Jasmine: The Woman’s Flower
Jasmine, the delicate but powerful flower, has long been part of everyday life and ritual. It carries with it the scent of womanhood and intimacy. In Swahili, we call it…
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Swahili Alphabet Book Celebrates Language and Culture for Young Readers
Welcome to our world where “K’ is for Kuku, and not Kite or Kangaroo. Parents, educators, and language enthusiasts can now introduce young learners to the Swahili alphabet in a…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
Mwana Darini’s Siwa
A story on the Swahili royal horns that graced the East African coast for centuries.