The Role of Hijazi Merchants and Migrants in Transmitting Therapeutic and Medical Practices to East Africa during the Islamic Era

Abstract

This study examines the role of Hijazi merchants and migrants in transmitting medical knowledge, therapeutic practices, and methods of healing to East Africa during the Islamic era. It situates this process within the commercial networks, migration flows, and maritime contacts that linked the Hijaz to the African coast. The study seeks to identify the contributions of these groups to the circulation of medical experience, therapeutic preparations, and knowledge of medicinal herbs and plants. It also identifies the channels through which this knowledge moved and the factors that supported its diffusion. The importance of the study lies in highlighting the medical and health-related dimension of Islamic civilizational interaction, which extended beyond religious, commercial, and cultural exchange. The research adopts a historical-analytical method and draws on historical and geographical sources, travel accounts, and works on medicine and healing. It also uses a descriptive approach to analyze forms of therapeutic exchange. The findings indicate that Hijazi merchants and migrants served as important intermediaries in the transmission of certain forms of therapeutic knowledge. This knowledge interacted with local East African experience and produced blended medical practices that reflected the wider cultural exchange between the Islamic world and African societies.