Lamu's Swahili House Museum was opened in 1987, after having been acquired by the National Museums of Kenya in 1980. During 7 years of expert renovation the building was transformed into the beautiful example of an 18th century Swahili house that stands today. Inside the house you can view a classic working Swahili home, with daily items and furniture found as they would have been during the period.
Visitors are welcome to the museum daily from 8am to 6pm. Admission is KSh100/200 for a non-resident child/adult, and KSh20/50 for a resident child/adult. A museum attendant is always available onsite.
Location
The Swahili House Museum is located in the centre of Lamu Old Town. It is clearly signposted from Lamu's main highstreet and the jetty.
About The House
Visitors enter the house from its idyllic garden, which was also designed to 18th century specifications. From here the barazani (outside seat) leads into the teka (first door entrance) where visitors would be required to wait before being allowed into the house itself. The men of the family would also handle business matters in this area, keeping such things away from the women who resided in the deeper areas of the home. The sarambani (central courtyard) was only accessed by close family members and friends, and was used for daytime activities such as washing, performed by the women of the family. This forward placed courtyard is typical of Lamu Swahili houses, comparatively in Zanzibar, for example, the courtyard is found at the rear of home.
Misana (the plural form of msanaa, meaning side gallery) lead off from the courtyard in successive rows. The first, the msanaa wa chini, was used as a sleeping area for the boys of the family over 7 years of age and during the day as a sitting room. In the museum this area contains two fine examples of imported 18th century Indian beds, common in Lamu at the time. The second gallery, the msanaa wa vidaka, is the master bedroom. Here the parents and young children would sleep. The rooms items include an 18th century Lamu chest, used as wall cupboards are in today's modern houses. There is also a beautifully preserved cradle and a mahogany safe where jewellery and monies would be kept. The finally gallery, the chumba kati, served two purposes. Firstly it was the girls bedroom, where as with the boys room children over 7 years of age would sleep, it was also a nursing room where sick or deceased family members would be attended to. The museum here displays a ceremonial death bed, where those deceased family members would lay in state before burial. At the end of this room is the sabuleni, a self contained bathroom with toilet, used by the main family members. The visitor's and boy's bathroom is located at the front of the house, off from the central courtyard, and is more finely decorated than the sabuleni .
The second level of the house is where the meko or jikon (kitchen) is found, and as at The House is traditionally covered with a makuti (straw) roof. The location of the kitchen is very important and serves several purposes. Primarily its location is for ventilation, keeping smoke away from the living areas, but it also meant that children were kept away from the fire, and that the women could prepare food away from visiting guests. Artefacts held by the museum in this room include an mbuzi (coconut grinder) and a fumbu, a straw implement resembling a large sock, which is used for squeezing the coconut juice from the shredded fruit. There is also a large wooden pestle and mortar, a pasta maker, a water boiler and a flour-grinding stone, as well as the usual pots, pans and containers common to most kitchens.
The second level of Swahili houses were also of great value to the town's female population. Most houses, including the museum's house, are linked to the next building along via the sakafuni (rooftop terrace) and the kitchen. This allowed women to wander freely about the town whilst avoiding being seen publicly. The roof was also used by the whole family during the evenings for relaxing, and on special occasions for entertaining guests. Here, especially in coastal Lamu, the best of the evening breeze is caught, which is both a welcome relief from the heat of the day and an excellent mosquito repellent!