The Magical Life of Berber Women in Kabylia - Translated from the French by Elizabeth Corp

Kabyle women from Algeria were believed to have been relegated to a role, subjugated by dominant males, in which they were confined to reproduction, nature, and their sensibilities. The weaknesses created by this inequality were thought to be compensated for by their living inconspicuous lives practicing magic, especially in love. Makilam rejects these preconceived ideas and demonstrates that women's magic was expressed in every domain of their daily lives: pottery making, food provision/preparation, and weaving. In fact, the traditional Kabyle society was incapable of functioning without women, who ensured its material and spiritual unity.

Über den Autor / die Autorin

The Author: An anthropologist and historian, Makilam received her Ph.D. in history and ethnography from the University of Bremen, Germany. She is an indigenous Kabyle and was raised in a Berber village in northern Algeria until she was seventeen. Although she has since lived in Europe, she remains very close to her roots, and her testimony, interspersed with personal experiences, sheds new light on the rituals and myths of this vanishing society.

Bericht

«One of the most important tasks of postcolonial scholars is unraveling the misrepresentations foisted on indigenous peoples by colonizers. For the multicolonized Berber peoples, not the least of the task is to reinstate women as the vibrant, life-affirming cultural core they were and remain. In this engagingly thorough work, Makilam strips away the impositions of outsiders to reveal the true conception of Berber women as the privileged and spiritual creators of her home culture.» (Barbara Alice Mann, University of Toledo, Ohio)

Produktdetails

• Autoren: Makilam
• Mitarbeit: Corp Elizabeth (Übersetzung)
• Verlag: Peter Lang
• Sprache: Englisch
• Produktform: Fester Einband
• Erschienen: 02.02.2007
• EAN: 9780820488691
• ISBN: 978-0-8204-8869-1
• Seiten: 268
• Abmessung: 160 mm x 18 mm x 230 mm
• Gewicht: 528 g
• Serien: Francophone Cultures and Literatures; Francophone Cultures & Literatures
• Themen: Sozialwissenschaften, Recht,Wirtschaft > Ethnologie > Volkskunde; Popular Culture, Cultural Studies, HISTORY / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Women's Studies, Social & cultural history, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Customs & Traditions, Folklore, myths & legends, Social and cultural history, Folklore studies / Study of myth (mythology), SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General