"two-year-old maya is building a block tower. her father begins by pointing to where each block needs to go as maya piles them up. as maya's competence with the task increases, her father gradually withdraws support. this is an example of"

swahili is an extremely rich and complex civilization, a set of ethnic groups articulated by a language and a series of cultural elements that fuse the african traditions, islam and indian culture. this growth was largely a result of the indian ocean trading network that brought in not just man-made riches, but also religious ideas, specifically islam, which had a significant impact on the local culture. furthermore, the development of the swahili language gave a common cultural unity to the people.