Nautical Ethnographies of Dhow Construction in Zanzibar

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Pre-Recorded Video Presentation Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The study of contemporary dhow and related watercraft construction in Zanzibar has relevance for the nautical archaeology of the Indian Ocean World. We suggest that such studies should be placed within the theoretical framework of “nautical ethnographies”, in which the social relations and processes embedded in nautical activity are centered. We argue that nautical ethnographies can allow us to understand processes inherent in shipbuilding that are otherwise invisible in the archaeological record. The anthropological significance of this project lies in the holistic perspective it assumes, studying not just method and material but also the social and cultural aspects of dhow construction. In particular, it will study ritual and ideology, gendered divisions of labor, and the social meaning assigned to dhows. The project will not only record dhow construction from an actualistic or ethnoarchaeological perspective, but it will also explore in some detail the “social lives” of ships in modern Zanzibar.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Pre-Recorded Video Presentation Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow