Sit local, think global: The Baraza in Zanzibar

Abstract

Although being a major feature of Zanzibar 's everyday life, thebaraza has so far largely escaped attention of academicdiscussion. Public or semi-public places where people of a house,of a neighbourhood or even a larger social configuration meetto sit and chat, to spend time, drink coffee and discuss politics,religion, football or other quotidian issues are certainly foundin many societies. Yet, Zanzibar's baraza are so omnipresentthat it is hard to imagine the island without them. At the sametime, baraza life is not easy to grasp. Although there are setrules of baraza etiquette, they are not a permanent “institution”but may disappear as quickly as they have come into existence.This contribution discusses some of the major features of barazalife and the spatial organization of the baraza, in particular,and to establish thereby something like a baraza “sociology”.