TEHRAN – Iran’s embassy in Kenya has established an anthropology museum in Mombasa aimed to spotlight the cultural heritage and arts of Baluchi people who migrated eastern coasts of the Dark Continent centuries ago.

The museum features arrays of vax figures, statues, figurines, handicrafts, textiles, photographs as well as objects donated to the locals of Baluchi origin, Mehr quoted Tehran’s ambassador to Nairobi as saying on Tuesday.

Covering 100 square meters in area, the museum showcases scenes of rich cultural heritage and historical monuments of Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province as well, Jafar Barmaki said.

Sistan-Baluchestan is a collective province: Sistan in the north and Baluchestan in the south. In ancient times, the region was a crossword in the Indus Valley and the Babylonian civilizations. The province possesses special significance because of being located in a strategic transit location, especially Chabahar, which is the only ocean port in Iran and the best and easiest access route of the middle Asian countries to free waters.

The migration of groups of Iranian-descent Baluchis to Africa took place in different eras including the 17th century and the early 19th century.

They settled in some parts of East African coasts and, through their hardworking and tireless efforts, gained high-profile positions in East African countries, including Kenya, Tanzania(Zanzibar), and Uganda.

Historically speaking, the Baluchi people have been famous for their hard-working spirit and resistance to natural disasters. The story of Baluchis migration to East Africa dates back to the era of Oman's expansionist tendencies in Africa, which started in the 17th century and culminated in the 19th century.

Due to Baluchi’s ability to withstand difficult conditions, expertise in using weapons, and adaptability to nature and rugged environments they were hired as soldiers, and guardians by Omanis and set off to Zanzibar and gradually expanded to other parts of East African countries, which led to their sustainable settlement there.

This presentation seeks to identify the reasons for the Baluchis migration to East Africa and also describes the political and cultural outcomes of their settlement in the present-day countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

AFM