#wasini

Note to future researchers: showing up outside of a stranger’s house unannounced, in running shorts, with 45minutes worth of a hot morning’s sweat drenching your t-shirt may stir up some suspicion. This will be doubly the case if your stated reason for doing so is to check out some really big rocks on the far side of their farm plot.

A couple of weeks back I sat with my most important teacher for all things Mijikenda and he told me about some large rocks that were associated with the earliest inhabitants of the coast, called (among many, many different ethnonyms) the Asi (Wasi in KiSwahili). The histories of autochthonous former hunter-foragers in coastal East Africa has become something of a focus in my research of late so I knew this was a place I wanted to check out. My teacher suggested that I head past Pangani, a mere 4 miles from where I am staying in Ribe, and ask people to direct me to Wasini. So I did just that, the easiest way I knew how.

After six miles or so ambling over rocky dirt roads and a few brief stops to ask directions I arrived at Wasini. What I had not anticipated was that Wasini was someone’s mudzi or homestead. No sooner had I exchanged early-morning greetings with the owners were they firing questions to try and figure out what a sweaty mzungu in running shorts was doing so many miles from the nearest tourist enclave. You see, in the last year or so Kenya has instituted an initiative called Nyumba Kumi or “Ten Houses” in order to better promote peace and security. The idea is that you are supposed to know—some might argue spy on—your neighbors and report any suspicious activities—vaguely defined—to an appointed local representative. In the past my situation would have been really weird. These days it is borderline illegal.

Having not gone through the proper channels of obtaining clearance from the local Mzee wa Nyumba Kumi I thought my field trip to ancient rocks at Wasini was going to end with the view from the side of the road. Luckily, when the owners switched from Swahili to KiKambe to discuss the situation I saw a window of opportunity open. I made a quick code-switch and apparently made convincing enough use of my seriously lacking Mijikenda language skills to alleviate major concerns. Ample name dropping also may have helped the case. Actually, I think it was mostly that they were just really kind. With permission granted, I made my way to the rocks and spent 20minutes climbing around in the hot sun, taking in different vantage points, and snapping a few pictures. From a research perspective, the trip was hardly a game changer. Still it was interesting to explore a neat area and receive further confirmation that the notion of the weird distance runner translates well across cultures.

A few shots from Wasini:

I even included a selfie because my mom will like that.