Sanje ya Kati

Medieval Swahili settlement in Kilwa District, Lindi Region

9°3′14″S 39°32′1″E / 9.05389°S 39.53361°E / -9.05389; 39.53361TypeMedieval SettlementPart ofSwahili CultureHistoryBuilderSwahili peopleMaterialCoral ragFounded10th century ADAbandonedunknownCulturesSwahiliSite notesExcavation datesnoneOwnershipTanzanian GovernmentPublic accessYes

National Historic Sites of Tanzania

Official nameSanje ya Kati National Historic SiteTypeCultural

Sanje ya Kati (Swahili Kisiwa cha kale cha Sanje ya Kati) is protected, uninhabited historic site located on Sanje ya Kati Island in Pande Mikoma ward in Kilwa District in Lindi Region of Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast. The site is home to medieval Swahili ruins that have yet to be fully excavated.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Sanje ya Kati hosts significant archaeological ruins, a fortified trading post that includes a significant structure – the Sanje ya Kati mosque.^[5]

The mosque

Constructed sometime in the latter half of the 11th century,^[6] the mosque shares design elements with the early Shirazi mosque found on Kilwa Kisiwani.^[7] Built with precisely cut coral blocks, the mosque measures approximately 10.21 meters by 9.46 meters (33.5 ft by 31 ft).

The prayer hall features symmetrical entrances on opposite walls and evidence of past structural support through four wooden columns. Interestingly, the foundation rests on a platform of sand, suggesting an earlier phase of construction possibly dating back to the beginning of the 11th century. The current mosque structure itself is believed to have been built later in the century.

The mihrab, a niche indicating the direction of prayer, differs from typical Swahili mosque designs. Unlike protruding structures, this mihrab is seamlessly integrated into the wall. This unique feature has led some researchers to propose a possible association with the Ibadi Muslim community.^[8]^[9]

Flanking the rectangular prayer hall, which measures approximately 10 meters by 9 meters (33.5 ft by 31 ft), are two wings. The east wing housed the main entrance, while the south wing featured a platform and a courtyard with a well. Notably, the well predates the current mosque structure.

Excavations have revealed evidence of an even earlier mosque at the site. Reused blocks with high-quality stucco decoration suggest a potentially grander structure built in the mid-11th century.

References

^ Allen, James De Vere (1974). "Swahili Architecture in the Later Middle Ages". African Arts. 7 (2): 42–84. doi:10.2307/3334723. JSTOR 3334723.
^ Pradines, Stéphane (April 2009). "L'île de Sanjé ya Kati (Kilwa, Tanzanie): un mythe Shirâzi bien réel". Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. 44 (1): 49–73. doi:10.1080/00671990902795814. S2CID 162360170.
^ Zhao, Bing (2012). "Global Trade and Swahili Cosmopolitan Material Culture: Chinese-Style Ceramic Shards from Sanje ya Kati and Songo Mnara (Kilwa, Tanzania)". Journal of World History. 23 (1): 41–85. doi:10.1353/jwh.2012.0018. JSTOR 41508051. S2CID 144646037.
^ Strong, S. Arthur (1895). "The History of Kilwa". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland: 385–430. JSTOR 25197263.
^ Pradines, Stéphane. "Introduction: A Survey of Islamic Architecture in Sub-Saharan Africa." Historic Mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa. Brill, 2022. 223ff.
^ Pradines, “La bipartition des cités swahili : l’exemple de Gedi (Kenya)” (2002): 71–87.
^ Chittick, Kilwa an Islamic Trading City on the East African Coast (1974): 61.
^ Laviolette & Fleisher, “The Urban History of a Rural Place: Swahili Archaeology on Pemba Island, Tanzania, 700–1500 AD” (2009): 449–452.
^ Horton, “Islam, archaeology and Swahili identity” (2004): 79–80.