The Swahili

The Swahili-speaking peoples of the East African coast are one of the most-studied and yet least-understood peoples of Africa. This paradox stems from the long-standing assumption that the Swahili represent an Arab Muslim culture divorced from their Bantu-speaking African neighbors--"alien jewels on a strange and distant shore." This has led historians, linguists, archaeologists, and students of literature alike to treat the Swahili as a foreign civilization and to disregard the African nature of Swahili culture and society. Derek Nurse and Thomas Spear show that what distinguishes the Swahili from their neighbors is not their alien "race" or culture; it is the fact that they are maritime urban-dwelling farmers and herders. The most significant element in Swahili history is thus not their foreign origins, but their development of syncretic and specialized cultures alongside those of other African peoples. The Swahili brings together the authors' own original research and a reinterpretation of earlier works in a fresh and comprehensive synthesis, showing the development of these peoples, their language, cultures, and societies, over more than five centuries. The emphasis is on a broad conceptual approach, establishing an overall framework in which existing local studies can be viewed in a wider context.