Description |
1 online resource : text file, PDF |
Series |
Routledge Worlds |
Contents |
The Swahili World- Front Cover -- The Swahili World -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- List of maps -- Contributors -- Maps -- Preface -- Note on terminology -- References -- Chapter 1: The Swahili world -- The Swahili world -- The myth of external origins and its legacy -- Naming the Swahili -- Perspectives in space and time -- Chronology and change -- Periods of time and modes of understanding -- References -- PART I: Environment, background and Swahili historiography -- Environment |
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Chapter 2: The eastern African coastal landscapeIntroduction -- Oceanography and marine life -- Climate -- Sea-level change -- Geology and physical features -- Vegetation -- Soils -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 3: Resources of the ocean fringe and the archaeology of the medieval Swahili -- Resources: their historical and archaeological traces -- Fishing ethnographies -- Craft, construction and industrial resources -- Foreshore industrial islets -- Maritime architecture -- Transport of resources -- Littoral studies -- Acknowledgements |
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Recognising the Swahili archaeologically: perceptions and reactions, old and newDating by architectural style and Islamic reference; correlations with numismatics and chronicles -- Post-pioneer coastal and island archaeology รข#x80;#x93; in both continental and oceanic contexts -- References -- Chapter 5: Defining the Swahili -- Introduction -- Swahili affiliation: naming the coast and its residents -- Mixing metaphors: Arab half-castes and African creoles -- Articulating Swahili: from speech community to cosmopolitan society -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References |
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Chapter 6: Decoding the genetic ancestry of the SwahiliIntroduction -- Materials and methods -- Results -- Discussion -- Acknowledgements -- References -- Contextualising the Swahili -- Chapter 7: Early connections -- Eastern African islands and the emergence of a maritime orientation -- First evidence of long-distance connections and Indian Ocean trade -- Connections to Southeast Asia -- New research questions -- Conclusions -- Acknowledgements -- References -- Chapter 8: The Swahili language and its early history -- The origins of Swahili |
Summary |
"The Swahili World presents the fascinating story of a major world civilization, exploring the archaeology, history, linguistics, and anthropology of the Indian Ocean coast of Africa. It covers a 1,500-year sweep of history, from the first settlement of the coast to the complex urban tradition found there today. Swahili towns contain monumental palaces, tombs, and mosques, set among more humble houses; they were home to fishers, farmers, traders, and specialists of many kinds. The towns have been Muslim since perhaps the eighth century CE, participating in international networks connecting people around the Indian Ocean rim and beyond. Successive colonial regimes have helped shape modern Swahili society, which has incorporated such influences into the region's long-standing cosmopolitan tradition. This is the first volume to explore the Swahili in chronological perspective. Each chapter offers a unique wealth of detail on an aspect of the region's past, written by the leading scholars on the subject. The result is a book that allows both specialist and non-specialist readers to explore the diversity of the Swahili tradition, how Swahili society has changed over time, as well as how our understandings of the region have shifted since Swahili studies first began. Scholars of the African continent will find the most nuanced and detailed consideration of Swahili culture, language and history ever produced. For readers unfamiliar with the region or the people involved, the chapters here provide an ideal introduction to a new and wonderful geography, at the interface of Africa and the Indian Ocean world, and among a people whose culture remains one of Africa's most distinctive achievements."--Provided by publisher |
Subject |
Swahili-speaking peoples -- Africa, East -- Civilization
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Swahili-speaking peoples -- Africa, East -- History
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Swahili-speaking peoples -- Africa, East -- Social conditions
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Swahili-speaking peoples -- Africa, East -- Economic conditions
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Antiquities
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Swahili-speaking peoples
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Swahili-speaking peoples -- Social conditions
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Africa, East -- Antiquities
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Africa, East
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Genre/Form |
History
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Form |
Electronic book
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Author |
LaViolette, Adria
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ISBN |
9781315691459 |
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1315691450 |
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9781317430162 |
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1317430166 |
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