In this paper I discuss food, cultural identity and development among the agropastoral Suri people of Southwest Ethiopia. Their food system is discussed in its actual form and in its process of... Show moreIn this paper I discuss food, cultural identity and development among the agropastoral Suri people of Southwest Ethiopia. Their food system is discussed in its actual form and in its process of change, accelerated since a decade or so. The theoretical concern of this paper is with issues of identity formation and continuity through the materiality of food and food systems, in the context of varying assumptions underlying discourses of development. The Suri people remain at the margins of the modernizing Ethiopian state and experienced a decline in food security, health and wealth in the last decade, coinciding with growing inter-group tension and new state developmental plans which devalue the agro-pastoral mode of life. State support or investment is in massive sugar and other mono-crop plantations and in enterprises by foreigners and private capitalists, not matched by parallel investment in local economies of agro-pastoralism and crop cultivation. Some of the effects on the production system, diet and ‘food sovereignty’ of the Suri are described so as to highlight the challenges they face, including growing internal differentiation, pressure on modifying their food system and the increasing sale and use of alcoholic drinks. Observing the, often ambivalent, changes in the Suri food pattern and food consumption shows the challenges they face in (re)defining group identity, responding to internal tensions and to state-capitalist modernizing schemes that impact their way of life. Show less
L'histoire récente de l'Afrique se caractérise par la 'révolution' des technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC), plus spécifiquement de la téléphonie mobile. La présente thèse... Show moreL'histoire récente de l'Afrique se caractérise par la 'révolution' des technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC), plus spécifiquement de la téléphonie mobile. La présente thèse explore la manifestation de la dynamique des TIC dans la société hadjeray de la région du Guéra, au Tchad, qui a connu violences politiques, mobilité et rupture au sein des familles et aujourd'hui 'retrouvailles' grâce à la téléphonie mobile et aux réseaux sociaux sur Internet. L'auteur, lui-même issu de cette société, a axé son travail sur le rôle de la communication pendant les crises, dans la mobilité et aujourd'hui dans la dynamique relationnelle née de la facilité qu'offrent les TIC. Il montre les appropriations réciproques entre les TIC et la population hadjeray, et notamment le rôle central des TIC dans la dynamique identitaire hadjeray. [Résumé ASC Leiden]. Show less
This edited volume focuses on mobile phone use in specific African communities, namely those that have a long history of mobility and are regarded as marginal in the national economic, social and... Show moreThis edited volume focuses on mobile phone use in specific African communities, namely those that have a long history of mobility and are regarded as marginal in the national economic, social and/or political context. It was in such regions that the most intensive dynamics were expected to be seen following the introduction of the mobile phone. Contributions: Introduction: mobile margins and the dynamics of communication (Mirjam de Bruijn, Inge Brinkman and Francis Nyamnjoh); Mobilit‚ et moyens de communication au Gu‚ra (Chad) (Djimet Seli); La connexion des marges: marginalit‚ politique et technologie de d‚senclavement en Basse Casamance (Sud du S‚n‚gal) (Fatima Diallo); 'Angola my country, Cape Town my home': a young migrant's journey of social becoming and belonging (Imke Gooskens); Transnational migration and marginality: Nigerian migrants in anglophone Cameroon (Tangie Nsoh Fonchingong); Les femmes hadjaraye du Gu‚ra … l'‚cole de l'alphab‚tisation (Khalil Alio); From foot messengers to cell phones: communication in Kom, Cameroon, c. 1916-1998 (Walter Gam Nkwi); Grandeur ou misŠres des cabines t‚l‚phoniques priv‚es et publiques au Mali (Naffet Ke‹ta); Informationandcommunication technology and its impact on transnational migration: the case of Senegalese boat migrants (Henrietta Nyamnjoh); Identities of place: mobile naming practices and social landscapes in Sudan (Siri Lamoureux). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Based on rich and wide-ranging data, the thesis describes the sensitive issue of the contemporary emancipation trajectories of agro-pastoralist Fulbe in Central Mali. It explores how people are... Show moreBased on rich and wide-ranging data, the thesis describes the sensitive issue of the contemporary emancipation trajectories of agro-pastoralist Fulbe in Central Mali. It explores how people are currently dealing with hierarchies they inherited from past master-slave relations and focuses on the relational dynamics between members of a network of migrants. The importance of mobility to identity is explored by analyzing the tensions that exist among migrants to reproduce or change hierarchical relations in post-slavery societies. Show less
Pentecostalism in Africa has developed a special relationship with the night as a time for conducting specific religious activities. Of these, the night vigil is the best known, with its underlying... Show morePentecostalism in Africa has developed a special relationship with the night as a time for conducting specific religious activities. Of these, the night vigil is the best known, with its underlying notions concerning darkness, invisible powers, faith and community. Ghanaian Pentecostals view the night as a kind of landscape where certain spaces and places become important to test the strength of one's personal faith and convictions, because the time after dark produces ambiguities of the good and the bad, or the superior and the inferior, of the spiritual powers that manifest themselves. Participation in Pentecostal night-time activities signals a modernity of Pentecostal beliefs and identities which, by confronting the powers of darkness, bring about a strengthening of the faith that churches and leaders aim to establish in interaction with their following. This contribution focuses on the Ghanaian community in The Hague, The Netherlands. It ventures to sensitize anthropology to the modernity of these forms of Christianity and the way they are becoming active producers of social and spiritual environments - defined here as Pentecostal nightscaping - as testing grounds for the efficacy of their faith. [Journal abstract] Show less
This volume contains a range of original studies on the controversial role of youth in politics, conflicts and rebellious movements in Africa. A common aim of the studies is to try and explain why... Show moreThis volume contains a range of original studies on the controversial role of youth in politics, conflicts and rebellious movements in Africa. A common aim of the studies is to try and explain why patterns of generational conflict and violent response among younger age groups in Africa are showing such a remarkably uneven spread across the continent. An introduction by Jon Abbink (Being young in Africa: the politics of despair and renewal) is follwed by three parts: 1. Historical perspectives on youth as agents of change (Murray Last on youth in Muslim northern Nigeria, 1750-2000; G. Thomas Burgess on youth in revolutionary Zanzibar); 2. State, crisis and the mobilization of youth (Peter Mwangi Kagwanja on youth identity and the politics of transition in Kenya, 1997-2002; Karel Arnaut on youth and the politics of history in C“te d'Ivoire; Jok Madut Jok on the position of youth in South Sudan; Piet Konings on anglophone university students and anglophone nationalist struggles in Cameroon; and Sara Rich Dorman on youth and politics in Eritrea); 3. Interventions: dealing with youth in crisis (Yves Marguerat on street children in Lom‚, Togo; Angela McIntyre on the phenomenon of child soldiers in Africa; Simon Simonse on failed Statehood and the violence of young male pastoralists in the Horn of Africa; and Krijn Peters on the reintegration of young ex-combatants in Sierra Leone). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
The papers in this volume were earlier presented at the conference 'Globalization and new questions of ownership', which was held in Leiden, The Netherlands, from 26-27 April 2002. The volume... Show moreThe papers in this volume were earlier presented at the conference 'Globalization and new questions of ownership', which was held in Leiden, The Netherlands, from 26-27 April 2002. The volume challenges the dominant view that globalization is a primary threat to African societies. Instead, it emphasizes African agency in situating globality, that is, in selectively and creatively appropriating elements of the emerging global culture. Contributions: Situating globality: African agency in the appropriation of global culture (Wim van Binsbergen, Rijk van DijkandJan-Bart Gewald); Global and local trends in media ownership and control: implications for cultural creativity in Africa (Francis B. Nyamnjoh); Global media and violence in Africa: the case of Somalia (Jan-Bart Gewald); Can ICT belong in Africa, or is ICT owned by the North Atlantic region? (Wim van Binsbergen); 'Man will live well': on the poetics of corruption in a global age (Sanya Osha); 'Beyond the rivers of Ethiopia': Pentecostal Pan-Africanism and Ghanaian identities in the transnational domain (Rijk van Dijk); Global connections, local ruptures: the case of Islam in Senegal (Roy Dilley); How is a girl to marry without a bed? : weddings, wealth and women's value in an Islamic town of Niger (Adeline Masquelier); The social life of secrets (Senegal, Ferdinand de Jong); The persistence of female initiation rites: reflexivity and resilience of women in Zambia (Thera Rasing). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Political liberalization in Cameroon has been marked by the construction and mobilization of ethno-regional identities that pose a major challenge to the postcolonial nation-State project. This... Show morePolitical liberalization in Cameroon has been marked by the construction and mobilization of ethno-regional identities that pose a major challenge to the postcolonial nation-State project. This book focuses on Anglophone Cameroon, a region characterized by a widespread feeling that reunification with Francophone Cameroon in 1961 has led to a growing marginalization of the Anglophone minority. The book traces the historical trajectory of Anglophone Cameroon to reunification and outlines the strategies used by the Francophone-dominated State to undermine the identity of Anglophone Cameroon, the emergence of Anglophone organizations in the aftermath of political liberalization in the 1990s, the strategies employed by the Biya government to deconstruct the Anglophone identity, and Anglophone and Francophone responses to the Anglophone movements' views. It pays special attention to two of the major confrontations between the government and the Anglophones, namely the struggles for the preservation of the Anglophone educational and economic legacies. The book concludes with some suggestions on how the present stalemate between the regime and the Anglophone movement could be broken. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
In this article a comparative study is presented of the Indian and the Ethiopian Jews in Israel, immigrant communities that went through similar experiences of integration and accommodation in... Show moreIn this article a comparative study is presented of the Indian and the Ethiopian Jews in Israel, immigrant communities that went through similar experiences of integration and accommodation in Israel, despite the time lag in their arrival. Elements of their history and sociocultural background in the countries of origin are discussed in order to explain the emergence and status of ethnic identity in a complex new society with a shared background ideology of integration (Zionism). An assessment is made of the (perceived) initial religious and social marginality of the two groups as it may have interacted with their social "careers" and group status. The socioeconomic structure of Israeli society has contributed to "reproducing ethnicity". The analysis suggests that the "Indian" and "Ethiopian" Jewish subidentities are now well-established in Israel, illustrating that the cultural content of "Jewishness" or Jewish identity is quite diverse Show less
In deze inaugurele rede besteedt de auteur aandacht aan drie thema's: strijd, identiteit et continuïteit in Afrika. Hij richt zich met name op het verschijnsel van de opkomst van neo-etnische... Show moreIn deze inaugurele rede besteedt de auteur aandacht aan drie thema's: strijd, identiteit et continuïteit in Afrika. Hij richt zich met name op het verschijnsel van de opkomst van neo-etnische bewegingen in Afrika die een nieuwe combinatie van elementen vertegenwoordigen: een lidmaatschap van voornamelijk jongeren, een etnische basis, een roep om terugkeer naar de eigen cultuur, en actief verzet tegen de gevestigde, corrupte machten in de staat en tegen de mondialisering die Afrika in een gemarginaliseerde positie brengt. Na een discussie van de begrippen strijd, identiteit en continuïteit gaat de auteur in op de kritisch-realistische benadering die hij voorstaat. Hedendaagse sociaal-wetenschappelijke studies over Afrika kenmerken zich ofwel door een excessieve nadruk op de materiële, ecologische en politieke aspecten van conflict en crisis, samengevat onder de noemer 'resource competition', ofwel door een sterk interpretatieve, culturalistische analyse van de 'bovenbouw': religieuze ideeën en ideologiën, culturele symboliek, identiteitsdenken, en van nieuwe 'subjectiviteiten'. Een kritisch-realistisch perspectief ziet bovengenoemde benaderingen als problematisch. Dit perspectief stelt dat de relatie tussen materiële ontwikkelingen en cultuur-symbolische 'systemen' analytisch gezien onverbrekelijk is. De auteur beschrijft vervolgens twee recente voorbeelden van etniseringstrajecten in Afrika, namelijk de Mungiki-beweging in Kenia en de Gurage in Ethiopië. Show less
The case studies in this book on mobility in sub-Saharan Africa critically discuss dichotomous interpretations of mobility and reject the idea that migration indicates a breakdown in society. They... Show moreThe case studies in this book on mobility in sub-Saharan Africa critically discuss dichotomous interpretations of mobility and reject the idea that migration indicates a breakdown in society. They adopt the approach that sedentary and mobile worlds converge and that mobility is part of the livelihood system of African people. Contents: Mobile Africa: an introduction (Mirjam de Bruijn, Rijk van DijkandDick Foeken) - Population mobility in Africa: an overview (Han van Dijk, Dick FoekenandKiky van Til) - Territorial and magical migrations in Tanzania (Todd Sanders) - Moving into another spirit province: immigrants and the 'mhondoro' cult in northern Zimbabwe (Marja Spierenburg) - Cultures of travel: Fulbe pastoralists in central Mali and Pentecostalism in Ghana (Mirjam de Bruijn, Han van DijkandRijk van Dijk) - Mobile workers, urban employment and 'rural' identities: rural-urban networks of Buhera migrants, Zimbabwe (Jens A. Andersson) - Migration as a positive response to opportunity and context: the case of Welo, Ethiopia (Jonathan Baker) - Multi-spatial livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa: rural farming by urban households - the case of Nakuru town, Kenya (Dick FoekenandSamuel O. Owuor) - Urbanisation and migration in sub-Saharan Africa: changing patterns and trends (Cecilia Tacoli) - Processes and types of pastoral migration in northern C“te d'Ivoire (Youssouf Diallo) - Mobility and exclusion: conflicts between autochthons and allochthons during political liberalisation in Cameroon (Piet Konings) - Population displacement and the humanitarian aid regime: the experience of refugees in East Africa (Patricia Daley) Show less
In this chapter the author explores how the inhabitants of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, have used their church organization to create a viable social texture for themselves, serving political,... Show moreIn this chapter the author explores how the inhabitants of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, have used their church organization to create a viable social texture for themselves, serving political, economic and kinship goals way beyond the letter of the gospel. In Zambia, towns only came into being during the colonial period. The author starts with a discussion of the relative importance of continuity and transformation in the urban social structure of rural patterns of social relations. He then presents a long monologue of just one urban protagonist, recorded during fieldwork in 1972-1973. Mrs. Evelyn Phiri lives in the township of Kapemperere in Lusaka, and is a member of a well-established church body, the Roman Catholic Church. Her monologue highlights the discussion of elements of continuity and transformation. The church appears as a local formal organization, as a structure of material and ideological/spiritual assistance, and finally as a structure of social control. It assumes functions which can only be understood against the background of preexisting rural traditional patterns, yet caters for needs of crisis support, conflict regulation and the expression of group identity and an emerging class structure. This provides a framework within which to identify urban social processes such as they manifest themselves in the social drama evocated in Mrs. Phiri's monologue. Notes, ref Show less
Encounters between foreign tourists and people of different cultural background become very common in a globalized world. The nature of this exchange in cultural terms relates questions of... Show moreEncounters between foreign tourists and people of different cultural background become very common in a globalized world. The nature of this exchange in cultural terms relates questions of identity construction and the emergence or creation of difference. This article addresses tourist-'native' encounters in a semiotic perspective, which helps to reveal its essentially contested aspects. The empirical study relates to the Suri people of southern Ethiopia, a small ethnic group of agropastoralists only recently 'discovered' by tourists and displaying notable aggression towards them. Suri reject their role in the 'tourist game' of creating a realist experience of the Other, and staunchly assert their own identity and would-be equality vis-á-vis these affluent visitors Show less
This article examines the social and political background of escalating violence between ethnic groups in southwestern Ethiopia who until recently had customary and ritually sanctioned ways of... Show moreThis article examines the social and political background of escalating violence between ethnic groups in southwestern Ethiopia who until recently had customary and ritually sanctioned ways of resolving conflict. It focuses on the Maji area, a frontier region inhabited by two indigenous groups - the Dizi and the Suri, and people from a mixed background, descendants of immigrants and recent arrivals taking up posts as soldiers, traders and government officials in the small towns. The article outlines the economic, social and cultural factors involved in the generation of intergroup violence in the area, as well as traditional Suri and Dizi reconciliation rituals. It also indicates the changing arenas of 'ethnic' self-definition and economic opportunity for local groups in post-1991 Ethiopia. An analysis of a reconciliation meeting organized in the Maji area by the new government in 1991 reveals that in the efforts of State agents to mediate emerging conflicts in conditions of increasing scarcity and identity struggle, the use of customary mediation mechanisms was formally recognized. But at the same time, efficient mediation was structurally impeded by the very nature of the exercise of authority by State agents and their failure to implement practical measures of conflict resolution. This failure was matched by the inability of the representatives of the ethnic groups concerned to redefine their relationship in a constructive manner. Show less
This chapter presents an extended case study of the personal experiences of a young Kalanga woman in Francistown, Botswana, as she moves from village girlhood to incipient urban consumerism. After... Show moreThis chapter presents an extended case study of the personal experiences of a young Kalanga woman in Francistown, Botswana, as she moves from village girlhood to incipient urban consumerism. After describing the urban setting of Francistown and the expansion of the town's residential space under the Self-Help Housing Agency (SSHA) project in the 1980s, the author relates the story of Mary's transition from village to urban life, with its vastly increased levels of commodity consumption. He describes her initial rural-orientated identity embodying the productive and reproductive tasks defined for women in a village setting, the conflictive character of her village-oriented ties in the domain of kinship and, to a lesser extent, organized Christian religion, her tentative adoption of a new, socially negotiable identity through new aspirations based on the selection of a different reference group (urban female workmates and co-tenants), her learning of the role of "modern, urban consumer", her definition of a career goal, and her budgetary strategies (rotating credit or 'motshelo', and hire purchase). The narrative is based on participant observation and interviews over a period of five years from 1988. Show less
The papers collected in this volume were first presented at a conference on 'Globalization, development and the making of consumers: what are collective identities for?' which was held in The... Show moreThe papers collected in this volume were first presented at a conference on 'Globalization, development and the making of consumers: what are collective identities for?' which was held in The Hague, The Netherlands, on 13-16 March 1997. The papers are concerned with the challenge to the development paradigm presented by its potential submersion within processes of economic globalization. The following chapters are on Africa: The accountability of commodities in a global marketplace: the cases of Bolivian coca and Tanzanian honey (Alberto Arce, Eleanor Fisher) - The Pentecostal gift: Ghanaian charismatic churches and the moral innocence of the global economy (Rijk van Dijk) - 'Progress' as discursive spectacle: but what comes after development? (David Mills on Uganda) - Christian mind and worldly matters: religion and materiality in the nineteenth-century Gold Coast (Birgit Meyer) - Mary's room: a case study on becoming a consumer in Francistown, Botswana (Wim van Binsbergen) - Second-hand clothing encounters in Zambia: global discourses, Western commodities and local histories (Karen Tranberg Hansen) - Globalization and the making of consumers: Zambian kitchen parties (Thera Rasing) - African corruption in the context of globalization (Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan) - Market expansion, globalized discourses and changing identity politics in Kenya (Andreas van Nahl) - The production of translocality: initiation in the sacred grove in southern Senegal (Ferdinand de Jong) - The production of 'primitiveness' and identity: Surma-tourist interactions (Jan Abbink) - Anthropology, identity politics, consumption and development in post-apartheid South Africa (P.A. McAllister) - Rural democratization in Zanzibar: the 1995 general elections (Greg Cameron). Show less
