Browsing by Author "Ichumbaki, Elgidius"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Building a ngalawa double-outrigger dugout in Bagamoyo, Tanzania: a craftsman at his work.
    (Routledge, 2022) Ichumbaki, Elgidius
    This article documents master logboat-builder Alalae Mohamed’s construction of a ngalawa fishing vessel in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The ngalawa is an extended logboat with double outrigger and lateen sail used by low-income, artisanal fishers. It is the most common marine vessel type of the East African coast. This article follows the construction process from Alalae’s selection and the felling of the tree(s) to the launching of the vessel. It outlines the tools and materials used, details the sequence he followed, and presents his choices and considerations made along the way. It is accompanied by a documentary film recording the construction process, a 3D digital model of the vessel and detailed construction drawings.
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    Contemporary wooden watercraft of the Zanzibar Channel, Tanzania: type and technologies, innovation and change.
    (Routledge, 2022) Ichumbaki, Elgidius
    This article documents and presents the range of wooden fishing and cargo-carrying watercraft in use in the contemporary Zanzibar Channel, Tanzania. The work is based on surveys conducted in 2018 on Unguja, the principal island of the Zanzibar archipelago, and in 2019–2020 in Bagamoyo, mainland Tanzania, and its immediate environs. The authors present a broad typology of the principal wooden vessel types in the form of 3D photogrammetric models, orthographic views, and photographs. The principal construction features and uses of each type are presented and the state of play of contemporary wooden-boat construction in this part of East Africa discussed.
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    Multi-Directional Connectivity in Eastern and Southern Africa during the First and Early Second Millennia AD: Archaeological Evidence from Lupilo, Southern Tanzania.
    (Routledge, 2021) Ichumbaki, Elgidius
    Archaeology of connectivity has attracted researchers since the beginning of the discipline when migration theories reigned in archaeological research. In East Africa, it started close to the mid-twentieth century with a strong emphasis on coastal archaeology, because that is where imported and datable materials such as glass beads and porcelain were plentiful. Apart from contributing to the chronology of the culture history of the west coast of the Indian Ocean, such materials also acted as strong proofs for the connectivity between East Africa and the northern coast of the Indian Ocean and the Far East. As archaeological research expanded into the interior, these materials came to be used as markers of connectivity between the coast and the hinterland, and through it with the eastern world. Gradually, false assumptions emerged: first, that connectivity is almost always coast-interior oriented, and second, that it is almost always evinced by imported materials. This paper attempts to refute these assumptions using an inland site from southern Tanzania, which has proven to have strong links with the coast and, more strongly, with other inland sites as far as in what is today Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa. The evidence for this connectivity varies from symbolism and technology to trade objects.
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    Names of Contemporary Wooden Boats of Coastal East Africa: Origins and Meanings.
    (Routledge, 2022) Ichumbaki, Elgidius
    The coast of eastern Africa, commonly referred to as the Swahili coast, has a rich artisanal heritage of boats — both in their building and use. This iconic history is marked by the presence of various boat types that have historically been used for fishing and transporting people and cargo between coastal settlements (of eastern Africa), the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, Mafia, Comoros, Madagascar, and other distant parts of the Indian Ocean world. Currently, the sailing boats such as the double-outrigger logboat (ngalawa), various plank-built craft, and several other types, line the shores of Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia and the islands of Zanzibar, Mafia and the Comoros. Some of these boats, almost all locally built, have names, decorations, and engravings. However, the boats’ names, decorations and engravings alongside the conveyed message(s) have remained undocumented. Thus, taking a maritime-heritage perspective, and by focusing on the nineteenth century historic port town of Bagamoyo in Tanzania, this paper documents the boats’ names and the messages they carry.
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    Ours or Yours? Localizing ‘Mixed Sites’ Concept for the Sustainable Preservation of Heritage in Africa: The Case of Chongoleani Peninsular, Tanzania.
    (Routledge, 2022) Ichumbaki, Elgidius
    Heritage scholars, professionals, and practitioners continue to debate the separation of nature and culture and their linkage. The discussion, however, centres on World Heritage Sites (WHS) but not those valued locally, some of which are on the national register. This practice threatens many local heritage sites that would have benefited from having a management plan that treats nature and culture as interconnected and interlinked. For example, in north-eastern Tanzania, a Wall Enclosure, namely Chongoleani, was declared a National Monument in 1961. A hundred metres away from the enclosure, there is a Sacred Grove the local people value and protect using customary laws. Whereas the Government of Tanzania considers the Wall Enclosure a national monument, the Chongoleani local community does not regard it (the Wall Enclosure) as necessary for protection. Instead, they have let it deteriorate. While the Wall Enclosure continues to decline, the Sacred Grove enjoys complete protection from the local community. For the two assets’ sustainable preservation, the current paper proposes a decolonial approach that considers the localisation of UNESCO’s World Heritage ‘mixed sites’ concept. We argue in this paper that, had the two properties been declared together as one national monument, valuing one heritage over the other would have been minimised.
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    Usable Pasts Forum: UNESCO and Heritage Tourism in Africa.
    (Routledge, 2021) Ichumbaki, Elgidius
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    Valuing the Swahili Cultural Heritage: A Maritime Cultural Ecosystem Services Study from Kilwa, Tanzania.
    (Routledge, 2020) Ichumbaki, Elgidius
    During the second millennium CE, the medieval settlements of Kilwa in southeastern Tanzania were part of the Indian Ocean trading system that left a clear physical legacy of stone towns along with oral histories and sailing traditions. Modern developmental activities including exploration of oil and gas, house building, and establishment of tourism infrastructures have led to the reuse of heritage site, hence, an inevitable pressure upon heritage preservation. Unfortunately, despite being outdated and very colonial, legislations enacted to support protection of heritage sites are inadequately enforced. This paper looks at complementary conservation challenges by considering the value of medieval monuments and intangible heritage assets within the ecosystem services. We also provide some suggestions on how exploitation of non-material benefits in the form of Cultural Ecosystem Services from legends based on intertidal limestone features resembling boats and giants, as well as the venerated baobabs and mangroves can become sustainable.