Slavery and emancipation in Islamic East Africa : from honor to respectability

The Resource Slavery and emancipation in Islamic East Africa : from honor to respectability
Label
Slavery and emancipation in Islamic East Africa : from honor to respectability
Title remainder
from honor to respectability
Statement of responsibility
Elisabeth McMahon
Title variation
Slavery & Emancipation in Islamic East Africa
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
Examining the process of abolition on the island of Pemba off the East African coast in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this book demonstrates the links between emancipation and the redefinition of honour among all classes of people on the island. By examining the social vulnerability of ex-slaves and the former slave-owning elite caused by the abolition order of 1897, this study argues that moments of resistance on Pemba reflected an effort to mitigate vulnerability rather than resist the hegemonic power of elites or the colonial state. As the meaning of the Swahili word heshima shifted from honour to respectability, individuals' reputations came under scrutiny and the Islamic kadhi and colonial courts became an integral location for interrogating reputations in the community. This study illustrates the ways in which former slaves used piety, reputation, gossip, education, kinship and witchcraft to negotiate the gap between emancipation and local notions of belonging.--
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Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
UkCbUP
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
dictionaries
Series statement
  • African studies
  • Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks
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