Forgotten Women Artisans? New frontiers of Gendered Spaces in Gede City State in Coastal Kenya

Abstract

AbstractThis paper interrogates how economic exchanges created new frontiers for women artisans in Gede city, at the coastal region of Kenya as demonstrated in archaeological records. Gede City state experienced economic development from the 11thcentury through intensification of international trade, rapid urbanization and diversification of subsistence patterns. This led to the emergency of artisan classes. Men artisans were mostly engaged in metal working and boat building whereas women artisans engaged in ceramics manufacturing and beads making. Before 11thcentury, the Gede community engaged in these activities mainly for subsistence use. The intensification of international trade and rapid urbanization from the 11thCentury however led to the commodification of ceramics, metal objects, cloth and beads between the Gede community and the people from the hinterland. The Gede community exchanged goods such as beads, metal objects, cloths and ceramics for ivory, animal skins and precious stones. They then traded these goods from the hinterland with foreign merchants thereby making Gede a mercantile City. These new opportunities were contested by different social identities and became new frontiers where gender identities were expressed.This paper aim is twofold: it examines how Gede gendered activities were contested through re-organization of the society’s social structures and how women activities were reflected in new structures from archaeological record.Data was collected through historical sources, archival materials and excavation on Gede Industrial Complex of Bead Making as Women Space. The central question that the paper addresses is: How did the reorganization of the Gede economy create new gendered spaces for women artisans in Gede state?