Lamu : history, society, and family in an East African port city / by Patricia W. Romero.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Topics in world historyPublication details: Princeton, NJ : Markus Wiener, ©1997.Description: x, 310 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 1558761063
  • 9781558761063
  • 1558761071
  • 9781558761070
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Online version:: Lamu.DDC classification:
  • 967.62/3 21
LOC classification:
  • DT434.L35 R66 1997
Other classification:
  • 15.80
  • 15.92
  • LB 20546
  • LB 24546
Contents:
1. A Glimpse into the Far Past: Contradictions and Traditions -- 2. War and Material Culture after Lamu's Ascendancy on the Northern Kenya Coast -- 3. Lamu Before and During the Age of Creeping Imperialism -- 4. Outsiders and their Impact: Witu, Watoro, the Germans and the IBEA -- 5. The Onset of Colonialism -- 6. The Hadrami, Comoro Islanders, and Indian Communities at the Turn of the Century -- 7. British Penetration Increases and Slave Culture in Lamu -- 8. Abolition of Slavery and Direct Rule -- 9. Life in Lamu from the 1920s: The Government and the "Swahili" -- 10. The Hadrami and Indian Communities from the 1920s -- 11. The Land Claims and the "Swahili" 1930s-1950s -- 12. Health and Leisure -- 13. Lamu through the Second World War and to Independence.
Review: "This book depicts the history of Lamu, once an important East African port city, now known as an unspoiled tourist destination and scenic location for Hollywood movies." "For centuries, communities from India, Yemen, and Oman intermingled with coastal and central African groups. This unique situation provides the author with a vantage point to observe non-European multicultural interaction. Oral traditions are central to this study. Records from both the distant past and the more recent period give voice to the opinions of the WaAmu on many issues: Islam, slavery, material culture, and the wide-ranging effects of colonialism. We see how religious practices differed between slaves who were brought to the Lamu hinterland and island, the Muslim Shi'a (who were themselves divided), and the orthodox Sunni community and the Hadramis, who introduced elements of Sufism. When outsiders threatened, the diverse religious groups almost always united against the opposition." "The Portuguese and Turks put in an appearance, as did the French, Americans, and the Germans, who had imperial designs on the Lamu archipelago. But it was the British who triumphed in the late nineteenth century. The author describes internecine conflicts, the importance of Islam, and repeated efforts to thwart the British." "Romero weaves into her account fascinating aspects of Lamu's material culture, social structure, and family life among those who are called the Swahili."--Jacket.
Item type: BOOK
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Holdings
Current library Call number Vol info Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center Library NEW ACQUISITION DT434.L35 R66 1997 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) V. Copy 1 Available 197012839

Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-304) and index.

1. A Glimpse into the Far Past: Contradictions and Traditions -- 2. War and Material Culture after Lamu's Ascendancy on the Northern Kenya Coast -- 3. Lamu Before and During the Age of Creeping Imperialism -- 4. Outsiders and their Impact: Witu, Watoro, the Germans and the IBEA -- 5. The Onset of Colonialism -- 6. The Hadrami, Comoro Islanders, and Indian Communities at the Turn of the Century -- 7. British Penetration Increases and Slave Culture in Lamu -- 8. Abolition of Slavery and Direct Rule -- 9. Life in Lamu from the 1920s: The Government and the "Swahili" -- 10. The Hadrami and Indian Communities from the 1920s -- 11. The Land Claims and the "Swahili" 1930s-1950s -- 12. Health and Leisure -- 13. Lamu through the Second World War and to Independence.

"This book depicts the history of Lamu, once an important East African port city, now known as an unspoiled tourist destination and scenic location for Hollywood movies." "For centuries, communities from India, Yemen, and Oman intermingled with coastal and central African groups. This unique situation provides the author with a vantage point to observe non-European multicultural interaction. Oral traditions are central to this study. Records from both the distant past and the more recent period give voice to the opinions of the WaAmu on many issues: Islam, slavery, material culture, and the wide-ranging effects of colonialism. We see how religious practices differed between slaves who were brought to the Lamu hinterland and island, the Muslim Shi'a (who were themselves divided), and the orthodox Sunni community and the Hadramis, who introduced elements of Sufism. When outsiders threatened, the diverse religious groups almost always united against the opposition." "The Portuguese and Turks put in an appearance, as did the French, Americans, and the Germans, who had imperial designs on the Lamu archipelago. But it was the British who triumphed in the late nineteenth century. The author describes internecine conflicts, the importance of Islam, and repeated efforts to thwart the British." "Romero weaves into her account fascinating aspects of Lamu's material culture, social structure, and family life among those who are called the Swahili."--Jacket.