[2] Dada Masiti was born Mana Sitti Habib Jamaladdin in the 1810s in Tunda (Also spelled as Chundwa or Tchundwa),[3] a coastal town in Pate Island, Lamu.
Her mother's maternal grandfather also belonged to the Ali Naziri Ashraf, which commanded more influence in the area and was the larger of the two subclans.
While she had been abducted, the kidnapping occurred while she was a teenager and was carried out with her consent by a suitor that her family had turned down as a potential husband.
She eventually succeeded in escaping, and her maternal cousin Omar Qullatten, who at the time resided in Zanzibar, came to her rescue.
Dada Masiti herself appears to confirm this version of events in her poetry since she alludes to having been led astray by worldly lures, and expresses contrition and a desire to atone for her deeds.