Takaungu

Takaungu is a historic Swahili town located on the Kenyan Coast between Mombasa and Malindi, in Kilifi County.

It is 10 kilometres south of the town of Kilifi, in the Kikambala division. Takaungu is located at the Creek in Kilifi North Constituency of Kilifi County in Coast Province. It is 37 km from Mombasa and it is 3 km from the Mombasa - Malindi Road just after the Vipingo Sisal estate. Just behind Takaungu, there are two neighboring Miji Kenda communities. The Chonyi's in the South and the Kauma's in the north. These two tribes did not settled in Takaungu as they were cultivators and were not fishermen nor sailors.

The town has population of 1500. Fishing and a local coral quarry are currently the main industries. The population consists of Swahili Muslims, mostly living in or near the town center and a sizable Christian community in the shambas or countryside that surrounds it.

Takaungu was settled in the early 19th century by members and clients of the Mazrui family. Migrating fishers from the Bajun Islands to the north had probably founded a temporary fishing village there before the Mazrui arrived (as they are known to have done at many places along the coast). Certainly other Bajun migrated in numbers to the growing settlement (Koffsky 1977) and later Mijikenda also moved to the town. Takaungu has grown considerably in size and where once there were shambas (farming plots) today there are houses, and the shambas have moved to the outskirts of the present town.

The primary languages are Kigiriama, used predominantly by the local Giriama tribe (part of the broader group of Coastal tribes called Mijikenda, meaning "nine villages") and Kiswahili.

The regional headquarters of a non-governmental development organization, the East African Center, are located in Takaungu.