The surrounding region has been overrun by Arabs and Swahili from the East African coast.
Dating back to the 13th century, much of the Swahili structures are still intact, including mosques and a former sultan 's palace.
Another Star Trek publication suggested her first name is "Penda", a Swahili verb-ending that means "to love".
In its plural form, Swahili, the word has become the tribal name of the natives inhabiting the coast strip opposite Zanzibar.
In the coast towns of the eastern seaboard there are Swahili, Arab and Indian settlements, and tribes, such as the Amaran, of mixed Arab and Somali blood.