Memory, Identity and Heritage in the south Kenya Coast: Case of Shimoni Slave caves

Herman Ogoti Kiriama

doi:10.22599/jachs.10

Abstract

Though slavery was practised in the Kenya coast for a long time, the subject of slavery has,however, been an anathema in Kenya. Nobody has been willing to talk about it or its effects.Slowly, however, things have started to change and now people, especially those thought to be descendants of slaves or slave traders have started to talk about it. This paper, using theShimoni slave caves on the south Kenya coast, examines what is being remembered and how these memories are being used to construct relationships not only within and between the communities of these areas but with the wider Kenyan nation.

Highlights

Most scholars define memory as the things that people retain mentally, usually shaped by collective as well as individual experience – the scale of these experiences determine what one keeps in mind and what one does not keep – in other words, the scale of experiences will determine what one remembers or forgets
Hirsch cited in McDowell et al (2008) introduced the concept of post memory, in which she defines as memories that have been transmitted through the generations and are eventually held by people who have no individual connection to the memory
This paper presents the results of interviews carried out in Shimoni with a selected group of elders and other knowledgeable people about the Shimoni landscape in order to examine traditional sources that inform the historical narratives, and identities associated with the Shimoni landscape from the sixteenth to nineteenth century

Summary

Introduction

Most scholars define memory as the things that people retain mentally, usually shaped by collective as well as individual experience – the scale of these experiences determine what one keeps in mind and what one does not keep – in other words, the scale of experiences will determine what one remembers or forgets. This paper presents the results of interviews carried out in Shimoni with a selected group of elders and other knowledgeable people about the Shimoni landscape in order to examine traditional sources that inform the historical narratives, (lieux de mémoire) and identities associated with the Shimoni landscape from the sixteenth to nineteenth century This approach has been taken on the premise that identities emerge out of collective memories and the pasts that people remember can tell us much about how those identities have been shaped. On the other hand, is the contemporary, living oral culture of a society It includes popular songs, yarns and recitations, sayings, superstitions and remedies for sickness, traditional recipes and popular wisdom – all passed on by word of mouth rather than by ‘book learning’. In using the oral traditions, I espouse the social constructivist view advocated by Rigney (2005) that focuses on memories as shared pasts that are collectively constructed and reconstructed in the view of the present social circumstances and memories are not resurrections from the past

Location of Shimoni

Shimoni oral traditions

Analysis of the Oral Traditions

Spirit of the Place

Identity and Politics of the Shimoni Cave

Conclusion