Nasra O. Bwana, Author at Hiistoriya

The Mysterious Kilua

February 6, 2021September 20, 2021 by Nasra O. Bwana

Nasra O. Bwana

The kilua or kiluwa (pl. Vilua/viluwa) is a small fragrant magnolia-like flower found on the East African coast. The flower’s tree is known as mlua, mkiluwa or muuwa by the Swahili and mlua, mrua, mchilua, and chingade by the Digo1. They are quintessentially East African. Kilua flowers have six yellow-green…

The Art of Swahili Cooking

December 13, 2020March 21, 2022 by Nasra O. Bwana

Nasra O. Bwana

Swahili cuisine is a diverse and flavourful culmination of inter-community exchange, exploration, and conquest. It is a tangible result of the East African coast’s connection to surrounding communities, from the nearest towns to far-flung corners of the Indian Ocean world. The connections have resulted in the adaption of recipes from…

Was there ever a Kiswahili word for ‘Holy’?

August 23, 2020September 20, 2021 by Nasra O. Bwana

Nasra O. Bwana

‘The available evidence suggests that in the mid-nineteenth century, at the second coming of European-Christians to the East African coast, there was no lexical equivalent for ‘holy’ or its near-synonym ‘sacred’ in the spoken language of the Swahili people.’Frankl, P. J. L., and Yahya Ali Omar (1999) When looking for…

Mwana Darini’s Siwa

July 13, 2020September 20, 2021 by Nasra O. Bwana

Nasra O. Bwana

Between the 17th and 19th centuries, rulers of city-states on the East African coast used the Siwa as a symbol of authority. The Siwa was a large royal horn made of ivory, metal or wood. (more…)