A Library Lost: The al-Baʿṭūrī Library in Jerba, Tunisia

Contenu

Titre
A Library Lost: The al-Baʿṭūrī Library in Jerba, Tunisia
Date
2024
Résumé
Abstract In this photo essay, I use the story of a private manuscript library belonging to the al-Baʿṭūrī family in Jerba, Tunisia to reflect on my foray into the world of social codicology and the historical anthropology of rumour surrounding manuscript collections on the island. In some cases, stories about manuscripts in Jerba often have little to do with manuscripts. Instead, they convey information about the people associated with them. In other cases, rumours and stories about manuscripts contain information that is anachronistic, contradictory, or even blatantly untrue. Drawing inspiration from Luise White’s work on vampire narratives in colonial East Africa, I maintain that the rumors about manuscripts and libraries need not contain information that is true in order to convey important information about people and manuscripts in Jerba.
Editeur
Place
Leiden
Langue
eng
rédacteur
Numéro
21
pages
259-273
ISBN
978-90-04-68932-9

Position : 6720 (36 vues)