Tucked into the labyrinth of narrow alleyways in Pate Island's Siyu village, Mama Baraka's house itself isn't much to see, with its cracking clay walls and poorly lit rooms draped with mosquito nets.

But one feature in this typical house on Pate, a tiny island off the coast of Kenya, has brought curious observers from afar: A single porcelain bowl that has been passed down through Mama's family, an artefact that she says proves her ancestors came from China, by boat, hundreds of years ago.