Posted on 06/05/2006 8:27:45 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Nor were written documents neglected in those days. Led by John Hunwick, R.S. O'Fahey, and others, historians increasingly tapped the many Arabic and other written documents of Islamic Africa to reconstruct the past of those societies. The Arab Literature of Africa series of catalogues, published by E. J. Brill in the Netherlands, has continued to attract attention to this formerly neglected area of the Islamic world, which has had much impact not only on other parts of Africa but even on the central Islamic lands themselves but which had been shamefully and systematically neglected in Brockelmann's monumental five volume history of Arabic literature.
(Excerpt) Read more at hnn.us ...
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Thanks for the reference. Of course Euro centered historiography neglects the heroic African Christian resistance to Islam over the past 1300 years...especially in North and East Africa.
For a history of African colonization I recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380719991/qid=1149522770/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-8633530-1973640?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
and
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007DQ0ZO/qid=1149522922/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-8633530-1973640?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
Herein lies the problem.
"Reconstituting" history is not like just "adding water".
It involves intimately the intention , the biases and the wishful thinking of the "reconstitutioner".
Regadless if his good intentions and expertise, that can never substitute for written documents created by the people whose history is being written. It is simply impossible.
Call it anything you want, but "history" it isn't.
"Call it anything you want,but history it isn't."Agree.
Reading a written document employs just as many biases and wishful thoughts as using oral sources. Look at any serious attempt to translate Egyptian or Mayan hieroglyphic inscriptions if you need further proof.
have you read anything of e pritchet on his time in egypt or with the azande? great works even though they are a bit dated
E.E. Evans-Pritchards "Witchcraft, Oracles and Magfic among the Azande, 1937, is a great read. (get the abridge version, the unabridged is very very very tedious)It was one of the first modern ethnographies in anthropology. I havent read more than excerpts of his writing from egypt though, but they seem to be quite inciteful as well.
Thank you, I'll look into it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.