The Swahili Coast

26 October 2002

The Swahili Coast

Film by : Henry Louis Gates

The Swahili people are a people that are very interesting. The social structure that is in their culture is far different than what we as Americans are used to seeing. According to the film, men in Swahili culture can have multiple wives. One man on the film talked as if it was crazy for one man not to have many women. Women are not regarded as highly as they are here, but the workload that they have is one that some would think is more important than the male role in society. As we can see, there are always different sides to how society should be run, and we see it with the Swahili speaking people.

An example of how things change from historic days to modern days can be found in Mombasa. Mombasa was once a place full of Muslims and revenue. Many slaves and spices come from this area. If we take a look at Mombasa in modern-day eyes, we see that it is a resort for whites to tan and the blacks that still inhabit this area are servants to the white people that choose to come and relax in the beautiful land of Mombasa.

Swahili construction was very good. The construction was durable and it was before its time. In Ghazi, the plumbing was way before its time. In Zanzobar, many slaves were traded. In this same area, 5,000 Africans were killed when they rose against the Arabs. We can see a distinct rivalry between these two ethnic groups. As Gates talked to a man in this area, he made it clear that admitting that you were an African in this region, was admitting that you were descendant from a slave