Turmeric, cloves and their tradition at Singos in Zanzibar
Zanzibar, a place where many different cultural groups frequently encounter one another, resulting in a diffusion, adoption and appropriation of each other’s cultural ideas and practices. And a great way to understand how this process works on the islands is to observe their wedding preparations and ceremonies.
For example, there is an event called a Singo –which is an initiation ceremony for the bride only practiced on the African East Coast. Interestingly, this ceremony is practiced by multiple ethnic groups within the islands and they all have the same practice and a recurring theme. The Singo consists of female relatives of the bride who have already been married themselves, such as sisters, aunts and friends. These individuals would take on the responsibility of educating the woman in regards to life after marriage.
The benefits of turmeric and cloves for the skin
During the Singo ritual, the bride is given a beauty treatment with a scrub that is prepared with natural ingredients able to make the skin luminous and fresh. This process is led by a somo (female instructor) as well as the singalong of songs by the elderly women in Swahili that encourage good behaviour during the occasion.
In urban Zanzibar, due to the fusion of cultures, the practice of the Singo has undergone several changes such as the replacement of maize chunks that were traditionally used to clean the brides’ skin by a locally made concentrated paste of coconut milk and dried cloves – this is believed to soften the skin as well as reduce body odour. Some also include the use of turmeric, believed to make the skin feel rejuvenated, radiant and glowing and helps to remove dead skin cells.
These beauty scrubs are of course not only limited to use of Singos, mostly all Zanzibari beauty products are famously known to include natural ingredients such as cloves and turmeric and these are extensively promoted to people who are in need of soothing and renewing the skin.
Thinking of incorporating some Zanzibar Singo influence into your self care routine? Why not add our Kibeni Women’s Cooperative Turmeric and Kidichi Village Cloves to your ingredients list or get our Wellness trio to really pamper yourself?
