Amboni caves and their rich attractions.

Amboni caves and their rich attractions

The Amboni caves are situated almost eight kilometres north of Tanga Town, at Kiomoni Village, off the Mombasa highway. The caves can be reached by a dirt road which passes through Kiomoni Village. The caves were declared a conservation area in 1922 by the British colonial government after receiving notification from Amboni Limited, which has been operating sisal plantations in Tanga Region since 1892. According to Mr Tabu Mtelekezo who is involved in the conservation of antiquities in the area, the limestones were formed naturally in Tanga over a period of about 150 million years ago. He explains: “Limestone is nearly insoluble in pure water, but it is quite easily dissolved by water containing small quantities of carbonic acid. The carbonic acid that has affected the caves forms when rain water dissolves carbon dioxide as it falls through the atmosphere.” Mr Mtelekezo added that the process is called carbonation, in which water percolation through the soil acquires more carbon dioxide from decaying organic matters to form the acid. The carbonic acid reacts with calcite (calcium carbonate) in the rocks and dissolves the insoluble carbonate to form soluble bicarbonates which are washed down through the soil. He said the 70 caves cover a 234-square kilometre area but due to lack of personnel to exploit all of them, only two caves with thirteen stops are used. “We are currently using the thirteen stops only as there is a shortage of workers… We cannot afford to take our visitors around all the caves,” said Mr Mtelekezo. The caves which are owned by the government through its Natural Resources and Tourism ministry, are currently used for ritual purposes, tourism and training. “The caves were used as a holy place in 16 A.D, after someone discovered the formulation of various features, some of them representing human organs, Virgin Mary, a ship, an airplane and so on,” said Mr Mtelekezo. He said the caves have been the subject of local legends and a number of mythical and awe inspiring stories have been attributed to the caves. The local people regard them as a supernatural formation where the ghosts are believed to have resided since the caves’ formation. During the tour, a group of tourists - including the writer of this article - noticed bottles containing perfumes, oil and blood from sacrificed animals at the chamber’s entrance. “Some traditionalists believe that there is a powerful deity which can increase wealth, bring justice, cure sickness, alleviate sickness or suffering, and increase one’s fertility,” explained Mr Mtelekezo. Getting into the caves for the first time can be very terrifying as the place is dark to the extent that one cannot identify anyone two steps away. The first stop is the ‘Mzimu’ area where various people go for ritual services; the second area has three layers of rocks, which students use for their studies. On the third stop, there is a cave which the guide elaborated that it was a hideout for two freedom fighters namely Osale Otango, a Mau Mau fighter from Kenya and Paulo Hamis from Tanzania. “They used to steal goods and terrorise some of the colonialists in the region and were also believed by some of the natives to have used witchcraft in their movements,” said Mr Mtelekezo. He added that although the government regarded them as criminals, the natives treated them as freedom fighters during the struggle for independence. “While the stalactites grow as downward limestone pillars or columns, stalagmites grow upwards,” he explains. “In certain circumstances a downward growing stalactite and an upward growing stalagmites may join to form a column,” added Mr Mtelekezo. On the fifth stop features which formed naturally become visible. Here, there is a road which the guide tells the curious group that it is called the Amboni Road. On the sixth stop there are two roads which he identifies as Mombasa Road and Maweni Road. The features extend to the seventh stop, where there is a swimming pool, an airplane wing, a human skull, a map of the African continent, and an elephant head. The eighth stop has an open space which the guide calls a picnic site, because the place can accommodate up to 300 people and was used as a picnic site by the natives before the government took over the caves. At the ninth stop stands Mount Kilimanjaro and the American Statue of Liberty, while at the tenth stop there are statues of Virgin Mary and Angel Gabriel with an open Bible. The eleventh and twelfth points consist of features of buildings while the last stop is the exit which resembles an airplane entrance. Mr Mtelekezo explained that the neighbouring community indirectly benefits from the site by selling their commodities to visitors. “The collections at the site go directly to the government,” he added. He urged Tanzanians to visit the caves noting that the country is blessed to have them as people travel from far to come and see them. “It is very cheap and therefore affordable for everyone,” he added.