Chinese sailors' legacy on Kenyan islands

Researchers have turned up other equally tantalizing clues as to what happened when the Chinese landed. Craftsmen on Pate and the other islands of Lamu practise a kind of basket weaving that is common in southern China but unknown on the Kenyan mainland. On Pate, drums are more often played in the Chinese than the African style, and the local dialect has a few words that may be Chinese in origin.

More startling, in 1569 a Portuguese priest named Monclaro wrote that Pate had a flourishing silk industry. "Elders in several villages on Pate confirmed to me that their island had produced silk until about half a century ago," wrote Kristof.

Evidence on show in Lamu's museums indicates the Chinese introduced stone buildings, which are still found in the old Shanga town. Remains of stone mosques, houses, tombs and pillars are still standing.

The Siyu village on Pate island is home to 2,300 people, according to the village chief Bwana Ahmedi Maka. Among them, there are still about 30 people who are believed to be the offspring of the Chinese sailors.

Without any written records, these people, most of whom have much lighter skin than Kenyan mainlanders, passed on their heritage through the oral tradition.

Since she was a child, Mwamaka Shariff Lali, 19, from Siyu, has known she is a descendent of a Chinese sailor. She is travelling to China to attend events marking the first voyage of Zheng He, who later brought her ancestors to Lamu.

Many families have kept ancient Chinese porcelain as part of their family heritage.

According to director Kiriama, among 40 ruined sites discovered in Kenya, Lamu is one of the most important places where many examples of ancient Chinese porcelain have been unearthed.

During the past few years, local fishermen have netted exquisite porcelain and pottery, on which either Chinese characters or dragon patterns are carved. Archaeologists and historians from Kenya presume these treasures must have originated on the wreck of a legendary capsized Chinese ship, lying deep on the seafloor.

"It still remains a mystery whether those Chinese descendants are offspring of Zheng He's sailors or of later Chinese sailors," Kiriama said.

The Kenya National Museum hopes to work with its Chinese counterparts, first exploring the ruins and tombs of the Chinese village on Pate with the latest technology. The Kenyan authorities also expect to invite Chinese archaeologists to study fragments of artefacts and to mount a salvage operation to recover the shipwreck.

Editor: Yiyi