There is a need to understand the Indian Ocean area as a cultural complex which should be analysed beyond the geographical divisions of Africa, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and South-East Asia, as its coastal populations have intermingled constantly. The movement of people, goods and technology make it imperative that spatial concepts and the role of material culture be central in the study of the region by archaeologists, historians, ethnographers and anthropologists.
By Stephen Headley, David Parkin
August 24, 2000
In its attempt to squash the influence of animism and pantheism or polytheism and to promote the idea of the One and Only Absolute God, Islam has come up against a tendency within itself to incorporate certain local religious traditions and practices. This book shares that combination of ...
Edited
By Ruth Barnes, David Parkin
January 20, 2016
Recognising the fundamental role both of shipping communities and the technologies crafted and shared by them, this book explores the types of ships, methods of navigation and modes of water-borne trade in the Indian Ocean region and the way they affected the development of distinctive settlements ...
By Anne Bang
May 30, 2014
Anne Bang focuses on the ways in which a particular Islamic brotherhood, or 'tariqa', the tariqa Alawiyya, spread, maintained and propagated their particular brand of the Islamic faith. Originating in the South-Yemeni region of Hadramawt, the Alawi tariqa mainly spread along the coast of the ...
Edited
By Ruth Barnes
September 10, 2012
Textiles in Indian Ocean Societies considers the importance of trade, and the transformation of the meaning of objects has the move between different cultures. It also addresses issues of gender, ethnic and religious identity, and economic status. The book covers a broad geographic range from East ...
Edited
By Shanti Moorthy, Ashraf Jamal
July 11, 2012
The Indian Ocean is famously referred to as the "cradle of globalization," as it facilitated cultural and economic exchanges between Africa, the Arab world, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and China, for 5000 years prior to European presence in the region. As this ocean's significance has ...
By Edward Simpson
June 09, 2009
Based on substantial ethnographic, textual and archival research, this interesting book offers a new perspective on the anthropology of the western Indian Ocean. Writing in a clear, engaging style, and covering an impressive range of theoretical terrain, Simpson critically explores the ...