A Year of Descendants

This volume offers a fascinating case study of the Sayyid community of Cikoang in South Sulawesi – in particular, an examination of the role of the descendants of Sayyid Jalaluddin al-‘Aidid, a Hadhrami merchant-teacher of great authority and charisma who is said to have initially settled in Gowa in the 17th century. It is of particular interest because the migration of Sayydid Jalaluddin occurred well before the major Hadhrami diaspora to Southeast Asia in the mid-19th century.

David Howarth wrote this popular history to describe the life in 1066 England from contemporary sources (Norman, English, and Scandinavian). Any historian has to decide between contradictory stories (p.8). The people of long ago lived simple lives with less knowledge, yet their thoughts and emotions were the same (p.9). Howarth wrote books about the battles of Waterloo and Trafalgar. The `Contents' list no chapter numbers. New Year's Day 1066 saw a prosperous and peaceful England. The warming phase of those centuries was accompanied by lower taxes (p.11). Villages were self-sufficient except for salt and iron. [No mention of money.] It was peaceful, but men avoided the forests at night (wolves and spirits). Independent farmers were unprotected against Viking raids or other disasters (p.13). Most had come under the protection of the armed nobility. Society was stable and ordered (p.14). The thanes could reject their Earl; even the King could be dethroned. The land was farmed as one open field, divided into strips (p.16). There is a record of those times (p.17). Howarth surmises the lives of the women and children (pp.22-24). Were they better off than their industrialized descendants (p.25)?