with a wild streak, and his former teacher, mwalimu Jecha. During this visit, each revealed a new side. Haroub’s tenderness towards his ailing mother, Abou’s outrageous antics in front of the baraza boys,, Jecha taking him to an ancient ceremony of Persian origins that mystified him with no explanation. The magic was still there, from the ridiculous (heated discussion about whether an octopus was a fish or not) to the sublime (silent communing of the Zanzibaris men with the ocean). Because his Swahili had so improved. Philipson dove ever deeper into the life of this extraordinary island. “Muslim without being fanatic, racial without being racist, at least on the surface, modern without being Western, Zanzibar is so secure in its own culture that it has suffered the depredations of history and the loss of its empire with grace and even humor.”Yet in spite of his extraordinary welcome, Philipson knows that he must leave and that these friendships, so vivid and generous, are ephemeral. He had yet to learn the wisdom of Zanzibar: family, friends, home . . . the drill.Music:"Adagio from Clarinet Concerto in A Major" – Mozart"Bomwanzani Wa Mahaba" – Bi Kidude"Culture Musical Club - 1 - LIVE at Afrikafestival Hertme" — Bi Kudude and the Culture Musical Club"Kothbiro" – Ayub Ogada"Kulumbu" – S.R. Mwinamila"Love" – Bin Seif"Mapenzi Matamu" – the Culture Musical Club"Mgeni siku ya Kwanza" – Swahili Entertainment TZ"Mimi Simtaki Wako" – Fatuma Dogodogo"Nuru" – Culture Musical Club"Yakety Sax" – Boots Randolph