Use the "back" button of your browser to return to the list of abstracts.
HISTORICIZING BOOKS AMONG THE MUSLIM OROMO IN SOUTHWESTERN ETHIOPIA [Abstract ID: 1201-05]
Books, either printed or handwritten, have a special meaning for Muslim intellectuals. They are not only resources for preserving and transmitting knowledge, but the possession of them is conceived of as a sign of prestige and power. Printed books are not only bought from bookshops, but are obtained through personal transmission for various reasons. For researchers, books are not only a means to gain access posthumously to the body of knowledge the possessor must have had, but also a window through which we might take a glance of the personal connections the possessor had during his lifetime. Books reveal both the academic career of the possessor and the personal networks, the latter being an integral part of the former. This article focuses on some of our recent attempts to historicize books encountered during field research among the Muslim Oromo societies in Southwestern Ethiopia.