Abstract
The study of memory is not only an inquiry into what happened but is just as much or more so about what is happening. Therefore, a study of the legacy of slavery requires a conscientious look into the lived experiences of members of post-emancipation societies. An investigation into the ways communities make use of memories of slavery in the absence of living witnesses is important in that doing so provides a lens for understanding contemporary ideals, institutions and identities. This dissertation is a qualitative study which investigates the ways in which memories of slavery and emancipation inform contemporary identities and social relations between African and Afro-Arab residents in the former slaving port town of Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Based on in-depth interviews, participant-observation and archival research, the project demonstrates how memories of slavery inform the everyday lives of the residents of Bagamoyo as evidenced by and through public and private discourses on race, ethnicity and lineage. Thus, the research question to be addressed in this dissertation is: In what ways do vicarious memories of slavery manifest in post-emancipation communities? By centering the memories and experiences of Bagamoyo residents, this project illustrates the ways in which memories of slavery are resurrected in local and national discourse. In this project I argue that these vicarious memories of slavery are evoked as a way to contextualize lived experiences and counter and/or confirm emerging narratives. This project addresses a void present in scholarship concerning slavery in East Africa and the Indian Ocean World in that it centers the experiences of community members through the use of their own testimony, thus providing additional insight into the ways in which the vestiges of slavery persist in post-emancipation societies.