Product Description
African Voices, African Lives explores the world ofMohammed, a Swahili peasant living on Mafia Island, Tanzania. Throughhis own words and those of his relatives, the reader sees the worldthrough his eyes, including the invisible world of spirits which playsa significant role in his life.

This information was gathered by anthropologist Pat Caplan over almostthree decades of talking and writing with Mohammed. She acts not onlyas translator and editor, but also as interpreter, bringing in her ownknowledge gathered from field data as well as comparative materialfrom other anthropological work. This study will make an importantcontribution to current debates in anthropology by grappling withissues raised by "personal narratives", authorial authority, and withreflexivity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good book for anthropology students/ if interested in Africa
This book is a very interesting read if you are interested in the culture of East Africa, are studying anthropology or are thinking of travelling in the region. Pat Caplan writes the book in easy to understand languagemaking it accessible to all and the life history of her key subject,Mohammed, who lives on Mafia Island off the Tanzanian mainland isfascinating. Because she has studied and visited the island on severaloccassions she has developed a close relationship with him, and so s isable to really get to grips with life on the island. It was her changingrelationship with him and other members of his family that most interestedme and her book is definately one of the most interesting in depth writingson East Africa. ... Read more

Product Description
The Swahili of East Africa have a long and distinctive history as a literate, Muslim, urban, and mercantile society. This book presents an anthropological account of the Swahili and offers an original analysis of their little-understood and unusual culture. Swahili towns, some urban with elegant stone buildings and others more rural with palm-leaf matting houses, are spread along the 1000 mile East African coast. Because each local community is culturally different from its neighbours, previous historians and anthropologists have viewed the Swahili as a series of isolated and "detribalized" groups. John Middleton argues, on the contrary, that beneath the cultural variation is a single structure, that of a well-defined and complex trading society that has shown little change through the ages. Drawing on his own field research and on earlier writings on the Swahili, Middleton describes this centuries-old mercantile culture, its local and descent groupings, marriage patterns, religion, and values.He traces the history of their colonized past as subjects to Arabs, Portuguese, British, and others and shows that although their economic and political role has continually been a subordinate one, their sense of their unique identity enables them to persist as an ongoing civilization. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Detailed documentation of Swahili culture
"The World of the Swahili" by anthropology professor John Middleton is a very detailed description of Swahili culture.The book covers the basic anthropology subjects: courtship and marriage, family, politics, land tenure, home ownership, and so on.The Swahili culture is complex and somewhat difficult to define; there has never really been a Swahili nation-state, and many of the people who live in Swahili cities are not recognized as Swahili.Middleton writes from his own long experience of East Africa (he is the author of several books) as well as bibliographic research.This text is aimed at the reader with some experience in anthropology or East Africa.

If you're really interested, go for it!
Not for the faint-hearted, find the anthropologist within and spend some devoted time getting into this book about the People of the Coast.If you have any interest in the historic or mercantile aspects of the Swahilicivilization and culture, we'd recommend it.Not for light readers,though. ... Read more