The Swahili people comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the Zanzibar archipelago and mainland Tanzania's seaboard, littoral Kenya, northern Mozambique, the Comoros Islands and Northwest Madagascar.

The original Swahili distinguished themselves from other Bantu peoples by self-identifying as Waungwana (the civilised ones). In certain regions (e.g. Lamu Island), this differentiation is even more stratified in terms of societal grouping and dialect, hinting at the historical processes by which the Swahili have coalesced over time. More recently, however, Swahili identity extends to any person of African descent who speaks Swahili as their first language, is Muslim and lives in a town on the main urban centres of most of modern-day Tanzania and coastal Kenya, northern Mozambique and Comoros, through a process of swahilization.

Kiswahili is the mother tongue of the Swahili people and the official language of Kenya. It is also spoken in Tanzania and throughout the chain of islands that run along the east coast of Africa. Originally a trading language, it incorporates many words borrowed from Arabic and Hindi Most Kiswahili syntax and word structure, however, is related to Bantu, one of the most widespread root languages in central Africa.

Despite its Arab influences, Swahili culture retains some distinctly African traits. Whether veiled or covered head to toe, Swahili women, for instance, favour vividly coloured kanga robes. Kangas can be printed with traditional African designs or even such Swahili proverbs as "Even a bad mother is still a mother worthy of respect, love and care."

#swahili #kenya #tanzania #africanculture #swahilination
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