File:Swahili Hats( Kofia ya Zito).jpg

English: There many definitions of who are the Swahili people, it is reasonable to say that the Swahili people are people who speak Kiswahili as their first language. While Kiswahili is an African Bantu language that has borrowed a few words from the Arab language. Swahili people are also defined as a mixture of African and Arab people who visited Lamu for trade such as Arabs from Yemen, Oman, Mecca, and other Arabian countries.

The economic activities of Swahili people are fishing, farming, trade, craft, wood carving, tailoring, and embroidery. Embroidery is an economic activity that is mostly practiced by women who have passed down their skills through generations. There is a religious belief that says if a woman makes kofia for her husband they get rewards from Allah this has led to a lot of women in kofia business. Waswahili have their own designs compared to other kofia designs from other Islamic countries. Lamu Kofia designs are different from kofia designs from Oman, India and China. The Lamu Kofia designs are hand making while kofia from Oman, India and China are machine made kofia. There are different types of kofia designs such as Kofia ya kulabu, Kofia ya Pini, kofia ya Popo, Kofia ya Nahudha siowe, Parasuweli and many more designs.

Kofia is worn by all ages depending on the size of the head of a person. The price of kofia start from 8,000 to 30,000 depending on the kofia designs, embroidery work, and neatness. Kofia from Lamu are the best kofia in the world.