ABSTRACT
Among the distinguishing and enduring features of the Swahili populations of the eastern African coast has been their engagement with Indian Ocean commercial and cultural spheres. The emergence of this orientation and broader set of long-distance eastern African connections has been a source of ongoing fascination to generations of scholars (for example, Hornell 1934; Dahl 1951; Chittick 1974; Chittick and Rotberg 1975; Sheriff 1981, 2010; Horton and Middleton 2000; LaViolette 2008; Boivin et al. 2013). When and how eastern African coastal populations first took to the sea, and when they first encountered and engaged with peoples travelling from distant regions, are questions that have attracted significant controversy. At the heart of this controversy are discrepancies between the findings and interpretations of different disciplines, scholars and research traditions, many of which remain unresolved. We explore them here, drawing on insights provided by recent fieldwork, and offer perspectives for a re-orientation of research frameworks and questions.
