Stories abound on the ease of entering Mombasa and the unease of getting out. The stories started eons gone by with the occupation of what was called Kongo-wea, Circa 900 AD. Wa Kongo-wea were people from the African interior in a region associated with Congo by virtue of carrying the prefix 'Kongo' in many of the written texts dating back to the tenth century AD.
Wa Kongo-wea were Abantu from the interior also associated with a Bantu Queen called Mwana Mkisii who was the Matriarch of a community comprised of twelve families. When the Arabs arrived around the 12th century, they found a thriving city state of 12 families they identified as Thenashara Taifa; Thenashara being the Arabic name for 12... also used to describe the 12th hour of the day. Therein lies the link between the Coastal and the inland Abantu. Compared to the Nilotes who were principaly led by the Maasai, the Abantu of the time were led by the Wakisii with tentacles all the way to the coast.
Wa-kongowea were peacefully settled in an Island perfectly secured from the sorounding lands and teaming with Coconut palms for their winery and ready to consume mangoes that gave birth to the other name, Maembe tayari. The 15 square km Island provided all their needs in a tranquil environment that was unmatched anywhere else along the East African Coast.
The initial Arab visitors were traders who were welcomed with open arms for the exotic goodies they brought with them. As they came in peace, they were given a place to put up their settlement as they built trade links with the interior. The ensuing bromance with Wa Kongo-wea gave birth to the very first Intermarriages that produced the Waswahili. Thereafter, the Swahili hegemony spread out along the entire coastline. Uswahili therefore had its origins in Mombasa.
The other offshoot of the trade and Intermarriage with the Arabs was the spread of Islam. The earliest stone Mosque on the Island called Mnarani dates back to 1300 AD.
For its deep shore and an harbor well protected from the open sea, Kongo-wea became a famous trading port and a stopover for Trading ships from the city states of Sofala, Kilwa, Zanzibar, Malindi and Lamu. Sofala in particular was a major Gold and Iron Ore transit town serving the rich mines of Zimbabwe Kingdom as it supplied its wares to Egypt, Mecca, India and China.
With time, Kongo-wea attained the infamy of the beautiful girl pursued by many suitors. In its chequered history until the takeover by the British in 1824, Kongo-wea became a battlefield by Turks, Persians, Yemeni Arabs and the Portuguese of course. Because of this, the locals changed its name to Mvita, the place of Wars. The Arabs translated this to MAN-BASA. With time, the name became Mambasa and finally Mombasa possibly through the Portuguese lingua franca as they are the ones who wrote its history in the 16th century. Fort Jesus was built by the Portuguese in 1594 to serve as their Capital of the East African Coast as they serviced their trade routes to India.
The legendary Mombasa spiel of 'kuingia rahisi kutoka ngumu' was born out of the physics of its geography. Mvita was a perfect Island
where the shortest distance to the mainland was 300 meters across a deep waterway. To Africans who were obviously not sea-farers, crossing into the Island meant that one was at the mercy of the boat owners who were either the Portuguese, Arabs or the British colonists later on.
For reasons of either language or unbridled racism, the Portuguese had an interesting method of communicating with the locals even as they engaged in basic batter trading exchange. A gong was strategically mounted at the entrance to the Fort where Africans bringing in items of trade would place them at the entrance and bang the gong once then retreat out of sight. After ensuring that the African was out of sight through a peep-hole on the gate, the Portuguese would come out and place his wares beside what was on offer. He would then sound the gong twice and disappear behind his fortified abode. The African would them reappear and if he agreed with what was on offer, he would sound the gong once, collect his newly aquired goods and go away. In case he disagreed with the offer, he would sound the gong twice, disappear and await a counter offer by the Portuguese.
This form of silent trade with the Portuguese gave birth to the term 'Mukuna Ruku'. The word is used by the Meru, Akamba and Agikuyu to depict a feared leader or a respected person of means. The trouble the Portuguese took to keep away from their African counterparts is the reason they never shared their drops to leave a genetic footprint on the East African Coast.
The very latest demystification of Manbasa is the 1.2 km floating bridge constructed across the isles where once roamed the Mtongwe ferry. In his indefatigable service to the people, Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Liwatoni-Likoni bridge that was put up in a record six months and was opened to the public in the last quarter of 2021.
For those politicos who believe Roads and bridges are not food for the hungry, they may refer to the history of Mvita when the only way out was in a Master's ferry or an Arab dhow to slavery.
Manbasa: Kuingia ni rahisi, ata kutoka Sasa ni rahisi...
Wa Kongo-wea were Abantu from the interior also associated with a Bantu Queen called Mwana Mkisii who was the Matriarch of a community comprised of twelve families. When the Arabs arrived around the 12th century, they found a thriving city state of 12 families they identified as Thenashara Taifa; Thenashara being the Arabic name for 12... also used to describe the 12th hour of the day. Therein lies the link between the Coastal and the inland Abantu. Compared to the Nilotes who were principaly led by the Maasai, the Abantu of the time were led by the Wakisii with tentacles all the way to the coast.
Wa-kongowea were peacefully settled in an Island perfectly secured from the sorounding lands and teaming with Coconut palms for their winery and ready to consume mangoes that gave birth to the other name, Maembe tayari. The 15 square km Island provided all their needs in a tranquil environment that was unmatched anywhere else along the East African Coast.
The initial Arab visitors were traders who were welcomed with open arms for the exotic goodies they brought with them. As they came in peace, they were given a place to put up their settlement as they built trade links with the interior. The ensuing bromance with Wa Kongo-wea gave birth to the very first Intermarriages that produced the Waswahili. Thereafter, the Swahili hegemony spread out along the entire coastline. Uswahili therefore had its origins in Mombasa.
The other offshoot of the trade and Intermarriage with the Arabs was the spread of Islam. The earliest stone Mosque on the Island called Mnarani dates back to 1300 AD.
For its deep shore and an harbor well protected from the open sea, Kongo-wea became a famous trading port and a stopover for Trading ships from the city states of Sofala, Kilwa, Zanzibar, Malindi and Lamu. Sofala in particular was a major Gold and Iron Ore transit town serving the rich mines of Zimbabwe Kingdom as it supplied its wares to Egypt, Mecca, India and China.
With time, Kongo-wea attained the infamy of the beautiful girl pursued by many suitors. In its chequered history until the takeover by the British in 1824, Kongo-wea became a battlefield by Turks, Persians, Yemeni Arabs and the Portuguese of course. Because of this, the locals changed its name to Mvita, the place of Wars. The Arabs translated this to MAN-BASA. With time, the name became Mambasa and finally Mombasa possibly through the Portuguese lingua franca as they are the ones who wrote its history in the 16th century. Fort Jesus was built by the Portuguese in 1594 to serve as their Capital of the East African Coast as they serviced their trade routes to India.
The legendary Mombasa spiel of 'kuingia rahisi kutoka ngumu' was born out of the physics of its geography. Mvita was a perfect Island
For reasons of either language or unbridled racism, the Portuguese had an interesting method of communicating with the locals even as they engaged in basic batter trading exchange. A gong was strategically mounted at the entrance to the Fort where Africans bringing in items of trade would place them at the entrance and bang the gong once then retreat out of sight. After ensuring that the African was out of sight through a peep-hole on the gate, the Portuguese would come out and place his wares beside what was on offer. He would then sound the gong twice and disappear behind his fortified abode. The African would them reappear and if he agreed with what was on offer, he would sound the gong once, collect his newly aquired goods and go away. In case he disagreed with the offer, he would sound the gong twice, disappear and await a counter offer by the Portuguese.
This form of silent trade with the Portuguese gave birth to the term 'Mukuna Ruku'. The word is used by the Meru, Akamba and Agikuyu to depict a feared leader or a respected person of means. The trouble the Portuguese took to keep away from their African counterparts is the reason they never shared their drops to leave a genetic footprint on the East African Coast.
The very latest demystification of Manbasa is the 1.2 km floating bridge constructed across the isles where once roamed the Mtongwe ferry. In his indefatigable service to the people, Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the Liwatoni-Likoni bridge that was put up in a record six months and was opened to the public in the last quarter of 2021.
For those politicos who believe Roads and bridges are not food for the hungry, they may refer to the history of Mvita when the only way out was in a Master's ferry or an Arab dhow to slavery.
Manbasa: Kuingia ni rahisi, ata kutoka Sasa ni rahisi...
