Mwaka Kogwa in Makunduchi: Zanzibar's Persian New Year (dates and tips)

Mwaka Kogwa is the Shirazi New Year festival (of Persian origin) celebrated in Makunduchi, a village in southern Zanzibar. Sources place it in late July, with the main events around 23 and 24 July according to one of them, but the exact date is not fixed in advance and differs from year to year; no confirmed 2027 date was found. The festival takes place in the village, and no single entry ticket was found in the sources: confirm the day with your hotel or a guide a few weeks ahead. Allow half a day.

Highlights

The banana-stem fight

Men face each other, laughing, with banana stems in a ritual fight. By tradition, those who let off steam this way at the start of the year live in peace for the rest of it. Women sing and tease the men.

The crowd in the village

Residents and visitors mix in the streets and groves of Makunduchi. Stay at the edge of the fight if you are not taking part.

The burning hut

At the end of the festival a hut is set on fire and predictions for the year are read from the direction of the smoke. It is the most spectacular moment, with a big crowd around the fire.

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