The Coastal Dhow Trade of Kenya

Abstract

Ships have sailed East African waters since the days of the Old Testament and the Arab have tr ded in the area for at least the last 1200 years. Gradually small colonies of Arabs established themselves and bought from the indigenous inhabitants the leopard skins, ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise-shell and other luxury goods, which were carried back to Asia by the dhows which arrived every year with the north-east monsoon. In the tenth century there was established, by refugees from civil wars in Arabia and Persia, the Zinj Empire. This was a collection of small City States along the coast from Somalia to Mocambique and, in Kenya, included Lamu, Pate, Malindi and Mombasa and, as the years passed, smaller towns like Gede (which is now in ruins), Kilifi, Takaungu and Vanga. With them grew up a coastal trade made neces? sary by the thick bush which hindered overland transport between the little towns, which are as much as 30 miles apart. Despite fierce competition by motor vessels and particularly road transport, which now carry practically all the trade along the coast, this dhow trade has managed to survive until today. The trade is dying, but some 300 dhows of all sizes are still in commission along the 400-mile Kenya coastline, carrying firewood, food and indigenous products. The dhows vary in size from 6 to 60 tons displacement, but are all built to the same pattern with one mast, sheer stem and square stern. The only deck is the quarterdeck and cooking is done on a fire lit in a sand-filled container in the bows. There are no cabins and passengers and crew sleep on the quarter-deck or on top of the cargo. In Swahili they are called jahazi and in the local Arabic safina, while they are further distinguished by the large ones being termed khashbah and the small ones nusf khashbah. In appearance they are very similar to a description given by Dicksonr of a type found in the Persian Gulf and called jalibut or jali. Six-ton dhows are 15 feet in length along the waterline and vessels of this size carry a crew and trade between the islands of the Bajun Archipelago and do short trips along the coast between the smaller and larger ports. The next largest dhows are of 20 tons displacement and are sea-going vessels which are between 20 and 60 tons. Their crews number from twelve to sixteen and these ships, which compose a quarter of all Kenya dhows, trade between the larger ports from Mogadishu to Dar-es-Salaam. The speed of journeys is affected by the monsoons which blow from the north-east in November and December and from the south-east from March to July, while from August to October the wind falls and dhows are repaired and refitted. Thus on any voyage along the coast and then back to its home port, a sailing vessel has the wind blowing from dead ahead on either the outward or return journey. With a good wind astern a dhow can achieve 12 knots, but with a wind on the bow the time taken for a voyage is quadrupled as the vessels are unhandy in anything but a following wind, and going about is a slow and dangerous operation. At the end of a tack the sheets are loosened and the sail is collapsed by the spar being pulled into a vertical position. The lee shrouds, which are normally unfastened at the gunwales and tucked out of the way, are fastened by the toggles at their lower ends being slipped through rope loops fastened to the gunwales. That accomplished, the spar is then swung round to the other side of the mast, so that what was its fore end becomes the aft end, the shrouds on the side which the spar is on are unfastened, and the sheets are tightened so that the sail fills. The great danger in going about is that the wind may catch the partially collapsed sail and drive the spar against the bowsprit and break it, which would necessitate running for shelter. The whole procedure takes ten minutes, during which the vessel loses steering way and wallows sickeningly while the crew all shout orders at