GLIMPSES OF EAST AFRICA AND ZANZIBAR 



screaming, amid the yells of laughter and pointing 

 fingers of the other natives in their dug-outs. 



There are several little villages around with 

 huts of coral rag, poles and palm-leaf roofs, all 

 occupied by poor fishing folk, the Wahadimu, a very 

 old tribe, in fact the ancient inhabitants of Zanzibar; 

 but more of their history anon. These natives often 

 wear funny straw hats like a Chinaman's, and have 

 their front top teeth broken and decayed, — from 

 cleaning fish they told me. Though we were such 

 a short time at Chwaka we returned to Zanzibar 

 feeling quite different people, the air was so bracing, 

 fresh and cool. 



On our return we stopped at Dunga again to 

 change horses ; the man in charge, some minor 

 Government official, took us all round the shamba 

 which surrounds the house, in the stables of which 

 our mules waited. The house has quite a history ; 

 it is a tall building and quite large, the usual flat- 

 faced Arab style with a central hall. It was built 

 by an old chief called Mwenyi Mkuu, and he is sup- 

 posed to be descended from the ancient Persians. 

 In 970 A.D. Sultan Hassan of Persia quarrelled with 

 his son Ali, who then left Shiraz and came to the 

 East Coast of Africa. He is said to have founded 

 Kilwa on the coast, and Mombasa too is said to 

 have been founded by his son Muhammed. It is 

 strange to find that the Persians were on the main- 

 land even before the Arabs, but little is known of 



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