The Swahili Coast

The Swahili Coast is a stretch of land along the Eastern coast of Africa starting in northern Somalia and ending in southern Mozambique. It is home to the Swahili culture, a fusion of archaic Arabic, Persian, Bantu, and more recently Indian and European influences. These varied cultural currents can be traced through language and written records as well as architecture, food, religion, ethnicity, clothing and social aspirations. At the center is African heritage and a shared natural landscape, the backbone of the Swahili culture.

Lamu Town is the oldest inhabited town in Kenya and is one of the earliest established towns on the East African coast, where the Swahili people have emerged from this extended period of trading and cultural blending - a unique cultural community. Shela village is an old fishermen’s post and lies just on the edge of the dunes of Lamu forming the backdrop to the sandy beach and open waters of the Indian Ocean where the performance "Ukitaka Nifurahisha, Nipe ya Sikukuu" was performed. The architecture and the layout of the village houses built of coral bricks follow the Swahili architectural language, complete with flat roof terraces and thatched shady towers, setting a perfect stage for the installation and performance SINA SIRI NINA JIBU.