Sacred void: spatial images of work and ritual among the Giriama of Kenya

In this innovative study, David Parkin shows how indigenous African rites and beliefs may be reworked to accommodate a variety of economic systems, new spatial and ecological relations between communities, and the locally variable influences of Islam and Christianity. The Giriama people of Kenya inc...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Parkin, David J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Book
Language:English
Subito Delivery Service: Order now.
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1991.
In:Year: 1991
Reviews:Sacred Void: Spatial Images of Work and Ritual among the Giriama of Kenya. David Parkin (1993) (Johnson, Paul Christopher)
Series/Journal:Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology 80
Further subjects:B Giryama (African people) Social life and customs
B Giryama (African people) ; Religion
B Giryama (African people) ; Social life and customs
B Giryama (African people) Religion
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Erscheint auch als: 9780521404662
Description
Summary:In this innovative study, David Parkin shows how indigenous African rites and beliefs may be reworked to accommodate a variety of economic systems, new spatial and ecological relations between communities, and the locally variable influences of Islam and Christianity. The Giriama people of Kenya include pastoralists living in the hinterland; farmers, who work land closer to the coast; and migrants, who earn money as labourers or fishermen on the coast itself. Wherever they live, they revere an ancient and formerly fortified capital, located in the pastoralist hinterland, which few of them ever see or visit. Their different perspectives sometimes conflict, but together provide a shifting idea of the sacred place. As the site of occasional large-scale ceremonies, moreover, the settlement becomes especially important at times of national crisis. It then acts as a moral core of Giriama society, and a symbolic defence against total domination and assimilation.
Item Description:Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015)
ISBN:0511521138
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511521133