MPRINTLAMU-PATE-013

Large sections damaged by pests and humidity.The leather binding is partly destroyed. The final pages could not be digitized as they could not be separated without permanently damaging the paper. It has undergone basic repair by NMK Lamu to stabilize the most fragile parts Collection description The MPRINTLAMU shelf mark introduces a broad range of manuscript texts (and one printed book) from the Lamu archipelago.

Each group is named after the village, town, or island where it is found. The island of Ndau, at the northern end of the Lamu archipelago, Pate and Siyu villages on Pate Island, and Matondoni, a village on Lamu Island, are included in this list. The texts date from the late 18th century to the early 20th century and cover a wide range of subjects, including medicine and science, magic, poetry, agriculture, law, genealogy, and Sufism, among others.

Some of the manuscripts are held in mosque libraries, while others are in private homes. Among the unique objects in this collection are Quranic manuscripts produced in Siyu and mawlid texts from 18th-century Pate. These texts increase the Swahili corpus available from this early time period.

TIFF files High-quality TIFF images are available for researchers upon request. Please send an e-mail to manuscript-cultures@uni-hamburg.de , include your name, institution and specify which MPRINT images you need and indicate their intended purpose. Your request will be reviewed as quickly as possible.

TIFF files High-quality TIFF images are available for researchers upon request. Please send an e-mail to manuscript-cultures@uni-hamburg.de , include your name, institution and specify which MPRINT images you need and indicate their intended purpose. Your request will be reviewed as quickly as possible.