My Account Log in

1 option

Worries of the heart : widows, family, and community in Kenya / Kenda Mutongi.

De Gruyter University of Chicago Press eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013 Available online

View online
Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Mutongi, Kenda.
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Widows--Kenya--Maragoli--Social conditions.
Widows.
Women--Kenya--Maragoli--Social conditions.
Women.
Families--Kenya--Maragoli.
Families.
Kenya--Colonial influence.
Kenya.
Physical Description:
1 online resource (274 p.)
Edition:
1st ed.
Place of Publication:
Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2007.
Language Note:
English
Summary:
Growing up in the Maragoli community in Kenya, Kenda Mutongi encountered a perplexing contradiction. While the young teachers at her village school railed against colonialism, many of her elders, including her widowed mother, praised their former British masters. In this moving book, Mutongi explores how both the challenges and contradictions of colonial rule and the frustrations and failures of independence shaped the lives of Maragoli widows and their complex relations with each other, their families, and the larger community. Throughout the twentieth century...
Contents:
Everyday life
Western Kenya, 1880-1902
Feeble little lads looking for food
"What harm can an old dry bone do?"
Lessons in practical Christianity
Living "in line"
The impact of gold mining
Land conflicts in the 1930s
Family life
Educating "progressive" sons
The burden of "progressive" sons
Cash, cows, and bridewealth
Domestic education at the girls boarding school
Moral panic
Wife beating
Postcolonial promises
Citizenship and land rights in postcolonial Kenya
Rural widows, city widows, and the fight for inheritance.
Notes:
Description based upon print version of record.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
9786611966003
9781281966001
1281966002
9780226554228
0226554228
OCLC:
476230002

The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.

Find

Home Release notes

My Account

Shelf Request an item Bookmarks Fines and fees Settings

Guides

Using the Find catalog Using Articles+ Using your account