.jpg) Mafia Island | |
  Mafia Island Location of Mafia Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Sea of Zanj |
| Coordinates | 7°51′S39°47′E / 7.850°S 39.783°E /-7.850; 39.783 |
| Archipelago | The Mafia Islands Archipelago |
| Total islands | 9 |
| Major islands | Juani Island &Jibondo Island |
| Area | 435 km2 (168 sq mi) |
| Length | 49 km (30.4 mi) |
| Width | 17 km (10.6 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 53 m (174 ft) |
| Highest point | Ndogani |
| Administration | |
| Region | Pwani Region |
| District | Mafia District |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 66,180 (2022) |
| Languages | Swahili |
| Ethnic groups | Matumbi,Ndengereko &Rufiji |
Mafia Island orChole Shamba (Kisiwa cha Mafia, inSwahili) is an island ofThe Mafia Archipelago located inMafia District in the southernPwani Region ofTanzania across theMafia Channel. The island is the third largest in Tanzanian ocean territory,[1] but is not administratively included within the semi-autonomous region ofZanzibar, which has been politically separate since 1890. Mafia Island forms the largest part of Mafia District, one of the six administrative districts in the Pwani Region. As the Mafia Archipelago's main island, it is sometimes calledChole Shamba, meaningChole farmlands in Swahili. This is in opposition to the historic settlement ofChole Mjini (Chole town) on Chole Island inside Mafia Bay.[2] The island's population is over 65,000.[3][4][5][6] The economy is based on fishing,subsistence agriculture and the market inKilindoni. The island attracts some tourists, mainlyscuba divers, birdwatchers, gamefishermen, and people seeking relaxation.[7][8]
Mafia Island, (394 km2 (152 sq mi)), lies off the east coast of Tanzania opposite the delta of theRufiji River.[1] The 20 kilometres (12 mi) wide stretch of water between the delta and the island is called theMafia Channel. Mafia Island is part of a small archipelago with several much smaller islands, some of which are inhabited. The main town on Mafia isKilindoni on the west coast. On the east coast is Chole Bay, Mafia's protected deep-water anchorage and original harbour. The bay is studded with islets, sandbanks and beaches, and is protected from the east by reefs and Juani Island.
The northernmost point on the island is a coral cliff rising approximately 4.5 metres (15 ft) above the sea called Ras Mkumbi, beyond the cliff the land gradually rises to 24 metres (79 ft).[9] There is a lighthouse at Ras Mkumbi.
Mafia Island has a tropical climate. This climate is classified as "Aw" by theKöppen-Geiger system. The average temperature in town ofKilindoni is 26.7 °C (80.1 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,705 mm. The monthly average temperatures are usually between 24.8 and 28.3 °C (76.6 and 82.9 °F). There is one major rain season, with most rainfall coming between March and May. Dry season spans between July and October.
| Climate data forKilindoni | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.3 (88.3) | 31.6 (88.9) | 31.3 (88.3) | 29.9 (85.8) | 29.3 (84.7) | 28.3 (82.9) | 27.5 (81.5) | 28.2 (82.8) | 29.3 (84.7) | 30.3 (86.5) | 30.6 (87.1) | 31.1 (88.0) | 29.9 (85.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.1 (82.6) | 27.0 (80.6) | 26.4 (79.5) | 25.4 (77.7) | 24.8 (76.6) | 25.0 (77.0) | 25.7 (78.3) | 26.8 (80.2) | 27.2 (81.0) | 27.8 (82.0) | 26.7 (80.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 25.3 (77.5) | 25.1 (77.2) | 25.0 (77.0) | 24.2 (75.6) | 23.5 (74.3) | 22.6 (72.7) | 22.1 (71.8) | 21.9 (71.4) | 22.2 (72.0) | 23.3 (73.9) | 23.9 (75.0) | 24.6 (76.3) | 23.6 (74.5) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 134 (5.3) | 98 (3.9) | 234 (9.2) | 482 (19.0) | 260 (10.2) | 80 (3.1) | 49 (1.9) | 25 (1.0) | 22 (0.9) | 35 (1.4) | 102 (4.0) | 184 (7.2) | 1,705 (67.1) |
| Source: Climate-Data.ORG[10] | |||||||||||||
Mafia Island, and the associated archipelago were formed byrifting anduplift of part of the continental shelf during thePleistocene.[1][11]
The main ecosystems on the island aremangrove swamps,coastal forests,scrublands, andgrasslands.[1] A 115,000 ha area, encompassing Chole Bay, the southern coastline of Mafia and its associated smaller islands, along with the intervening marine waters, has been designated anImportant Bird Area (IBA) byBirdLife International because it supports populations ofwestern reef egrets,Terek sandpipers andcrab plovers.[12] Mafia Island is home to fruitbats (flying foxes) of the genusPteropus.[1]
Mafia Island is mentioned at least as early as the 8th century. The island once played a major role in ancient trade between the people ofEast Asia andEast Africa. It was a regular stop forArab boats. On the tiny island ofChole Mjini, just offshore in Chole Bay, once stood a settlement that constituted one of the most important towns controlling trade from the silver mines of EasternZimbabwe, which reached the town via the old ports ofKilwa andMichangani.[13] In the mid-1820s, the town ofKua onJuani Island was attacked bySakalavacannibals arriving fromMadagascar with 80 canoes, who ate many of the locals and took the rest into slavery.[13] A 3D documentation of the Kua Ruins on Juani Island was carried out in 2018 by theZamani Project.[14]
Under a treaty of 1890, Germany took control of Mafia and constructed the buildings still evident on Chole. Germany paid SultanSayyid Ali bin Said al-Said ofZanzibarM4 million for both the island and part of the mainland coast. On January 12, 1915, Mafia was taken byBritish troops as a base for the air and sea assault on thelight cruiserKönigsberg.The name "Mafia" derives from theArabicmorfiyeh, meaning "group" or "archipelago"[citation needed], or from theSwahilimahali pa afya, meaning "a healthy dwelling-place".
In 1995, Mafia Island had financial help from theWWF to make a natural marine wildlife centre which led to establishment of the first Marine Park in Tanzania. The organization continued to provide support to the Island under Rufiji-Mafia-Kilwa (RUMAKI)[15] seascape project to improve socio-economic well-being of the communities through the sustainable, participatory and equitable utilization and protection of their natural resources. Under the current EU-WWF Fisheries Co-management Project,[16] the organization aims at building effective long-term fisheries co-management through establishment of 10 Beach Management Units and to continue supporting Village Community Banks (VICOBA) in the Island to generate optimal, sustainable and equitable livelihood benefits, and which provide a source of lesson-learning for other coastal communities. The WWF Mafia office is under three technical staff - Paul Kugopya (Mafia Fisheries Co-management Officer), Marko Gideon[17] (EU-WWF Fisheries Co-management Project Communication/Awareness Officer) and Renatus Rwamugira (Project Accountant for Mafia).
Tanzania's first multi-user marine park at Mafia Island was established in 1995 following management recommendations and data from surveys conducted by the Society for Environmental Exploration.[18] In August 2016, a diver, Alan Sutton, from Seaunseen, who had originally been looking for the remains of an old fort rumoured to have been washed away to sea, instead came across the remains of a wall stretching almost 4 km off Mafia Island.The discovery was detailed in a blog post by Sutton, with images showing remnants of the wall.[19]
The island'sMafia Airport can be reached fromDar es Salaam by flights operated by Auric Air[20] Tropical Air and Coastal Aviation.[21]
Boats depart depending on the presence of the boat from the village of Nyamisati on the mainland to Kilindoni on Mafia island. As of 2021, the departure from Nyamisati is 16:00 p.m. with a roll call between 15:00-16:00 p.m. The journey takes approximately 4.5 hours. Tickets are purchased beforehand in Nyamisati at a cost of 16,000 Tsh one way.
.jpg)
{{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
