Manda Island

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Manda is an island of the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya, known for the ruined ports of Takwa and Manda town. The island is linked by ferry to Lamu and is home to Manda Airport, while Manda Toto island lies to its west. The island is separeted from the mainland by the narrow Mkanda channel.

Both Manda town and Takwa were probably abandoned due to lack of water. In the 1960´s the Kenya Department of Agriculture recommended building several concrete catchments called jabias to capture rain water on the island. Two jabias were build and many families moved onto the island, farming maize, cassava, simsim and cotton.(Martin, p. 27)

1 Manda town
2 Takwa
3 See also (Overview):
4 References
5 Further reading

[edit] Manda town

The Manda town ruins (by the coast on the NW side), were first explored by Neville Chittick in 1965. Manda owed its origins in the 9th and 10th centuries to trade with the Persian Gulf. The chief trading commodity was probably elephant ivory, mangrove poles were probably also important. From the earliest period the inhabitants of Manda were building in burnt brick and stone, and very early on they used lime (for holding the stones together). These techniques are only found on the coast and on the islands of Kenya, they have not been used in the interior of the country. (Chittick, p.217)

The large scale excavations in 1966, 1970 and 1978, revealed an unrivalled prosperity for the period and include Chinese porcelain dating from the ninth century onward, Islamic pottery and glass and local pottery datable by the associated imports. The most striking feature of the town are large sea walls running parallel with the sea with returns running inland. These walls are deduced to have been constructed partly to reclaim sections of the shore, and partly to consolidate the edges of the peninsula. The first sea walls were built early in Period I, and the last were built during Period II. Chittick operates with VI periods (Chittick, p.11-12):

[edit] Period I

Mid-ninth to early eleventh century. Stone buildings made of rock known as coral rag, which was cut from "dead" coral reefs. The better work was set in lime mortar. There were also burnt square brick, with a side averaging about 18 cm. These bricks are unique for East Africa for this period. Bricks which "match perfectly ...in measure" have been found at Sohar, in Oman. Bricks were likely used as ballast in the sailing ships coming to Africa. (Chittick, p.15)

[edit] Period II

Mid-eleventh to late thirteenth century

[edit] Period III

Late thirteenth to fourteenth century

[edit] Period IV

Fifteenth and early sixteenth century

[edit] Period V

Mid-sixteenth to seventeenth cetury

[edit] Period VI

Post-seventeenth century

very little material

Manda prospered until the 13.th century when it began to decline. It was abandoned (due to lack of water) in the first half of the 19th century. At the heights of its power the town covered some 40 acres and its population is estimated to have been about 3,500. (Martin, p. 26)

[edit] Takwa

The Takwa site can be easely reached from Lamu town. The ruins (on the south side of the island) were first excavated by James Kirkman in 1951. In 1972 the site was cleared again under the supervision of James de Vere Allen, the Curator of the Lamu Museum. Takwa was never a large place. It was founded around year 1500, and probably abandoned around 1700. Kirkman thought that it was perhaps a place were holy men or religious people retreated. The Great Mosque at Takwa is relatively well preserved. The other structure remaining of importance is the Pillar Tomb, which has an inscription with the date of 1681-1682. It is reported that when Takwa was abandoned, its inhabitants settled just across the bay at Shela on Lamu Island. Twice a year the people of Shela come to the Pillar Tomb in Takwa to pray for rain. (Martin, p. 27)

[edit] See also (Overview):

Lamu Archipelago consists of the following islands:

Lamu Island, with the following towns/villages/archaeological/historical sites:

Lamu Town, (main administrative centre for Lamu Archipelago), on the World Heritage List

Shela (village)

Matondoni (village)

Kipangani (village)

Manda Island, with the following towns/villages/archaeological/historical sites:

Manda Town (archaeological site)

Takwa (archaeological site)

+ an Airstrip (the only one in the Archipelago)

Pate Island, with the following towns/villages/archaeological/historical sites:

Siyu

Faza (main administrative centre for Pate island)

Kizingitini

Pate Town, (see also Rulers of Pate)

Shanga (archaeological site)

Kiwayu Island,

Manda Toto Island

[edit] References

Chittick, Neville: MANDA: Excavations at an Island Port on the Kenya Coast. British Institute In Eastern Africa, 1984 ISBN 0-500-97006-8
Martin, Chryssee MacCasler Perry and Esmond Bradley Martin: Quest for the Past. An historical guide to the Lamu Archipelago. 1973.