Malindi

This essay and others like it on Khojawiki are written to provide context for the life and migration stories of individual Khoja families. We would like to add more such family histories of those who lived here, so our collective history is more complete. Please Click Here To Add Your Family And More Information To Our History

Gujarati merchants have been trading in Malindi for over 500 years.

When Vasco da Gama arrived in Mozambique, Mombasa and Malindi in 1498, he was surprised at the number of Arabs and Indians he found there.

Malindi, for example, a city which was attempting to attract Gujarati merchants when the Portuguese intervened, accepted Portuguese tribute after the first bombardment of Mombasa — the commercial hub of the region — foreseeing both trade and military advantages in siding with the interlopers. Immediately after the construction of a customs house at Malindi, Indian, and later Luso-Indian, shipping was redirected to the town.

We know that in 1890, Dharamsi Khatua immigrated to Zanzibar from Bombay after travelling for a month in a dhow. He established Dharamsi Khatau and Co., which imported textiles from Germany, and proceeded to set up 40 branches throughout East Africa, including in Mombasa, Lamu, Malindi, Mazeras, Takangu, Kisumu, Bukoba, Nairobi and Meru, where the newly arrived Khoja Ithna-Asheries worked before establishing their own businesses.

Personal Histories of Malindi residents in 1938, in Khojawiki records (2024)

• Sadrudin Talakshi

• Satbai Sadrudin Talakshi

• Fatmabai Abdulla

• Abdulla Allarakhia

• Ali Manji

• Jenabai Ali Manji