BAJUN ISLANDS 



the narrow passage that separates Lamu from Manda 

 Island. The shore on either side was low and 

 covered with dense scrub, but on the landward side 

 this was replaced by mangrove swamps ; I was told 

 that at low tide a great expanse of mud and sand is 

 exposed, on which can be seen countless crabs and 

 other animals. These islands, as well as those to the 

 north, known collectively as the Bajun Islands, are 

 of coral formation, and are very similar in appearance 

 one to another. Ruins of ancient mosques and stone 

 houses of unmistakably Persian design are to be 

 found on many of them. Both the inhabitants of 

 Lamu and the Bajun claim to be of Persian descent, 

 and their light colouring, their regular type of features 

 and the shape of some of their pottery seem to bear 

 out their statement, although it is more probable that 

 Arab blood perponderates. 



We skirted the little promontory on which the 

 old town of Shela stands, sailed close to a low open 

 beach, behind which were some large sandhills, and 

 dropped anchor in front of the picturesque town of 

 Lamu. Known to the natives as Amu, it stands 

 at the western corner of the island of Lamu, which 

 is separated from the mainland only by a narrow 

 channel. Like Kismayu it is said to have been 

 founded by Abdul Malik bin Muriani in the 77th 

 year of the Hejira (694 a.d,), but it is almost certain 

 that there were settlements here of Hamyarites or 

 Phoenicians at a still earlier date. 



The internal strife that raged throughout Arabia 

 after the death of the Prophet was probably the 

 indirect cause of the colonisation of the East African 

 coast, for the defeated sultans were obliged to flee 

 from their country and take refuge at those ports 



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