Slavery and Emancipation in Islamic East Africa: From Honor to RespectabilityExamining 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 honor 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 meanings of the Swahili word heshima shifted from honor 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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Slavery and Emancipation in Islamic East Africa: From Honor to Respectability Elisabeth McMahon No preview available - 2015 |
Common terms and phrases
Abolition Decree Ali’s Arab argues Arthur Hardinge benefit binti British officials Chake Chake claimed clove colonial officials concubines Correspondence Respecting Slavery Craster debts defined definitions difficult discussed disputes East Africa elite emancipation enslaved ethnic ex-slaves Farler find first former owners former slaves freedom Friends missionaries Hamadi heshima Highness’s Court ZP honor individuals Ingrams Islamic Juma kadhi courts Kenya Khamis kinship land liivali litigants living on Pemba liwali mainland makadhi Manyema masuria mission Mohamed Mombasa moneylenders Msichoke Muslim Mzuri networks ngoma O’Sullivan-Beare oath ofthe Pemba Island Pemban society person Probate record relationships Report reputation significant slave owners Slave Trade Slavery in Zanzibar social status Stockreiter story Strobel Sufi Suleiman Sultan Swahili coast tarika TEMP MSS Theodore Burtt uchawi UMCA Unguja Unguja Island University Press Vice Consul Vice Consul Pemba vulnerability wachawi WaPemba witchcraft women Zanzibar and Pemba Zanzibar Gazette Zanzibar Protectorate Zanzibar Town