The northern coast of East Africa has been home to the Bajuni community since as early as the 9th Century. Oral traditions, clan names, and archaeological ruins suggest earlier settlement on Chandraa, Simambaya, and Kiwayuu Islands. Between most inhabited or once inhabited islands is a string of coral islets and outcrops, many with names given by fishermen.
***
Pate Island, 19th Century
The midwives swaddled the baby like elaborate folds and passed it to its mother who had enough energy in her to see the being she had carried for the past nine months. She held it as it let out a mewling sound, noted that it was female, and named her Mwana Kupona binti Msham. She was one of many children born during the Pate sultanship that began in the 13th Century.
Mwana Kupona was raised like any Bajuni child, following the beliefs, practices, and values that shape a person of substance. She developed into an elegant lady and gained an interest in poetry. When the time came for her to marry, those around her were confident that she would make a good wife. Mwana Kupona married Sheikh Bwana Mataka, the ruler of Siyu, and with him she had two children, one of whom was called Mwana Heshima.
The Sheikh however died in 1856 and two years after his demise, Mwana Kupona wrote a series of poems which she dedicated to her daughter Mwana Heshima. The collection consisted of teachings and advice regarding marriage and wifely duties but was deemed secular in those days, but it was a way for Mwana Kupona to share the wisdom she had regarding a partnership. Additionally, there were words of love, of life, and of religion, and some autobiographical. Some say the collection could be compared to the book of Proverbs in the Bible. In 1865, Mwana Kupona too slept, but the delicious words of this Bajuni poetess would serve as a reminder of her life and more importantly, her passion for words.