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Mbwaa
Mbwaa is an origin narrative of the Meru peoples of Kenya. It is a widely told tale that has been narrated for at least three centuries. These traditions have been widely linked to the Shungwaya origin narrative. However it has been noted that a number of inconsistencies appear in the telling of this narrative. It thus may be, a conflation of two or more peoples origin narratives. Indeed subsequent events in the narrative lead up to the assimilation of two peoples, referred to as Muku-Ngaa and Murutu, both of whom contribute to the present Meru identity. Name The location is commonly referred to as Mbwaa.Fadiman, J., When We Began There Were Witchmen, University of California Press, 1994, p.44 Time period Meru traditions agree that their identity formed on Mbwaa. According to traditions captured by Fadiman (1960's), the last age-set recalled to have lived on Mbwaa were the Ntangi, a period dated to circa 1700. Way of life The way of life practiced on Mbwaa includes practices o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngaa People
The Ngaa people were a community that according to the traditions of many Kenyan communities inhabited regions of the Swahili coast and the Kenyan hinterland at various times in history. History Origins According to Meru traditions, the people of Ngaa originally lived on an island recalled as Mbwaa or Mbwa. They were later driven out of the island, forcing them to move into the Kenyan hinterland. Certain traditions such as those of the hunting section of the pre-Meru community suggests that this location was in the north of Kenya. These traditions contain explicit portrayals of an "arid" place where the game hunted included Grévy's zebra and reticulated giraffe. These species are endemic to the north of Kenya. Ngaaruni According to Meru oral literature, the Ngaa identity formed at the point when the migrants from Mbwaa turned "westward" into "what tradition explicitly calls a desert" during their journey. They named this place Ngaaruni (arid place). Tradition records that while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murutu People
The Murutu people were a community that, according to the oral literature of the Meru people of Kenya, inhabited regions of the Swahili coast and the Kenyan hinterland at various times in history. Origins According to Meru traditions, the Meru people originally lived on an island recalled as Mbwaa Mbwaa is an origin narrative of the Meru peoples of Kenya. It is a widely told tale that has been narrated for at least three centuries. These traditions have been widely linked to the Shungwaya origin narrative. However it has been noted that a num ... or Mbwa. They were later driven out of the island, forcing them to move into the Kenyan hinterland. Contact with Cushitic communities Meru tradition states that they met Cushitic speaking communities while on their migratory journey. The descriptions of these communities have been matched with present identity realities and contemporary understanding of regional history to show that they bear elements of historicity. Yaaku In the narrativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captaincy Of The Malindi Coast
The Captaincy of the Malindi coast (''Capitania da costa de Melinde'') was an administrative office that Portugal maintained in East Africa during the Portuguese Period in East Africa. This was the only administrative office that it maintained in northern East Africa after their withdrawal from Kilwa. Origin The origin of the office lay in a government trading factory which had been set up in Malindi in April 1509 and whose special purpose was to have been as a purchasing center for goods needed for the Sofala gold trade Appointment The office was usually awarded as a Royal favor but on occasion was also leased out Administrative duties The responsibilities of the captaincy were the general supervision of Portuguese interests along the coast. Official duties The known duties of the office were the issuing of ships passes. Trade The activities of the trading factory continued after the establishment of the office and it has been suggested that the holder attached more importanc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meru People
The Meru or Amîîrú (including the Ngaa) are a Bantu ethnic group that inhabit the Meru region of Kenya on the fertile lands of north and eastern slopes of Mount Kenya, in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. The word Meru means Shining Light in Kimîîrú language. In Kiswahili, it is Ng'aa, a Bantu word meaning "Dazzling Shine" in both Kimîîrú and Kiswahili languages. Ameru in Kimîîrú language therefore means The Shining Ones or The Children Of The Shining One. The Ameru people comprise nine sections: the Igoji, Imenti, Tigania, Mitine, Igembe, Mwimbi, Muthambi, Chuka and Tharaka. The Tharaka live in the semi-arid part of the greater Meru and they, together with the Mwimbi, Muthambi and Chuka, form the Tharaka-Nithi County. The Ameru are however unrelated to the Wameru of northern Tanzania, other than both being avid farming Bantu communities. Languages The Ngaa people known as Meru speak the Kimîîrú language. Kimîîrú, Kikamba, Kiembu, Kimbeere and Kik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shungwaya
Shungwaya (also Shingwaya) is an origin myth of the Mijikenda peoples. Traditions known collectively as the "Shungwaya myth" describe a series of migrations of Bantu peoples dating to the 12th-17th centuries from a region to the north of the Tana River. These Bantu migrants were held to have been speakers of Sabaki Bantu languages. Other Bantu ethnic groups, smaller in number, are also suggested to have been part of the migration. From Shungwaya, the Mount Kenya Bantu (Kamba, Kikuyu, Meru, Embu, and Mbeere) are then proposed to have broke away and migrated from there some time before the Oromo onslaught. Shungwaya appears to have had its heyday as a Bantu settlement area between perhaps the 12th and the 15th centuries, after which it was subjected to a full-scale invasion of Cushitic-speaking Oromo peoples from the Horn of Africa. From the whole corpus of these traditions, it has been argued that Shungwaya comprised a large, multi-ethnic community. The "Zhongli" (中理) of Zha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is the same, regardless of the species of origin, but ivory contains structures of mineralised collagen. The trade in certain teeth and tusks other than elephant is well established and widespread; therefore, "ivory" can correctly be used to describe any mammalian teeth or tusks of commercial interest which are large enough to be carved or scrimshawed. Besides natural ivory, ivory can also be produced synthetically, hence (unlike natural ivory) not requiring the retrieval of the material from animals. Tagua nuts can also be carved like ivory. The trade of finished goods of ivory products has its origins in the Indus Valley. Ivory is a main product that is seen in abundance and was used for trading in Harappan civilization. Finished ivory pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchange of goods and services for other goods and services, i.e. trading things without the use of money. Modern traders generally negotiate through a medium of exchange, such as money. As a result, buying can be separated from selling, or earning. The invention of money (and letter of credit, paper money, and non-physical money) greatly simplified and promoted trade. Trade between two traders is called bilateral trade, while trade involving more than two traders is called multilateral trade. In one modern view, trade exists due to specialization and the division of labour, a predominant form of economic activity in which individuals and groups concentrate on a small aspect of production, but use their output in trades for other products ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beads
A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. Beads represent some of the earliest forms of jewellery, with a pair of beads made from ''Nassarius'' sea snail shells dating to approximately 100,000 years ago thought to be the earliest known example. Beadwork is the art or craft of making things with beads. Beads can be woven together with specialized thread, strung onto thread or soft, flexible wire, or adhered to a surface (e.g. fabric, clay). Types of beads Beads can be divided into several types of overlapping categories based on different criteria such as the materials from which they are made, the process used in their manufacturing, the place or period of origin, the patterns on their surface, or their general shape. In some cases, such as millefiori and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goats
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of Caprinae, goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the animal family Bovidae and the tribe Caprini, meaning it is closely related to the sheep. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat.Hirst, K. Kris"The History of the Domestication of Goats".''About.com''. Accessed August 18, 2008. It is one of the oldest domesticated species of animal, according to archaeological evidence that its earliest domestication occurred in Iran at 10,000 calibrated calendar years ago. Goats have been used for milk, Goat meat, meat, Animal fur, fur, and Animal skin, skins across much of the world. Milk from goats is often turned into goat cheese. Female goats are referred to as ''does'' or ''nannies'', Entire (animal), intact males are called ''bucks'' or ''billies'', and juvenile goats of both sexes are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ''ewe'' (), an intact male as a ''ram'', occasionally a ''tup'', a castrated male as a ''wether'', and a young sheep as a ''lamb''. Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat (lamb, hogget or mutton) and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by shearing. In Commonw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short-horned Cattle
The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always emphasised one quality or the other. Over time, these different lines diverged, and by the second half of the twentieth century, two separate breeds had developed – the Beef Shorthorn, and the Milking Shorthorn. All Shorthorn cattle are coloured red, white, or roan, although roan cattle are preferred by some, and completely white animals are not common. However, one type of Shorthorn has been bred to be consistently white – the Whitebred Shorthorn, which was developed to cross with black Galloway cattle to produce a popular blue roan crossbreed, the Blue Grey. History The breed developed from Teeswater and Durham cattle found originally in the North East of England. In the late eighteenth century, the Colling brothers, Charles and Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donkey
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domesticated in Africa some years ago, and has been used mainly as a working animal since that time. There are more than 40 million donkeys in the world, mostly in underdeveloped countries, where they are used principally as draught or pack animals. While working donkeys are often associated with those living at or below subsistence, small numbers of donkeys or asses are kept for breeding or as pets in developed countries. A male donkey is known as a ''jack'' or ''jackass'', a female is a ''jenny'' or ''jennet'', and an immature donkey of either sex is a '' foal''. Jacks are often mated with female horses (mares) to produce '' mules''; the less common hybrid of a male horse (stallion) and j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
