Cultural fusion
Even though the island is small, Ilha da Mocambique
comprises seven separate villages. Stone Town, which
takes up the northern two-thirds of the island, was
originally home to Europeans, Indians and other
immigrants. Appallingly – people never change, it seems- there was at one point a plan to build a wall to separate
Stone Town from the older villages, and to institute a
pass system requiring non-residents to carry documents
should they require passage.
Every so often, there is a completely ruined building,
reminders of a time when rich Portuguese owners simply
upped and left during Mozambique’s civil war, which
lasted from 1977 to 1992, locking the doors to their
homes or businesses and possibly planning to come
back when it was safe to do so. Nature has intervened
rather than bombs or other war damage (the island
hosted many refugees during the war years), meaning
that a now roofless structure may be overgrown with
foliage, but still feature the glossy blue and white tiles
that were part of its original décor.
Some of these ruins highlight the legacy of the slave
trade, with one being an old warehouse that covered
the exit to a tunnel from the beach, built to ensure
that merchants and other respectable citizens walking
down the main road didn’t have to be inconvenienced
by chained captives wandering about. There are also
other structures – serving as guesthouses or retail spaces
today – that seem to have half a storey as their lower
floor; a design that looks strange, and uncomfortably
inconvenient for average-sized visitor. The lower rooms,
easy to disguise as cellars should there be unwanted
attention, offered additional storage space for slaves
captured inland and brought to the island to be loaded
onto ships.
Much of the messiness in the details – grass growing
through paving designs and the like – could offer easy
job creation opportunities that would improve the
tourism value of the island: there is excellent potential
there, should the government or another agency be in
the mood to get involved.
A slow gentrification process is underway, though, with
the occasional foreigner – Zimbabweans as much as
Italians, apparently – buying and restoring houses and,
in one instance, a restaurant (which will have incredible
views) being built on the seaward side. Elsewhere, an
elegant, abandoned cinema is also crying out to be
the setting for some bespoke film festival. If that trend
continues, and artists and pensioners and all the other
groups who often take a chance on resettling in an
exciting new (to them) space might make Mozambique
Island the next go-to cool spot, which may result in a
loss of some of its historical charm – here’s hoping a
balance is maintained.
There’s a hint that this will be the case in the
merchandise on offer at the large market along the
beachfront road near the picturesque Church of Santo
António. The bulk of the stalls sell clothing, and the
majority of that apparel is second-hand – imbued with
historical value, if you will.
“The old stuff is much stronger; much better for us,”
notes James. “These new imports,” – he waves a hand at
a selection of garish polyester outfits, brought in from
China, “they don’t last.”Text and photography | Bruce DennillThe Chapel of Nossa
Senhora de Baluarte
was erected in 1522.Airlink connects
Johannesburg with
Nampula. Go to page
75 for schedules.
http://www.flyairlink.comHow to get there
18
travel leisure | lifestyle
MOZAMBIQUE ISLAND