The dhow as cultural icon: heritage and regional identity in the western Indian Ocean |
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Authors: | Erik Gilbert |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of History , Arkansas State University , Jonesboro, Arkansasegilbert@astate.edu |
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Abstract: | Dhows, the traditional sailing ships of the western Indian Ocean, are currently used in museums, heritage sites and popular culture as a symbol of a regional culture in the western Indian Ocean. While scholars have embraced the notion of seas as cultural or historical units, this type of ‘basin thinking’ is a recent phenomenon in the Indian Ocean. Over the last 150 years the dhow has gone from being a despised symbol of the slave trade and economic underdevelopment to representing a romanticized past and a regional identity. This article traces the parallel development of the idea of the dhow as a symbol of regional identity and changing perceptions of both the vessels and the region it is taken to represent. It argues that recent representations of dhows as cultural heritage represent a new and developing notion of regional identity within the western Indian Ocean. |
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Keywords: | Zanzibar Oman dhow Indian Ocean Zanzibar International Film Festival Muscat |
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