Wedding ceremonies and cultural exchange in an Indian Ocean port city
The case of Zanzibar Town
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3609670 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amina A Issa, Amina Issa (Zanzibar University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 467-478 |
| Publication date | 2012-09-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Dynamics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0253-3952 • E-ISSN: 1940-7874 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02533952.2012.756720 |
| OpenAlex | W2077420050 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 8 |
This paper investigates the historical processes in which wedding rituals were formed and transformed in urban Zanzibar. From the early nineteenth century, Zanzibar Town became a meeting point of local and several foreign cultures that originated from other western Indian Ocean port cities. 1 1. Zanzibar is composed of two sister islands, Unguja and Pemba. Zanzibar Town is located on the western side of Unguja Island, and is formed by the Stone Town and Ng’ambo areas. The island offered, received and shared its culture with these migrant communities. One cultural aspect where this can be seen is in the relatedness and interrelatedness of wedding rituals including songs, customs, norms and rites. Through the narrations of urban women in Zanzibar, this paper offers insights into this cultural intermingling when it comes to weddings and gives voice to the self-understandings of women, reflecting on their own lives, circumstances, and culture. The article concentrates on the singo (scrubbing) ritual and henna application (kuchora na kupaka hina), two important customs observed a few days before the actual wedding. The intent is to show the cosmopolitanism of these wedding rituals. I argue that the rituals have changed according to the economic and political circumstances and needs of the people
Ancient history · Cosmopolitanism · Cultural exchange · Ethnology · Geography · Indian ocean · Political science · Politics · Port (circuit theory · Sister · Sociology · African history and culture studies · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Law · Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies
| Citations per year | 0.17 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2020 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |