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Periodical article Periodical article
Title:Weddings in Lamu, Kenya: An example of social and economic change
Author:Romero-Curtin, P.
Year:1984
Periodical:Cahiers d'Études Africaines
Volume:24
Issue:94
Pages:131-155
Geographic term:Kenya
Discipline:Anthropology & Ethnology
Subjects:Lamu - society
Social Stratification
Ceremony - wedding
Abstract:Lamu, a prosperous seaport in the 19th century, looked to Zanzibar for her culture from the early days of Omani influence there until Zanzibar was eclipsed to some extent by Mombasa. A combination of economic factors brought rapid decline to Lamu's prosperity during the 20th century: the end of the slave trade, in which Lamu merchants played a significant role; the growth of Mombasa as a major seaport, tied to the East African interior through the rail line; the end of slavery on the mainland plantations which were owned by the Lamu Afro-Arabs. A critical examination of the wedding practices of the four groups currently living in Lamu (Afro-Arabs; the new, early 20th-century arrivals from Hadramaut; the slaves (and ex-slaves) and the Kore) assesses social and economic change in Lamu in the three time periods of the 1930s, 1950s, and 1980s is measured. (Source: ASC Documentation).
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