Recent Post

Every July, the village of Makunduchi in southern Zanzibar does something most of the world could learn from: it sets aside a few days to settle the year’s grievances, then lights a fire and lets them go.

This is Mwaka Kogwa- the Shirazi New Year, a tradition brought to the island by Persian settlers rooted in Zoroastrian origins, and still celebrated today with the same spirit it’s carried for over a thousand years.

The centerpiece is a mock battle-men square off with banana stems instead of the sticks once used in the past, and everyone gets a turn, a way of airing grievances so the air is clear for the new year. Meanwhile women walk the fields in their best clothes, singing about life and love, and tease the men once the fighting’s done. It’s chaos, but it’s purposeful chaos.

Then comes the release: a temporary hut is built from palm fronds and ceremonially burned – the old year, old fights, old weight, gone up in smoke.

This year, the festival ran July 12th–16th, and getting to be part of that history felt like stepping into something both ancient and alive. Watching a whole community choose to duke it out and let it go, on purpose, once a year – there’s something genuinely wise about that.

We’re already planning who to bring next year.

Happy Shirazi New Year!