Kenyan khat : : the social life of a stimulant / / by Neil C.M. Carrier.

• Superior document: African social studies series, v. 15
• Author: Carrier, Neil C. M.
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: African social studies series ; v. 15.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (304 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

This book provides a richly detailed ethnography of Kenyan khat, tracing some of the many national and transnational trajectories this controversial stimulant takes from its centre of production in the Nyambene Hills to consumers in Kenya and throughout the world. The author, guided by his friend and khat connoisseur M'Mucheke, draws out the full economic, social and cultural significance of the substance, situating this significance within current debates on the legality of khat and the global rhetoric of the 'war on drugs'. The work explores how networks of Kenyan khat bring people of diverse backgrounds together in sometimes uneasy relationships, and highlights the vast cluster of meanings this remarkable commodity has accrued in its 'social life'.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Materials / N Carrier -- Introduction / N Carrier -- Chapter One. Cultivating Miraa In The Nyambene Hills / N Carrier -- Chapter Two. From Mutuati To Manchester: Miraa’s Trajectories / N Carrier -- Chapter Three. Transporting Miraa / N Carrier -- Chapter Four. Bargaining Over Bundles / N Carrier -- Chapter Five. Trust, Suspicion And Conflict In Miraa Trade Relations / N Carrier -- Chapter Six. Chewing / N Carrier -- Chapter Seven. Miraa And The War On Drugs / N Carrier -- Conclusion / N Carrier -- Glossary / N Carrier -- Bibliography / N Carrier -- Index / N Carrier.