Reviews for Sufis and Scholars of the Sea: Family Networks in East Africa, 1860-1925

The average rating for Sufis and Scholars of the Sea: Family Networks in East Africa, 1860-1925 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-04-29 00:00:00 Daniel Dobsinsky In Three Swahili Women, Sarah Mirza and Margaret Strobel have brought together the life stories of three women who together represent a cross-section of the Swahili people living in Mombasa during the early and middle parts of the twentieth century. Bi Kaje wa Mwenye Matano was born around 1890 to an impoverished Muslim man from Mombasa and his slave concubine. Her reminiscences occupy the majority of the text. Mishi wa Abdala (b. ca. 1900) was the descendant of slaves originally brought to Mombasa from Mozambique. Though her parents converted to Christianity when they were emancipated, Ma Mishi was raised as a Muslim. Shamsha Muhamad Muhashamy (b. 1919) was the daughter of a family of mixed Omani and Hadrami Arab lineage. Despite their differing family backgrounds and economic statuses, all three women identified as Swahili, and the interviews conducted with them offer some fascinating insights into the varying experiences lived by Swahili women in the region. However, that the interviews were originally conducted on an informal basis and not intended for publication does show'at times the text is rambling and confusing (Bi Kaje's narrative especially can be contradictory), while in other places one can't help but wonder if the interviewer's interests shape the stories told a little too much.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-02-21 00:00:00 Hugo Marques I came across this book when I was doing research for a paper I was writing about the history of East- African women pre-colonial era. There is so much history that has been written about West -African especially Nigeria. I wanted to concentrate my research on the history of East African women. The Three Swahili women definitely filled a part of that void that was missing in my research. It is a good primary source if you want to know more East African women who by the way are very different from West African Women ( in general women from Africa are characterized depending on, which region of Africa they come from, West, East, Central, South or North: I have friends from all over Africa, but my closest friends are mainly from East Africa because our cultures have similarities). Some times Western countries confuse West African history to include all of Africa. Contrary to this believe, African women are different from across the continent. This is not even fair review of this book, please read it for your self. You will not regret it.