The Nubian experience: A study of the social and cultural meanings of architecture.

Abstract

The goal of this study is understanding the social and cultural meanings of architecture in a real life context and from the point of view of the people who experience it. Architecture is not only objects made by professional architects; it comprises all buildings and dwellings built by human beings. It encompasses the surrounding environment where everyday life experience takes place. The case of the Egyptian Nubians was studied. Due to the construction of the High Dam, the Nubians were displaced in 1964 and were relocated in planned communities designed by professional architects and planners. In 1979, several Nubians had returned to the sites of their old villages and settled there. The Nubian experience was characterized by its intensity which magnified the implications of planned change imposed upon people. The Human Science approach was used in an attempt to understand the experience of the Nubians 25 years after the displacement. The field work took place in Egypt during the period of time between September 1987 and April 1988. Participant-observation methods were used to collect ethnographic data of the Nubians' experience in both the displacement and the returnees' communities. The data was then analyzed and several themes of the Nubians' experience of displacement were identified. The sudden change of the environment had a major impact on the Nubians' way of life. They lost the feeling of security and peacefulness which was an important aspect of their life before the displacement. The Nubian language was also affected by the introduction of new Arabic words. Many of the traditional Nubian ceremonies during birth, death, marriage, etc, were altered. There was a gap between members of the old generation who experienced life in old Nubia and members of the new generation who were born and raised in the new communities. Through the media and direct contact with other ways of living in other urban areas of Egypt, the Nubians became subject to the influence of technology and modernization. The displacement experience of the Nubians reveals many exempleric themes common to our everyday life experience. We need to understand architecture from the people's point of view, as lived and experienced by them. Architecture has social and cultural meanings important for our meaningful participation.

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