THE MIJIKENDA AND MOMBASA TO c. 1930 JUSTIN WILLIS Thesis submitted for PhD degree School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Page 1 ProQuest Number: 11015909 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11015909 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abs tract The Mijikenda are a group of nine peoples who live on the coast around, and in the immediate hinterland of, Mombasa. Their identity as the Mijikenda is a recent construct, and is structured around traditions of migration from a common place of origin in the north, called Singwaya. These traditions have also been employed by elder males within Mijikenda groups to explain and legitimate the institutions around which their power is based. Until the 1940s, all the Mijikenda peoples were called the Nyika, defined as such in opposition to the Swahili who live in the coastal towns. Individuals could and did change their identity from a Nyika one to a Swahili one, and the two identities, while they were in opposition, were parts of a single paradigm. Ties of kin cut across the boundary between the two identities. This fluidity of identity on the coast gave the hinterland people a considerable ability to avoid the demands of the colonial state. In the context of a labour shortage on the coast, the permeability of Swahili identity was perceived as a considerable problem by colonial authorities. They instituted a number of measures intended to reduce the influence of the Swahili and Arabs over hinterland people and to redefine ethnicity. These policies and economic changes in Mombasa transformed relationships on the coast, and in particular they changed the way in which migrants moved to Mombasa. A Mijikenda identity grew out of these changes, following but essentially paralleling the use by some Swahili of the Twelve Tribes title as an exclusive identity which denied membership of the group to more recent immigrants. Page 2 The Mijikenda and Mombasa to c.1930 For Susan Page ^ Contents Acknowledgements 7 1. Singwaya, slaves and clients: the Mijikenda 9 and Mombasa to 1890. 2. 'Why the natives will not work1: networks of 82 labour, 1887-1917 3. 'Close contact with the coast residents is most prejudicial': government intervention and changing networks, 1908-26 143 4. 'Housing the floating population': planning Mombasa, 1895-1931 205 5. 'Those who went before': changing networks, 1925-34 245 6. 'The drums are used for other dances': the Mijikenda and the dance societies of Mombasa to c .1934 305 Conclusion 337 Appendix 341 Bibliography 362 Figures i. Kenya coast: land heights 10 Page 4 The Mijikenda and Mombasa to c.1930 ii. Mijikenda kayas and approximate areas of 24 Mijikenda groups iii. Mombasa and the surrounding mainland 84 iv. Administrative boundaries to 1915 176 v. Administrative boundaries and Trade Centres, 177 1920 vi. Mombasa Island 206 Abbreviations PC Provincial Commissioner CNC Chief Native Commissioner SNA Secretary for Native Affairs DC District Commissioner ADC Assistant District Commissioner SoS Secretary of State for the Colonies SCC Senior Commissioner, Coast PRO Public Record Office KNA Kenya National Archives Int Interview conducted by this author (see Appendix) MHT Interview from the selection published by T Spear in Traditions of Origin and Their Interpretation Athens, Ohio, 1982 EAS East African Standard, daily edition signified (D) weekly edition as (W) JRAI Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute JAH Journal of African History JAS Journal of the Africa Society TNR Tanganyika Notes and Records UAHS International Journal of African Historical Studies The Mijikenda and Mombasa to c.1930 Page 5 A note on colonial titles Until 1907, the senior official in British East Africa was His Majesty's Commissioner. Beneath him, there was a Sub-commissioner in charge of each Province, and a Collector in charge of each district of the province. After 1907, the highest official was the Governor, under whom there was a Provincial Commissioner in each province, and a District Commissioner in charge of each district. On the coast there were also Assistant District Commissioners at Rabai and Takaungu, in Mombasa and Malindi Districts. In 1921 the Provincial Commissioners became Senior Commissioners, and the DC Mombasa became known as the Resident Commissioner. In 1927 they reverted to their previous titles. Glossary Thalatha Taifa Three Tribes who together make up Tissia Taifa Nine Tribes the Twelve Tribes of the Mombasa Swahili Kilifi/Wakilifi the largest of the Nine Tribes, and members thereof Ki1indini/Waki1indini the largest of the Three Tribes, and members thereof buibui Muslim woman's garment serangi leader of a work gang tindal leader of part of work gang tembo palm-wine makuti palm thatch shamba cultivated land marinda skirt worn by Mijikenda women kambi Mijikenda elder(s) nyere uninitiated Mijikenda men kaya sacred site of the Mijikenda Page 6 The Mijikenda and Mombasa to c.1930 Acknowledgements This thesis has been made possible by the help, kindness and patience of many people: so many, indeed that its completion seems more the result of a very fortunate and unlikely combination of circumstances than of my own work. It is impossible to name here all those whose generosity has allowed me to carry out my research and write it up, and I would like to express my humble gratitude to all those many whom I do not mention here. There are, however, some whose help and influence has been such that I must here express my thanks. At the School of Oriental and African Studies, I would like to thank Andrew Roberts, for much invaluable advice and patient reading of drafts; and Richard Gray for help and encouragement over the years. My particular thanks go to Roland Oliver for his support and advice. My fieldwork in Kenya would have been impossible without the help of the University of Nairobi, and particularly of Ahmed Salim, Karim Janmohamed and Godfrey Muriuki. Equally invaluable in the assistance they provided were Mr Musembi and Nathan Mnjamaof the Kenya National Archives, and Abdurahman Mwinzagu of the National Museums of Kenya. I gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the Office of the President, and of the many administative officers of Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale districts who assisted me in my fieldwork. Fort Jesus Museum, the Municipality of Mombasa and the Mombasa Lands Registry were most generous in allowing me to use their records. I would also like to thank all the staff of the British Institute in Eastern Africa. Thanks also to Justus Mweni Mramba and Johnson Ruwa for their patient help. The Mijikenda and Mombasa to c.1930 Page 7 Acknowledgements While in Kenya, I was fortunate enough to meet and talk with a number of other researchers, whose friendship and enthusiasm kept me going. I would like to thank them all, particularly Bill Bravman, Mary Porter, Jeanne Bergman, and David Sperling. My thanks also go to Martin Walsh for his help and kindness. The tolerance, kindness and love of my parents have supported me through this thesis, as through the rest of my life, and I thank them once again. Certainly, without them, this thesis would not have been possible. In Mombasa, the family of the late Shihabuddin Chiraghdin have shown me enormous kindness and hospitality over the years since I first went to Mombasa. The research for and writing of this thesis was supported by a grant from the British Academy. Most of all, I would like to thank all the people of Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale Districts, for their patience, their generosity, and their willingness to discuss their history. The Mijikenda and Mombasa to c.1930 Chapter One Singwaya, slaves and clients: the Mijikenda and Mombasa to 1890 A few miles inland from the island of Mombasa, the land climbs steeply up in a ridge. It is a relatively fertile and well-watered area stretching from Kilifi in the north and continuing south of Mombasa as the Shimba hills. Further west the ridge gives way to drier and increasingly infertile scrubland. The island of Mombasa itself, like some of the immediately surrounding mainland, is not distinguished by its fertility. Coral lies just below the topsoil, and the ground holds little water. The hillocks and valleys that lie at the foot of the main ridge are richer. Here, annual crops such as maize, rice and millet flourish. In the past the top of the ridge was heavily forested, and now this land, and some of that immediately along the coast, is densely planted with fruit trees - coconut, mango, cashew, orange and others. While maize and other annuals can be, and usually are, planted among fruit trees, they do not do well. The long roots of coconut palms, in particular, provide too much competition for them. There is a certain complementarity to the agriculture of ridge, foothills and shoreline. The rains come in two seasons, the short rains in October or November, and long rains in April and May. Crops of maize and, in the past, millet are planted for both seasons. Should the shorter rains fail, as often happens, there is no January harvest, and the long wait from August, the main harvest, to the long rains of the following year can cause general shortages.