Sewn-plank boats of the western Indian Ocean (Rhapta)
Barcos de tablas cosidas del Índico occidental (Rhapta)
- Date
- c. century I · confidence low
- Place
- Rufiji Delta (proposed location of Rhapta), Pwani, Tanzania
- Credited to
- Peoples of the Azanian coast (Periplus of the Erythraean Sea)
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions a port on the coast of Azania, Rhapta, whose name is linked to 'sewn' craft and dugouts. It is the oldest written reference to sewn-plank boats in East Africa.
The location of Rhapta has not been archaeologically confirmed (the Rufiji delta and the Pangani area are proposed); the etymology of the name and the date of the Periplus (1st century, with proposals up to the 3rd) are also debated.
What it led to
- the sewn boat (mtepe) as the coaster of Swahili trade
- ivory, tortoiseshell and rhino-horn trade with Egypt and Arabia
- continuity with the Indian Ocean dhow