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Is globalisation a threat to Africa’s cultural heritage?
Residents of Kandahar, one of the villages that have come up in Lamu away from the stone town go about their daily activities. Several villages have come up in Lamu, leaving the conservation area in the hands of foreign investors who have money to spend on rehabilitating the old buildings. Photo/MAZERA NDURYA
Posted Friday, September 3 2010 at 00:00
The distinct architectural design of stone towns and the country town at the Coast borrows heavily from Arabic and Indian feel to blend into Swahili.
When the Portuguese moved into the Kenyan Coast around 1498, they brought with them influences still evident along the Coast.
Omani period
The Omani period, dominated by Omanis from south-eastern Arabia and who were closely linked to the Sultan of Zanzibar put a mark on this culture during and after 18th Century.
Apparently, International cultural dialogues, politics and memory issues have become so intertwined and complex that they have been causing sleepless nights to some cultural specialists.
In the case of Africa, there are additional concerns. The wave of democratisation that swept through Africa in the 80s and 90s gave birth to civil societies whose roots are foreign.
On cultural tourism, Mombasa and the rest of the Kenyan Coast have gems that few bother to sample.
This is because tourism marketers have not realised the potential and future of tourism, says Mr Diener who reckons that the global art market has surpassed the arms market by far, yet very few take time to look through the politics and implications of art markets globally.
The French have also put a huge investment in cultural heritage preservation in a number of projects.
They include Rabai Kaya conservation that seeks to develop alternative tourism around the coast.
Then there is the preservation of Mombasa Old Town that holds the history of the Coastal town; promotion of Swahili craft and the establishment of a Swahili market.
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