The Lamu house - an East African architectural enigma

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.author Steyn, Gerald
dc.date.accessioned 2010-11-11T06:48:41Z
dc.date.available 2010-11-11T06:48:41Z
dc.date.created 2010-11
dc.date.issued 2002
dc.description Article digitised using: Suprascan 1000 RGB scanner, scanned at 400 dpi; 24-bit colour; 100% Image derivating - Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS3 - Image levels, crop, deskew Abbyy Fine Reader No.9 - Image manipulation + OCR Adobe Acrobat 9 (PDF) en_US
dc.description.abstract Lamu is a living town off the Kenya coast. It was recently nominated to the World Heritage List. The town has been relatively undisturbed by colonization and modernization. This study reports on the early Swahili dwelling, which is still a functioning type in Lamu. It commences with a brief historical perspective of Lamu in its Swahili and East African coastal setting. It compares descriptions of the Lamu house, as found in literature, with personal observations and field surveys, including a short description of construction methods. The study offers observations on conservation and the current state of the Lamu house. It is concluded with a comparison between Lamu and Stone Town, Zanzibar, in terms of house types and settlement patterns. We found that the Lamu house is the stage for Swahili ritual and that the ancient and climatically uncomfortable plan form has been retained for nearly a millennium because of its symbolic value. en_US
dc.description.uri http://explore.up.ac.za/record=b1719138 en_US
dc.format.extent 24 pages en_US
dc.format.medium Pdf en_US
dc.identifier.citation Steyn, G 2002, 'The Lamu house - an East African architectural enigma.' South African Journal of Art History, vol. 17, pp. 157-180. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 0258-3542
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/15245
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Art Historical Work Group of South Africa en_US
dc.rights Art Historical Work Group of South Africa en_US
dc.subject African architecture en_US
dc.subject Lamu, Kenya en_US
dc.subject World Heritage List en_US
dc.subject Architectural conservation en_US
dc.subject Stone Town, Zanzibar en_US
dc.subject Land settlement patterns en_US
dc.subject Swahili dwellings en_US
dc.subject African courtyard houses en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Architecture -- Africa -- Kenya -- History en
dc.subject.lcsh Swahili-speaking peoples -- Dwellings -- History en
dc.subject.lcsh Lamu Island (Kenya) -- History en
dc.subject.lcsh Stone houses -- Kenya -- Lamu en
dc.subject.lcsh Courtyard houses -- Kenya -- Lamu en
dc.subject.lcsh Stone Town (Zanzibar, Zanzibar) en
dc.title The Lamu house - an East African architectural enigma en_US
dc.type Article en_US


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record