Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture & the Shungwaya PhenomenonKiswahili has become the lingua franca of eastern Africa. Yet there can be few historic peoples whose identity is as elusive as that of the Swahili. Some have described themselves as Arabs, as Persians or even, in one place, as Portuguese. It is doubtful whether, even today, most of the people about whom this book is written would unhesitatingly and in all contexts accept the name Swahili. This book was central to the thought and lifework of the late James de Vere Allen. It is his major study of the origin of the Swahili and of their cultural identity. He focuses on how the African element in their cultural patrimony was first modified by Islam and later changed until many Swahili themselves lost sight of it. They share a language and they share a culture. Their territory stretches from the coast of southern Somalia to the Lamu archipelago in Kenya, to the Rovuma River in modern Mozambique and out into the islands of the Indian Ocean. But they lack a shared historical experience. James de Vere Allen, in this study of contentious originality, set out to give modern Swahili evidence of their shared history during a period of eight centuries. |
Contents
FOREWORD | 1 |
The Earliest Coastal Settlements | 21 |
The Setting | 38 |
Copyright | |
6 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture & the Shungwaya Phenomenon James De Vere Allen No preview available - 1993 |
Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture & the Shungwaya Phenomenon J. de V. Allen No preview available - 1993 |
Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture & the Shungwaya Phenomenon James De Vere Allen No preview available - 1993 |
Common terms and phrases
age-sets Ajuran ancestors Arab Arab-Wangwana Bajuni Bantu Barawa Borana called Chinese Chittick clan clients coastal settlements common Cushitic deme descent-sets Digo dynasty earlier early Swahili East African coast east coast Eastern Africa enclosure evidence ex-pastoralists excavations Freeman-Grenville groups Ibadi immigrants important interior Islamisation Juba Kanbalu Katwa kayas Kilwa Lamu Archipelago language later least lineages linguistic Liongo living magic Malindi Miji Mijikenda Misri mode modern Mogadishu Mombasa mosque mtepe Muslim nineteenth century non-Swahili northern origin traditions pastoralists Pate Island Pate Town patricians Pemba perhaps Periplus Persian Pokomo population Portuguese probably reference region Rhapta rituals River ruler sedentarised Segeju Select Documents sewn boats Shambaa Shanga Shirazi Islam Shungwaya Siyu slaves society Somali Southern Kenya coast successor-states Sultan Swahili coast Swahili culture Swahili history Swahili settlements Swahili world Tana term towns trade trade-routes tribes Umba Vumba Kuu waDebuli waDiba waSegeju Zanzibar Zenj