Vidaka
Vidaka/Zidaka (singular: kidaka/idaka)1 are small niches carved into the walls of stone structures. Vidaka comes from the root word daka, which translates into niche or indentation. Daka is also the name for the front porch in Swahili stone homes, which were nooks by the main entrance where male guests were…
Limestone vs. Tiles: Changing Swahili Aesthetics Through The Eyes of Master Craftsmen
Ahmed Yusuf Suleiman is one of the most sought-after Swahili plasterwork artists and a well-known building contractor on the East African coast. One afternoon in his hometown, Lamu, he gave me a tour of his ongoing contracts, describing the ancient methods that he’s mastered. The majority of his clients are…
The Art of Swahili Cooking
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…
Lesser-Known Heroes of The Pre-colonial Coast of Kenya
20th October is Mashujaa day in Kenya. On this day, Kenya celebrates heroes who have stood up for our country and the values of humanity and dignity that define our nation. Every year, I notice a massive gap in our celebrations. National media coverage rightfully recognizes freedom fighters who fought…
The Mysterious Kilua
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…
Was there ever a Kiswahili word for ‘Holy’?
‘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…
The Swahili Identity Re-envisioned
Swahili identity is not elusive if we can work to think beyond the racial prison-house of colonial thought and understand coastal communities through these broader historical trends. (more…)
Mwana Darini’s Siwa
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…)
Explainer Premiere
We have launched our YouTube Channel where we will be sharing explainer videos about the East African Coast. Visit here and subscribe. (more…)
Hiistoriya Webinar
Hiistoriya organised its inaugural webinar on 25 June 2020 on "Preserving African Heritage Heritage in a Social World". (more…)