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ayaha 's review for:
Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar
by Emily Ruete
This is probably one of the most vivid memoirs I've read. Emily Ruete, formerly Princess Salma Busaid, was the daughter of a 19th century Sultan of Oman and Zanzibar. I was intrigued to learn that a sultanate even existed between both Oman and Zanzibar, and this memoir insightfully displayed this along with various relationships that existed thanks to the Indian Ocean - between Oman, Persia, India, and eastern Africa.
What I loved most was just the genuine portrayal of the narrator's childhood and early adulthood on the island of Zanzibar. As a woman, she gives us the unique perspective of life in the harem - which honestly seemed like so much fun, complete with horse racing and spending quality time with the many children and women (and male family members) that lived there. The narrator was definitely an adventurous child, and I was amused by her stories of the pranks she used to play on the guards and servants. The vivid descriptions of Ramadan and Eid were also wholesome and cheery - I can just imagine the beautiful, colorful dresses that the women wore, the gifts family members exchanged, and the streets filled with people for prayer.
She also gives insight into the politics of her ruling family, including inheritance disputes and power battles among her many brothers after their father's death - with special attention given to the role of women in these. Of course, since this is in the nineteenth century in the Indian Ocean, the European colonialists were ever present, and the narrator comments on their influence on various family squabbles.
One issue I take with the memoir (besides her unfair yet interesting opinion on slavery and abolition) is that, since Emily writes to a European audience (she moves there after marrying a German and converting from Islam to Christianity), she often justifies different aspects of her culture by comparing it to European culture, as though white culture would somehow justify her own. These comparisons are often not even very strong as she often compares the norm of her culture with the extremes of European culture (for example, polygamy in Islam with polygamy in Mormonism).
Nevertheless, I really appreciated this unique book that brought nineteenth century Zanzibar to life for me, written from the warm perspective of one of its princesses who lovingly called it home.
What I loved most was just the genuine portrayal of the narrator's childhood and early adulthood on the island of Zanzibar. As a woman, she gives us the unique perspective of life in the harem - which honestly seemed like so much fun, complete with horse racing and spending quality time with the many children and women (and male family members) that lived there. The narrator was definitely an adventurous child, and I was amused by her stories of the pranks she used to play on the guards and servants. The vivid descriptions of Ramadan and Eid were also wholesome and cheery - I can just imagine the beautiful, colorful dresses that the women wore, the gifts family members exchanged, and the streets filled with people for prayer.
She also gives insight into the politics of her ruling family, including inheritance disputes and power battles among her many brothers after their father's death - with special attention given to the role of women in these. Of course, since this is in the nineteenth century in the Indian Ocean, the European colonialists were ever present, and the narrator comments on their influence on various family squabbles.
One issue I take with the memoir (besides her unfair yet interesting opinion on slavery and abolition) is that, since Emily writes to a European audience (she moves there after marrying a German and converting from Islam to Christianity), she often justifies different aspects of her culture by comparing it to European culture, as though white culture would somehow justify her own. These comparisons are often not even very strong as she often compares the norm of her culture with the extremes of European culture (for example, polygamy in Islam with polygamy in Mormonism).
Nevertheless, I really appreciated this unique book that brought nineteenth century Zanzibar to life for me, written from the warm perspective of one of its princesses who lovingly called it home.