Identity, Hegemony, And Played Through The Dynamics Of...

McIntosh (2009) offers an intriguing case study, where the concepts of personhood, hegemony, and fractal recursivity are intertwined and played through the dynamics of Swahili-Giriama bordered ethnoreligious interactions. The Giriama geographical, social, religious, and linguistic subordination to the Swahili Muslims is the framework to negotiate, resist or submit to the hegemonic Swahili Islam. First, through personhood, the Giriama frame their religious actions and relations with the Swahilis. Their actions are collective and caused by external powers, rather than individualistically bounded and rational actors as the Swahilis. How Arabic in this case is perceived amplify this notion, as Swahilis take it to be accessible via learning and memorizing, and Giriama take it to be accessible through spirit possession by Muslim spirits. This reinforces their submission and lose of identity by adopting Arabic (p. 255). Second, hegemony plays a significant role in shaping how power is lived and replicated in daily life, to be accepted or rejected by the society. Therefore, Giriama attitude towards Swahili Muslims is exhibited in their refusal to submit to Islam and instead cherish their traditionalism, yet they oftentimes acknowledge Islam’s power and the potency of Arabic through divination and spirit possession. Third, fractal recursivity is shown through how the Giriama’s evident urbanity is opposed to them living on the margins of the city thus closer to the jungle and their