AN EMBARGO ON DOORWAYS

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 18, 22 January 1938, Page 25

AN EMBARGO ON DOORWAYS

Every traveller who has roamed the streets of Zanzibar must have stopped to admire the massive doorways in the old coral houses, says a writer in. the "New York Times." These doors, with their rich carving and beauty, grip the imagination and fascinate the eye. Now, by order of the Sultan., no door may be torn from a building and sent out of the island.

The law is considered wise, for Zanzibar would otherwise have lost much of that medieval atmosphere which is its greatest charm Not every one realises the meaning of the carved doors, the symbolism of their ancient designs. Probably most of the island people themselves see nothing more than decoration in these patterns.

Nevertheless, a main doorway of the old type in Zanzibar was shaped to give the Arab household prosperity and protection. The carved door and frame were placed in position first, the build, ing came afterward. Thus no evil spirit could enter while the coral walls were being raised.

All the carved- rooms have certain "designs in common. . The lotus, the rosette, and the frankincense tree or date palm—at least one of these appears in the genuine old carvings. A fish, or some derivative in the form of a pineapple or grenade, may be found on practically every door. Frankincense stood for the water. Ail the other symbols suggested fertility. Probably they came from Egypt and Assyria, where the Fish Goddess was worshipped. Wavy lines ' represent water. A carved chain round the door gives the idea of security, and now replaces the real chain used when Zanzibar was a slave market and a pirate stronghold.. The great brass spikes were no doubt derived from India, where doors were

fitted to-, resist a charging elephant. Men from India, Arabia, arid the Red Sea ports were sailing down with the monsoon to Zanzibar nearly two thousand years ago, and all these foreign influences may be traced in the doors of the coral city.

The craftsmen who made these wonderful doors were Arabs and Swahilis. It was a dead art before the Great War, and' though Indians have attempted to carry on the tradition, the workmanship is not of so high a quality. An Indiag door may be recognised immediately by its arched top. The old doors were invariably, rectangular.

Of. all the Zanzibar doors the most elaborate is the one in the. Bet-el-Ajaib (House of Wonders), formerly a Sultan's palaee. The wood is covered with texts from the Koran, gilded on a green background, symbolising the standard of the Prophet. This is the largest building in Zanzibar, and the doors are worthy- «f it.

The price of a Zanzibar door, before the enforcement of the export ban. was £50. But doors are smuggled away at night and hoisted on board steamers offshore. The ingenuity of the Indian is remarkable when money is to be made. The men who carved doors made fine chests, too—the famous Zanzibar chests which are.now so hard to find. Arab •women used the chests for their jewels. There was always a secret compartment, and a bell that rang in the lock when the key was turned. Anybody who is • not, acquainted with the mechanism would not be able to find the secret drawer. Even Customs men would have been baffled. The owner of the chest pulls out the partition between two drawers and attached to it is a cunning, hidden tray that must have held the pearl necklaces and gems of a bygone harem.