Historic Berber culture

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bibliography Wim van Binsbergen with clickable links to most of his publications

THIS WEBPAGE. In the context of his anthropological research training at the Amsterdam University, the Netherlands, Wim van Binsbergen lived in the village of Sidi Mhammad, between the towns of 'Ain Draham and Tabarka, in the region of Khumiriyya (N.W. Tunisia, North Africa) in 1968. Here, under the tutelage of the resourceful and indefatigable research assistant Hasnauwi bin Tahar, and under the competent academic supervision of Douwe Jongmans, Klaas van der Veen, Marielou Creyghton and Pieter van Dijk, the basis was laid, both for Wim vanBinsbergen's career as an anthropologist and intercultural philosopher, and for his life-long love for popular Islam, the Mediterranean, and Arabic.

The years 1967-1971 were devoted virtually full-time to this project (preparation, fieldwork, data analysis and writing up). It was with the explicit promise that this research would qualify for a PhD with Amsterdam University, that Wim van Binsbergen left the Netherlands to join the University of Zambia in 1971. However, the treacherous fortunes of academic patronage soon forced him to relinguish Mediterranean and Islamic studies, and to henceforth concentrate on sub-Saharan Africa. And it was only in 1979, some years after acting (1975-77) in the Leiden chair of African anthropology, and a few months before his Simon Professorship in Manchester, that (on the strength of what was to become his book Religious change in Zambia -- Kegan Paul 1981) he was to obtain a doctorate, -- from the Free University Amsterdam instead of Amsterdam University, and from a different supervisor (Matthew Schoffeleers, with Terence Ranger as external examiner; cum laude).

Whilst thus constituting the one major disappointment of his early career, the North African experience had been extremely rich and formative. All the themes of Wim van Binsbergen's later work were to be found here (explore the following hyperlinks as a guide to some of his work):

Needless to add that ever since 1968, Wim van Binsbergen and his successive families have faithfully observed the cult of the saint Sidi Mhammad, dedicating meals of kouskous and hallal meat to this Saint, occasionally sending incense, candles and a flag to His shrine -- and frequently imploring His assistance, not in vain. In 1970, dressed in an Ukhmiri malahfa dress, Haniya mart' Wim entered the shrine of Sidi Mhammad al-Wilda and, in acccordance with the time-honoured rite, opened her belt there so that the Saint's baraka could enter and strengthen the child, Najma/Nezjma bint Wim, that had already announced its presence there; so Nezjma is strictly speaking a child of Sidi Mhammad, like all inhabitants of the village surrounding the shrine happily claim to be.

Yet, inevitably, as that marriage came to an end, and as Wim van Binsbergen for many years exclusively manifested himself as a sub-Saharan Africanist, the Khumiri experience found only rarely expression in his published scholarly and literary work. It is only now, almost forty years later, that his two-volume book on Khumiri shrine cults and social organisation is finally being completed.

In the process, old and new materials (as well as sweet memories, nostalgia, and bitterness) are cropping up that will be shared (often after substantial revamping) through the medium of this webpage. The webpage already contains a considerable number of Wim van Binsbergen published and unpublished texts on Khumiriyya, and more will be added in the near future.

Meanwhile, the world of Khumiriyya has profoundly changed. The teenage girls seen harvasting in the background photograph along with their mothers, are now grandmothers themselves -- but their voices and inimitably graceful gestures (for which Berber women are famous) have remained much as remembered. The face of Islam -- both in that region, and in the world at large -- has changed almost beyond recognition. Yet (as a short field trip in 2002 revealed -- a first revisit after 1979) largely the same descent groups still inhabit the valley of Sidi Mhammad; the many ancient shrines are still there and are still being venerated; and by and large, what in the late 1960s was an eroded landscape and a destitute population, has seen a remarkable change for the better. As is the fate of all of us, from throbbing life the subject of research has faded into history -- but since a strong historical component has been part of the project from the very beginning, this is no great loss.

(c) 2006 Wim van Binsbergen

From this index page the following papers may be accessed:

   
  van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1968, 'Sociale ongelijkheid en stratificatie in het bergland van Noordwest Tunesië', seminar paper, seminar 'Social stratification' (Professer J.F. Boissevain), Anthropological Sociological Centrre, Amsterdam University, December 1968
  van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1970, ‘Verwantschap en territorialiteit in de Sociale structuur van het Bergland van Noord-West Tunesie’, doctoraalscriptie, Universiteit van Amsterdam, 1970, vii + 173 pp., typescript; no digital text available -- publication of a greatly reworked English version imminent
  van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1971, ‘Saints of the Atlas: Ernest Gellner’, Cahiers de Arts et Traditions populaires, 4, 1971, pp. 203-211
  van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1971, ‘Religie en samenleving: Een studie over het bergland van N.W. Tunesië’, doctoraalscriptie, Universiteit van Amsterdam, 1971 ix + 326 pp., limited mimeograph edition, Part I (Inleidend; De Kroumirse samenleving; Beschrijving van religieuze voorstellingen en activiteiten in de Kroumirie; pp. i-151); Part II (Sociaal-structurele en historische achtergronden; De Kroumirse religie als cultureel systeem; Conclusie; Verantwoording; pp. 152-326)

click here for a very short English summary -- publication of a greatly reworked English version is imminent

  van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1971, ‘Muziek en dans in het Atlasgebergte’, Muziek en Volkenkunde, Jan.-May 1971, no. 109-113, published in two parts: click here for part I -- click here for part II ; the same text was published as: van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1971b, ‘Muziek en dans in het Atlasgebergte’, Dansbalans, maart 1971, pp. 2-5.
  van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1970, 'Segmentatie, verwantschap en teritorialiteit in de sociale structuur van het bergland van N.W. Tunesie', seminar paper, Anthropological Sociological Centre, Amsterdam University, 27 October 1970, 28 pp., mimeographed.

click here for a revised English version: van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 'Segmentation, spatiality and unilineal descent: Social organisation in the highlands of north-western Tunisia'

  van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1971, ‘Extase en het Westen’, Dansbalans, Oct. 1971: 30-34

click here for very provisional, unpublished French version: Wim M.J., n.d., 'L'extase et l'Occident: A propos de Khaznadar, et de Duvigneau's Chebika'.

  van Binsbergen, Wim M.J. , 1971, 'The impact of territoriality and kinship upon an Ego-centred interaction system in the highlands of N.W. Tunisia: Methodology, statistics and results', MS paper, Department of Sociology and Development Studies, University of Zambia; click here for PDF
  van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1976, ‘Shrines, Cults and Society in North and Central Africa: A Comparative Analysis’, paper read at the Association of Social Anthropologists of Great .Britain and the Commonwealth (ASA), Manchester, mimeo.
  click here for a photo essay on popular Islam in the valley of Sidi Mhammad, Khumiriyya, Tunisia (you will leave this webpage and must use the Back button of your Internet browser to return to this page)
 
Van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1987, ‘Eerste veldwerk: Tunesie 1968’, in: Van Binsbergen, W.M.J., & M.R. Doornbos, 1987, eds, Afrika in spiegelbeeld, Haarlem: In de Knipscheer, pp. 21-55; in addition to this original Dutch version, click here for an English HTML version; and click here for the final English version included as chapter 1: 'First fieldwork (Tunisia 1968)', in: van Binsbergen, W.M.J., Intercultural encounters: African and anthropological lessons towards a philosophy of interculturality, Berlin/Muenster: LIT (you will leave this webpage and must use the Back button of your Internet browser to return to this page)
  Van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1980, ‘Popular and formal Islam, and supralocal relations: The highlands of northwestern Tunisia, 1800-1970’, Middle Eastern Studies (London), 16, 1: 71-91 : click here for PDF (this website; document must be rotated before reading) ; and click here for HTML(you will leave this webpage and must use the Back button of your Internet browser to return to this page)
  Van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1985, ‘The cult of saints in north-western Tunisia: An analysis of contemporary pilgrimage structures’, in: E. Gellner, ed, Islamic dilemmas: Reformers, nationalists and industrialization: The southern shore of the Mediterranean, Berlin/New York/Amsterdam: Mouton, 1985, pp. 199-239

PDF (this website; not yet implemented) | HTML(you will leave this webpage and must use the Back button of your Internet browser to return to this page)

  Van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1985, ‘The historical interpretation of myth in the context of popular Islam’, in:Van Binsbergen, W.M.J., & J.M. Schoffeleers, 1985, eds, Theoretical explorations in African religion, London/Boston: Kegan Paul International, pp. 189-224; revised version of: Van Binsbergen, W.M.J., 1980c, ‘Interpreting the myth of Sidi Mhammed: Oral history in the highlands of North-Western Tunesia’, in: K. Brown & M. Roberts, eds, Using Oral Sources: Vansina and Beyond, special issue, Social Analysis (Adelaide), 1, 4: 51-73. Revised version of 1980 (you will leave this webpage and must use the Back button of your Internet browser to return to this page)
 
Khumiriyya, haar landschap, en haar heiligen zijn hoofdpersoon in Wim van Binsbergen's enige boekpublikatie tot dusver over dit gebied: van Binsbergen, Wim M.J., 1988, Een buik openen: Roman, Haarlem: In de Knipscheer; klik hier voor de integrale PDF versie (dit is een vrij groot bestand, ruim 400 pp.; gebruik 'Save Target As...')
 
Veel van de Khumirse ervaring is in gedichten terechtgekomen, met name in zijn bundel Leeftocht: Wim van Binsbergen, 1977, Leeftocht: Gedichten, Haarlem: In de Knipscheer; klik hier voor een PDF van de integrale tekst
  Wim van Binsbergen, Wim M.J., 1969, 'Religie in de samenleving van noord-west Tunesië: 1. Uitgangspunten en conclusies; 2. Beknopte etnografische gegevens', syllabus bij een voordracht voor het dinsdagmiddag-werkcollege, 2 december 1969, 15.30 uur, Antropologisch Sociologisch Centrum, Universiteit van Amsterdam
  Through the supervision of his PhD student Stephanus Djunatan, Wim van Binsbergen has been involved, since the mid-200s, in the study of a shrine cult in West Java. Click here for an extensive report (2010) on pilgrimage structures in that part of South East Asia, and its parallels with the Khumiri situation
  Wim van Binsbergen, 1969 / 2020, Complete genealogies (reconstructed) for the inhabitants (1968) of the villages of Sidi Mhammad and Mayziya, homdat 'Atatfa, 'Ain Draham, Tunisia (view with browser at 200%+)
  Wim van Binsbergen, 2022, Bibliographic materials towards updating my 1967-1971 study of Religion and social organisation in north-western Tunisia, Volume I: Kinship, spatiality, and segmentation, Volume II: Cults of the land, and Islam, Papers on Intercultural Philosophy / Transcontinental Comparative Studies, Hoofddorp: Shikanda (click for PDF, 453 pp. )
   

 

return to: Shikanda portal | Topicalities page | Ancient Models of thought

bibliography Wim van Binsbergen with clickable links to most of his publications

proceed to the Shikanda portal in order to access all other websites by Wim van Binsbergen: general (intercultural philosophy, African Studies); ethnicity-identity-politics; Afrocentricity and the Black Athena debate; Ancient Models of Thought in Africa, the Ancient Near East, and prehistory; sangoma consultation; literary work, etc.  
    contact information Wim van Binsbergen
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      The illustrations in the heading of this webpage:
  1. The background photograph shows a women's work group (mainly drawn from the family of chief Hillal bin Hassuna), from the village of Sidi Mhammad, harvesting rye near the shrine of Bu Qasbaya al-Kabir, late spring 1968;
  2. the same illustration repeated in the original black and white, bottom left of the page head;
  3. top centre left: the shrine (mzara) of the neighbourhood of Qa'a Raml, village of Sidi Mhammad, late spring 2003 -- the fresh pious gifts show that the cult is still alive and kicking -- note the car bumper which has come to replace cork plates as the shrine's traditional roofing;
  4. top centre right: the domed shrines (qubba) of Sidi Mhammad al-Wilda (the Son) in the village of Sidi Mhammad, late spring 2002 -- note how the excessive erosion of 1968 is no longer in evidence, due to the local villagers' decades of reafforestation efforts, in the context of the Tunisian state's unemployment relief work -- the photo is slightly misleading in that it just keeps out of view the extensive Qur'anic school complex which external, formal Islamic interests have erected just twenty meters north of the shrine of Sidi Mhammad, in the mid-1970s;
  5. right: a Khumiri warrior, photographed (no doubt under carefully arranged near-studio conditions( by Garrigues c. 1880, and reproduced in Bertholon, L., & Chantre, E., 1913, Recherches anthropologiques dans la Berbérie orientale, Tripolitaine, Tunisie, Algérie, 2 vols., Lyon: Rey -- a colonial anthropological study on Tunisia.
     

 

last update: 11-08-2022 17:36:32