Tag - IGKENYA

Mombasa Culture

The history of Mombasa is intriguing; with the governance of Oman Arabs and Portuguese we have Kenyans who have Arabic and Portuguese ancestry. The Oman Arabs have different traditions that have been passed on generation by generation in Mombasa. One of them is making of Halwa (Haluwa), a sugary snack that is served with coffee (Kahawa chungu).

The Halwa is made of different ingredients including starch, eggs, sugar, water, ghee, saffron, cardamom, nuts and rose water. The Mix is cooked in a big copper pot, stirred vigorously till it becomes a gelatinous substance.

In Mombasa, the first Oman Arab to open a Halwa shop was Salim Mansur Al- Mawly in the 1930’s on Abdulnasser Road.

It was opened to serve the community with delicious and special Halwa for all occasions and celebrations. Salim Mansur cooked and served Halwa for over 50 years till his death in 1980, where his son Nassir Salim Mansur took over the business. When Nassir took over the business, he also taught his son the special ingredients and cooking techniques to Abdulmajid. In just seven years after his inheritance Nassir passed away, and Abdulmajid took over the business up to date.

After a few years at the Abdulnasser road location, they moved to a new Location on Biashara Street (Markiti side). For 70 years they have served in the same shop up to today. They specialize in Plain Halwa, and Almonds. They cater to all occasions, be it a wedding, a Maulidi (Prophet Mohamed’s Day of Birth). It can be served in a big aluminum tray, or small cups for ease of distribution. Although the original was served in small woven basket called Kitalifa, the baskets were woven by Bajun women from Lamu. Since there were no refrigerators at that time, it was known for the basket to preserve the Halwa for a longer period of time.

Kitalifa

The interiors of the shop have remained the same for all these years, giving you a taste of history. Every morning you will find a group of old men playing backgammon while eating Halwa and drinking kahawa chungu (coffee).

For orders and prices call Abdulmajid 0722 587 430

A swahili Poem about Kitalifa:

Kitaa kilo kitito
Shubiri yalo pungua

Kikatiwa mtunguto
Henda kikilewalewa

Ikatiwa ili moto
Ikiketi ikapoa

Ndio maana ya haluwa kutiwa kitaani.

A visit inside Salim Mansoor through pictures:

Mombasa: First Police Station

January 29, 2016

The Ali’s curio market was built in 1898 and was the first police station in Mombasa. Later, it became the Nazareth bar attracting a varied clientele. It later became a curio shop.

Safaricom Jazz at the Coast

November 30, 2015

Events

The Safaricom International Jazz Festival, one of the country’s biggest music events, is finally here again. This December, Safaricom will not only host the much awaited show in Nairobi, but the Coastal jazz lovers will themselves be getting a treat too in Mombasa. The festival which has been taking place for the past 2 years is Kenya’s premier Jazz exhibition. With big names like Isaiah Katumwa, Jonathan Butler, Salif Keita, Richard Bona, Rhythm Junks, Jimmy Dludlu, The Nile Project and Yuval Cohen, the festival has steadily been garnering a cult following since its inception on the 23^rd of February 2014. The Safaricom International Jazz Festival has come to outgrow the Ngong Racecourse as venue and this December it moves to two big stages, The Carnivore in Lang’ata and The Haller Park Butterfly Pavilion in Mombasa.

The move to hold the festival in Mombasa too is a much anticipated move with the city being home to a lot of art and Jazz enthusiasts. The lifting of the travel ban will also prove to be an advantage as a lot of hotels have reported early bookings for both international and local tourists who will be there around the Christmas period.

But yes, with the numerous venues in Mombasa, what makes the Butterfly Pavilion Safaricom’s choice? Over the years, the Butterfly Pavilion has proven to be a paragon of both serenity and beauty. It is an extension of the Haller Park, a rehabilitation project by Lafarge owned Bamburi Cement and one of Mombasa’s most popular wildlife sanctuaries. The Butterfly Pavilion, formerly known as Bamburi Forest Trails, is lush forest with trails and an assortment of wildlife including butterflies, birds and vegetation. It is home to a number of ecosystems all thriving alongside each other to bring about a harmonic natural balance. The park literally demonstrates just how beautiful environmental conservation can get.

Add all that together and you get an epitome of beauty. A magnificent scenery perfect for the art-enthusiast with refined taste. The park guarantees a magical view from the open space where the festival is supposed to be held. The open spaces are perfect for blankets kind of setting with one huge stage and with revelers bringing their own blankets or vikoi, or a formal arrangement. Simply put, when you combine the beautiful live jazz music with the magical view at the Butterfly Pavilion, you are sure to get lost in a world of colour.

This year, The Safaricom International Jazz festival features four huge international artists who join together as a quartet to give you “A Gospel According to Jazz”. The quartet consisting of highly acclaimed Grammy award winners Kirk Whalum and Norman Brown, Grammy award nominee Gerald Albright and newcomer Shelea Frazier will be the main act. All four artistes have impressive music achievements with all having received international accolades and titles. They will be curtain raised by Edward Parseen and the Different Faces Band, and AfroSync who are local jazz sensations.

All proceeds from the Safaricom Jazz Lounge will go towards supporting Ghetto Classics, a music programme based in Korogocho Slums that seeks to provide an opportunity for children from underprivileged backgrounds to explore their musical talents.

Tickets to the Safaricom Jazz Lounge go on sale on Friday 20th November, and will be retailing at Ksh.1,500 for advance tickets, Ksh.2,000 at the gate and Ksh.500 for students. They will be available from select Safaricom outlets (Sarit Centre, Thika Road Mall, Galleria Mall, Junction Mall, BuruBuru, Village Market, I&M and Nakumatt Mega in Nairobi, and Nyali and Rex Shop in Mombasa). To find out more about the festival, go to safaricomjazzfestival.co.ke

The serene Butterfly Pavilion:

The Beauty of Heena

November 17, 2015

Mombasa Culture

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Every Eid and during weddings women in Mombasa adorn their hands with floral henna patterns, some with the black dye and others natural henna.

In Mombasa, there are henna artist who do the henna designs around town but the most common place is called Bin Sidiq center on Bawazir Lane. There are few salons located inside the shopping arcade that primarily do henna art. In addition, you can find a few on Facebook where you can see samples of their work before you visit them and book online.

The designs depend on status, for little girls normally a small simple design pattern suffices. For a single girl, the art goes just up to the wrist of the hand whereas for married women it is not restricted.

It is believed that a woman must always adorn her hands with henna to look beautiful for her husband so that whenever she is with him, he sees the beautiful and colourful artwork.

The price starts at 300 kshs for a smaller design i.e to the wrist and the higher the design on the hand it goes the higher the price. Bridal designs are different from the other designs because it is the bride’s first night with her husband she has to look extra beautiful.

Different cultures have specific designs; you can Indian design Mehndi or United Arab Emirates Khaleeji style, also Sudanese black dye style.

The process includes mixing the henna powder with water, and the designer puts the wet henna in a cone which is used to draw with. Once the henna is applied on your skin, you wait for about forty five minutes to one hour for it to dry.After that, you just peel off the dried henna and normally you are advised not to touch water for 6-8 hours so the henna can darken preferably overnight. These days henna is mixed with a thinner which speeds up the process of drying.

Jumba la Mtwana

October 13, 2015

The full name Jumba la Mtwana means in Swahili “the large house of the slave”. Within this area four mosques, a tomb and four houses have survived in recognizable condition. These houses include the House of the Cylinder, The House of the Kitchen, The House of the Many Pools, which had three phases, and the Great Mosque. The inhabitants of this town were mainly Muslims as evidence by a number of ruined mosques.

There are no written historical records of the town but ceramic evidence showed that the town had been built in the fourteenth century but abandoned early in the fifteenth century. The dating is based on the presence of a few shreds of early blue and white porcelain with lung-chuan celadon, and the absence of any later Chinese wares.

It is most likely the site’s strategic position was selected because of the presence of fresh water, exposure to the North East and South East breezes which would keep the people cool and its safe location from external attacks by sea since it had no harbor, thus larger vessels had to anchor along way offshore, or move probably in Mtwapa creek. One can only therefore guess reasons for its eventual desertion, namely trade interruption, hostile invasion or a failure in water supply. Though there is need to pursue further research on this.
Clearance and excavation of the ruins were first carried out in 1972 by James Kirkman with a view of dating the buildings, its period of occupation and consolidating buildings which were in danger of collapse. Ten years later in 1982, Jumba la Mtwana was gazetted as a National Monument. Thus Jumba is legally protected under Antiquities and Monuments Act Chapter 215 of the Laws of Kenya.

Excerpt from National Museums of Kenya

Mombasa Instameet #wwim12_Mombasa

October 10, 2015

Events

Every few months Instagram hosts a worldwide instaMeet, basically photo enthusiasts coming together to take photos and videos and upload on instagram.

A definition as per their blog “An InstaMeet is a group of Instagrammers meeting up to take photos and videos together. That’s it! An InstaMeet can happen anywhere and be any size. They’re a great opportunity to share tips and tricks with other community members in your area, and an excuse to get out and explore someplace new!”

A group of people or an individual can plan and organize an instaMeet in their city and invite others via Instagram.

In the beginning of October 2015, Instagram called out for worldwide InstaMeet number 12. The theme was #WWIM12 is to share #todayimet portraits of the people you meet at the InstaMeet.

For Mombasa we held the Instameet at Mombasa Butterfly House, located next to Fort Jesus. The Mombasa Butterfly House has on display butterflies that have been purchased from community groups living adjacent to key coastal forests, including the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.

Hello igers Mombasa Life In Mombasa is proud to announce that we shall be hosting #Wwim12 #instameet this Saturday 3rd October at Mombasa Butterfly House (next to Fort Jesus) at 2pm. Entrance fee is Kshs 100. Hope to see you there. For any enquiries contact me at jamila@lifeinmombasa.com #lifeinmombasa #cityofmombasa

A photo posted by @lifeinmombasa on Oct 1, 2015 at 12:23am PDT

About 20 people attended the event, we enjoyed getting know one another and capture the different species of butterflies that inhibits the gardens. We were given a tour of the garden, and a few facts on Butterflies and the House itself.

Below are scene captured from the InstaMeet

Nguuni Nature Sanctuary

September 16, 2015

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Nguuni Nature sanctuary is located 4km from Lafarge Bamburi Cement on the Nguu Tatu Hills; the amazing sanctuary is the home to many species. Including Giraffes, elands, oryx, waterbucks, ostriches and many species of birds have made Nguuni their home. Large Doum Palm crowned by Leopard Orchids are scattered in the grassland.

Nguuni offers a beautiful location to view the sunset, also caters to weddings, camps and barbecue sundowners. At sunset Giraffes make their way to the picnic area for feeding. You can experience feeding the giraffes without gates or barriers, an exquisite experience only at Nguuni.

I had the privilege of visiting Nguuni during a sunset and the experience was magical and enchanting, I had the experience to feed the giraffes who made their way to the picnic area, as the sunset the giraffes made their way back to the grassland. The backdrop of the landscape and giraffes walking away was very beautiful and delightful.

Below are photos from the trip.


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Mwembe Tayari Memorial

September 9, 2015

Memory of Arab and Native African troops who fought the carriers who were the feet and hands of the army and to all other Men who served and died for their kin and country in Eastern Africa in the great war of 1914-1918. The Monument is located on Jomo Kenyatta avenue at Mwembe Tayari area.

Duka La Abdalla Leso

September 9, 2015

Mombasa Culture