Lamu Old Town is the oldest in Kenya (1370)
Brief
synthesis (Unesco)
Lamu Old
Town, located on an island known by the same name on the coast of East Africa
some 350km north of Mombasa, is the oldest and best-preserved example of
Swahili settlement in East Africa.
With a core
comprising a collection of buildings on 16 ha, Lamu has maintained its social
and cultural integrity, as well as retaining its authentic building fabric up
to the present day. Once the most important trade centre in East Africa, Lamu
has exercised an important influence in the entire region in religious,
cultural as well as in technological expertise. A conservative and close-knit
society, Lamu has retained its important status as a significant centre for
education in Islamic and Swahili culture as illustrated by the
annual Maulidi and cultural festivals.
Unlike other Swahili settlements which have been abandoned along the East African coast, Lamu has continuously been inhabited for over 700 years.
The growth
and decline of the seaports on the East African coast and interaction between
the Bantu, Arabs, Persians, Indians, and Europeans represents a significant
cultural and economic phase in the history of the region which finds its most
outstanding expression in Lamu Old Town, its architecture and town planning.
The town is
characterized by narrow streets and magnificent stone buildings with impressive
curved doors, influenced by unique fusion of Swahili, Arabic, Persian, Indian
and European building styles. The buildings on the seafront with their arcades
and open verandas provide a unified visual impression of the town when
approaching it from the sea. While the vernacular buildings are internally
decorated with painted ceilings, large niches (madaka), small niches (zidaka),
and pieces of Chinese porcelain. The buildings are well preserved and carry a
long history that represents the development of Swahili building technology,
based on coral, lime and mangrove poles.
The
architecture and urban structure of Lamu graphically demonstrate the cultural
influences that have come together over 700 hundred years from Europe, Arabia,
and India, utilizing traditional Swahili techniques that produced a distinct
culture. The property is characterized by its unique Swahili architecture that
is defined by spatial organization and narrow winding streets. This labyrinth
street pattern has its origins in Arab traditions of land distribution and
urban development. It is also defined by clusters of dwellings divided into a
number of small wards (mitaa) each being a group of buildings where a number of
closely related lineages live.
Attributed
by eminent Swahili researchers as the cradle of Swahili civilization,Lamu
became an important religious centre in East and Central Africa since the 19th
century, attracting scholars of Islamic religion and Swahili culture. Today it
is a major reservoir of Swahili culture whose inhabitants have managed to
sustain their traditional values as depicted by a sense of social unity and
cohesion.
Criterion
(ii):The
architecture and urban structure of Lamu graphically demonstrate the cultural
influences that have come together there over several hundred years from
Europe, Arabia, and India, utilizing traditional Swahili techniques to produce
a distinct culture.
Criterion
(iv):The growth
and decline of the seaports on the East African coast and interaction between
the Bantu, Arabs, Persians, Indians, and Europeans represents a significant
cultural and economic phase in the history of the region which finds its most
outstanding expression in Lamu Old Town.
Criterion
(vi):Its
paramount trading role and its attraction for scholars and teachers gave Lamu
an important religious function (such as the annual Maulidi and Lamu cultural
festivals) in East and Central Africa. It continues to be a significant centre
for education in Islamic and Swahili culture.
Integrity
The
property, covering 16 hectares, adequately incorporates all the tangible and
intangible attributes that convey its outstanding universal value. A high
percentage (65%) of the physical structures is in good condition with only 20 %
being in need of minor refurbishment. The remaining 15 % may need total
restoration. The majority of the town’s buildings are still in use.
The town
needs to maintain its relationship with the surrounding landscape. The setting
of the Old Town is vulnerable to encroachment and illegal development on the
Shela dunes that are a fundamental part of its setting. Development is a threat
to its visual integrity as an island town closely connected to the sea and
sand-dunes, and to its ultimate survival in terms of the fresh water that the
dunes supply. The setting extends to the surrounding islands, all of which need
to be protected from informal settlements, and to the mangroves that shelter
the port.
Authenticity
The
architecture of Lamu has employed locally available materials and techniques
which are still applied to date. The people of Lamu have managed to maintain
age-old traditions reinforcing a sense of belonging and social unity. This is
expressed by the layout of the town which includes social spaces such as
porches (Daka), town squares and sea front barazas. The
town continues to be a significant centre for education in Islamic and Swahili
culture.
The
authenticity of the Old Town is vulnerable to development and to a lack of
adequate infrastructure, that could overwhelm the sensitive and comparatively
fragile buildings and urban spaces that together make up the distinctive urban
grain of the town.
Protection
and management requirements
Lamu Old
Town is managed by the National Museums and Heritage Act 2006 (that replaced
the 1983 National Museums Act CAP 216 and Antiquities and Monuments Act CAP
215) and the Local Governments Act (and the associated by laws). Physical
construction is also subjected to the EMCA Act and the 2006 Planning Act, which
recognize that archaeology is material for consideration. The Old Town has a
gazetted buffer zone that includes the Manda and Ras Kitau mangrove skyline and
the Shela sand dunes, also protected by the Forest Act and Water Act
respectively (although the buffer zone has not been formally approved by the
World Heritage Committee). All the components are legally protected.
The Lamu
Stone Town Conservation Office, now renamed the Lamu World Heritage Site and
Conservation Office, was established by the National Museums of Kenya and has
been in operation since 1986. A conservation officer is seconded to Lamu County
Council to advice on conservation matters. A planning commission exists since
1991 to play a supervisory role and address emerging issues in the conservation
area.
There
exists a conservation plan for Lamu Old Town which is used as a guide in
balancing the community needs for development and sustaining the architectural
values of the town. The property is in a satisfactory state of conservation.
Locally embedded institutions ensure the continued importance of Lamu as a
centre of Islamic and Swahili cultural learning and practices.
A draft
management plan has been developed that will address issues such as the
mushrooming of informal settlements in the setting of the property,
encroachment and illegal development on the sand dunes water catchment area,
the proposed port and cruise ship berth, and oil exploration. The plan will
also strengthen the inter-ministerial relationships to enhance an integrated
management approach, including the establishment of a conservation fund, for
sustainable conservation and management of the property.
Comments