islamic encounters in Lamu
We began the day with a boat trip to the other side of the Lamu Island: MatondoniIt took us half an hour during which we could see the beach for miles and in the background green trees everywhere we looked. At Matondoni we met with a traditional Kaswida group. Again one of the musicians was hammering endlessly on a metal plate but everything else was much different from what we had previously seen: First of all the group was made up of three tambourine players. Secondly they used a flute that produced a clear Arabic sound and on top of that many old and also very young singers sang different polyphonic melodies that also had a strong Arabic influence. Listen to some extracts of the Kaswida group of Lamu.
Tambourin section of Matondoni
traditional flute player
In the afternoon we took time out at the wonderful Indian Ocean and continued our research in Lamu town thereafter. Lamu celebrates Allah’s birthday these days, so we went to the biggest mosque in town: the Riadh mosque and found the place in front prepared for a celebration. There was a contest of Kaswida groups from different villages of Lamu. A Kaswida group consists of a dancing group of white appareled men and a music group. The performance was so impressive and the congregated crowd impressed. It would take hours to describe all of our impressions. Such a show and celebration lasts at least until dawn.
