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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Some Problems on the Formation of the Swahili World and the Indian Ocean Maritime World
Author:Yajima, HikoichiISNI
Year:1996
Periodical:Senri Ethnological Studies
Issue:43
Pages:319-354
Language:English
Geographic term:East Africa
Subjects:Swahili
history
ethnic groups
Economics and Trade
Literature, Mass Media and the Press
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Religion and Witchcraft
Abstract:The manner in which the South-North network axis across the western Indian Ocean connecting the Persian Gulf area with the East African coast entwined the various evolutions of the Swahili world throughout history is an important, if somewhat neglected, research theme. The author analyses the South-North network axis in terms of the differences in geographical and ecological conditions which stimulated the development of long-distance trade, the conditions of human movement and the relationships between the centre and the periphery of Islamic civilization. The Arabic 'saw¯a.hil' which appeared in various Arabic historical records indicates that the proper name 'al-Saw¯a.hil' was already used frequently from the 14th through the late 15th century, and that it referred to the city of Mombasa and environs. In the 16th and 17th century, the geographical limit of 'al-Saw¯a.hil' expanded to encompass the area from the southern limit of Mogadishu to Kilwa, equivalent to the region formally called 'al-Zanj'. The author hypothesizes that the terms 'al-Saw¯a.hil/Swahili' were not mentioned by Omani Arabs or by Portuguese authors because, unlike the Yemenite .Ha.dram¯is, who were strongly integrated in local society and culture, they conquered and dominated East Africa and did not recognize the growing cultural self-consciousness of the Swahili world. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
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