Nina Holmes 297270 BA Developments studies and African studies Culture in Africa 155900838 Coursework number 1 Is language relevant

at all in the perception of identity in Africa? Can a person claim to have Swahili identity if s/he does not understand or speak the relevant language? Word count: 2447

Is language relevant at all in the perception of identity in Africa? Can a person claim to have Swahili identity if s/he does not understand or speak the relevant language? Introduction A man who has language, consequently possesses the world expressed and implied by that languagei. This statement by Fanon in his famous book, Black Skins White Masks, expresses a view that language allows membership to a group cultural identity. Identity is the characteristics a person possesses, and when these characteristics are common to a group the individual is perceived or perceives themselves as a member. This paper will draw upon Fanons argument to explore the question of importance of language on the perception of identity, then turning to examine it in a Swahili context. How the Swahili people are defined has been long debated, whether they are a tribe or an ethnic group. For the purpose of this paper it is not necessary to enter this debate; Waswahili will be discussed as a group that shares a common identity, and what defines this identity will be examined throughout. For this reason, the second part of the paper will look at what other factors, besides language, are important in the perceptions of identity of the Waswahili. This will use Hinos model of understanding Swahili culture examining his four of his five elements; urban, Islamic faith, Swahili lifestyle, Swahili language and racial identityii. A Swahili . . . in the more confined sense of the word, is a descendant of one of the original Arab or Persian-Arab settlers on the East African Coast. In the broader sense of the word it includes all who speak a common language, Swahili.iii This quote by Captain Stigand demonstrates a widely held view of who are the Swahili people, or Waswahili. However it is dated, Stigand was alive around the turn of the 20th century. Therefore this paper will look at the history of the Waswahili as well as the conditions that contribute to perceptions of modern identity. Language and cultural identity Slabbert and Finlayson argue that language is symbolic of the individuals or groups identityiv. A common language is the expression of common culture. Language allows access to the cultural traditions of a group. For example, proficiency in a language allows people to truly understand their literature. Different languages also use different forms of categorisation, meaning that language is also central to understanding kinship and social structures within a group. Language and Swahili identity Kiswahili is the language of the Waswahili but also the national or official language of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, the Comoros and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The total number of speakers is estimated at around 60 million people but in contrast, only five million people as a native speakerv. The fact that the number of speakers of Kiswahili is so large but only a fraction of them are native speakers makes the argument of Swahili language as key to membership of the Swahili people a complex one. There must be other factors that are relevant to perception of Swahili identity, as not every Kiswahili speaker will class themselves as Waswahili.

Kiswahili is a Bantu language. However there are many loan words, mainly taken from Arabic as a result of centuries of contact with Arabic speakers through trade. There are also loan words and stylistic influences from languages such as English, Portuguese, German and Persian. The earliest documents featuring Kiswahili were written in the Arabic script, dated from 1728vi. Topan argues that language is the only element of Swahili identity that is not debated in its centrality to Swahilisation, the process of becoming Swahili. He argues that Swahilisation has been more widespread in Tanzania because of the use of Swahili language as an administrative language under the German rulevii. This implies that language allows access to the other dimensions of Swahili identity. In the last fifty years, the language and its significance has changed as more countries have adopted Kiswahili as their national or official language. After independence, Tanzania was the first nation to make Kiswahili the national language. It became a symbol of the oppressed during the campaign for independence and Julius Nyerere, the first President of Tanzania and a key political campaigner for independence, wanted to make Kiswahili a symbol of new identity and national unity. He wanted a National Culture for Tanzania, led by Kiswahiliviii along with many other policies, as part of what he called Ujamaa. However, Nyereres vision of national unity stemming from Kiswahili has not been realised. Someone that is socio-linguistically Waswahili may not consider themselves to be a genuine Swahili person or Mswahili. In fact, mswahili can be a derogatory term in Dar es Salaam, meaning someone who is poor mannered, lives in poor conditions and has little educationix. This shows that language is not the only unifying quality of the Waswahili otherwise this discrimination would not be experienced from a Kiswahili speaker. Language is not a sufficient condition to Swahili identity. Eastman argues that there are two Kiswahili in Kenya, the national language which is heavily influenced by English, and the coastal which is spoken by those she defines as the core Swahilix. This allows some distinction between the 60 million speakers of Kiswahili and the Waswahili. However what other factors also make this distinction? Racial identity Mazrui and Shariff describe modern Swahili people as a living expression of an African-Arab process of intermarriage...even prior to the Christian eraxi. Anyone who claimed an Arab ancestor through marriage on the fathers side, along with speaking Kiswahili and professing Islam could be considered an Arab. Being an Arab was considered to bring higher status which led to many people opting out of Swahili identity. This created categories among a group that lived in the same area, spoke the same language, prayed together and shared the same cultural traditions such as dance, thus dividing a group considered to share a culturexii. The Portuguese in the late 15th century confirmed this by classing Swahili people as Islamic people, with close proximity to Arabs. There was no difference between their racial and religious identityxiii. However, in the late 19th century under German rule they were seen as black Africans, their Africanity deemed more important than their Arab identity due to racial ideologies of the period, which stripped them of their status gained through their ancestryxiv.

This continued during British colonial rule, when Africans were seen as being at the bottom of society, with Arabs then Europeans holding high status. Arabs were not required to pay taxes as they were not seen as native, which added incentive to claiming Arab identityxv. In Zanzibar census data, the number of people that classed themselves as Waswahili decreased from 33,944 in 1924 to 290 in 1948, as more prestigious categories such as Arab, or Shirazi and Wahadimu ethnic groups became more prevalentxvi. These points show how the Arab influence has played a big part in Waswahili identity throughout history, whether it is perceived or how they self-identify. However Allen argues that Swahili identity is not conditional to Afro-Arab ethnicity. He states that being Swahilised is a phenomenon entirely cultural and not racial or tribalxvii. It is argued that the idea of Swahili identity being reliant on Afro-Arab heritage is Eurocentric, shadowed by historical viewpoints of colonisers. By defining the Waswahili as in between being African and Arab it denies them their Africanity. Acknowledging the historical links between the East coast of Africa and the Middle East and the effect of this on their racial identity does not deny the Waswahili their Africanity. History academia may often be Euro-centric but surely the real injustice to the Waswahili is the oppression they faced from colonial rulers because of their Africanity, not how their reaction to this has been documented. Topan states that post-independence and after the Zanzibar revolution in 1964, there was an influx in Mswahili (Swahili individual), meaning an increase in people self-identifying as Swahili instead of Arabxviii. The Zanzibar revolution saw the overthrowing of the Sultan of Zanzibar and his Arab government so in the region the atmosphere was very pro-African and anti-Arab. As we have already seen, Nyereres Ujamaa put Kiswahili at the front of post-independence politics as well as other qualities of the Waswahili which agreed with new governments policies that tribalism was negative for society. This meant that the status of Waswahili increased greatly as did those that identified as suchxix. These points show that Swahili racial identity is fluid and has been perceived differently during certain periods in history. Despite these changes, whether they are Arab or African has been and still is a crucial factor to their perceived identity as well as their self defined identity. Religion Islam has been found in the coastal areas of east Africa since the eight centuryxx. It was first introduced through trade with Arab nations. The religion allowed access to commerce links as well as knowledge through scholars work on medicine, law and astrologyxxi. However Allen argues that the Waswahili became Muslims because it provided benefits to them, such as a cosmopolitan lifestyle, to help with trade and gain knowledgexxii. Salim talks about the core and periphery of Swahili identity, claiming Islam is at the core. He states that Islamic values are seen in many aspects of Swahili culture from customs and mannerisms to literature and architecture. He asks that if a Swahili culture exists without Islam, what are the characteristics of such a culture?xxiii Islam has been part of the daily lives of Swahili people for so long that it has influenced almost everything they do, therefore being indispensible to their identity.

Mazrui and Shariff argue that it is a religion as a grid of cultural practices that counts in Swahili identity. They argue that there are people that are ethnically Swahili but non-Muslim, and they follow Islamic-Swahili customs in all areas of life except that of worshipxxiv. This seems more relevant for modern society because it takes into account events that have affected Swahilisation of noncoastal dwellers. It allows space for the fluidity of Swahili identity, and how it has changed through external influences such as Kiswahili becoming the language of Christian prayer as well during colonial periods as well as nationalisation of Kiswahili meaning a secularisation of the language. Religion has played a part in Swahili identity continuously throughout history since its introduction. However not every person that considers themselves Mswahili also considers themselves Muslim. What is more important is what the religion implies about the groups values and philosophies than the practise of the religion itself. Song, Dance and Literature Topan argues that songs and dance help forge and maintain Swahili identity at levels of the person, the group and the communityxxv. As well as a symbol of Swahili identity, it has been used in the process of Swahilisation of people not from the coastal areas. Taarab is a traditional song that originally came from Egypt, reflecting the Arab influence in the Swahili culture. It is argued that it has been Swahilised and represents different aspects of Swahili cultural identityxxvi, from the Arab history to current issues faced by the Waswahili. The songs were sang in Arabic by men until the 1930s when a woman called Siti binti Saad began the process of Swahilisation by singing in Kiswahili. Taarab has become a symbol of new autonomy of the Waswahili from the Arabs, with the Zanzibar revolution also being called a Taarab revolution. Taarab songs have changed dramatically since the 1930s, with change in performance techniques, new instruments, wider performance and different themes in the lyrics. It can be argued that Taarab songs reflect changes in Swahili identityxxvii. They show how Swahili identity is fluid and mobile, as well as how Mswahili identity can be multiple on local, national and global levels demonstrated by the use of new language structures and English. Song and dance are important for perceptions of Swahili identity because they reflect the views and the experiences of the people that create them, the shared qualities of a group which constructs the identity. Conclusion In the modern day, it is difficult to find unifying factors that distinguish the Swahili people. Cultural identity is so fluid, it is impossible to define a group on a set of characteristics that remain the same. Kiswahili demonstrates many different important aspects of Waswahili identity through the influence of Arabic on the language. Loan words from Arabic show the heavy Arab and Islamic influences seen in the history of the people, as well as the influence of colonial rules. Kiswahili will allow for greater understanding of the Waswahili but it does not qualify membership.

As much as Kiswahili is a unifying feature of the Waswahili, it is far from the only one. The nationalisation of the language since independence, and even the widespread use before that, means that not every Kiswahili speaker can claim to be Mswahili. Racial identity is important for Swahili identity because it demonstrates the fluidity of Swahili identity, and how the Waswahili have constructed their identity for themselves. They may have been dispossessed of their identity at points in history but they have also defined their own. m Islam is one influence that has remained continuous throughout a long period of the history of the Waswahili. However, for modern Swahili identity it is what the religion implies rather than the practise that defines an Mswahili. All these factors are important in the perception of Swahili identity, but not one alone allows an individual to claim Swahili identity. It is the effect of the way these factors have influenced their history and therefore the way in which the Waswahili view the world around them that defines their identity, as is demonstrated in their song and dance.
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Fanon, F., 1952;13 Topan, F., in Parkin, D. Eds., 1994;139 iii Eastman, C., 1971;228 iv Finlayson, R., Slabbert, S.,2005;20 v http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili_language vi Zhukov, A.,2004;3 vii Topan, F., in Parkin, D. Eds., 1994; 142 viii Blommaert, J., 1994;71 and 73 ix Blommaert, J., 1994;80 x Eastman, C., in Parkin, D. Eds., 1994;82 xi Mazrui, A., Shariff, I.,1994;19 xii Allen 1979 cited in Topan, F., 1994;140 xiii Mazrui, A., Shariff, I.,1994;25 xiv Mazrui, A., Shariff, I.,1994;25 xv Topan, F., in Parkin, D. Eds., 1994;139 and Arens, W.,1975;433 xvi Arens, W., 1975;433 xvii Allen 1979 cited in Topan, F., 1994;140 xviii Topan, F., 1994;149 xix Arens, W., 1975;434 xx Topan, F. 2001;107 xxi Mazrui, A., Shariff, I.,1994;30 xxii Topan, F., in Parkin, D. Eds., 1994;143 xxiii Topan, F., in Parkin, D. Eds., 1994;143 xxiv Mazrui, A., Shariff, I.,1994;35 xxv Topan, F., in Parkin, D. Eds., 1994;139 xxvi Topp, J., in Parkin, D. Eds., 1994;153 xxvii Topan, F., Caplan, P., 2004;188
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