Goodman, Zoe (2018) Tales of the everyday city: geography and chronology in postcolonial Mombasa. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/30271 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Tales of the everyday city: geography and chronology in postcolonial Mombasa Zoë Goodman Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2017 Department of Anthropology and Sociology SOAS, University of London Abstract Grounded in ethnographic research conducted amongst Mombasa‘s small and heterogeneous Muslim population with roots in what is today the Indian state of Gujarat, this thesis explores the mobilities, insecurities, notions of Islamic reform and patterns of claims-making that circulate in the city. These themes are examined through the lens of ‗everyday‘ discourse and practice, paying particular attention to the multiplicity of dispositions towards time and space that inform these broader urban processes. The thesis describes Mombasan Muslims struggling with history and with the future. Through Art Deco façades, deep-fried delicacies and discourses of decay, I consider some of the ways individuals historicise their relations to the city, marking status and relations of affinity, as much as arraigning others for the political, economic and religious uncertainties of the present. Unpacking a blood donation drive and a gated community in-the-making, I trace the histories and geographies of piety that colour this Indian Ocean port, and how these are entangled with material aspirations and regional anxieties. The ‗Mombasan urbanism‘ that emerges in these pages is as scopic as it is rooted; it is infused with memory and with futurity. The discourses and practices of the littoral residents we encounter bring us into dialogue with a range of literatures, from the anthropology of architecture to ethnographies of insecurity, as well as studies of memory and mourning. These, and other thematic issues, are considered in tandem with the regional scholarship on Islam in Kenya, Asians in East Africa and Indian Ocean cosmopolitanisms. The research presented here offers possibilities for thinking beyond the racialised social categories that continue to structure stereotype and scholarship in East Africa, and expands the literature on ‗being‘ Muslim in Mombasa. Through the geographies and chronologies shown to constitute the Mombasan everyday, this thesis evinces the city as always in the making. 3 Acknowledgments First and foremost I would like to thank all the people in Mombasa who welcomed me into their homes, cafés and religious spaces with patience, kindness and mouth- watering snacks. To the many Mombasans who, for reasons of anonymity are not named here, I am forever grateful for your patience as I slowly learnt how to ask questions and listen to answers. Sincerest thanks are due to the late Hassan Jaffer, whose publications were an inspiration from the outset, and whose wit, warmth and wisdom had a profound influence on my fieldwork. My supervisor, Edward Simpson, has supported this thesis at every stage. He wears his responsibilities as a supervisor lightly, but has gone above and beyond to encourage and challenge me throughout. I have benefitted enormously, not only from his intellectual rigor, but also his care. Parvathi Raman, my second supervisor for the last year of this project, has been a source of political and critical inspiration throughout my time at SOAS, and added much to the thesis in its final stages. I am eternally grateful to the support of Harry West, whose anthropology of food course changed my life trajectory. Staff in the anthropology department at SOAS have shaped me over a number years; I would particularly like to thank Christopher Davis, Trevor Marchand and Mahnaz Marashi. I am also especially grateful to Ishola Ajisegir and the many others who make SOAS such a pleasurable place to be first thing in the morning. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) provided the essential financial support that enabled me to carry out this project, funding which I gratefully acknowledge. I also appreciate the affiliation and advice extended by staff at Kenyatta University (Mombasa Campus). The writing up of this thesis would not have been possible without the extraordinary generosity of my godmother, Lindsey Hilsum. Thank you for letting me live alongside the newts, and for your limitless wand waving. Warm thanks also to Tim Lambon for his all his care, and for introducing me to the 15th century. Alec Lambon and Max Lambon also deserve a big thank you. 4 Many thanks are due to everyone in 301 who made an otherwise unexceptional room the ideal environment to write in. I am particularly grateful for the support on matters emotional, grammatical, fantastical and political provided by Nithya Natarajan, Ezgi Unsal, Mehroosh Tak and Jo Tomkinson. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to share this journey with you. Thank you and more to Marta Agosti Pinilla, for treating life with comedy and care in equal measure, and for being the sturdiest of rocks. To Franzi Fay, best shogi I know, from Sauti to Green Lanes, asante sana. To Špela Drnovšek Zorko for many a soothing chat, and for the pens that scribbled this thesis into being. Also at SOAS, thank you to Ze Chen, tendonitis doctor extraordinaire and to Michele Serafini, who knows a thing or two about calendars. The friendship of Irene González-López, Feyzi Ismail, Ini Dele-Adedeji, Matt Fish, James Brown, Fiorella Picchioni and Shane Marotta has been hugely appreciated, as has the solidarity of everyone I met through the Fractionals for Fair Play (FFFP) campaign: we did it. S. Aykut Öztürk, muse and mentor, has given his intellectual generosity to this project, from its inception until its very last day. Our capacity to inspire each other only leaves me looking forward to more. To Pablo de Roulet, for all the journeys we took together. This thesis would never have begun without you, nor would it have such beautiful maps. Thank you. Thanks and more go to each and every one of the irrepressible ‗nuns‘, who have shared their joy for living this life. To Marianna Bacci Tamburlini, for that bracelet and much else, and to Giulia Battaglia for lovingly guiding me towards this path in the first place. I would also like to thank Shenel Shefik, for being my homie when it all began, and to both her and Maria Bordachenkova for their care along the way. Rosa Pérez Herrero and Ander Arenaza have been affectionate witnesses to the very last stages of writing. I am utterly indebted to Nadine Hobson and her healing hands. A wonderful group of people in Mombasa made a very special city all the more so. To Philip McAllister and Estrella de Andrés Sanz – thank you for those wide open arms with which you enfolded me into your lives, and for your infectious ways of being in the world. To Smriti Sharma for all your kindness, and our rooftop. And to 5 Andrea Shillolo, kachori taster bar none. Asanteni sana to Arjun Singh, Atrash Ali, Heidi Tryland and Blanca Sánchez-Bálgoma, who also introduced me to torta del casar. Special thanks to Manoj Mehta, for sharing his love of Mombasa, and for caring about buildings. And to Bevill Braganza and Keval Devani for the photographic coordination, amongst many other things. I was lucky to share the ups and downs of doing ethnography with three other doctoral students in Mombasa – Samar Al-Bulushi, Benjamin Cox and Zebulon Dingley. Finally, to my family: this thesis is a product of your love. To Caroline and James, for going to the Starlight in the first place, and for being great friends as well as truly incredible parents. Thank you to Mum, for all the wonder you see in the world, and to Dad, for your capacity to share the droll. To Jonno, an indelible influence on my own thinking, thanks for always being there, and for the tomatoes. Finally, to Lex, for all the rocks, social visits and spoons anyone could ever ask for. This thesis could not have been written without you, and I say that standing in the middle of the road. 6 Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................. 17 Writing the city .................................................................................................. 18 Introducing Mombasa: physical and social geographies ................................... 21 A brief religious history through Old Town‘s mosques .................................... 27 Living Old Town: part I ..................................................................................... 36 Khoja Ithna-Asheris ........................................................................................... 39 Living Old Town: part II .................................................................................... 42 Markiti and beyond: ‗Town‘, Kizingo and the northern mainland