This mass of water, the Indian Ocean, has been the focal point and everlasting witness to the emergence and fall of city states along the Swahili Coast, or- in the words of Peerthum and Jankee- ‘The Making of “new” Nationals and Nations’. It has been the conduit of commerce, convergence and community-building over space and time. Without doubt, it has seen the controversies that have either enriched or destroyed identities.

This sea has secluded these islands we call home and bestowed upon them unique, diverse and enduring forms of heritage on ground and underwater. Samawati Maritime Museum consolidates this wealth in digital form propagated through physical exhibitions, a hybridity that celebrates our maritime heritage with an emphasis on the intersection of marine and human life, how each compliment or even contradicts the other, and how climate action influences both.

This museum, just like Tabaaruk and Tenzi, is a storytelling platform bringing you captivating histories, narratives from fisherfolk and social impact stories that focus on our role as humans in either protecting or destroying our marine ecosystem. Heritage, we believe is the here and now, and we take a journey back in time to trace Indian ocean trade routes, history of enslaved people transiting through our ports, ship wrecks, sea-side forts, language and communities that came about through maritime influence.