Suchergebnisse

"Muslim Society and the Western Indian Ocean explores the social processes through which practical reasoning is translated into meaningful collective action. Focusing on craft learning and religious practice, the study examines the ways in which the two kinds of knowledge are simultaneously transmitted between Muslim masters and apprentices in the traditional shipyards of Kachchh, Gujarat. The chapters of the book are loosely structured around the career trajectory of the typical apprentice, from his early years of labouring in shipyards to his later life as an accomplished sailor, experienced in the ways of the Indian Ocean. Apprenticeship is treated as a process that puts into stark relief broader social processes and concerns."--Jacket

AbstractFor many good reasons, after natural disasters it is common to work with 'memory' as part of a collective catharsis and a globalized humanitarian logic. Long‐term anthropological research on the aftermath of the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, however, also demonstrates the significance of forgetting in local practice. Immediately after the disaster, people vowed to abandon the sites of their loss, leave the ruins as monuments, and rebuild anew on safer ground. In time, though, life returned to the ruins as the terrible proximity of death receded, as memories and new salience were shaped by acts of reconstruction. The article explores some of the political and social factors that make this form of forgetting possible – or even necessary. Evidence of earlier earthquakes in the same region indicates that such 'forgetting' has an established history. Together, ethnographic and archival materials combine to cast doubt over the emphasis on 'remembering' as the only 'memory solution' to suffering.

For many good reasons, after natural disasters it is common to work with 'memory' as part of a collective catharsis and a globalized humanitarian logic. Long‐term anthropological research on the aftermath of the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, however, also demonstrates the significance of forgetting in local practice. Immediately after the disaster, people vowed to abandon the sites of their loss, leave the ruins as monuments, and rebuild anew on safer ground. In time, though, life returned to the ruins as the terrible proximity of death receded, as memories and new salience were shaped by acts of reconstruction. The article explores some of the political and social factors that make this form of forgetting possible – or even necessary. Evidence of earlier earthquakes in the same region indicates that such 'forgetting' has an established history. Together, ethnographic and archival materials combine to cast doubt over the emphasis on 'remembering' as the only 'memory solution' to suffering.