Tag: culture

A Trip to Takwa

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Published 7 July 2018

Sun-burnished mangrove leaves float like skeins of gold thread on the blue waters of the Indian Ocean. We’re sailing from Lamu Stone Town on Lamu Island to Manda Island that lies across the channel. Our boatman points to the village settled by the Luo from the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya. The men quarry for coral on the island and chisel the hard rock into building blocks for construction. They are hardy men carrying up to five blocks on a shoulder to load the boats that carry them away. A statue of a quarry man with the bricks on his shoulder stands on the edge of the village that is called Jaluo after the people, so tells our Swahili boatman. Continue reading “A Trip to Takwa” →

A Trip to Takwa

Published on by Rupi MangatLeave a comment

Published: Saturday Magazine Nation newspaper 7 July 2018

Sun-burnished mangrove leaves float like skeins of gold thread on the blue waters of the Indian Ocean. We’re sailing from Lamu Stone Town on Lamu Island to Manda Island that lies across the channel. Our boatman points to the village settled by the Luo from the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya. The men quarry for coral on the island and chisel the hard rock into building blocks for construction. They are hardy men carrying up to five blocks on a shoulder to load the boats that carry them away. A statue of a quarry man with the bricks on his shoulder stands on the edge of the village that is called Jaluo after the people, so tells our Swahili boatman. Continue reading “A Trip to Takwa” →

Vuria

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Searching for the skulls caves in Taita Hills

Published: 12 May 2018 Saturday Nation magazine Nation newspaper, Kenya

Above: Taita Hills – the magical mist mountains – copyright Rupi Mangat

Moss and lichens on Vuria in Taita Hills – copyright Rupi Mangat
Wild plants of Vuria in Taita Hills – copyright Rupi Mangat
Wild flowers on Vuria in Taita Hills – copyright Rupi Mangat

The plan is to enjoy the indigenous forest of Vuria. I have no intention of puffing up to the peak which is the highest of the Taita Hills and the highest point at the coast reaching 2,228 metres (7,310 ft). But we lose the group in the forest. Trying to find it, we’re on the peak a few hours later, looking at the plains below. The mission was to search for the legendary skull caves of the Taita people.

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Nairobi Snake Park

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Face- to-face with Omieri again

Above: Omieri the African rock python in her new glass cage. Notice the burn mark on exreme right that she received in 1987 – which led to her death.
Copyrigt Rupi Mangat

Published: Saturday Magazine Nation newspaper 14 April 2018

In 1987 l went to see Omieri the she-python who suddenly shot to fame on account of having being caught in a fire that left her in very bad health. She was coiled lethargic in her glass cage and succumbed to her wounds on 25th June 1987. In the passage of time, l forgot about her.

Fast forward to 27th March 2018.

Thirty years later l’m face-to-face with Omieri again. This time though she’s dead, her long beautifully patterned body in a special glass case and preserved in ethanol. Her burn wound is visible but she’s now a national celebrity on permanent exhibition at the Nairobi Snake Park thanks to a young woman called Diana Injendi.

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The Story of Gedi

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Published: Saturday Magazine, Nation newspaper 17 March 2018

Above: The Palace in Gedi  Copyright Rupi Mangat

In the eventide, a skein of white wings glide over the blue of Watamu Bay to settle on the huge jagged Hemingway rock. Curious, l zoom in on the birds that appear as dots with the naked eye, l get my shots and send them to the birders.

IMG_4536 (800x600)
Grey Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) that breed in the Arctic Circle at Watamu bay February 2018 – flying in to breed here after a flight of 7000 km Copyright Rupi Mangat

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