|
Tribe Snapshots Swahili |
| Location: |
Coastal Kenya,
Tanzania |
| Population: |
n/a |
| Language: |
Kiswahili (Bantu) |
| Neighboring
Peoples: |
Mijikenda, Zigua, Doë, Kwere, Zaramo,
Makonde |
| Types
of Art: |
Swahili art forms are limited to architecture,
furniture, and personal adornment. The great carved
wooden doors of the coast are displayed as a sign
of wealth. |
| History: |
The inhabitants of the coastal areas of Kenya,
Tanzania, and Mozambique share history, language,
and cultural traditions, which some Swahili scholars
claim date to at least 100 A.D., when an anonymous
Greek traveler and author of The Periplus of the
Erytharaean Sea wrote about a place in east Africa,
which Arabs frequented to trade with those living
on the mainland. This history is closely tied
to Indian Ocean trade routes linking India, the
Arabian Peninsula, and Africa. Despite the shared
history and language of the peoples of the Swahili
Coast, it remains difficult to describe a discreet
Swahili culture. This is not to suggest that a
Swahili culture does not exist, but instead that
its boundaries are amorphous, changing whenever
necessary to meet the demands of everyday life. |
| Economy: |
Swahili economy today, as in the past, is intricately
linked to the Indian Ocean. For approximately
2,000 years, Swahili merchants have acted as middlemen
between eastern and central Africa and the outside
world. They played a significant role in the trade
of ivory and enslaved peoples which climaxed during
the 19th centuries. Trade routes extended across
Tanzania into modern day Zaire, along which goods
were brought to the coasts and were sold to Arab,
Indian, and Portuguese traders. Many slaves sold
in Zanzibar ended up in Brazil, which was then
a Portuguese colony. Swahili fishermen still rely
on the ocean to supply their primary source of
income. Fish is sold to their inland neighbors
in exchange for products of the interior. |
| Political
Systems: |
It is difficult to outline a Swahili political
system, since they often incorporated the political
practices of their neighbors. They are largely
Islamic, and as such much of the power within
the family rests in the hands of elder male members.
Various Swahili empires have existed throughout
history. Strongholds included communities centered
in Mombassa, Lamu, and Zanzibar. Swahili traders
also acted as middlemen between colonial governments
and inland ethnic groups. |
| Religion: |
The Islam practiced by Swahili peoples is often
very strict. Most of the requirements of the religion
are practiced by most of the people. The economic
success of the Swahili throughout the coastal
region has encouraged many of their inland neighbors
to adopt Islam as well. Most of these people,
however, are somewhat less orthodox. Swahili believe
in spirits (djinns). Most men wear protective
amulets around their necks, which contain verses
from the Koran. Divination is practiced through
Koranic readings. Often the diviner incorporates
writings from the Koran into treatments for certain
diseases. On occasion, he instructs a patient
to soak a piece of paper containing verses of
the Koran in water. With this ink infused water,
literally containing the word of Allah, the patient
will then wash his body or drink it to cure himself
of his affliction. It is only prophets and teachers
of Islam who are permitted to become medicine
men among the Swahili. |
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