Social history

Knowledge, renewal and religion : repositioning and changing ideological and material circumstances among the Swahili on the East African coast

Medarbetare:	Larsen, Kjersti
Utgivare:	Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	Social anthropology, Cultural anthropology, cultural identity, Islam, Social change, modernization, Social history, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi

In the past decades religion has entered the political debate and is evoked in relation to a variety of events taking place around the world. Religion and religious differences, not political, economic or social, are claimed to be the cause rather than an expression of – or even a reaction to – ongoing problems. Islam and Christianity (or also Islam and Hinduism) are, in most cases, represented not only as opposed, but also as incommensurable worldviews, value systems and identities, where the one is threatening the existence of the other. Among the Swahili on the East-African Coast, this trend provokes questions related to whether we should approach what appear to be expressions of religious positioning in terms of renewal of previous understandings and relationships, or as a rephrasing of complex and conflictual matters that were always part of Swahili society. The papers in this book reveal that the Swahili are experiencing worsening economic, political and social conditions. Within these circumstances, Islam is invoked as a source of knowledge that not only explains the current state of life and living, but also gives directions on how to cope with and to change the situation for the better. Islam is both what reinforces Swahili identity and a particular way of life, and at the same time, given the current international climate, further marginalizes Swahili society and culture.

Land struggles & social differentiation in Southern Mozambique

Upphovsperson:	Hermele, Kenneth
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	1988
Ämnesord:	Chokwe, Mocambique, Southern Africa, Land tenure, State farms, Land reform, Social inequality, Colonialism, History, Economic history, Social history, Post-war, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

This essay tells the story of an important area in the fertile Limpopo valley in southern Mozambique. It documents for the first time the rise and the fall of a major Portuguese settlement venture in Africa, and it pursues the story through the state farm epoch. In 1983, the agricultural development strategy changed, and land begun to be distributed to the peasants. This essay terminates by describing this latest phase, highlighting the strong differentiating effects and the class formation that is taking place in the area.