| ID | 120924 |
| Title Proper | Indigeneity and Kenya's Nubians |
| Other Title Information | seeking equality in difference or sameness? |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Balaton-Chrimes, Samantha |
| Publication | 2013. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Recent studies of indigeneity in Africa have highlighted the problematic nature of the concept in a continent where it is difficult to determine which groups have temporal priority in a given location. These studies have suggested, with varying degrees of criticism, that indigeneity in Africa is a strategic identity deployed to attain a special status and associated benefits, often to remedy past harms. This article agrees that indigeneity is an act of positioning, but suggests that in the Kenyan context it can be deployed in another way as well, that is, as an act that seeks equal rather than special positioning within the dominant population. In this case indigeneity is not a special 'slot' but rather the norm. The article illustrates this by drawing on research with the Nubian community of Nairobi who seek to shed their ethnic stranger status and instead position themselves as indigenous to Nairobi in order to access the same quality of citizenship as that enjoyed by Kenya's '42 tribes'. |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of Modern African Studies Vol. 51, No.2; Jun 2013: p.331-354 |
| Journal Source | Journal of Modern African Studies Vol. 51, No.2; Jun 2013: p.331-354 |
| Key Words | Africa ; Kenya ; Population ; Nubian Community ; Citizenship ; Tribes |