The
House of Wonders Museum of History & Culture of Zanzibar & the Swahili CoastThe
House of Wonders Museum of History & Culture of Zanzibar & the Swahili Coast
The
House of Wonders, the most imposing structure on the sea front, was built in the 1880s as
a ceremonial palace. During the colonial period it was used as the headquarters of the
colonial administration. It was converted into a school and a museum for the ruling party
after the Revolution, designed by the North Koreans in their typical ‘Great
Leader’ tradition.
Beit
al-Ajaib - The House of Wonders Museum
In
the House of Wonders Museum of History & Culture of Zanzibar & the Swahili Coast,
the approach is deliberately historical, and it is intended to cover not only Zanzibar but
also the whole Swahili coast from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, because that is
the cultural region. Over the past decade a considerable amount of archaeological and
historical research has been undertaken to reveal a very long and rich history that can
now be systematically exhibited. The East African coast is also the western rim of the
Indian Ocean, and the museum will therefore highlight the historical and cultural
consequences of the convergence along the East African coast between the continental world
of Africa and the maritime world of the Indian Ocean.
The
challenge has been to present the society not as a homogeneous and static entity, nor as a
plural society with distinct sub-cultures, mingling but not mixing, but as an organic and
cosmopolitan amalgam that has unity without erasing diversity. It is also a society that
was not confined in its worldview to a narrow coastal belt, but saw itself as part of a
much wider world, with its vision extending in one direction as far as the Congo, and in
the other as far as the west coast of India if not Indonesia.
The
permanent exhibitions in the House of Wonders will consist of the following themes:
1.
The Dhow Culture of the Indian Ocean
The
sea is central to the Swahili and other maritime cultures of the Indian Ocean with which
it has been in economic, social and cultural contact over the past two millennia. The
centre-piece of the museum will therefore be a major exhibition on The Dhow Culture of the
Indian Ocean. It has been generously funded by the Danish Embassy in Dar es Salaam. It is
located in the central courtyard of the House of Wonders on the Ground Floor, and consists
of the following major elements:
i.
The Mtepe
The
exhibition will be centred on a life-size model (about 17 metres long) of the now extinct
Swahili sewn rather than nailed vessel, the Mtepe. (See the special brochure on the
Mtepe.) The Mtepe was built near the
seafront where local people and foreign visitors were able to see the whole process, and
the whole construction was recorded on video as a historical documentary that will be
available for viewing and for sale.
ii. The Maritime Habitat:
The
exhibition includes an exposition of the delicate local coastal habitat, including the
mangrove swamp and the coral reef, and related industries, including fishing, boat
building, and mangrove and coral cutting. The emphasis is on its sustainability, detailing
traditional methods of conservation of the marine environment and resources, and the
threat posed by modern developments, including dynamite fishing and tourism, with
audio-visual programmes.
iii.
The Swahili Coastal Economy
Trade
and population movements along the East African coast from southern Somalia (Benadir) to
northern Mozambique, the Comoros and north-western Madagascar over several millennia have
given birth to the Swahili culture, including language, way of life, religion, and an
active dhow building tradition. Sailing along the coast was facilitated by land and sea
breezes as well as by the monsoons, giving the culture a distinct maritime character.
iv.
The Monsoon Economy
Long-distance
trade across the western Indian Ocean, between the East African coast, the coast of Arabia
and the Persian Gulf, and the west coast of India, was facilitated by the fairly reliable
seasonal monsoon winds. It had far-reaching economic, social and cultural consequences
over the more than two millennia of interaction. It gave birth to a vibrant dhow building
tradition all around the rim of the western Indian Ocean with the distinctive but varied
types of dhows, such as the now-extinct Baghala, Ghanja, Kotia, Boom,
etc. It also evolved a rich navigational technology that enabled the Sons of Sinbad to
sail all across the Indian Ocean, using their knowledge of the stars, natural signs, and
the locally developed navigational instruments. The exhibition includes documentaries on
sailing in the Indian Ocean, dhow building, song and dance of the people of the Dhow
countries, and socio-cultural consequences of the monsoon connection.
v.
The Educational Corner
The
area to the left of the entrance has been allocated as an interactive educational
facility, especially for visiting school children, where they will be able to handle
elements of the coastal habitat, models of local vessels, get explanations from museum
guides, etc.
2.
History & Architecture of
Zanzibar Stone Town
Zanzibar
Stone Town is a striking product of centuries of social and cultural interaction between
Africa and the lands across the Indian Ocean with identifiable Swahili, Arab, Indian as
well as early colonial architectural elements that have blended together in a unique way.
In 2000 it was recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The exhibition is intended
to sensitise the local population as well as visiting tourists to both the uniqueness and
fragility of this cultural heritage.
The
northern wing of the Ground Floor has been allocated to this exhibition, and an
application was made to UNESCO for financial support to set up the exhibition, but so far
no response has been received.
3.
Industrial History
Zanzibar
was one of the first places where industrial machinery were installed from the 19th
century, including sugar mills, printing presses, the short Bububu Railway, etc. The
Museum is in the process of collecting whatever has survived of the industrial history for
exhibition to the public after all the other exhibitions have been completed. This will
also be located in the southern wing on the Ground Floor
4.
The Early History of the Swahili Coast
There
are four enormous and interconnected halls on the first floor that will be used to provide
a panoramic view of the history and culture of Zanzibar and the Swahili coast from the
Late Stone Age to the Revolution.
Neolithic
tools have recently been discovered on Zanzibar, and in subsequent centuries, the
Bantu-speaking people spread from the interior, absorbing pre-existing, probably
Cushitic-speaking people. On the other hand, at least from the beginning of the Christian
era there is documentary and archaeological evidence for inter-regional maritime trade
between the northern rim of the Indian Ocean and the East African coast which expanded
with the rise of the Muslim empires from the eighth century.
The
convergence of these two movements on the East African coast gave rise to the Swahili
civilisation, which was maritime, urbane and Islamic, without erasing its African
heritage, most notably its Bantu language. The Swahili coast is littered with ruins of
once prosperous city-states that were like beads in a rosary, threaded together by
maritime communication and a common culture and language. This exhibition is still to be
set up over the next couple of years when financial resources become available.
5.
The Swahili Civilization
The
exhibition is an attempt to recreate the natural setting for the material culture of the
Swahili, placing museum artefacts in their natural surrounding. It consists of four major
settings:
i.
The Economic base, with a representation of its
agriculture, fishing and crafts, including ironworking, pottery, woodworking, and weaving;
ii.
A reconstruction of a Lamu Swahili house with
the typical entrance porch, with artisans from there to build the unique stucco
architectural decorations, placing typical household goods in their natural setting, such
as beds, utensils, etc. in the bedroom, kitchen, etc.
Swahili
domestic stucco design
iii.
A Swahili town street with its characteristic
social institutions such as a mosque, a madrasa (Quran school), a traditional
medicine man, etc.
iv.
The Political Superstructure of a Swahili town
headed by the Mfalme or Mwinyi Mkuu, the Great Lord, and the typical
insignia, including the Seat of Honour, the drum, and the siwa horn.
It
was set up on an entirely self-reliant basis, funded from the proceeds of the gate fees,
and with the construction of the rooms and showcases done by local craftsmen, including
artisans from Kenya.
6.
The Commercial Empire
From
the last quarter of the eighteenth century Zanzibar emerged as the capital of an Afro-Arab
kingdom and the centre of a vast commercial empire, based on the twin foundation of
commerce and slave-based plantation production of spices and other agricultural
commodities.
The
exhibition has been organized on more traditional lines with showcases highlighting
various aspects of Zanzibar in the 19th century under four major categories:
i.
The Ruling Dynasty;
ii.
The Economy, including the slave-based plantation agriculture to produce cloves, the dhow
trade in the Indian Ocean, the maritime trade with the West, and the caravan trade into
the interior of Africa;
iii.
Zanzibar as a centre for African exploration and as a diplomatic hub;
iv.
The religious and cultural diversity of Zanzibar’s cosmopolitan culture.
The
Commercial Empire
This
exhibition also was set up on an entirely self-reliant basis, funded from the proceeds of
the gate fees, and with all the glass showcases and wooden platforms produced locally.
7.
Contemporary Swahili Culture
With
the Partition of Africa in the 1880s, and with it the partition of its hinterland,
Zanzibar was reduced to its present insular confines, and the Revolution of 1964 may well
be seen as the latest chapter of that history. However, it continues to be part of the
Swahili civilisation that cuts across several inherited colonial boundaries; indeed,
during the nineteenth century, and even more during the colonial period, its language and
aspects of its culture has spread far and wide over a large part of eastern Africa. The
final permanent exhibition will seek to tell the story of the contemporary Swahili culture
during the 20th century, focusing on the society and its language, literature,
music and dance, etc. This exhibition is
still to be set up over the next couple of years.
8.
Miscellaneous
In
addition to these permanent exhibition, the House of Wonders also has a beautiful Protectorate
Council Chamber on the Second Floor which is largely the workmanship of Indian
artisans during the colonial period.
The
floor also houses the Museum Library which has been set up with the most generous
donation of books by American scholars which was organized by Dr. Ed Ferguson. The cost of
transporting the container across the Pacific, Australia and the Indian Ocean was covered
by the workers of the ILWU of San Francisco, a wonderful expression of their People to
People programme.
Ferguson
and the San Francisco team
The Container of Books being unloaded in front of the Zanzibar Archives.
Visitors
to the House of Wonders Museum
Year
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Tourist-Adults
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Tourists-
Children |
Tanzanian-
Adults |
Tanzanian-
Children |
School
Children |
Total
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%
of Tourists |
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1994
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1995
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1996
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1997
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1998
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1999
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2000
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2001
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2002
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2003
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The House of Wonders Museum
of History & Culture of Zanzibar & the Swahili Coast
The Mtepe 'Shungwaya', an ancient Swahili vessel, sails again.
|
|
A
Mtepe on the beach of Zanzibar, 1888. |
The
Mtepe under construction, 2003 |
The
mtepe was a unique Swahili vessel that used to
sail in East African waters until the 1930s. It was one of the last survivors of a type of
boats in which no iron nails were used. Instead, the planks were sewn with coir fibre and
fastened to the ribs by wooden pegs. One of the
earliest references to such method of construction occurs in the Periplus, a Greek commercial guide of the 1st
century AD.
This
was a common method of dhow construction in the Indian Ocean before the coming of the
Europeans in the 16th century. Nevertheless these vessels were strong enough to
sail all the way to China during the middle ages, as the similarly-built Omani vessel, the
Sohar, did in 1982. Some of them were quite
large. One mtepe in the 19th
century was nearly 30 metres long with a tonnage of 186 tons.
There
are a lot stories why these vessels were sewn. Some believed magnetic mountains in the
ocean would pull out the iron nails or the whole vessel to its submarine doom. Others
thought iron was too expensive and would easily rust in the salty sea. It is more likely
that the raw materials, wood and coir rope, were easily available in the Indian Ocean, and
sewn vessels were more pliable than the stiff nailed ones, and less likely to break up on
the coral-infested shores.
The mtepe
carried a square matting sail which was plaited from the fibre of the wild date palm,
rather than the lateen sail that has now become the trademark of Indian Ocean dhows. It
carried cattle, salt, food grains, firewood, mangrove poles, and formerly slaves as well,
but coconuts were strictly excluded because it was believed they would loosen the coir
ropes. Some traditions associate it with the mysterious Debuli or Diba of the Swahili
traditions who may have come from the Maldive islands.
As
an ancient vessel, there is a rich tradition woven around it. It has a long stem that
looks like the head of a bird or a camel, with two geometric eyes on both sides of the bow
and the stern. One of the traditions associates it with Prophet Saleh. All mtepe flew three flags on the masthead, associated
with a certain ancient Persian Sultan Ali of the Shirazi tradion, or Shungwaya, the
mythical home of the north-eastern Bantu-speaking people of Kenya. There were three small
flags, attached to the top-side of the stem to
indicate war or peace according to their colour. The rudder and the stem were all carved,
and brightly painted in geometrical design, resembling the border of a Shirazi carpet.
This
is the first life-size mtepe that has been constructed on the Swahili
coast in more than 70 years. There are several models in various museums in Zanzibar,
Kenya and Europe, but few of them appear to be accurate judging from contemporary
photographs and line drawings. It may have finally become extinct as a result of
competition from the jahazi which are nailed,
and from the schooners.
Fundi Muhammed Bwana
Zanzibar
Museum Team, 2003
The mtepe
has been built under the direction of Fundi Mohammed Bwana from Lamu in Kenya whose
grandfather used to build such mtepe or models.
It was supervised by Ahmed Sheikh Nabahany, an expert on the Swahili culture from Kenya.
The building of the mtepe was made possible by
the assistance of the Royal Danish Embassy in Dar es Salaam which gave a generous grant to
the House of Wonders Museum to set up a permanent exhibition on the Dhow Culture of the
Indian Ocean in which the mtepe will be the
centrepiece.
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