Asian Ceramics in Dialogue with Swahili Architecture: Wangwana Trading Networks and Indian Ocean Kinships

The Swahili people are an African maritime culture based on long-distance trade in the Indian Ocean. One characteristic of Swahili material culture is the use of imported ceramics in religious architecture like mosques and tombs, but also in domestic architecture like palaces and large stone houses. Imported ceramics, mainly from Iran and China, were used to symbolize the wealth of the Swahili political and merchant elite, the wangwana. This article discusses the different types of ceramics imported into East Africa, as well as the trading networks between the Swahili coast, Yemen, Oman, Iran, India, and China. Finally, the relationship between people and artifacts is explained through the study of the Swahili society and rituals.