Guest Author - J. Claire K. Niala

Hazina is the Swahili word for treaures. It describes items of value, interest and beauty. (taken from the printed guide given at the exhibition). If you were to go into Nairobi's central business district at any time between 30th of March and the 30th of September this year something exciting would greet you as you walked into the 1913 building that was the Provincial Commissioner's Office at the top of Kenyatta Avenue.

There, tucked away between the bustle of the matatu lined street and the towering bueaucratic fortess that is Nyayo House, lies The Nairobi Gallery - which Nairobians are simply calling "Museum'.

The current exhibition Hazina stunningly curated by Kiprop Lagat - Keeper of Ehnography at National Museums of Kenya is a testament to the rich culural traditions of Eastern Africa.

In this exhibition, Eastern Africa is taken to comprise 8 countries namely - Kenya, Uganda, Tannzania, Southern Sudan, Southern Ethiopia, Somalia, Mozambique and Burundi. This is because all of those countries in their current form are relatively recent creations. The borders we recognise now are quite different to the borders that would have existed for thousands of years prior to the late 18th Century as cnturies of contact, trade and exchange would have informed the rich cultural history of the region.

African culture is often spoken of as a passive receiver of outside influences. This exhibtion shows not only the effects of trade and travel of African peoples all over the world but the effects that they had on each other as they moved around the continent engaging with each other.

The exhibtion is divided into four main themes - Trade, Well being, Leadership and Contemporary Art. Interdispersed throughout are beautiful examples of the East African cloth - the Kanga. Each bearing different inscriptions which allows the wearer to express thoughts or feelings that may be personal, political or cultural.

Near the entrance an insription on a kanga reads 'Hjui kitu' meaning "you don't know anythin"'. The kind of Kanga an older woman may wear referring to the tounger generation or even a cheeky younger woman may wear referring to inadequate advice form her elders. It is also an apt challenge to the gallery visitor - 'What do you really know about Eastern Africa? Maybe we can show you something different."

The main centerpiece of the exhibition is a 'siwa'. This traditional side blown horn is an extremely distictive piece of regalia. Fashioned in two pieces from ivory it is also two meters long and partly covered in religious inscriptions. Its presence is astounding. I found it even more moving to be looking at the siwa in its home country as the noises from the street outside filtered in occasionally into the museum. Africans are a communicative people and just as this siwa would have been used to signal rulers inaugurations. weddings and funerals car drivers were blaring their horns announcing their arrival to on coming pedestrians.

Two sections in the exhibition deeply touched me. The first was the one on wellbeing which included many religious, devotional and healing items from sadly much maligned healers and diviners. Africans are deeply spiritual and religious peoples and to see articles that would have been used (and in some cases continue to be used) in a scared way back in the country they originated from was truly humbling.

It was important to see out in the open aspects of traditional worship that have been denigrated or attacked since colonial times. This neatly tied into a jacket that may have been worn by one of Kenyas most celebrated freedom fighters Dedan Kimathi. Alongside robes worn by traditional Eastern African leaders it served as a stark reminder of the battles that were fought in order to establish self-goverment for the people of Eastern Africa.

The overwhelming feeling one was left with at the end of the exhibition was of the sensitivity with which such a range of diverse themes was handled. It showed the power of positive collaboration between Eastern Africa and the UK and what can be achieved when individuals and nations reach oout to each other with a spirit of mutual respect and understanding. This exhibtion is highly recommended!