Rabai, also called Rabai Mpya (New Rabai), is a historic location and Sub-County in

Kilifi County Kilifi County is a County Located in the Kenyan coast. It was formed in 2010 as a result of a merger of Kilifi District and Malindi District, Kenya. Its capital is Kilifi and its largest town is Malindi . The county had a population of 1,45 ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

about 12 miles northwest of the city of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

. It is the first place in Kenya where missionaries of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

(CMS) established a Christian mission.

History

Johann Ludwig Krapf Johann Ludwig Krapf (11 January 1810 – 26 November 1881) was a German missionary in East Africa, as well as an explorer, linguist, and traveler. Krapf played an important role in exploring East Africa with Johannes Rebmann. They were the firs ...

came to Rabai in 1844 with his pregnant wife Rosine, whom he had married in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Shortly afterwards on 9 June 1844, his wife died of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. At the time of her death, Krapf was also taken ill and their newborn infant died 3 days later. They were buried at Rabai. In 1846 Krapf together with

Johannes Rebmann Johannes Rebmann (January 16, 1820 – October 4, 1876), also sometimes anglicised as John Rebman, was a German missionary, linguist, and explorer credited with feats including being the first European, along with his colleague Johann Ludwig Krap ...

set up a mission at Rabai. Dr. Krapf learnt the local languages and translated the bible into Swahili. On 10 June 1849 Jakob Erhardt and John Wagner arrived at the Rabai Mpya mission station, where they joined Krapf and Rebmann. However, Wagner died on 1 August 1849. In the spring of 1850 Erhardt and Krapf travelled by dhow down the East African coast from Mombasa. The boat was small and food was scarce, poor quality and difficult to prepare due to the rain. However, they collected much information about the interior. After the voyage the two returned to the mission station, and in 1851 Krapf left for Europe to recuperate. Krapf returned and new missionaries were sent. Several died and the mission was moved inland to Ribe. Krapf went back to Europe and Thomas Wakefield became the lead missionary. Rebecca Wakefield, Charles New and Butterfield were among those lost.

Today

The people of Rabai are known as Rabai (Warabai in Swahili) and their language is also known as Rabai (kirabai in Swahili). They are one of the nine tribes known as

Mijikenda Mijikenda may refer to: *Mijikenda peoples *Mijikenda language Mijikenda is a Bantu dialect cluster spoken along the coast of East Africa, mostly in Kenya, where there are 2.6 million speakers (2019 census) but also in Tanzania Tanzania, o ...

. The Krapf Museum also known as the Rabai Museum was founded in memory of Krapf and his work in the area. The Rabai festival is an annual event held in November to celebrate the history, life and culture of the Rabai and their small town.

References

Citations Sources * {{refend External links * https://archive.today/20130628031812/http://www.rabaicbo.org/ * http://www.museums.or.ke/content/blogcategory/50/74/ * http://anglicanhistory.org/africa/krapf_career1882.html * http://old.magicalkenya.com/default.nsf/news1/01CB22EC3638BEDE43256C63002E04A2?opendocument&l=1 Populated places in Coast Province Kilifi County

History

Today

See also

References