The ʿAjamization of Islam in Ethiopia through esoteric textual manifestations in two collections of Ethiopian Arabic manuscripts

TY - JOUR

T1 - The ʿAjamization of Islam in Ethiopia through esoteric textual manifestations in two collections of Ethiopian Arabic manuscripts

AU - Hernandez-Lopez, Adday

PY - 2017/10

Y1 - 2017/10

N2 - While the word 'Ajamī traditionally refers to texts in many languages written with the modified Arabic script, the meaning has been expanded in the concept of 'Ajamization used in this volume. 'Ajamization is construed in this article, as it is operationalized in the volume, to refer to the various tangible and subtle enrichments of Islam, its culture, and its written and artistic traditions in Africa. 1 In this sense, it is not only the modification (enrichment) of the Arabic script that defines 'Ajamization, but also other features such as the content and the aesthetics of the texts. This paper focuses on the cultural dimension of 'Ajamization in two collections of Ethiopian Islamic texts written in Arabic.2 These texts encompass magic-related materials, including theurgic texts and invocations to jinn.3 I will examine these texts to ascertain whether they reflect a local cosmology, even if they are not written in Ajamī but in Arabic4.

AB - While the word 'Ajamī traditionally refers to texts in many languages written with the modified Arabic script, the meaning has been expanded in the concept of 'Ajamization used in this volume. 'Ajamization is construed in this article, as it is operationalized in the volume, to refer to the various tangible and subtle enrichments of Islam, its culture, and its written and artistic traditions in Africa. 1 In this sense, it is not only the modification (enrichment) of the Arabic script that defines 'Ajamization, but also other features such as the content and the aesthetics of the texts. This paper focuses on the cultural dimension of 'Ajamization in two collections of Ethiopian Islamic texts written in Arabic.2 These texts encompass magic-related materials, including theurgic texts and invocations to jinn.3 I will examine these texts to ascertain whether they reflect a local cosmology, even if they are not written in Ajamī but in Arabic4.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - Islam in Africa

U2 - 10.1163/21540993-00801004

DO - 10.1163/21540993-00801004

M3 - Journal article

SN - 2154-0993

VL - 8

SP - 171

EP - 192

JO - Islamic Africa Journal

JF - Islamic Africa Journal

T2 - Sacred Word: The Changing Meanings in Textual Cultures of Islamic Africa

Y2 - 21 April 2016 through 22 April 2016

ER -