Pemba Island
A Zanzibar island with a reputation across East Africa as a home of healers and sorcerers, a view shaped as much by neighbours' fear as by local practice.
Practised and told of here
Best time: June to October, the dry season.
Pemba lies north of Unguja, the main island of Zanzibar. Clove farms cover much of it, and many mainland Tanzanians have long thought of its healers as especially strong.
Healers and the reputation
On Pemba, as on the coast, people consult waganga, healers who use herbs, Qur'anic verses and divination, and some are Muslim scholars who write charms. Spirits called jinn and the possession cult of pepo are discussed openly. The island's reputation is partly self-made, as the healers' fame brings clients, and partly given by outsiders.
Harms
Accusations of witchcraft are a danger in Tanzania, and killings of older women and of people with albinism for body parts have happened in the Lake Zone and on the coast. Pemba has not been the centre of these killings but belongs to the same region where such beliefs are an issue, and groups work to protect those at risk.
Visiting
Do not ask people to identify a witch, or look for healers as an experience. Visit the clove farms, the ruins at Ras Mkumbuu and the coast, and hire local guides.
A respectful visit to Pemba Island
Living communities are not a show. Ask before photographing a person or a ceremony, and follow local rules.
- Chake Chake Visit the town's market and the old fort.
- The clove farms Tour a farm.
- Mkama Ndume ruins See the old town.
- Misali Island Snorkel in the marine reserve.
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Pemba Island" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and ceremonies change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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