African History

Organized Week 9 Presentation Notes

Lumumba Shabaka

Perception of origin

Swahili emphasized distinctivesness

* Swahili means “coasters” in Arabic

* Claiming Persian & Arab descent

* Uungwana (civilized) ways

* Swahili architecture emerged suddenly along with Muslim religion in 11 & 12 cent, supposedly no local archetypes

* Ustaaarabu (Arabness): used Arab script, Arab names, etc.

* 1980s: Neville Chittick & Mark Horton challenge this sudden rise;

World System Linkage

* Egyptian, Arab, Chinese & Portuguese documents

* Periplus Maris Erythraei: Egyptian Greek merchant (40AD-55) related to coastal trading sites

* Ptolemy’s ( 87-150 AD) Geography: described metropolis & cave dwellers near a large river

* Prof. Felix Chami’s discovery of cave dwellers with pottery & human bones in Juani Island near Rufiji River corroborates Ptolemy

* Dr. Chami’s findings were dated to 600 BC. “They included Greco-Roman pottery, Syrian glass vessels, Sassanian pottery from Persia & glass beads.” (BBC, Wed 17 April, 2002)

* Kmt dominated the Red Sea trade from 2500 BC to 200 BC

* Aksum linking East Africa with Greco-Roman from 2 Cent BC to 200 AD

* Persia (570-616 AD conquered Egypt & Yemen)

Bantu

* From 9th century: expansion of local communities of farmers, fishers and traders

* Kiswahili is a Bantu language

* Closely Related to Sabaki languages on Kenyan coast

* Early Origin from Northeast Coast languages of Tanzania

* Borrowed from Arabic words mostly in: jurisprudence, trade, religion, non-indigenous flora & maritime affair

* This influence was recent in 17th-19 centuries

* Over 1000 years few influence of Arabic in Kiswahili morphology & phonology

* Was not a pidgin or creole as argued by Alamin Mazrui and Ibrahim Noor Sheriff

* Established in 9th cent area of Lamu Archipelago

* Shiraz origin tradition cannot be proven with archaeology...