Swahili spectators at a traditional stick fight in Shela, a small fishing settlement on the island of Lamu off Kenya's northern Swahili Coast.
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Shadow lines extend from Mohammed's kofia (traditional Swahili hat) as he waits with his sisters under a noonday equator sun for the start of the popular donkey races organized along the breezy dockside of Lamu Town, a major Swahili settlement on the island of Lamu off Kenya's northern Swahili Coast.
The traditional black niqab or viel and long black bui-bui garment with subtle decorative alterations are often worn by young unmarried Swahili women at festivals and public events, sometimes as a nuanced fashion statement if not for protection from flirtatious boys.
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Sambeke, a proud Maasai herder (warrior age-set), comes from a small pastoral settlement nestled in the Kenyan foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro (near Amboseli National Park, Rift Valley Province).
He travels each year to the island of Lamu off Keyna’s Swahili Coast to work as a security guard. The money he earns goes towards the upkeep of his family and cattle back in the homeland.
Elegently adorned with glass-beaded collars and stretched earlobes with glass-beaded sleeves.
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A generous Swahili child kindly shares her bag of mixed nuts - not begging - during an a late afternoon stroll through the back streets of Mombasa's Stone Town, Swahili Coast, Kenya.
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Swahili racing teams come together several times a year to compete in traditional hand-crafted, arabic-styled Mashua dhows in the Lamu Archipelago off Kenya's northern Swahili Coast.
Intense village rivalries build over the years, often reaching pitch fever on race day. The winners will return with team bragging rights and a certain village swagger that may last several months until the next race.
These four magnificent racing dhows are in near-perfect formation, positioned towards the noonday equator sun on the first day of the New Year. They are in the lead as they prepare to tack around the buoy (top left) and change course, back again to the starting point at Shela, a small Swahili fishing settlement on the island of Lamu. Several dhows capsized at this challenging point in the race.
The finest dhows are selected from each village to compete and race under sail through a complicated series of buoys, combining speed and balance with elaborate tacking and maneuvering competence. About sixteen young men are crowded together into each of these hand-crafted dhows to give the necessary weight, balance, and stability against a stiff coastal wind.
The art of Swahili dhow racing requires considerable team skill as the dhows manoeuvre back and forth through the Manda channel and ultimately out to the edge of the open sea.
The races are usually organized in conjunction with a cultural festival or an Islamic religious holiday. This particular race and celebration of Swahili dhow culture is held yearly on New Year’s Day and is based in Shela, a small Swahili fishing village on the island of Lamu.
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