Civilised Africans

Growing up, a lot of black people really believe that before the arrival of Europeans or even Arabs - we were simply swinging on tree vines in the jungle, fighting lions & things of that sort when the reality is a little different. There were hunter-gatherer communities for the most part of African history who used tools like spears, axes & bows & arrows with basic shelter but on the eve of European colonization (late 15th century); most of Africa was inhabited by agri-pastoralists (i. e. people who ploughed fields for crops & kept livestock) & semi-nomadic pastoralists (i. e. people who migrated to favourable regions & kept livestock). Agri-pastoralists & semi-nomadic pastoralists would, on occasion, hunt should need arise. On the eve of European colonization in Africa, hunter-gatherer communities were limited to tribes like the San, Sandawe & pygmies (Twa) in the equatorial rainforests of Africa (N. B. The Khoi were semi-nomadic pastoralists & kept livestock). 

It always comes as a shock to people how civilised Africans were - to the point of being capable of storing food for dry/colder seasons. 

AFRICAN INNOVATION

As historical archives would have it, Africans were no strangers to water travel. Below, is an article of sea travel by Swahili people of East Africa: 

2000 YEAR OLD SWAHILI BOAT MAKING: 

The Mtepe was a distinctive wooden sailing vessel developed by the Swahili people along the East African coast. It was used in present-day Kenya, Tanzania, southern Somalia, the Comoros, northern Mozambique, and western Madagascar, where it played an important role in trade across the Indian Ocean. Ancient Greek writers described sewn-plank boats sailing from East Africa as early as the 1st century AD in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The Mtepe was also recorded by the Portuguese in 1661 in the Lamu Archipelago, present day Kenya.  

Unlike ships held together with iron nails, the Mtepe was built by sewing wooden planks together with strong coir rope made from coconut fibre and securing them with wooden pegs. It had a broad, shallow hull with pointed ends, a forward-leaning mast, and a square sail woven from palm or coconut fibres, making it well suited for coastal waters and long-distance voyages. Measuring between 12 and 30 metres in length, Mtepes transported goods such as ivory, gold, mangrove poles, salt, pottery, and other valuable cargo between the ports of East Africa and trading centres in Arabia, Persia, and India. They were especially admired for their speed and were often decorated with carved prows, geometric designs, tassels, small flags, and protective amulets. By the early 20th century, the traditional Mtepe had largely disappeared and replaced by modified vessels such as the dau la mtepe. 

#Swahili #Mtepe #EastAfrica #AfricanHistory #MaritimeHistory #IndianOcean #History #Heritage