The Safaricom Calendar: The Great Baobab Tree Of Mnarani

Safaricom has rolled out a spectacular 2023 calendar that celebrates the beautiful sites and views we enjoy within our country.

Distributed over 12 months, the calendar has images that bring out awe, excitement, and curiosity in you to seek out the spectacular in life.

The month of January is colored with a towering baobab tree of Mnarani in Kilifi County. This area holds great cultural and spiritual significance to many communities and religious groups in the area. Standing under it speaks of the energy of a supernatural being.

This ancient tree is as much a place of worship as any other, open to anyone who needed it from time immemorial. In the past, people would gather under the large canopy, place their prayers, sacrifices, and offerings in the hollow of the trunk, walk around its circumference seven times and pray to their God to intercede in all their areas of need.

The Mnarani area itself has a rich historical story. It was an Arab settlement in the 14th century. At that time, traders from Oman used to sail with the monsoon winds from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and land on the Kenya coast.

In less than a hundred years their business flourished and the Mnarani settlement became the residence of many of them, including fishermen and farmers. Archaeological evidence shows that the site was eventually destroyed by the Galla in the early 17th  century.

It’s said that one of the first Galla (also known as Oromo) attacks happened around the 16th century when the fierce and fighting tribe from northeastern countries raided the ancient Swahili settlement after learning that the Arabs had captured their men and women and planned to sell them as slaves overseas.

Enjoy.

Related Content: Value Of Unclaimed Bonga Points Hits Ksh 4.5 Billion, Safaricom Sets An Expiry Date