From approximately 800-1400 AD, a vast
trade network stretched across the Indian Ocean, bringing together Arab,
Indian, Persian, African, and Chinese merchants and traders. These
different cultures interacted, exchanging goods and ideas over hundreds
of years. Nowhere is this blending of cultures more apparent than the
island of Zanzibar on the Swahili coast. From about 1300-1500, first the Omani (a Muslim empire), then the Portuguese, came to dominate the Swahili coast and the trade
networks.
Above, a map illustrating the Indian Ocean Trade routes.
As you can see from the map above, monsoons played a
large role in Indian Ocean trade. Traders used seafaring ships called
dhows which could hold hundreds of tons of cargo – and these dhows had
large triangular sails that allowed sailors to capture the monsoon winds
and quickly cross the ocean.
Above, a small fishing dhow off the coast of Zanzibar.
The direction of monsoon winds changed with the
season; winds blew from the Arabian Peninsula to India; from India to
Southeast Asia; and from Southeast Asia to China, but only during
certain times of the year. While merchants were waiting for the seasons
and the winds to change, they stayed in city-states, often along the
East African coast. This coast soon became known as the Swahili coast,
and the mix of Africans, Arabs, Indians, and Asians that lived there
were known as the Swahili – the “coast-dwellers.”
These city states became diaspora communities and
the language that the merchants spoke, a mix of African Bantu language
and Arabic, became known as Kiswahili. The Swahili people adopted local
customs and traditions, and made these diaspora communities their homes
away from home. Many of them even married women who lived along the
coast and started families!
Above, a map of the Swahili coast, with the island of Zanzibar.
Now, let’s examine the food, clothing, and language
of the Swahili coast for examples of this cultural blending. Click on
the links below for more information about each topic. Be sure to answer
all questions in complete sentences.
