Between Caravan and Sultan: The Bayruk of Southern Morocco

A Study in History and Identity
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-90-04-18379-7
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 1, 360 Seiten, Format (B × H): 163 mm x 239 mm, Gewicht: 1600 g

Reihe: Studies in the History and Society of the Maghrib

This work presents a study of the history and identity of the Moroccan Bayruk family. The first part of the book gives an outline of the main referents in both the Bayruk vision of ‘self’, and academic discourses on Maghribian history: the dynasty, caravan and ‘tribe’. It identifies discrepancies in scholarly presentations of the Bayruk and traces them back to two overlapping issues of translation and conception. For the remainder of the book a variety of sources are used to highlight the role of textuality in the creation of the Bayruk image in academic discourse. As a result this book demonstrates how the Bayruk family can be used as a case-study to revise the existing interpretations of Maghribian history and modes of identification.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mohamed, Mohamed Hassan

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam: Spiritualität & Mystik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgements. vii
Note on Transliteration. ix
Glossary. xi
Maps. xvii
Introduction: The Bayruk and the Academy. 1
Casualties of Translation. 3
Scope: Sources and Outline of Chapters. 12

I History, Identity and Textuality. 19
History: Dynasty, Caravan and Qabila. 24
Identity: Primordialist and Discursive Paradigms. 46
Textuality: Modern Tribe, Postmodern Qabila. 51

II Antique Space, Upstart Qabila. 63
Subaltern Voices: Takna Narratives. 66
Lure of Antiquity: Ethnography. 70
From Moor to Tribe: Travelogue. 83
For Caravan and Sultan: Biographies. 100
“Taught by the Pen”: Prelude to Takna?. 104
“In the Company of the Sultan”: Suturing. 125

III A Futuristc Past: Archeology of the Bayruk. 144
Colonial Ethnography, Pre-colonial History. 147
Speaking for Ancestry: The Bayruk Narrative. 151
Tuwat: Space, History and Identity. 159
Merits of Silence, Perils of Revelation. 174
Becoming Takna: Spatiality and Textuality. 201

IV Caravan of the Bayruk. 211
In the Shadow of the Caravan. 213
Caravan of the Author: Metaphors of Power. 223
Rites of “Holy Cause”: Caravan of Slaves. 238
Caravan of the Bayruk: Gum and Khunt. 256

V Spoils of War, Bounties of Trade. 278
Creatures of the Dynasty. 281
Benevolent Displacement: Ubaydallah “the Fugitive”. 286
Adjutants of Sultans: Haha Qaid, Susian Trader. 297
Avid Trader, Reluctant Warrior: Shaykh Bayruk. 304
Passage to Europe: ‘Legitimate’ Trade, Forbidden Markets. 310
End of an Era: Wealth in Politics?. 322
Conclusion: Casualties of Translation, Fetters of Textuality. 336
Bibliography. 347
Index. 357

Über Autor(innen)

Mohamed Hassan Mohamed received his education (BA and MA) at the University of Khartoum (Sudan). He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Alberta, Canada. Currently, he is an assistant professor at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.