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MAFIA ISLAND

Mafia Island is part of the Tanzania Spice Islands, together with Zanzibar and Pemba. The people of Mafia Island are mainly fishermen.  The island is a good retreat for adventure scuba divers, big game fishermen, and those merely seeking relaxation.  The Mafia Island cluster consists of one large island (394 km²) and numerous smaller ones. Some of these are inhabited, such as Chole Island (2 km²). Chole Bay, Mafia's protected deep-water anchorage and original harbour, is studded with islands, sandbanks and beaches.

The stretch of water between the deltas of the Rufiji River and the island is called Mafia Channel.  Mafia Island's history goes back to the 8th century. The island once played a major role in ancient trade between the people of Far East and mainland Tanzania.  The name Mafia derives from the Arabic "morfiyeh", meaning "group" or "archipelago", or from the Ki-Swahili "mahali pa afya", meaning "a healthy dwelling-place".