Pemba Island ( ar, الجزيرة الخضراء ''al-Jazīra al-khadrā'', literally "The Green Island"; sw, Pemba kisiwa) is a Tanzanian island forming part of the

Zanzibar Archipelago The Zanzibar Archipelago ( ar, أرخبيل زنجبار, sw, Funguvisiwa la Zanzibar) consists of several islands lying off the coast of East Africa south of the Somali sea. The archipelago is also known as the Spice Islands. There are four ...

, lying within the Swahili Coast in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

Geography

file:Map of Zanzibar Archipelago-en.svg, left, The main islands of the

: Unguja (left) and Pemba (right) With a land area of it is situated about to the north of Unguja, the largest island of the archipelago. In 1964, Zanzibar was united with the former colony of Tanganyika (1961–1964), Tanganyika to form

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. It lies east of mainland Tanzania, across the Pemba Channel. Together with

Mafia Island Mafia Island (Kisiwa cha Mafia) is an island and district of Pwani Region, Tanzania. The island is the third largest in Tanzanian ocean territory, but is not administratively included within the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, which has been ...

(south of Unguja), these islands form the Spice Islands (not to be confused with the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

). Most of the island, which is hillier and more fertile than Unguja, is dominated by small scale farming. There is also large scale farming of cash crops such as

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...

s. In previous years, the island was seldom visited due to inaccessibility and a reputation for

political violence Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a state against other states ( war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-state actors (for ...

, with the notable exception of those drawn by its reputation as a center for

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

and

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

. There is a quite large

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

community on the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

, who immigrated from

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

. The population is a mix of Arab and original Waswahili inhabitants of the island. A significant portion of the population also identifies as

Shirazi people The Shirazi people, also known as Mbwera, are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the Swahili coast and the nearby Indian ocean islands. They are particularly concentrated on the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Comoros.Chake-Chake (the capital), Mkoani, and

Wete Wete is a town located on the Tanzanian island of Pemba. It is the capital of Pemba North Region, as well as the administrative seat for Wete District. It lies on the west side of the north part of the island. The town has a 2013 estimated popu ...

, which is the largest city. The centrally located Chake-Chake is perched on a mound with a view to the west on a bay and the tiny Misali Island, where the tides determine when a dhow can enter the local harbour. Pemba is, with the exception of a strip of land along its eastern coast, a very fertile place: besides

trees, the locals grow mainly

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

, and

red beans Red bean is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * Adzuki bean (''Vigna angularis''), commonly used in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine, particularly as red bean paste * Kidney bean, red variety of ''Phaseolus vulgaris '' ...

(called ''maharagwe'' in the

Swahili language Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Sw ...

). Pemba is home to several dive sites, with steep drop-offs, untouched coral, and very abundant marine life.

Islets

*Fundo - is located few miles from Wete. It is the only inhabited island among the group of islets forming the north-west reef of Pemba. The other islets there include Njao, Kashani, Kokota, Funzi, and Uvinje. **Njao - is the northernmost islet on the Fundo group. It is mainly used for agricultural purposes. **Kashani - is on the same reef as Fundo but on the southernmost tip close to Ras Mkumbuu. **Kokota - is located at the southern mouth of Wete port. **Funzi - lies east of Kokota and south of Uvinje island. **Uvinje - is used for farming and located at the southern mouth of Wete port. *Kiweni (Shamiani) - located on the south west part of Pemba, it is an uninhabited islet used mainly for farming and livestock grazing. On its southernmost tip it has a very fine beach and some prospective investors were building a hotel in the late 1990s. *Kojani - is the only inhabited island on the western side of Pemba island. It is home to some skilled artisanal fishermen in East Africa who seasonally travel to most parts of the coast in search of schools of fish to catch. *Kwata - the island was the site of the first major outbreak of cholera in 1978 when travelers were temporarily quarantined at this island before being allowed into Pemba. *Makoongwe - is few kilometers from Mkoani. It has characteristics similar to the opposite area on the island of Pemba with deep soils and hilly terrain. Makoongwe is inhabited and people do farming and fishing. *Matumbini - is an islet with dense mangrove forest and popular among fishermen due to the presence of rich coral reef. *Misali - has a rich coral reef, and has been declared a marine reserve. *Mwangi - is a small islet close to Mtambwe on the main island of Pemba. *Panza - is the southernmost island in Pemba and in fact is a series of islets but a bridge connects the two main parts of Mtondooni and Panza proper. Its topography is coral on the Panza side and deep soil on the Mtondooni part. UFO wrecks found on the southern part has become an important diving site. Its inhabitants do farming and fishing. *Vikunguni - is a small islet close to the north-west group of islands. *Yombi - is a small islet east of Panza island.

Important Bird Area

Pemba has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Inte ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports populations of

Pemba green pigeon The Pemba green pigeon (''Treron pembaensis'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, plantations, and rural gardens. It is threatened by ...

Pemba scops owl The Pemba scops owl (''Otus pembaensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to Pemba Island which is part of and off the coast of Tanzania. Taxonomy The Pemba scops owl was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the Madag ...

Pemba white-eye The Pemba white-eye (''Zosterops vaughani'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or ...

s and

Pemba sunbird The Pemba sunbird (''Cinnyris pembae'') is a species of bird in the sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved b ...

Climate

Pemba has a tropical climate, yet somewhat milder than Tanzania's mainland and milder than in Unguja island. This climate is classified as "Aw" by the Köppen-Geiger system. The average temperature in

Chake Chake Chake-Chake is a town located on the Tanzanian island of Pemba and capital of Chake Chake District. It is in the centre of a deep indentation in the west coast called Chake-Chake Bay. Chake-Chake is historically the capital of Pemba Island ...

is 25.5 °C (78 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,364 mm. The monthly average temperatures are usually between 24 - 27.4 °C (75 °F - 81 °F). There are two rain seasons, with most rainfall coming between April and May and smaller rain season coming between November and December. Drier months are January - February, and a longer drier season between June to October.

Archaeology

Archaeological research on Pemba has shown its centrality to the Swahili coast trading system as early as 600 AD. Along the northern coast, urban settlements at Chwaka later developed and flourished from the eleventh century to ~1500 AD. West of Pemba's capital Chake-Chake, on a long stretched peninsula called

Ras Mkumbuu Ras Mkumbuu is a long narrow peninsula on the central west coast of Pemba Island, one of the two main islands of Tanzania's Zanzibar Archipelago. The town of Chake-Chake, one of the island's main population centres, is located immediately to the ...

, one can find some of the oldest and best preserved series of early ruins on the islands (''Ndagoni ruins'', probably 14th century). East of Chake-Chake one can find the ''Mkama Ndume ruins'' at Pujini village (south of the airport) within easy reach by road from Chake-Chake. This is the only known early fortification on the whole Swahili Coast; it is dated to the fifteenth century.

History

According to the Arab geographer Yakut, in the mid-13th century there were two independent sultans ruling over parts of Pemba Island. On 24 June 2016, the Australian

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government in the Government of Australia is a position currently held by following the swearing in of the full Albanese ministry on 1 June 2022. The Minister for Regi ...

Darren Chester Darren Jeffrey Chester (born 13 September 1967) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the House of Representatives for Gippsland in Victoria, representing the Nationals since 2008. Chester had served as the Minister for Veterans ...

, said that a piece of aircraft debris was found on Pemba Island, possibly being from the missing

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370) was an international passenger flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to its planned destinatio ...

Administration

Pemba is part of the semi-autonomous Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar. Administratively, it is divided into two regions, North Pemba (Pemba Kaskazini)with its capital at

, and

South Pemba Pemba South Region or South Pemba Region (''Mkoa wa Pemba Kusini'' in Swahili) is one of the 31 regions of Tanzania. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Grenada. and t ...

(Pemba Kusini) with its capital at Mkoani. Although the centrally located city of

, near the airport, is considered Pemba's capital, and is the seat of Pemba's court and the President of Zanzibar's official Pemba residence.

Economy

Fishing

Pemba is also famous for its rich fishing grounds. Between the island and the mainland there is the deep 50 kilometre wide Pemba Channel, which is one of the most profitable fishing grounds for game fishing on the Swahili Coast.

Farming and agriculture

Pemba is (with the exception of a strip of land along its eastern coast) highly fertile for agriculture which serves the global farming industry.

Cash crops

A large segment of Zanzibar export earnings comes from

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or Aroma compound, fragrance in fi ...

. The greatest concentration of clove trees in Zanzibar is found on Pemba (3.5 million trees), as growing conditions on the island are superior to those on Unguja island. Clove trees grow to a height of approximately 10 to 15 metres and can be harvested for sometimes over 50 years. Most of the island, which is hillier and more fertile than Unguja, is dominated by small scale farming. There is also large-scale farming of other crops, primarily

coconuts The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or t ...

, and

(called maharagwe in Swahili), as well as

and bananas.

Land surveying

For the promotion of tourism, the Department of Surveys and Mapping at Chake-Chake has been publishing maps with tourist guides since 1992.Pemba - The clove island 1:100,000, Map & Guide, 3rd edition, 2013, Dept. of Surveys and Mapping, Box 235, Chake-Chake

Transport

Airport

Pemba Airport is also known as Wawi Airport or Karume Airport and connects the island to

Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

, and Zanzibar City.

Gallery

File:Island and Diving.jpg, Island near Chake Chake File:Wharf at Mkoani. Havenpier in Mkoani, Pemba, Tanzania.jpg, A wharf at Mkoani during the daytime with fishing nets being dried in the sun File:Seasonal clove buds drying on Pemba1.jpg, An example of clove buds being dried in the equatorial sun File:Bep chaetodon auriga pemba.jpg,

Threadfin butterflyfish The threadfin butterflyfish (''Chaetodon auriga'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. Distribution ''Chaetodon auriga'' is found in the Indo-Pacific region, ...

(''Chaetodon auriga''). Underwater photograph at Pemba island File:Bep chaetodon kleinii pemba.jpg,

Sunburst butterflyfish The sunburst butterflyfish (''Chaetodon kleinii''), also known as the black-lipped butterflyfish, "blacklip butterflyfish" or Klein's butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae ...

(''Chaetodon kleinii'') File:Bep chaetodon unimaculatus pemba.jpg,

Yellow teardrop butterflyfish The yellow teardrop butterflyfish (''Chaetodon interruptus''), also known as the Indian teardrop butterflyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish of the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Indian Ocean from East Afr ...

(''Chaetodon interruptus'')

References

External links

Short documentary about Pemba Island on YouTube
{{Authority control Swahili city-states Zanzibar Archipelago Islands of Tanzania Important Bird Areas of the Zanzibar Archipelago Former sultanates Island countries

Geography

Islets

Important Bird Area

Climate

Archaeology

History

Administration

Economy

Fishing

Farming and agriculture

Cash crops

Land surveying

Transport

Airport

Gallery

See also

References

External links