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Takwa
The Takwa settlement is situated on the south side of Manda Island, in the Lamu District in the coastal province of Kenya. They are the ruins of a town which was abandoned around the 18th century. The Takwa site can be easily reached from Lamu town. The ruins were first excavated by James Kirkman in 1951. In 1972 the site was cleared again under the supervision of James de Vere Allen, the Curator of the Lamu Museum. Takwa was never a large place. It was founded around 1500, and probably abandoned around 1700. Kirkman thought that it was perhaps a place where holy men or religious people retreated. The Great Mosque at Takwa is relatively well preserved. The other structure of importance is the Pillar Tomb, which has an inscription with the date of 1681–1682. It is reported that when Takwa was abandoned, its inhabitants settled just across the bay at Shela on Lamu Island. Twice a year the people of Shela come to the Pillar Tomb in Takwa to pray for rain.Martin, 1973, p. 27 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manda Island
Manda is an island of the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya, known for the prosperous 9th century ports of Takwa and Manda town. The island is now linked by ferry to Lamu and is home to Manda Airport, while Manda Toto island lies to its west. The island is separated from the mainland by the narrow ''Mkanda'' channel. Both Manda town and Takwa were probably abandoned due to a lack of water in the first half of the 19th century. In the 1960s the Kenya Department of Agriculture recommended building several concrete catchments called ''jabias'' to capture rain water on the island. Two ''jabias'' were built and many families moved onto the island, farming maize, cassava, simsim and cotton. Manda town History The Manda town ruins (on the Northwest coast of Manda Island), were first explored by the archaeologist Neville Chittick in 1965. The town owes its origins to trade with the Persian Gulf during the 9th and 10th centuries. The chief trading commodity was probably elephant ivory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Swahili Settlements Of The East African Coast
Swahili settlements of the East African coast date from as early as the first century CE when eastern Bantu people on the east coast of Africa began adopting the Swahili language and culture and founded settlements along the coast and islands. Below is a list of Swahili settlements founded between 800 CE to 1900 CE. Northern coast, Tanzania * Manza * Tanga Island * Tanga * Yambe Island * Tongoni * Mnarani * Muhembo * Bweni Kuu * Ras Kikokwe * Kipumbwe * Kiungani * Sange * Kisikimto * Ushongo * Mkwaja * Bimbini * Mafui * Uzimia * Buyuni * Saadani * Utondwe * Winde * Mkadini * Bagamoyo Historic Town * Kaole Southern Coast, Tanzania * Mbegani * Old Mbweni * Ukutani * Kunduchi * Old Msasani * Old Mjimwema * Mbuamaji * Kimbiji * Kigunda * Funza * Jino Baya * Sala * Kutani * Kisiju * Kwale Island, Pwani * Koma Island * Kisimani, Mafia * Kua Juani * Mwanamkuru * Mbutu Bandarini * Ras Dege * Kanyegwa Mfunguni * Ras Kutani * Jambe Juani * Chole * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamu District
Lamu District was a district of Kenya's Coast Province. Its district headquarters was Lamu town. The district covered a strip of northeastern coastal mainland and the Lamu Archipelago. Lamu District had a population of 72,686 in 1999 and its land area is 6,167 km2. Within Tanaland Province, Lamu District was created in 1897, which included the Lamu Archipelago, some certain coastal areas and the hinterland. The town of was Lamu acted as headquarters for the district and the province. In 1920, Tanaland Province was abolished, and Lamu District, without its hinterland, was transferred to Coast Province. In 1923, Lamu, Tana River and Sultanate of Witu were joined and administered jointly. Tana River reacquired district status in 1927. Lamu and Tana River would be joined in 1935, again between 1944 and 1948. Lamu was one of the forty districts of 1963. Lamu was one of the few districts that had remained unchanged and was never split after independence. With a predominantly rural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi. Its second-largest and oldest city is Mombasa, a major port city located on Mombasa Island. Other major cities within the country include Kisumu, Nakuru & Eldoret. Going clockwise, Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest (though much of that border includes the disputed Ilemi Triangle), Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, Tanzania to the southwest, and Lake Victoria and Uganda to the west. Kenya's geography, climate and population vary widely. In western, rift valley counties, the landscape includes cold, snow-capped mountaintops (such as Batian, Nelion and Point Lenana on Mount Kenya) with vast surrounding forests, wildlife and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamu
Lamu or Lamu Town is a small town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Situated by road northeast of Mombasa that ends at Mokowe Jetty, from where the sea channel has to be crossed to reach Lamu Island, it is the headquarter of Lamu County and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town contains the Lamu Fort on the seafront, constructed under Fumo Madi ibn Abi Bakr, the Sultan of Pate, and was completed after his death in the early 1820s. Lamu is also home to 23 mosques, including the Riyadha Mosque, built in 1900, and a donkey sanctuary. History Early history The original name of the town is Amu, which the Arabs termed Al-Amu (الآمو) and the Portuguese "Lamon". The Portuguese applied the name to the entire island as Amu was the chief settlement. Lamu Town on Lamu Island is Kenya's oldest continually inhabited town, and was one of the original Swahili settlements along coastal East Africa, believed to have been established in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamu Island
Lamu Island is a port, city, and island just off the shore of Kenya in the Indian Ocean approximately 150 miles from Mombasa. It is a part of the East African country of Kenya. Lamu was founded in the 12th century. Lamu is one of the longest-established and best-preserved remaining settlements of the Swahili tradition in east Africa that remains today. The island has continually been inhabited for over seven hundred years, and continues to be an important center in eastern Africa. Swahili culture The island of Lamu is a Swahili settlement filled with culture. Prior to the birth of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, people of various countries and regions migrated to the island of Lamu. Traders and sailors from the Arabian Peninsula, China, India and South-East Asia traveled across the Indian Ocean to the East African Coast to reach the island of Lamu. The diverse mixture of sailors and traders with the native people of the Lamu island created distinguishable social classes and a diver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mihrab
''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". The '' minbar'', which is the raised platform from which an imam (leader of prayer) addresses the congregation, is located to the right of the ''mihrab''. Etymology The origin of the word ''miḥrāb'' is complicated, and multiple explanations have been proposed by different sources and scholars. It may come from Old South Arabian (possibly Sabaic) ''mḥrb'' meaning a certain part of a palace, as well as "part of a temple where ''tḥrb'' (a certain type of visions) is obtained," from the root word ''ḥrb'' "to perform a certain religious ritual (which is compared to combat or fighting and described as an overnight retreat) in the ''mḥrb'' of the temple." It may also possibly be related to Ethiopic ''məkʷrab'' "temple, sanctua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wudu
''Wuduʾ'' ( ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The steps of wudu are washing the hands, rinsing the mouth and nose, washing the face, then the forearms, then wiping the head, the ears, then washing or wiping the feet, while doing them in order without any big breaks between them. Wudu is an important part of ritual purity in Islam that is governed by fiqh, which specifies hygienical jurisprudence and defines the rituals that constitute it. Ritual purity is called ''tahara''. Wudu is typically performed before Salah or reading the Quran. Activities that invalidate wudu include urination, defecation, flatulence, deep sleep, light bleeding (depending on madhhab), menstruation, postpartum status, and sexual intercourse. Wudu is often translated as "''partial ablution"'', as opposed to ghusl, which translates to "''full ablution",'' where the whole body is washed. An alternative to wudu is tayammum or "''dry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swahili Architecture
Swahili people, 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. What is today seen as typically Swahili architecture is still very visible in the thriving urban centers of Mombasa, Lamu, Kenya, Lamu and Malindi in Kenya and Songo Mnara, Kilwa Kisiwani, and Zanzibar in Tanzania. The distribution of Swahili architecture and towns provides important clues about trade relationships among different regions and societal systems. Exotic ornament and design elements also connect the architecture of the Swahili coast to other Islamic port cities. Many of the classic mansions and palaces of the Swahili coast belonged to wealthy mercha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swahili People
The Swahili people (, وَسوَحِيلِ) comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab, and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the East African coast across southern Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and northern Mozambique, and various archipelagos off the coast, such as Zanzibar, Lamu, and the Comoro Islands. The original Swahili distinguished themselves from other Bantu peoples by self-identifying as Waungwana (the civilised ones). In certain regions, such as Lamu Island, this differentiation is even more stratified in terms of societal grouping and dialect, hinting at the historical processes by which the Swahili have coalesced over time. More recently, through a process of Swahilization, this identity extends to any person of African descent who speaks Swahili as their first language, is Muslim, and lives in a town of the main urban centres of most of modern-day Tanzania and coastal Kenya, northern Mozambique, or the Comoros. The name ''Swahili' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swahili City-states
The Swahili city-states were independent, self-governing urban centres that were located on the Swahili coast of East Africa between the 8th and 16th centuries. These were primarily coastal hubs, including Kilwa, Mombasa and Zanzibar, which prospered due to their advantageous locations along Indian Ocean trade networks, enabling interactions between Africa and Asia. Rise Around the 8th century, the Swahili people established trade networks with Arab, Persians, Persian, Indian, China, Chinese, and Southeast Asian merchants, engaging in what became known as the Indian Ocean trade. These extensive trade routes introduced the Swahili to diverse cultural influences from Arabic, Persians, Persian, Indian, and China, Chinese traditions. By the 10th century, numerous including Kilwa, Malindi, Gedi, Kenya, Gedi, Pate Island, Pate, Comoros, and Zanzibar, thrived along the Swahili Coast and nearby islands. These city-states were predominantly Muslim, culturally diverse, and politically au ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeological Sites In Kenya
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, archaeological site, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. The discipline involves Survey (archaeology), surveying, Archaeological excavation, excavation, and eventually Post excavation, analysis of data collected, to learn more about the past. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
