Mombasa
“If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me?”
Karen Blixen
For a person who travels so much and writes in detail about his encounters and experiences, I am rather confused how every time when I think about my travels in Africa it doesn’t fail to put a smile on my face and ponder over all the amazing times I have had there. The depiction of Africa
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Mombasa is actually a city present on the coast of Kenya and is considered to be the country’s second largest city as compared to Nairobi. In 2016, it reportedly has a population of about 1.2 million people. Guess birth control isn’t just India’s or China’s problem.
Mombasa to me seemed to be the hub of cultures and languages that dwelled from various sides of the Indian Ocean and it’s like an exotic desert that awaits travellers who stumble upon Kenya’s coastline. Mombasa in reality has more in common with the city Dakar or Dar es Salaam then it does with Nairobi. It is a blend of Arabia, Africa and India and it can be intoxicating to travellers like me. Despite its sleaze and grime, many visitors find themselves seduced by east Africa’s most cosmopolitan and biggest port.
The city resides on the Mombasa Island and sprawls to the surrounding main lands. The Island itself is separated from the main by the two creeks, Kilindini Harbour and Tudor creek. The city is connected to the north by the Nyali Bridge, to the west via the Makupa Causeway, to the south by the Likoni Ferry and alongside it runs the Kenya-Uganda Railway. The port is of service to interior countries as well as Kenya, and it links them to the ocean. They city has its own airport known as the Moi International Airport that is present in the northwest mainland suburb of
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It was an important center for trade of ivory, gold and spices. The trade links of the city were expanded as far as modern day China and the Indian subcontinent. Then in the late 19th century it became a metropolis of a plantation society and was quite dependent on slave labour. Ivory caravans were a key source of the city’s economic prosperity. Mombasa has witnessed its fair share of power struggle battles. In the 1500’s the Portugese sacked the city and then later the Ottoman Turks led revolts against them. The Portugese then built the Fort Jesus in order to administer the region. Later the Sultanate of Oman took over. And so on Mombasa’s encounter with power hungry nations
The site of study is the port city of Elmina, which traded hands between the Portuguese, Dutch, and British over a period of about 400 years. This site is off the coast of Ghana in Africa and straddles the Gulf of Guinea. It is known that Elmina started in the hands of the Portuguese in 1482 as a trading settlement and later transformed into a major stop along the Atlantic slave trade. It then shifted into Dutch hands in 1637 and the slave trade continued under them until 1814. Elmina and much of the Gold Coast shifted into British hands in 1872. This project attempts to establish an economic relationship between Elmina, the Americas, and Europe before, during, and after the slave trade, and study the effect of cultural mixing between the
Afrocentricity, as defined by Asante, is a “consciousness, quality of thought, mode of analysis, and actionable perspective where Africans seek, from agency, to assert subject place within the context of African history” (Asante 16). In essence, all roads converge and diverge with the African continent, with its rich history of pioneering triumphs and profound tribulations; Africa and all of her descendants are the end all, be all of one’s focus. There are five criteria to Afrocentricity: “(1) An interest in psychological location; (2) a commitment to finding the African subject place; (3) the defense of African cultural elements; (4) a commitment to lexical refinement; (5) a commitment to correct the dislocations in the ...
Located in the Great Lakes area of East Africa, Kenya is home to an estimated 47 million. The country, covering over 223,000 square miles is bordered by Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and Somalia to the east. The areas around the coast of the Indian Ocean present a tropical climate, while the highlands are more temperate. There is no specific cultural normality with the nation because of such diverse ethnic backgrounds. As much of Kenya is riddled with poverty, her economy is based on labor-intensive industries, such as mining, manufacturing, mining, forestry, and agriculture. The
The Portuguese under Vasco da Gama were the first to begin trading along the Indian Ocean rim—surprised to have found so many Muslim cities along the eastern coast of Africa da Gama was quick to develop an alliance with the city of Malindi against the Swahili city of Mombasa for access to a guide across the Indian Ocean to Calicut. The Portuguese were surprised at the lackadaisical attitude toward religion when revenues were in the offing. “…merchants in the western Indian Ocean seem to have been more interested in profits than prophets” (Gilbert, 221). With all the bluster and pride of the Portuguese their influence in Africa and trade in the Indian Ocean was nothing more than the bite of a common housefly. Without settlers to pioneer a h...
Despite constant criticism, Afrocentricity is gaining ground and many people throughout the world are now looking at things from an Afrocentric
Storytelling has a special importance in culture throughout the African continent; Anansi the spider in Ghana, is one great example of an African fable that teaches children important lessons including respect for elders, the importance of wisdom, and the importance of culture. These stories have been retained and perpetuated by oral tradition, despite the western emphasis on written records; African tribes have preserved history and culture well thorough oral historians. The translator, D.T. Niane, explains the validity of oral history well by stating that written text can contain inaccuracies as well (xv). The importance of the oral aspect of djelis method relays the information in a personal manner, as Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate states, “writing lacks the warmth of the human voice,” therefore by creating a written text of an oral story it “does violence” to it (xvi). I was raised in an African community, here in DC and was lucky enough to attend Djeli performances by family friend, Djimo Kouyate, and later his son Amadou. Although I do not speak Manding, Djeli Djimo Koyate, performed the music in such a way that I was able to relate and...
A lot of the book takes place in Nairobi, Kenya’s largest city. The city is described by Muchoki’s mom to be “a big black hole” (pg. 29). In actuality, Nairobi is just like any other noisy, fast and busy city. Muchoki describes it as “a never-ending river of cars and lorries, matatus, pushcarts and donkey carts” (pg. 191). Muchoki, coming from a smaller city,
In sub-Saharan Africa, thousands of languages, cultures, and geographical regions helped influence our African society. The ways in which we produce our artwork, spiritual ideals, and ritual performances are organic and raw. From the tropical regions of Congo and Ghana, to the arid regions of Mali; I pass through the global gateway into a domain where the Western world lost its roots and artistic imagination and grandeur. Africa appeals most to me for its ability to create a realm where the living, dead, and artistic ideals come into a single unit of tranquil philosophy.
Khapoya, Vincent B. The African Experience: An Introduction. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. Print.
Achebe opens his lecture, "An Image of Africa," with the story of a student who sent him a letter saying how he was "particularly happy to learn about the customs and superstitions of an African tribe," not realizing that "the life of his own tribesmen in Yonkers, New York, is full of odd customs and superstitions" as well (1784). Western thou...
Kenya is a country located in the continent of Africa. It is believed that people first roamed Kenya more than 2 million years ago. Cushitic migrated from North Africa to Kenya. Although they were one of the first people to migrate to Kenya they have always been a minority. Arabian traders later emerged in Kenya and took over the country quite rapidly. They were searching for ivory, rhino horn, gold, and slaves to trade with other countries. The focal areas of trade within Kenya were Mombasa, Malindi and the Islands Lamu. As a result of their invasion, they left behind a Muslim culture for Kenyans to adapt to. Kenyans were also taught Kiswahili or Swahili to better communicate with Arabians; which in turn allowed Kenyans to make more money. Later, the Portuguese invaded Kenya and took control from Arabia. They wanted power over the Indian Ocean and control over trade in and out of Kenya. The Portuguese tried to influence Catholicism. During their reign, they
Bohannan, Paul, and Philip Curtin. Africa & Africans . Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc. , 1995.
There has been notions and perceptions of the treatment or adaptation of African literature as a perception that Africa’s is a cultural body. It is referred by Chinua Achebe as a metaphysical landscape. This term refers to a geographical entity that has surpassed historical experiences. It is also this perception that also gave rise to Organisations of National Unity and also the African Union. Conferences such as the African Writers’ Conference that happened at the Makerere University in the year 1962 discuss the nature and argue the role played by African literature in the African context.
...econd African Writers Conference, Stockholm, 1986. Ed. Kirsten Holst Petersen. Upsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1998. 173-202.
Kenya is a very important country in the world basically due to its strategic location in the East African region. It is a country that has had an interesting political walk that despite the challenges it has faced, it has managed to pull through though with an interesting history to tell. There have been different regimes in the country since it acquired its independence. Worth noting is that these regimes have come into power through different ideologies and they have guided the country in different directions. The country was colonized by the British and acquired its independence in the year 1963. Notably, Kenya is considered to have been a colonial invention which had to contend with the colonialists.