Africa as Method: A Handbook of Sources and Epistemologies

Contents
Contributors
Introduction
	References
The Field as an Archive
Recherche Des Sources En Afrique Equatoriale
	La Quête des Sources en Afrique Équatoriale Francophone
	Les Archives Françaises
	Les Archives Coloniales
	Les Moyens de Transport et la Découverte des Chantiers Forestiers
	L’hôpital Schweizer et les Archives
	L’appréhension des Mentalités: les Moments Forts
	Sources et Interdisciplinarité
	References
Moments of Sharing: Fieldwork in Ethiopia (1988–2008)
	Introduction
	Hannerz on Sharing
	Dodota: Some Background
		Incident One
		Incident Two
		Incident Three
	KCTE and Sharing
		Incident One
		Incident Two
		Incident Three
	References
Rethinking Periodisations
Which Middle Ages for Ethiopia?
	References
Ousanas: A Ruler at the Crossroads of Aksum’s History (RIÉ 186 = DAE 8)
	References
The First Muslims in Africa? Sources and Methods Regarding the Hijra to Abyssinia
	Introduction
		The Sources
		Historical–Biographical Sources
		Legal Ḥadīth
	Epistemology
	Methodology
	Conclusion
	References
Questioning the Archive
Islamic Legal Records and Social Histories of Muslims in Ethiopia and Eritrea
	Introduction
		Islamic Court Records as a Historical Source
		Islamic Legal Records as a Source for African History
		Arabic Court Records in Ethiopia and Eritrea
		Harar
		Massawa
		Jigjiga
	Appendix 1. Massawa Islamic Court Records (MICR), 1866–1901 (Summary)
	Appendix 2: MICR, 1866–1901 (Dates/Contents)
	Appendix 3. Registers seen in the functioning Islamic Court in Massawa (on Tewalet) in the year 2000
	Appendix 4. Four Slave Manumission Registrations from MICR
	References
Missionary Sources and African History: the Case of Two Swedish Lutheran Missions
	Introduction
		Background
		Vernacular Languages and Local Context
		The Archival Sources
		Published Sources: The Mission Journals
		Different Perspectives: Modernisers and Folklorists
		White Missionary Biases—and Beyond?
	References
Military Campaigning Abroad and Women’s Writing in Colonial Eritrea (1912–1918)
	Introduction
		A Sea of Paper
		Missing the Wives and the Children
		This Command is Sorry to Have to Communicate to This Honorable Government the Death of the Below Noted Native Recruits
		Fāṭima Muḥammad of Tarhūna Daughter of Muhammad ‘Umar Makes Her Case
	Conclusions
	References
The Private and the Public in the Colonial Archive
Colonial Encounters and Land Tenure in Early Italian Rule in Africa. A Critical Enquiry into Recently Rediscovered Personal Papers of Leopoldo Franchetti
	References
The “Reaction from Below”: Colonial Archives, Communist Propaganda and Messianic Movements in French Equatorial Africa
	Introduction
	French Colonial Archives and Communist Activities in FEA
	The Reaction from Below in French Equatorial Africa
	Conclusion
	References
Biographies and Autobiographies as Epistemological Challenges
Songs, Poems and Left-Wing “Heroes”: The Soft Power of the Sudanese Left
	Abstract
	Introduction: Music as a Source
	The Soft Power of the Sudanese Left
	Muhammad Wardi
	Mustafa Sid Ahmad
	Mahjoub Sharif
	Conclusion
	References
Somali Biography and Autobiography in the Twentieth Century
	Introduction
	Section One: Biographies of Somalis, 1880–1990
	Section Two: Memoirs and Biographies in the 1990s…and After
	References
Biography, Ethnography and Education in Colonial Libya. Panetta’s Papers at Florence State Archives
	Introduction
		Internal Migration, Displacement and Homing Processes Between Italy and Libya
		Ethnography, Folklore and Intimacy in the Writings of Ester Panetta
	Conclusion: Styles, Ethnographic Writings and Intersubjectivity
	References
Visualizing Africa’s Past
Symbolism, Self-representation and Adaptation: Coins as a Source for African History
	Introduction
	Coins as Symbols of Power and Trade Before Colonial Rule
	Animals, Kings and Holes: Symbols and Self-representations on Colonial Coins
	Moustache and Diadems: Coins for the Italian Colonies
	Money and Freedom: Minting Coins for Newly Independent States
	Conclusion
	References
Photography of Colonial Libya in the Former Fototeca del Museo Africano: A Provisional Appraisal
	African Photographies and History
	Fototeca del Museo Africano, Libya Fund. Volumes’ First Sub-series: Thematic Albums 1910–1943
	Conclusion
	References
Historical Sources and Political Trajectories
Building the State in Eritrea: Notes on Epistemologies and Sources
	Introduction
	The Westphalian Hubris: The Western Roots of the Contemporary Notion of State
	Bula Matari and Its Aftermath: Colonial State or Colonial Administration?
	Italian Colonialism and the Issue of the State
	Nationalism in Eritrea and the Issue of the State
	Narratives on the State During the Armed Struggle
	Statehood Between Tradition and Modernity: The State of Eritrea
	Concluding Remarks
	References
Imagining the Trajectories of the 2018 Peace Agreement Between Eritrea and Ethiopia
	Background to the 1998–2000 War
	The 20 Years “No Peace-No War” Phase and Its Impact on Eritrea
	Projecting Eritrean-Ethiopia Relations into the Foreseeable Future
	Conclusion. Colonial Boundaries: To Be or not to Be
	Postscript. Theoretical and Methodological Considerations
	Appendix
	Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship Between Eritrea and Ethiopia
	References
Sources and Research on Liberation and Revolutionary Movements in the Horn of Africa
	Revolutionary Movements in Ethiopia and Eritrea
	Dangers and Possibilities of Oral Sources/Histories and Auto/Biographies
	The Eritrean Nationalist Struggle for Independence
	My Experience with Mesfin Hagos’s Auto/Biography
	Conclusion
	References