Mariakani

Mariakani is a town lying on the boundary of Kaloleni and Kinango districts (formerly Kilifi and Kwale respectively), Coast Province of Kenya, 36 kilometres northwest of the port city of Mombasa.

Overview

Colonial time Administration The administrative areas which make up Mariakani today was shared between the Durumas, Giriamas and Kambas. The British colonists considered it more prudent to administer the dominant ethnic groupings separately. The Kilifi county side had a Giriama and Kamba Chief to take care of the interest of the two ethnic groups. Whereas on the Kwale County side, that is Mwavumbo Location, there was another set of two chiefs to represent the Duruma and Kamba people. The last of these chiefs were the late Chief Johnson Mwero Mwaiga from Matumbi and Ex-Senior Chief Nzana wa Mumo from Gwasheni. From 1960s and especially after Kenya attained Independence, the practice was discontinued to give way to one chief for the entire Location. The first chief for the Location in Mwavumbo was Mkalla Mwero from Matumbi.

Today: The boundary between the two Counties has changed from the colonial times but today is the Railway line from Mazeras town up to Maji ya Chumvi centre. The origin of the centre is set in the 15th Century during the long distance trade. This is where Quivers of arrows and bows were left behind by the inland traders from Ukambani when approaching Mombasa Island as a sign of peace, the sultanate at the time did not allow traders to enter Mombasa with any kind of weaponry. "Riaka" (Mariaka in plural is Durumas word for quiver; Mariakani translates as the place of quivers in Duruma language. The Giriama word for quiver is similar to the Kamba: Thyaka though it may be spelled slightly different. The Kamba call Quiver "Thyaka" (singular) hence the town is also called "Mathyakani" when speaking in Kigiriama or Kikamba. Most of the business activities are done on the Kaloleni side owing to the shift of transport preference to Mombasa- Nairobi Highway rather than the rail line and station. However, earlier business and development endeavours were done jointly by both side of the boundary. These include the Mariakani High school, the Kwale-Kilifi Milk Scheme Cooperative of the 1960s, slaughter houses among others.

The Kwale County side is largely Mwavumbo location and is rarely written of. Its population is dominantly Durumas and Coastal Kambas, the descendants of the explorers' routes scouts and long distance traders.

Mariakani (Kilifi county side) hosts a town council with a population of 67,984, of whom 10,987 are classified urban (1999 census [1]). The town council consists of five wards: Kaliangombe, Kawala, Mariakani, Mugumo-wa-Patsa, Tsangatsini. All of them are located within Kaloleni Constituency.[2] Central Mariakani is located in Mariakani location of Kaloleni division of Kilifi district.[3][4]

Transport

Mariakani has a station on the Kenyan Railway system.

Elevation = Altitude.nu [5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kenya National Bureau of Statistics: Population of local authorities
  2. ↑ Electoral Commission of Kenya: Registration centres by electoral area and constituency
  3. ↑ International Livestock Research Institute: Urban Poverty Estimates For Kenya's Provinces, Districts, Divisions and Locations
  4. ↑ Kaloleni constituency: CDF allocation by sector and location (2003-6)
  5. ↑ http://www.altitude.nu/

External links

Coordinates: 03°52′00″S 39°28′00″E / 3.86667°S 39.46667°E