Kenya Safari Attractions > The Lamu Maulidi Festival

Posted at January 8, 2010

Maulidi festival occurs every year during the month of June or the month of Rabi-al- Awal the third month according to the Muslim calendar. This fun filled festival takes place in Lamu the oldest town in Kenya where the East African community converges for this auspicious occasion.

Lamu is a Swahili settlement recently declared a world heritage site which has managed to retain and cherish its traditions. This town where everybody walks or rides a donkey as the streets are only 8feet wide and thus too narrow for vehicles and human traffic to co-exist boasts of having an excellent Museum with good exhibits on Swahili culture in general and Lamu culture in particular which makes it an even more favorable place to hold the celebrations.

To the non Muslims Maulidi is a new addition to their vocabulary. The word is in Arabic and translates to mean “Birth”. The world wide celebrated festival is in reference to the birth of the Prophet Mohammed lasting the full month of Rabi-al-Awal with the addition of a few weeks before and after.

Different countries have unique ways of celebrating Maulidi but all having a similar principal theme which is the veneration of the prophet Mohammed. The first ever of this celebration is believed to have taken place in Egypt some 400years after the death of Prophet Mohammed and there after celebrated in Mecca which saw the celebration thrive to a world wide festival taking place yearly in most countries with the East African community not being an exception.

In East Africa the festival was introduced by Habib Swaleh Jamal who hailed from a Sharifs family born of an Arab father and a Comorian mother. He was the first to introduced instruments to the festival a bold and courageous move on his part as it was something which was unheard of in the previous Maulidi festivities as no instruments were allowed in the Mosque, a move which was at first was met with resistance though it did not deter him from seeing it through, a prospect which saw him leave a legacy by founding of the Riyadha mosque and a mosque college in the year 1901 a mosque where instruments were allowed and a first in history.

The Riyadha mosques hence became the place where the main religious celebrations took place and has continued to be till now. The official celebrations in Lamu lasts 4days, a gala which is sponsored by the National museums of Kenya since the 1990. The most important of the days being on the 11th day of the month of Rabi-al-Awal during sunset till dawn of the 12th a time believed to be the prophet’s actual birth day.

During this time Maulidi is recited throughout in homes, processions and mosques. The Maulidi are written and recited in Arabic and include Sharaful-Anam, Baranzanji(most commonly recited), Simt-al-Durar with the exception of Maulid ya Rama which is written and recited in Kiswahili, Kenya’s national language and a language commonly used by the East African community.

All Maulidi recitations are based on the history and life of Prophet Mohammed with lines and concepts being derived from Hadith and the holy Koran. The Maulidi is also recited during special occasions such as one to two weeks after the birth of a child, during the shaving ceremony and also at weddings.

If interested in having a glimpse of this festival then the last day is probably the best as it’s usually the most colorful which sees the men of Lamu gather together at the town cemetery and surround the town of Habib Swaleh where they have silent prayers and there after energetically parade into town, holding hands and interlocking arms a processions which winds up along the seafront towards the center of town culminated by singing and dancing crowds altogether in unison in a spirit of brotherliness.

As a result many visitors are drawn in by this celebration which they are welcome to watch and enjoy the festivities but are advised to take caution and ensure to always maintain a measure of respect for local customs especially when it comes to the mode of dressing and places in which to/not to venture.

The Lamu archipelago is rich in sports some of which are unique to the traditions and culture of the communities found here, and the museum takes advantage of the Maulidi to stage several competitions and races which include swimming, football(where the teams compete for the Mazingira cup currently held by Al Ahly), dhow races, henna painting competition, tug of war, Bao competition(which is probably the oldest game known to man) donkey races, cross country race, Swahili poetry, Koranic recitals among others all designed to encourage local skills or practices that are central to Lamu life.

Of all this competitions the one that stands out the most is the donkey race (riding of a donkey an animal locally known as punda) which is a major highlight of the Maulidi festival. Local donkey jockeys toil and sweat for a whole entire year honing their riding skills in readiness for this event, and the winner of the coveted prize wears his well deserved title with lots of pride. Every year that passes sees an increased interest in the sport and an increase in the contingent of donkeys ready to race.

The Maulidi festival has continued to unite the people of Lamu for over a century now and will continued to do so for generations to come. If ever in East Africa and in Lamu to be precise during the month of Rabi- al- Awal make it appoint to experience this one of kind festival in its uniqueness to the culture and traditions of Swahili and Lamu community.

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