Swahili culture is the culture of the Swahili people inhabiting the Swahili coast. This littoral area encompasses Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique, as well as the adjacent islands of Zanzibar and Comoros along with some parts of Malawi and the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo. They speak Swahili as their native language, which belongs to the Bantu language family. Graham Connah described Swahili culture as at least partially urban, mercantile, and literate. [1]
Swahili culture is the product of the history of the coastal part of the African Great Lakes region. As with the Swahili language, Swahili culture has a Bantu core that has borrowed from foreign influences.
The medieval sites along the Swahili coast represent a cultural tradition with diverse local traditions that can be traced to the ninth century. This has developed into the modern Swahili culture. [2] [3] Currently, there are 173 identified settlements that flourished along the Swahili coast and nearby Islands from the ninth to the seventeenth centuries, which include the sites of Kilwa, Malindi, Gedi, Pate, Comoros, and Zanzibar. [4] The most recent excavations at these coastal sites have been used to examine the spread of Islam in East Africa and the development of the Swahili culture. [5] However, the identity of the Swahili, as well as, the people associated with and the development of the culture along the Swahili coast often has been in dispute in both the past and present. [6] The historic use of coral among the Swahili in construction, who used stone as construction material for mosques and tombs, has been associated with the emergence of the use of coral stone for construction in the fourteenth century along the coast for the buildings ascribed with the most importance. [7] Conversely, it has been stated that the sites were founded by Arab or Persian colonists. [8]
Many claims have been made that Swahili culture emerged from the settlement of Arab merchants with the ruins being called Arab cities and many Swahili self-identifying as descendants of Arabs or Persians. [7] [9] Opinions published in 2000, suggest that the medieval Swahili coastal sites developed locally with the creation of small agricultural and fishing communities that gave rise to the Swahili culture through trade that resulted in an increase in Islamic influence during the twelfth century. [10] Increased contact with the Islamic world then would have led to the integration of local African and Arab traditions, creating an indigenous Swahili culture. [11] A blend of these two interpretations exists with accounts of Arab merchants marrying local women, which created a distinctive Arab-African Swahili culture. [7] [12] The culture appears to have emerged in Kenya and Tanzania and eventually spread to Mozambique. [13]
Data from a study of Swahili genetics was published in 2023. Dozens of individuals buried in medieval Swahili settlements in Kenya and Tanzania between 1250 and 1800 were studied for their ancient DNA. The research concluded that their "genomes point to the diverse origins of Swahili culture, with people carrying a mix of local African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian ancestry" and support the accuracy of oral histories that often have been discounted about the origins of the Swahili culture. [14] Anthropological archaeologist Chapurukha Kusimba, who co-led the study, stated that the subjects "were descended from people who began mixing around 1000. Nearly all the East African ancestry seemed to come from women, whereas most of the Asian ancestry was contributed by men from Persia" and that the results of the genetic testing support the oral traditions of Swahili people, dispelling the colonial idea that Swahili civilization is “essentially an Arab civilization”.
The early Swahili city-states followed Islam and were cosmopolitan and politically independent of each other. [15] The chief exports of these cultures were slaves, salt, ebony, gold, ivory, and sandalwood. These city-states began to decline toward the sixteenth century, mainly as a consequence of the advent of the Portuguese. Eventually, Swahili trading centers went out of business and commerce between Africa and Asia on the Indian Ocean collapsed. [16]
Historic Swahili culture was intensely urban and dominated by a strict class structure. [17]
Aspects of Swahili culture are diverse due to its many influences. For example, Swahili cuisine has influences from Indian and Arabic cultures. There are alterations to certain dishes due to religious reasons. [18] Some food items common in everyday lives of the Swahili are fish, tropical fruits, and exotic spices.
Another cultural aspect of the Swahili is their use of arts and crafts, which they find significance in. When creating art, they express themselves through creativity as well as through shape and function. Some multicultural influences can be seen in Swahili art, furniture, and architecture. [18] They usually refrain from the use of designs with images of living beings due to their Muslim heritage. Instead, Swahili designs are primarily geometric.
There are important clothes that are part of their arts and crafts such as the Kanga. The Kanga is not only a rectangular piece of cloth, but is an artifact of the Swahili culture. The cloth should be made with extreme care. If the cloth doesn’t match the season then it doesn’t deserve to be a Kanga and may be used as a baby diaper or an apron for the kitchen. Even though the Kanga is quite inexpensive, it is still a main part of Swahili culture. The Kanga is made in Tanzania and is mostly appealing to women rather than men, but men are not restricted from using it. The cloth is used as a sling to carry babies, melons on their heads, and may be used as a kitchen apron.
The most typical musical genre of Swahili culture is taarab (or tarabu), sung in the Swahili language. Its melodies and orchestration have Arab and Indian influences (although Western instruments, such as guitars, are sometimes used). [18] [19]
In the 20th century several musical genres have emerged in the Swahili world, that are derivatives of Western popular music. One major example is muziki wa dansi, which is the Tanzanian counterpart of Congolese soukous (rumba). In the last decades of the century, most Swahili music was in the afropop vein. This includes several local derivatives of American hip hop (e.g. bongo flava).
Swahili, also known by its local name Kiswahili, is a Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique. The number of current Swahili speakers, be they native or second-language speakers, is estimated to be over 200 million, with Tanzania known to have most of the native speakers.
Mijikenda are a group of nine related Bantu ethnic groups inhabiting the coast of Kenya, between the Sabaki and the Umba rivers, in an area stretching from the border with Tanzania in the south to the border near Somalia in the north. Archaeologist Chapuruka Kusimba contends that the Mijikenda formerly resided in coastal cities, but later settled in Kenya's hinterlands to avoid submission to dominant Portuguese forces that were then in control. Historically, these Mijikenda ethnic groups have been called the Nyika or Nika by outsiders. It is a derogatory term meaning "bush people."
The ruins of Gedi are a historical and archaeological site near the Indian Ocean coast of eastern Kenya. The site is adjacent to the town of Gedi in the Kilifi District and within the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.
Kilwa Kisiwani is an island, national historic site, and hamlet community located in the township of Kilwa Masoko, the district seat of Kilwa District in the Tanzanian region of Lindi in southern Tanzania. Kilwa Kisiwani is the largest of the nine hamlets in the town of Kilwa Masoko and is also the least populated hamlet in the township with fewer than 1,000 residents.
The Swahili people comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the Zanzibar archipelago and mainland Tanzania's seaboard, littoral Kenya, northern Mozambique, the Comoros Islands and Northwest Madagascar.
Zanj was a name used by medieval Muslim geographers to refer to both a certain portion of Southeast Africa and to its Bantu inhabitants. This word is also the origin of the place-names Zanzibar and the Sea of Zanj.
Pate (Paté) Island is located in the Indian Ocean close to the northern coast of Kenya, to which it belongs. It is the largest island in the Lamu Archipelago, which lie between the towns of Lamu and Kiunga in the former Coast Province. The island is almost completely surrounded by mangroves.
The Tongoni Ruins are a 15th century Swahili ruins of a mosque and forty tombs located in Tongoni ward in Tanga District inside Tanga Region of Tanzania. The largest and possibly most significant Swahili site in Tanzania is Tongoni, which is located 25 km north of the Pangani River. Overlooking Mtangata Bay, about forty standing tombs and a Friday mosque of the "northern" style occupy a third of a hectare. People from the area continue to worship there spiritually. They bury their departed family members to the south of the historic tombs. The area was a different place four to five centuries ago. Contrary to its almost unnoticed presence today, it was a prosperous and a respected Swahili trading centre during the 15th century. Most of the ruins are still not yet been uncovered. The site is a registered National Historic Site.
Afro-Arabs or African Arabs are Arabs of full or partial indigenous African descent. These include primarily minority groups in the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar, as well as Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan. The term may also refer to various Arab groups in certain African regions.
Swahili architecture is a term used to designate a whole range of diverse building traditions practiced or once practiced along the eastern and southeastern coasts of Africa. Rather than simple derivatives of Islamic architecture from the Arabic world, Swahili stone architecture is a distinct local product as a result of evolving social and religious traditions, environmental changes, and urban development.
The kanga is a colourful fabric similar to kitenge, but lighter, worn by women and occasionally by men throughout the African Great Lakes region. It is a piece of printed cotton fabric, about 1.5 m by 1 m, often with a border along all four sides, and a central part (mji) which differs in design from the borders. They are sold in pairs, which can then be cut and hemmed to be used as a set.
Swahili literature is literature written in the Swahili language, particularly by Swahili people of the East African coast and the neighboring islands. It may also refer to literature written by people who write in the Swahili language. It is an offshoot of the Bantu culture.
Pangani is a historic town and capital of Pangani District in the Tanga Region of Tanzania. The town lies 45 km (28 mi) south of the city of Tanga, at the mouth of the Pangani River in which the town is named after. Administrately the town Pangani is situated within two wards, Pangani Mashariki and Pangani Magharibi. The town is currently the largest settlement in Pangani District and is a major tourist attraction in Tanga region and is a home to Muhembo, a Tanzanian National Historic Site.
The Swahili coast is a coastal area of East Africa, bordered by the Indian Ocean and inhabited by the Swahili people. It includes Sofala ; Mombasa, Gede, Pate Island, Lamu, and Malindi ; and Dar es Salaam and Kilwa. In addition, several coastal islands are included in the Swahili coast, such as Zanzibar and Comoros.
Tumbatu is historic Swahili settlement located on Tumbatu Island, Kaskazini A District of Unguja North Region in Tanzania. This site is a significant archaeological site that contains a large number of collapsed coral stone structures including private houses and several mosques, the largest of which is located on the shore facing the village of Mkokotoni on Unguja. Pearce initially looked into the ruins in 1915 and wrote about the mosques, palace, and other stone homes.
The Shirazi also known as Mbwera, are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the Swahili coast and the nearby Indian ocean islands. They are particularly concentrated on the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Comoros.
Unguja Ukuu is a historic Swahili settlement on Unguja island, in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Pemba Island is a large coral island off the coast of Tanzania. Inhabited by Bantu settlers from the Tanga coast since 600 AD, the island has a rich trading, agricultural, and religious history that has contributed to the studies of the Swahili Coast trade throughout the Indian Ocean.
Sanje ya Kati is protected, uninhabited historic site located on Sanje ya Kati Island in Pande Mikoma ward in Kilwa District in Lindi Region of Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast. The site is home to medieval Swahili ruins that have yet to be fully excavated.
Tumbe is an early Medieval Swahili historic site next to the village of Tumbe located in Micheweni District of Pemba North Region. Between 600 and 1000 AD, the city of Tumbe served as the island's primary location. There is sufficient evidence that this city served as a major commerce hub for the Indian Ocean. Smaller sites from the eighth to tenth centuries AD were grouped together around the major metropolis.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)