Omani Arabic

Omani Arabic in Kenya is spoken by descendants of Omani settlers who came to dominate the Swahili coast under the Busaidi Sultanate from the early 19th century — with Lamu accepting Omani protection after the Battle of Shela in 1812 and the Busaidi gaining control of Mombasa in 1837 — through to the late 19th century. The community is concentrated primarily in Lamu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Lamu Omani Arabic variety has been heavily influenced by Swahili, Hadrami Arabic, and the cosmopolitan multilingualism of the Swahili town. Its oral tradition includes merchant dhow-trading narratives, poetry from the Omani protectorate and Zanzibar Sultanate era associated with Lamu's wangwana literary culture, and a memory culture of the Omani-Swahili social hierarchy of the 19th century.