Contemporary Wooden Watercraft of the Zanzibar Channel, Tanzania: Type and Technology, Continuity and Innovation

This is the final version. Available on open access from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordData availability: The research data supporting this publication are openly available from Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.5831798This article documents and presents the range of wooden fishing and cargo-carrying watercraft in use in the contemporary Zanzibar Channel, Tanzania. The work is based on surveys conducted in 2018 on Unguja, the principal island of the Zanzibar archipelago, and in 2019–2020 in Bagamoyo, mainland Tanzania, and its immediate environs. The authors present a broad typology of the principal wooden vessel types in the form of 3D photogrammetric models, orthographic views, and photographs. The principal construction features and uses of each type are presented and the state of play of contemporary wooden-boat construction in this part of East Africa discussed.British AcademyLeverhulme TrustArts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC

When the ‘Asset’ is Livelihood: Making Heritage with the Maritime Practitioners of Bagamoyo, Tanzania

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordThis paper examines the dilemmas, obligations and opportunities faced by heritage professionals in elaborating cultural ‘assets’ among the breadwinning practices of contemporary, artisanal communities. It takes as its case study the authors’ Bahari Yetu, Urithi Wetu (‘Our Ocean, Our Heritage’) project and its engagement with maritime practitioners in and around the town of Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The article identifies Bagamoyo’s contemporary maritime scene as meriting heritage recognition on a global level, yet sitting entirely outside the country’s legal and political conception of heritage. Moreover, it acknowledges that ‘heritage’ as founded on the livelihood-earning activities of the community’s practitioners, such as boatbuilders, fishers and mariners. These often operate at subsistence level, yet are subject to transformative economic, social and environmental forces, as well as government agencies with no heritage remit. Drawing upon and reporting their co-creative engagements and activities with the Bagamoyo community, the authors argue for a non-reifying and people-centred approach to ‘living’ heritage situations such as that of maritime Bagamoyo, in which the tools of heritage engagement are deployed to amplify the concerns of the practitioner community to a wider audience.Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC

Building a Ngalawa Double-Outrigger Logboat in Bagamoyo, Tanzania: A Craftsman at his Work

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Routledge via the DOI in this recordThis article documents master logboat-builder Alalae Mohamed’s construction of a ngalawa fishing vessel in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The ngalawa is an extended logboat with double outrigger and lateen sail used by low-income, artisanal fishers. It is the most common marine vessel type of the East African coast. This article follows the construction process from Alalae’s selection and the felling of the tree(s) to the launching of the vessel. It outlines the tools and materials used, details the sequence he followed, and presents his choices and considerations made along the way. It is accompanied by a documentary film recording the construction process, a 3D digital model of the vessel and detailed construction drawings.Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)Gerda Henkel Foundatio