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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:'Gendered Narratives': History, and Identity: Two Centuries along the Juba River among the Zigula and Shanbara
Author:Declich, FrancescaISNI
Year:1995
Periodical:History in Africa
Volume:22
Pages:93-122
Language:English
Geographic term:Somalia
Subjects:Somali
Zigula
women
oral traditions
History and Exploration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Historical/Biographical
Cultural Roles
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3171910
Abstract:It has recently been argued that the 'construction and deconstruction of tribal identities were features of history' in northeast Tanzania 'before there was any major direct European influence on the ordering of identity there'. The case of Zigula and Somali speakers in the Gosha area along the Juba River (Somalia) appears very similar. The conflicting versions of supposedly historical facts reported in colonial writings seem to demonstrate this. The present paper presents a picture of some of the reasons why the Gosha people presented themselves through multiple narratives when these data were gathered; reveals which groups were interested in supporting different versions and hypothesizes why this was the case; and uncovers some of the misleading representations concerning the people living in the Gosha area. The author supports her argument with analyses of some Zigula narratives and the way in which certain aspects, notably information regarding the basic Zigula matrikin groupings, have been disregarded by the 'historiography' of the area. She shows that by emphasizing the use of both female and male oral sources, one realizes that the local perception of history is gender-specific. Notes, ref.
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