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Based on 25 years of research on and in Sabon Zongo, one of the oldest migrant communities in Accra, Ghana, this book is about the spatial and social production of this community within this urban setting. While Sabon Zongo is clearly part of the larger urban landscape of Accra, it is also culturally distinct, representing the melding of a migrant Hausa ethos, informed by Islam, its values and its institutions, and the metropolitan knowledge shared by all city dwellers. The author explores the interconnections of community residents to one another both in terms of built space-the boundaries of community, community structures, and compounds-and social space-the social networks, institutions, activities, and routines through which Sabon Zongo residents reproduce meaning as constituted by and in their built environment.
There is no body of data similar to this study's both in breadth and depth of understanding relating to this particular urban community. Much of the material has never been published. Both theoretically and substantively, this book makes a unique contribution to the literature on African urban life. Written in a clear, open style, this book will appeal to specialists and interested general readers alike.
List of contents
Glossary
Preface
Introduction
The Urban Cultural Context
Strangers, Struggles, and the Creation
Sabon Zongo: Environmental Delimitations
Ties That Bind
Everyday Life
Anthill Architecture: The Involuted Compound
Compound Social Space: Transformations through Living
Conclusion: Zongwanci
Appendix
Index
About the author
DEBORAH PELLOW is Professor of Anthropology in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.
Summary
Based on 25 years of research on and in Sabon Zongo, one of the oldest migrant communities in Accra, Ghana, this book is about the spatial and social production of this community within this urban setting.
