Table Of ContentTHE BROTHERHOOD OF COCONUTS:
TOURISM, ETHNICITY, AND NATIONAL IDENTITY IN MALINDI KENYA
,
By
David Jamison
A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
1993
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDALIBRARIES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my supervisor and chairperson,
Professor Ronald Cohen, for his never-ending support and
guidance throughout this project. I would also like to extend
my sincere appreciation to all the members of my doctoral
committee. I would like to express special thanks to my
friends and family for their support and encouragement
throughout this process. Also, I wish to especially thank my
parents, Leonard Jamison and the late Jean Jamison. Finally,
my deepest, heartfelt appreciation and love go to my wife and
closest ally, Lesley.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
£a_ge
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT vi
CHAPTERS
1. INTRODUCTION 1
Preface 1
Organization 17
Notes on Language Use 23
2. ETHNICITY AND NATIONAL IDENTITY 25
Modern States and Multi-ethnicity 25
Nationality and Modern State 29
Nationalism and the Third World 33
Inter-ethnic Tensions in
Nation-States 38
Ethnicity and Identity 43
Role of the State in Decreasing
Ethnic Tension 51
3. THE FIELD SETTING 67
Site Description 67
Beginnings of Swahili Civilization.... 72
The Portuguese Period 76
Arab Influence 78
The British Period 79
Contemporary Developments 83
Tourism and the Future 88
4. THE COASTAL PEOPLES 93
The Swahili 94
Contemporary Swahili Residential
Patterns 98
Swahili in Malindi 104
Domestic and Economic Life of
the Swahili 110
The Mijikenda 113
iii
Contemporary Economic Status of
the Mijikenda 116
Mijikenda/Giriama Social Status
in Malindi 119
5. WATU WA BARA 124
The Kikuyu 124
The Kikuyu in Malindi 128
The Kamba 131
The Kamba in Malindi 134
The Luo 138
The Luo in Malindi 144
The Maasai 145
The Maasai in Malindi 150
The Kalenjin 154
The Kalenjin in Malindi 158
6. WAGENI 160
Watalii 161
Matrevella 163
The Tourists 170
The Expatriates 181
Expatriate Families 189
7. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 195
Ethnographic Method 198
Social Distance Scale 200
The "Kenyaness" Scale 202
The Survey Instrument 203
8. RESULTS AND ANALYSES 219
Social Distance Scale 220
The "Kenyaness" Scale 228
9. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 236
Axes of Identification 239
Case Studies 267
Conclusions 290
iv
APPENDICES
A SURVEY 293
B RESPONSE FREQUENCY FOR ETHNIC DISTANCE
SCALE 298
REFERENCES 300
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 313
v
.
Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School
of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
THE BROTHERHOOD OF COCONUTS:
TOURISM, ETHNICITY, AND NATIONAL IDENTITY
IN MALINDI KENYA
,
By
David Jamison
December 1993
Chair: Ronald Cohen, Ph.D.
Major Department: Anthropology
This study examines ethnic identity and inter-ethnic
contact in Malindi, Kenya. The particular focus of this study
is the effect of high levels of ethnic diversity on the
formation of new identities in Malindi. Specifically, the
effect of high levels of ethnic diversity and inter-ethnic
contact on the formation and development of Kenyan national
identity
The diversity present in Malindi is both caused and
compounded by the seasonal presence of relatively large
numbers of American and European tourists. Therefore, an
examination of the dynamics of tourism and the effect of
tourist contact on ethnic identities within the local
community is included.
vi
It is hypothesized that individuals experiencing high
levels of inter-ethnic contact, bothwith foreign tourists and
indigenous people, are more likely to express feelings of
national identity. The operationalization of this concept
includes an extension of rights and privileges to Kenyans,
regardless of ethnicity, and the exclusion of outsiders from
sharing in those rights.
A social distance scale and an index of Kenyan national
identity were constructed to measure variation in response to
both measures. Differences in the determination of ethnic
distance and identity among differentmembers of the community
were analyzed in relation to a series of key variables which
were hypothesized to affect the formation and maintenance of
ethnic boundaries. Ethnographic data provided information
about community perceptions of multi-ethnicity and the norms
of behavior which result. Ethnic stereotypes were compared to
actual behavior by members of several ethnic groups toward
others.
vii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Preface
On the evening of August 7, 1992, I was sitting with
friends at the Zanze-Bar Jazz Club, a very popular after
hours spot in downtown Nairobi. At one point in the
evening, the usual fare of live and recorded jazz music
stopped and the attention of everyone in the house was drawn
to several television sets strategically placed around the
large room. The televisions were tuned to the local broadcast
of the Barcelona Olympics. Three Kenyans were about to
compete in the 3,000 meter steeple-chase. As the competition
got under way, the noise and excitement level in the room
increased steadily as, with each passing lap, it became
increasingly apparent that the three Kenyans were the class of
the field. As the three Kenyans crossed the finish line far
ahead of the other competitors, wild cheers of "one, two,
three!" and "gold, silver, bronze!" could be heard from
all around the room along with slaps on the back, handshakes,
toasts (of course) and the occasional shrieks from some female
members of the audience.
It was at this moment that it occurred to me that I was
witnessing (and participating in) a process that had drawn me
to Kenya to do research in the first place, the expression
l
2
of national unity and national identity that, for a brief
second, at least, overcame ethnic identity. This phenomenon
was especially poignant, for me at least, because it was
happening in Nairobi with a largely Kikuyu audience cheering
wildly for three Kalenjin athletes. Barely two months
earlier, several Kalenjin were murdered gratuitously on the
streets of Nairobi by Kikuyu mobs seeking vengeance for the
death of several Kikuyus and the displacement of dozens more
following the "ethnic clashes" that had recently terrorized
Rift Valley residents.
Granted, the crowd at the Zanze-bar (a clearly "yuppie"
establishment) were light years away from the mobs that stoned
Kalenjins to death in Eastleigh and on River Road. Yet, the
sentiments of anger and frustration at the "ethnic
clashes" and the resentment harbored by the Kikuyu community,
and other communities, toward the apparently political nature
of the clashes and, for several other reasons, toward this
particular ethnic group, were felt among all circles of the
community, as witnessed by newspaper editorials and my own
conversations with a number of Kikuyus.
So, why were these people suddenly and enthusiastically
going wild over these Kalenjin athletes. The answer, I
reflected, could be found in the fact that for at least this
particular moment the three athletes were not Kalenjins and
the audience was not Kikuyu. The victory had been won over
athletes from several countries and had been broadcast to and
3
seen by millions all around the world. As the three athletes
made their victory lap holding high three large Kenyan flags,
the pride beaming from the faces of the people at Zanze-Bar
was not a pride in being Kikuyu, or Luo or Swahili, but in
being Kenyan. Whether this momentary solidarity is
transferable to the streets, the home, or the work place, I do
not know, but, at least for a brief moment, I'm sure it was
felt everywhere, even in Eastleigh.
The title of this dissertation, "The Brotherhood of
Coconuts" is taken from the Swahili proverb "Undugu wa nazi
hukutani chunguni" which means, "the brotherhood of
coconuts is formed in the pot."1 Like most Swahili "methali"
this proverb has a number of possible meanings. I interpret
it in two ways; that different self-contained entities unite
under stressful conditions, the heat of the pot. This unity of
different entities is artificial being brought about by the
action of placing them together in the pot, but also
permanent. Another interpretation is analogous to the
American aphorism "in order to make eggs, you have to break
some shells." For the Swahili proverb, one can say that once
the coconuts are opened and the contents placed in the pot,
you cannot tell the difference between the formerly unique
individuals. In the emotional hot-pot of national pride and
1I was first made aware of this proverb after reading
"The Way the World Is: Cultural Processes and Social Relations
among the Mombasa Swahili." by Professor Marc Swartz (1991,
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