The Land of Zinj, Being an Account of British East Africa, Its Ancient History and Present Inhabitants
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The land of Zinj, being an account of British East Africa, its ancient history and present inhabitants http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.CH.DOCUMENT.sip200006 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org The land of Zinj, being an account of British East Africa, its ancient history and present inhabitants Author/Creator Stigand, C. Date 1966 Resource type Books Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) Northern Swahili Coast, Tanzania, United Republic of, Kilwa Kisiwani Source Smithsonian Institution Libraries, DT423 .S85 Description Originally published in 1912, The Land of Zinj recounts C.H. Stigard’s observations of the northern Swahili coast and its Kenyan and Tanzanian hinterland. The author spent several years at the turn of the twentieth century observing and interacting with the various peoples living in what was then British East Africa. The book offers 35 pictures and a ten-page glossary of ‘Native words’ including Kikuyu, KiSwahili, Masai, and Kiamu. Arguably, the highlight of this book is the concluding chapter, The African’s Future, which offers stunning insight into the enduring ideas and prejudices prevalent during Stigard’s time and which still inform the way knowledge about Africa and Africans is produced. Format extent 382 pages (length/size) http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.CH.DOCUMENT.sip200006 http://www.aluka.org Qffi Qffi .it . b- i- 2rý.ii -I -. -.. gig' ii 44 - gj;-- 'ý >;- , i THE LAND OF ZINJ 7 -,- DOORWAY OF OLD PERSIAN MONASTERY AT LAMU. [Frontispiece. PT q423 THE LAND OF ZINJ Being an Account of British East Africa, its Ancient History and Present Inhabitants C. H. tigand APR 2 0 1984 FRANK CASS & CO. LTD. 1966 Published by Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., 10 Woburn Walk, London W.C.1 by arrangement with Constable & Company Ltd. First edition New impression 1913 1966 Printed in Great Britain Thomas Nelson (Printers) Ltd., London and Edinburgh PREFACE DURING several years spent in trekking about British East Africa, I have endeavoured to keep careful notes of all that struck me as interesting concerning the country, the natives, their languages, ways and1 customs. My data being then almost entirely compiled from personal observation and native information, I have tried to draw my pictures of the country and its inhabitants as much as possible from the native point of view rather than from that of the white man. That is to say, I have tried to see the native as much as possible as he is before contact with the European has changed his habits. The absorbing topics of the "future of the country" and local politics I have left to those more fitted to discuss them. The notes from which this book was prepared were completed at the beginning of 1909, but from one cause and another their arrangement in book form has been delayed till now. I am indebted to M. Guillain's work, "Documents sur l'histoire, la g6ographie et le commerce de lAfrique orientale," for much of the matter contained in Chapter I., and to the War Office for permission to make use of the General Staff Map of British East Africa. My thanks are due to my aunt, Mrs. Edgar Clark, who has developed my photographs for this and other books. They are also due to all those natives who have, either consciously or unconsciously, supplied the material for the text. C. H. STIGAND. RE3AF, SUDAN. 1912. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE PRONUNCIATION OF NATIVE WORDS ix I. ANCIENT HISTORY (FROM ARAB, PORTUGUESE AND OTHER SOURCES) 1 II. ,, ,, (FROM SWAHILI SOURCES) 29 III. p 7)55 IV. v it , , , 78 V. MOMBASA-ARABS AND ISLAM 103 VI. THE SWAHILI 115 VII. NATIVE SHIPPING 132 VIII. THE LAMU ARCHIPELAGO 147 IX. THE COAST BELT 173 X. THE UGANDA RAILWAY 185 XI. THE SAFARI 194 XII. THE MASAI. 204 XIII. MASAILAND 223 XIV. KIKUYU-ILAND 233 XV. MOUNT KENYA AND THE UPPER TANA 253 XVI. FORESTS AND ESCARPMENTS 264 XVII. THE VALLEY OF WONDERS 278 XVIII. THE LAKE 289 XIX. THE AFRICAN 299 XX. THE AFRICAN'S FUTURE 309 GLOSSARY 325 INDEX 335 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS DOORWAY OF OLD PERSIAN MONASTERY AT LAMU RUINS OF TAKA MINARA OF SHIELA SITE OF OLD BURIED LAMU NGALAWA CROSSING A CREEK NATIVE SHIPPING IN [ARBOUR " SWAHILI " WOMEN KADHI OF SHELA ZANZIBAR BAGIIALA BEDENI FROM PERSIAN GULF LAMU FORESIORE SHELA RUINS OF OLD MONASTERY AT LAMU ANKOLE CATTLE MENENGAI CRATER FROM ABOVE KIKUYU TYPES. THE PARASITIC FIGTREE BEEHIVES SALT LICK, SCLATER ROAD DOROBO WEARING A CAP OF GOAT'S STOMACH LAVA ISLANDS NEAR MAIDAIIAD HERD OF RENDILE CAM1ELS RETURNING FROM GRAZING OLBOLLOSSAT SWAMP KIJABE GASIlOLE KISII VILLAGE (INSIDE THE WALL) FORTIFICATION OF KISII VILLAGE (SHOWING ENTRANCE GATE) KAVIRONDO WARRIORS IN WAR PAINT KAVIRONDO FISHERMAN.- BOOMING OUT ENCIRCLING TBE FISH KISII BEAU GROUP OF KAVIRONDO GIRLS KAVIRONDO LADY KISII.-A SWAHILI BEHIND IS SEEN HOLDING TIIE LONG SPEAR OF THE KISII Frontispiece Facing page 42 ., 76 76 109 109 ., 122 122 139 139 , 151 151 163 .... 186 208 233 251 251 ,, 265 265 , 278 . 278 285 285 289 289 292 296 296 302 310 310 )y 318 PRONUNCIATION OF NATIVE WORDS WITH Bantu words the recognised spelling has been used, as adopted by Bishop Steere and others. The values of letters are:Vowels. a as a in father. e as a in fate. iasi in fin. oaso inlo. u as oo in fool. 6 as aw in law. Diphthong. A curved line joining two vowels denotes a diphthong. ai as ai in aisle. 01 as oi in soil. but ai as ai in.pa ill. oi as oi in so iU. Consonant. ng' as ng in singing. ng as ng in single. sh as sh in ahawl. s-h as s h in is heard. ch as ch in church. q J do not occur. n } before another consonant are nasals, in other cases pronounced as m in English. w h ave always the value of consonants as in win and yacht, and never yl as in law and any. th generally as in the, but sometimes as in thin. I and r are often interchangeable. Remaining consonants, much as in English. With Masai and cognate languages Hollis' spelling is used, which is much the same as above except that fig is used for ng' and n and m do not occur as nasals. The diphthongs above are not often distinguished, in writing Swahili, but are of importance in Masai. xii PRONUNCIATION OF NATIVE WORDS With Arabic words the actual transliteration of the Arabic letters is given. Values as in Forbes' Arabic Grammar. I have not attempted to distinguish the more subtle sounds such as the various t's in pure Swahili. To do so would entail long explanations as to the exact pronunciation. The accent in Bantu words generally falls on the penultimate syllable. Where this is not the case and it is very marked I have marked it ', as it may make all the difference in making the word understood. I was vainly asking natives which were the Lor6gi Mountains and could not make myself understood till I found that they were really called the Lorogai. THE LAND OF ZINJ CHAPTER I ANCIENT HISTORY FROM ARAB, PORTUGUESE AND OTHER SOURCES1 THE following pages consist of brief extracts and notes from the writings of old Roman and Arab geographers, Portuguese travellers and other historical sources. Historical events as appearing in old Swahili records, make but little mention of the day of the Portuguese and other foreign powers on the coast, so are rather one- sided in character. However, they are most interesting in that they are practically unknown to the outside world, so I have kept them separate from the better known histories as related chiefly in European records, and since there appear to be no books of reference on the subject except the old documents of the coast, I have gone into them with fuller detail in the subsequent chapters. There is no doubt that there was a very ancient and very advanced civilisation in the N.E. corner of Africa, dating from about 1000 B.C., and perhaps even much farther back. There was an old empire embracing both sides of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Hamyaritic empire, in which there was free intercourse between Abyssinia and S. Arabia. This was followed by the Axumite dynasty in Abyssinia, the capital of which was the city of Axum whose ruins still exist in Northern Abyssinia. Civilisation advanced from ancient Egypt, S. and S.E., and gradually spread amongst the black and savage peoples in the interior. 1 Most of the information contained in this chapter is culled from Guillain's "Documents sar l'histoire, Ia g6ographie et le commerce de l'Afrique Orientale." See acknowledgment in the Preface.