PWANI PART 2: Life in Shirazi Village

Shirazi is a small village in the Funzi keys, which is a mangrove forest on the Indian ocean. Turning off the main road, you drive through an open field before you enter the coconut tree forest. Scenically, Shirazi is astonishingly beautiful and is still very traditional. Thatch roof huts are surrounded by coconut trees, cashew nut trees and livestock wander freely through the village.

Shirazi has a population of only several people, and almost everyone is related to one another, especially since many people marry cousins and generally have many children. They do not have electricity or running water. Everyone lives in thatch roof houses, which are built using mangrove trees and mud clay for the foundation and the coconut palms for the roofs. Most people do not speak English, but know Kifundi and Kiswahili, and only the young men know any English.

Mangrove trees.

There is only one store in the town, the duka (run by my host father out of the front of our house), and most of the shopping must be done in neighboring villages. Most of the people there are very poor. The families that are better off have about 1000 KSh to spend each week for their whole family (about $13), and one woman said that she absolutely cannot spend more than 200 KSh ($2.50) on a given day and that 10 KSh for a bunch of vegetables was considered very expensive. Most of the households work together, either sharing food (each family prepared one or two dishes, which are then shared). The community as a whole is agricultural and they also are fishermen. They grow cassava plants and corn to be sold, but they also grow mangoes, cashews, and bananas. They also raised cattle, goats, chickens, and geese. From the sea, they catch fish, octopus, and even rays to eat and sell.

Arriving in the village was almost surreal. We turn off the main road and drove our bus down a very bumpy dirt road, and as we drove past the houses, children waves and began to run after us. Women walked around wearing brightly colored khangas on their waists and as headscarves, balancing baskets and buckets of water of their head. When we arrived at the main house, all of our host mama's and some of our sibling had gathered. Our directors handed us a jug of water and a mosquito net and sent us off with to our new homes.

During the week we would have Swahili class from 7 am to 11 am, so that we would be done before it got too hot out. Everyday it was in the high 90's or the low 100's at least and VERY VERY humid. And because Shirazi is a Muslim village, we would have to wear a ankle length dress or mumu which was covered by a khanga wrapped around our waist and a second khanga wrapped around our head and shoulders. By the time classes ended each day we were already swimming in our own sweat, so we would head down to the beach and go swimming for two hours before lunch. Then I would hang around, swim some more, and eventually head home to help cook dinner.

This is the dock we would all swim off of. We would often swim across to the mangrove forest and back. Or, if the dhow was achored in the water, we would swim out to it.

The dhow on the beach during low tide.

There were monkeys all over. My brother told me that they hunt the monkeys to use their meat as dog food.

A stampede of Shirazi's herd of cattle. You can't really tell in this photograph, but all of the cows have a huge hump on their necks.

My grandfather taught us how to weave coconut tree palms. These are used for mats, for roofing, to construct fences, etc.

Muslim men often wear embroidered hats (kofia in Swahili). On Fridays, the most holy day in Muslim tradition, men often wear a long white robe with their kofia.

These were the two Masaai who lived in the village as the 'security'. Since the Masaai are kown throughout Kenya as being fierce warriors, people often hire them as security. In Toi Market in Nairobi, Masaai come at night to guard the kiosks. Also, there is a general phenomenon of people impersonating Masaai, mostly to get money from tourists for pictures, etc.

Some Shirazi women. Throughout Kenya, women are incredibly talented at balancing giant bundles of food, cloth, water, etc on their heads. My host mom taught me how to carry a jerry can of water on my head fromt the well back to my house.

Young children would often wear amulets to ward off the evil eye and genies. Amulets worn around the neck contained a verse from the Koran, and amulets worn on the wrist or ankle usually contained a herb or plant.

Most of the children, even the little boys, would wear khangas tied around their necks.