An island of history

“Misali,” Mohammed Said, a ranger with the Pemba Chanel Conservation Area, says, “is the Kiswahili word for a prayer mat.” I’ve had two days of watching humpback dolphins – the rarest of the dolphins in the Indian Ocean – and the more common spinner dolphins out at sea. Now I want to explore more of Misali Island that’s an hour’s sail from Pemba Island, Zanzibar.

The tall, cheerful ranger has worked for PECCA for 11 years – most of it on Misali Island. Strolling along the clear white beach with the soles of our feet being massaged by miniscule sand particles, the tide is low and the water beautifully blue. The current is flowing against us so we walk a mile away from our campsite to catch the current, don our flippers and mask, and glide into the water.

The underwater world opens in the most magical colours. When Said told me that the coral gardens were ‘just there’, pointing so close to shore, I found it hard to believe him. But here we are. We swim further into the ocean against the current and then let the current take over to glide us over the coral garden. Shoals of colourful parrot fish, moorish idols, butterfly fish and many more animate the sea world.

MYTHICAL STORIES

The ocean floor drops with a clear sand bed. Trumpet fish with elongated bodies appear – it’s the first time I’ve see them. An hour passes in a flash and we’re back to land. “People believe this island is sacred,” says Said as we walk across the beach into the forest lining the ocean to a sinkhole where holy men conducted prayers many a moon ago.

Said continues with the story of Misali Island. “A long time ago, Prophet Hadhara appeared in the visions of the fishermen at prayer time and asked for a prayer mat and water for ablution. The fishermen replied ‘We have water but we do not have a prayer mat.’

“The prophet took the water and made the ablution and then said his prayers. The prophet then said to the fishermen, ‘The island is very clean like a prayer mat (misali) and it points north towards Mecca.’ And that became the island’s name.

A narrow path through the forest leads us to a sinkhole, and an open gap reveals a rock chamber half full of gem-like turquoise blue water. 15,000 years ago the island was underwater. When the ocean level sank, three sinkholes appeared on Misali. “The cave is called Kijiwe Bendera,” Said says. “People from Pemba used to come here to pray with a mganga (local priest/doctor) for a good catch of fish, health and love. These waganga had connections with the world of ghosts.

“The people would sacrifice chicken, fruits and rice to pay the ghost for his help. These were put in the shells and pots you see on top of the cave where he could eat them. Bigger wishes were more expensive and the client could slaughter a cow or goat. But nowadays nobody comes because the waganga have all gone.”

In the cool of the evening I take the forest path. The ocean sounds close, revealing itself every now and then through the forest gaps. A gigantic tree has its trunk and branches full of orchids. Birds chirp, a lithe green snake creeps up a tree (there are no venomous snakes on the island) and I turn around at the furthest end of the island.

As dusk settles, a gigantic coconut crab ambles out of the thickets. It has such strong pincers that can break open the hard shell of a coconut. “This is one of the few islands in the world where you can see coconut crabs because on other tropical islands they have all been eaten,” says Dr Gill Braulik of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

TO MISALI

It’s an hour’s sail from Pemba Island (Zanzibar archipelago) on a motorised dhow. There’s only camping on the island and the water’s great for dive sites. You have to carry all your provisions but fish is easily available.

You could call the rangers Moh’d Said (+255 777 849 115) or Khamis Hamad Said (+255 777 794 728) to help regarding visiting.