The sub-title of this paper, “The Brotherhood of Coconuts” is taken from the Swahili methali (proverb) “Udugu wa nazi hukutani chunguni” which means, “the brotherhood of coconuts comes about in the pot”. Like most Swahili methali, this one has a number of possible meanings. As interpreted here it means that different self-contained entities unite under stressful conditions, such as the heat of the pot. This unity of different entities is artificial, being brought about by the action of placing them together in the pot. The significance of this methali and indeed the context of its usage, is borrowed from Mark Swartz’s recent ethnography of the Swahili, The Way the World Is: Cultural Processes and Social Relations among the Mombasa Swahili (Swartz 1991). Its third chapter, entitled “The Brotherhood of Coconuts,” provides a detailed description of the organization of Swahili “tribes” and the cultural and historical relevance of Swahili identity. Swartz uses the methali to denote the difficulty of presenting a unifying picture of the often fragmented, decidedly ambiguous nature of Swahili ethnic identity and the idea that this identity shatters and consolidates depending on social and historical context. The methali is adapted somewhat in this discussion of ethnicity and social change in Malindi, Kenya in order to fit this very old East African proverb into the nomenclature of 20th century Western intellectual tradition by suggesting that “the brotherhood of coconuts is formed in the melting-pot”. This paper extends that idea to Kenyan ethnicity in toto within the context of tourism. Briefly stated, the central issue examined here is the ways in which tourism, occurring in conditions of inter-ethnic contact among hosts, mediates, or exacerbates ethnic conflict. This issue is explored through an analysis of several case studies from a highly multi-ethnic community that is also highly dependent on tourism.

A triad of mini-case studies, or “critical incidents”, examines some of these overlooked consequences in the context of the local tourism industry. Kenya, and particularly the town of Malindi, offer revealing venues for research in this area for several reasons. The Kenyan population is highly multi-ethnic consisting of dozens of groups and sub-groups. Ethnicity in independent Kenya has often been highly politicized as witnessed by both the history of governance and competition over political resources and the recent multi-party elections that were ultimately cast as ethnic competitions, with attendant ethnic violence. In fact, in 1992 when this fieldwork was conducted, the first multi-party elections in Kenyan in over 28 years were being held and ethnic “clashes” resulting in the loss of lives and property were part of the climate of political competition. Significantly, as one of the primary sources of foreign exchange for the nation, tourism’s development is given high priority by the Kenyan government and has left many communities, including Malindi, critically dependent on its continued growth.

Ethnicity and tourism

The focus on ethnicity in the tourism literature has typically emphasized the interaction between the industry and the re-creation of ethnic symbols and material culture (van den Berghe and Keyes 1984), the crisis of identity of the local peoples relative to their identity as the objects of touristic pursuits (MacCannell 1984), and the issue of authenticity and culture change as a result of contact with tourism (van den Berghe 1992). Relatively little has been written on the impact on local communities when this contact occurs within the framework of a multi-ethnic community (for a notable exception, see Picard and Wood 1997). There are several theoretical implications of tourism in multi-ethnic communities that warrant further research. If, for example, tourism demand is focused on the production of ethnic crafts or ethnic performances, will long lasting competitive advantages accrue to local groups that specialize in the production of these products? If local ethnic groups differ by some fundamental trait, such as religion or physical features, do these traits become meaningful in negotiating within and between group relationships? Are previous inter-ethnic relationships, especially where historical conflict exists, exacerbated or negotiated when the tourism economy necessitates cooperation at some level? One fundamental characteristic of this industry is that it is the primary means of mass inter-ethnic contact and cross-national contact (van den Berghe and Keyes 1984). It stands to reason that, like other types of mass migrations, invasions or other situations involving inter-ethnic meeting, the impact of tourism contact involves deep-seated ramifications for the host population, especially local identity and social relationships. The resulting impacts on local ethnic relations can have multiple effects beyond the mutual understanding or misunderstanding generated by direct communication between hosts and guests.

One of the most noted social impacts of tourism is that it can indirectly strengthen identity internal to one ethnic group through the promotion of its arts and performances that were seen as dying or passe (Graburn and van). This is perhaps the most frequently commented upon impact as it relates to ethnic identity. The revival of X practice among the Y people is stimulated by new tourist interest and demand for the performances. Balinese religious rituals, for example, help preserve the tradition of the local villages that perform them (despite the fact that the tradition is modified to account for tourist taste) and thus this situation helps preserve an ethnic marker of the people (McKean 1989). Sherpas in Nepal, finding themselves the focus of tourism interest by trekking Westerners, have led the industry in this country to emphasize the Sherpas uniqueness, and consequently they have intensified their own ethnic identity (Adams 1992). Costume, folklore, and even language are preserved in the Cantel region of France in direct response to tourism (Abram, S., 1997. Performing for Tourists in Rural France. In: Abram, S., Waldren, J. and Macleod, D. Editors, 1997. Tourists and Tourism: Identifying with People and Places Berg Press, Oxford.Abram 1997). In each of these instances, this demand for cultural products helps to stave off the disintegration of the community and thus its ethnicity.

Tourism can also support ethnic cohesion by providing a common threat for which a unified response is required or demanded. The religious/ethnic basis of Islamic fundamentalists in Egypt targets tourism as the threat to Muslim culture and values in the region and has acted significantly and tragically toward containing its expansion (Aziz 1995). In Mallorca, the growing popularity of the island as a destination has created a backlash of ethnic solidarity among Mallorcans against Germans, Italians and even other Spaniards (Waldren 1997). In Goa, India, a diverse collection of local residents organized an action group (the Jagrut Goencaranchi Fauz—JGF) expressly devoted to limiting tourism growth and the negative social impact believed to be associated with it (Lea 1993). The belief in each case is that this industry poses the threat of risky contamination of cultural values by outsiders who do not share those values or the threat of political and economic displacement by a more numerous, wealthy, and politically powerful group of outsiders.

The types of local responses to tourism noted above have been most often explored in situations that can be said to be largely uni-ethnic, where a single indigenous ethnic group dominates the local community and the basis for unification founded on positive or negative views of tourism is relatively easily mobilized. In situations of multi-ethnicity, where no one group clearly and substantially dominates the local landscape, the impact of tourism may also have fusion or fissioning effects (Wood 1997). Ethnic boundary theory predicts that local groups will look for areas of cross-cutting cleavages when the need for cooperation makes it in their best interests to do so (Barth 1969). Thus fusion is most likely to take place in situations where individual differences can be relativized. Therefore, Group A is less likely to see the differences between itself and Group B as important when a mutual goal or mutual threat is realized. This process may be further facilitated if that threat comes from Group C, which is even more distinctive than the first two and is also vying for access to resources. A and B may thus “see past” their individual differences in the face of the threat from C.