In September 2024 a three-day workshop was held in Lamu Town. It brought together more than 40 people who were willing to listen and learn from each other. They came mostly from Kiswahili-speaking regions of the East African Coast. Local knowledge bearers, academics, and mikeka weavers from Matondoni, Kipini, Ozi and Zanzibar exchanged knowledge on oral and material culture like plaiting and initiated discussions on this endangered cultural heritage.
Aligning with Swahili customs, the workshop was opened with poems and communal prayers. Mat weavers shared their knowledge on mikeka fabrication and usage, at times through poetry. Academics presented their research on cultural and historical issues connecting to the mats, whilst Sophia Bokop and Myriam Perrot – delegates of the Ethnologisches Museum – presented original size prints of the historical mats, provided information about the provenance of the collections and gave insights into current discourses around postcolonial museum practice.
Video production and image credits: Najeeb Ahmad Nassir Juma Bhalo