The Swahili people of East Africa are of mixed African and Persian descent going back a thousand years, according to a genetic study of DNA that seeks to settle a vexed century-old debate.
The findings of the first genetic analysis of Swahili skeletal remains align with Swahili oral traditions of Persian heritage.
They contradict a modern scholarly view that there was little contribution from foreigners to the Swahili civilisation.
However, they also refute the diametrically opposed position — prevalent in colonial times — that Africans had little input in the Swahili’s achievements.