Ceramics in Indian Ocean Trade

Ceramics have been extensively imported on the East African Coast over many centuries. The principal sources have been Iran and China, the latter trans-shipped through the port of Malacca and the Indian ports of the western Indian Ocean. These ceramics were used to embellish the gates and mihrabs of mosques, and the exteriors of elaborate tombs. They were vessels in homes and decorations on buildings. In the last two centuries, the old ceramics came to be supplanted by imported ware more utilitarian in make and appearance. These came in mainly from Holland, England and Germany. These products of Western Europe were influenced by the Islamic markets they had entered, while in turn these plates became an important part of the East African Coast’s architecture and Swahili traditions and homes.

PERSPECTIVE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ON MARITIME DISPUTE: CASE BETWEEN KENYA AND SOMALIA

The research analysed the maritime dispute between Kenya and Somalia under the international law perspective. Both states have been experiencing maritime disputes over maritime boundaries of more than 100,000 sq km of seabed in the waters of the Indian Ocean. They began to clash after Somalia accusing Kenya of illegally granting exploration rights to resources in the waters to multinational companies, Total and Eni. As Kenya declared, the waters of the East African Coast are one of the hottest oil exploration prospects in the world, and the contested area has hydrocarbon reserves. The research method is normative legal research. Accordingly, the nature of the research was descriptive-qualitative with data collection techniques by conducting a literature study. The research shows that maritime boundary dispute has worsened diplomatic relations between Kenya and Somalia. Prior to bringing the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the two states agreed to resolve the dispute through bilateral negotiations. However, the case was still unsettled. Therefore, Somalia decided to bring the case before the Court.

Runaway Slaves and the Aftermath of Slavery on the Swahili Coast

Along the East African coast, marronage increased in the 19th century as a consequence of the intensification of the slave trade and the development of a plantation economy based on slave labor. Research on the fugitive slaves on the Swahili coast has been conducted since the 1980s and has mainly highlighted the ambivalent relationship (between rejection and belonging) of maroons with the dominant coastal culture—that of the slave owners, shaped in particular by Islam and urbanity. This article goes beyond the existing interpretations by showing that the aftermath of slavery often consisted of a range of options, less static than those described so far and less focused on opting either into or out of coastal culture. Relying on a case study in present-day Kenya and drawing from European written sources and interviews, I examine what happened to escaped slaves in the Witu region, where a Swahili city-state was founded in 1862. Their history is examined through a spatial analysis and the modalities of their economic and social participation in regional dynamics, showing that no single cultural influence was hegemonic in this region.

Shifting Tides: The Port City of Mombasa and the First World War

Port cities across the world were deeply affected by the First World War. They had to adapt quickly to the influx of soldiers and labourers, as well as to resulting population changes that challenged and strained local structures. The pressure of these changes was especially felt in colonial port cities, as new arrivals – from abroad and from the hinterland – had the potential to undermine colonial order and control. In the period of 1914-1918 colonial authorities around the Indian Ocean saw local concerns regarding order and control overridden by global developments and imperial demands.Mombasa, located on the East African coast, provides a potent example of this situation. In the war years, Mombasa turned into a military hub, with thousands of troops passing through it to serve in the East African campaign. These external arrivals were mirrored by the movement of people from the hinterland into the city seeking to fill positions in the local war economy. In this dynamic context, racial borders, social conventions, and economic patterns were continually challenged and transgressed. This article explores these developments and reactions they triggered among Indians, Africans, and Europeans in Mombasa at the time of the global war.

Ilha de Moçambique (Muhipiti): das Conexões Sociais às Construções Identitárias

RESUMOA história refere que nos processos de ocupação da Costa Oriental Africana inúmeras conexões políticas, culturais, religiosas, comerciais... foram instauradas e, de modo particular, no canal de Moçambique. Como resultado destes processos, os povos atingidos por essas ocupações se impregnaram de novas identidades (religiosas, culturais, políticas...). O artigo aborda os fatores que concorreram para esta (re)configuração religiosa, territorial e de unidades políticas na região da costa moçambicana, mormente na Ilha de Moçambique, nosso objeto de estudo. No que se refere aos procedimentos técnicos e metodológicos da pesquisa, optou-se por uma metodologia qualitativa, servindo-se da abordagem descritiva interpretativa, baseada em diversas literaturas, artigos, documentos e algumas fontes orais. A priori, o artigo traz uma abordagem histórica sobre as Migrações na África e Moçambique. A posteriori, descreve a oportunidade que os processos ocupacionais criaram, tais como as conexões sociais e as construções identitárias no Canal de Moçambique, tendo como foco a Ilha de Moçambique.Palavras-chave: Conexões Sociais. Construções Identitárias. Costa Oriental Africana. Ilha de Moçambique. Ilha de Moçambique (Muhipiti): from Social Connections to Identiy ConstructionsABSTRACTHistory points out that in the processes of occupation of the Oriental African Coast unnumbered political, cultural, religious, commercial… configurations were installed and, in particular way, in coasts of Mozambique. As a result of these processes, the peoples covered by these occupations received new identities (religious, cultural, political...). The article describes the factors that concurred for the religious (re)configuration, territorial and of political unites in the region of Mozambican channel, specially on Mozambique Island, our object of study. As regards to technical procedure and research methodology, it´s opted for a qualitative one was chosen, using descriptive approach, based in different literatures, articles. At first, the article brings a historical approach about migration in Africa and Mozambique. Secondly, it describes the opportunity created by occupational processes created, such as social connections and identity constructions in Mozambican Channel, taking as focal point focusing on the Mozambique Island. Keywords: Social Connections. Identity Constructions. East African Coast. Mozambique Island.

Alpha-taxonomy and phylogeny of African Junoniini butterflies based on morphological data, with an emphasis on genitalia, and COI barcode (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

The tribe Junoniini is a predominantly Paleotropical group of the cosmopolitan butterfly subfamily Nymphalinae (Nymphalidae), with highest diversity in the Afrotropical region. Its systematics and relationships are not entirely resolved. Question marks remain concerning the validity of some genera; and the apparently close relationship between the Indo-Australian genus Yoma and the Afrotropical Protogoniomorpha, as evidenced by molecular phylogenies, remains a puzzle. Here, we present a cladistic analysis, based on 42 characters of the male and female genitalia of 41 species of Junoniini belonging to six genera, nearly all of them continental Afrotropical, and 3 species of two Indo-Australian genera Yoma and Rhinopalpa. A ML COI-based tree is produced for 36 species of Afrotropical Junoniini and Yoma. The molecular data are consistent with previous studies. However, morphological analysis does not confirm a close relationship between Protogoniomorpha and Yoma. Despite the evolution of a number of modifications, the male genitalia within all genera and species of the Junoniini share a cohesive build plan, in particular a transformed sacculus, from which Yoma is highly divergent. The position of the genus Kamilla, previously synonymized with Junonia, is discussed. Three East African coast taxa, Junonia elgiva stat. reinst., Protogoniomorpha nebulosa stat. reinst. and Salamis amaniensis stat. reinst., and one from central Africa, Precis silvicola stat. reinst. are raised to species level, based on comparative analysis of their male genitalia.

Fine-scale habitat use by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Zavora Bay, Mozambique

Little is known about the humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of the East-African Coast genetic sub-unit (C1). With an estimated population size of 7000 whales, they demonstrate the resilience of the species after commercial whaling caused population numbers to decline drastically. Zavora Bay, Mozambique offers an ideal observation point of the passage of the whales during their annual migration towards the breeding ground of southern Africa and serves as an operating base to monitor this population. This study aimed at identifying the importance of Zavora Bay as part of this breeding ground and the core regions for humpback whale use within the study area. Results showed the waters off the coast of Zavora are actively used for breeding and do not merely serve as passage towards the wintering habitats. A mother-calf pair separation with a preference for shallower waters closer to shore was observed. Besides depth and distance to shore, slope also proved to have a significant influence on the distribution of adult humpback whales. Increased survey effort and more detailed investigation of the threats to humpback whales within the waters of Zavora are recommended.

Modelling coral reef connectivity in the SW Indian Ocean

<p>Coral larvae can be transported over great distances by ocean currents, establishing ecological and genetic connectivity between distal coral reefs. Understanding these patterns of connectivity and how they vary through time is essential for effective marine spatial planning, particularly in the SW Indian Ocean which is an under-studied region. However, tracking coral larval dispersal directly is generally unfeasible due to their size, necessitating indirect observations or numerical models. We have developed a regional configuration of the Coastal and Regional Ocean Community Model (CROCO) in the SW Indian Ocean at 1/50<sup>o</sup>, spanning from the East African coast to the Chagos Archipelago, to simulate surface currents and gain insight into likely coral larval dispersal pathways and connectivity. The configuration is forced by the ERA-5 atmospheric reanalysis at the surface, and the 1/12<sup>o</sup> CMEMS GLORYS12V1 reanalysis and barotropic tides at the lateral ocean boundaries. We will be carrying out a 25-year interannual simulation and a climatological control simulation. Using lagrangian particle tracking, we will estimate patterns of connectivity between reef sites across the region (with a particular focus on connectivity across Seychelles), and how significant and predictable the temporal variability in connectivity is. Early progress towards this goal will be presented. The longer-term ambition of this project is to assess our predicted connectivity against independent connectivity estimates from genetic studies and previous regional simulations at a lower resolution.</p>