Internal Seminars FY2026
| Date | May 20, 2026 16:00-18:00 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Seminar Room 4 (2nd floor), National Museum of Ethnology + zoom |
| Program |
Presenter: Raphael Michaeli (Bergen Unviersity) "Mawlid on the Swahili Coast: Devotional Texts and Practices in the Indian Ocean Maritime World" Short Abstract - Mawlid texts, which describe the birth of the Prophet Muhammad and the miracles associated with it and are intended for communal recitations, are found in various manuscript collections from the Swahili Coast and are widely used today in mawlid reading events. This paper will examine these texts from the end of the 18th century onward, while taking into account both manuscript tradition and ritual practice. It will highlight textual transitions in the mawlid tradition and usages across groups, reflecting both connectivity to the broader Indian Ocean and distinctly local cultural and religious identities. Short bio - Raphael Michaeli has submitted his Ph.D. as part of the MprinT project at Bergen University, Norway, with the title "Performing Praise to the Prophet: From Manuscript to Print, Mawlid Texts and Practices on the Swahili Coast." His dissertation focuses on Arabic mawlid manuscripts, early prints, and oral performances in Lamu (Kenya). These sources are used to describe textual and intellectual changes that occurred in the Swahili coast and in the Arabo-Islamic textual tradition during the transition from manuscript usage to print in the 19th and 20th centuries. Michaeli holds two MA degrees, one from the Freie Universität Berlin and the other from Haifa University. Both studies have focused on early Arabic Islamic mystical texts. Kitāb al-Lumaʿ, written by Abū Naṣr al-Sarāj (d. 378/978), and the Risala, written by Qushayrī (d. 465/1072). |