Visiting the city of Mombasa and the larger Coastal of Kenya, one will probably come across funny and hilarious titles given to places and even to people, and without local knowledge, one might misinterpret these names.
Some of the titles and names you will come across in Coast include Shimo La Tewa, Dunga Unuse, Dongo Kundu, Ng'ombeni, Shika Adabu among others.
Shimo La Tewa is a famous name courtesy of the Shimo La Tewa Prison, where most highly linked to terrorism suspects are held before they are released to the society. For this reason, it is one of the biggest prison at the Coast.
Why the name Shimo La Tewa?
Several theories have been emerging to unravel the real meaning of 'Shimo La Tewa'.
1. There existed a fisherman called Tewa who lived in the area years back. He died in the sea while on his usual fishing duties. After locals failed to retrieve his body from the ocean, they named the place Shimo La Tewa.
2. Another theory says it was because of a certain type of fish called 'Tewa' that the name came about.
"Huyu ndiye Tewa, (pointing the said fish), kila wakati unapo enda pale (Shimo) utampata huyu Tewa, ndiyo maana pakaitwa Shimo La Tewa," Omar, a fisherman at Shimo La Tewa told KTN's utalijua Jiji.
3. Another story says it was named after slaves. They were temporally held before they would be taken to other places outside Kenya.
For Dunga Unuse, a slam found in Migadini, started as "Dunga Nusu" loosely translating to "Give me half of it" in reference to a certain local brew made within the slam.
"Tulikuwa tunapika pombe ya Matingasi, na mtu akija alikuwa anasema nidungie nusu, ambayo hiyo nusu kizamani ilikuwa ni mkebe wa maziwa," Grace Mwamburi said.
Grace has been living in Dunga Unuse since 1960s. The local brew which led to the naming of the slam is no longer available.
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