van Beek, een antropoloog uit Utrecht, die nu als hoogleraar antropologie van de religie werkt in Tilburg en aan het Afrika-Studiecentrum in Leiden. Zijn studieterrein is Afrika, vooral Kameroen en... Show morevan Beek, een antropoloog uit Utrecht, die nu als hoogleraar antropologie van de religie werkt in Tilburg en aan het Afrika-Studiecentrum in Leiden. Zijn studieterrein is Afrika, vooral Kameroen en Mali. Deze memoires zien terug op een leven dat bijna een halve eeuw vervlochten is geweest met twee samenlevingen in die landen, de Kapsiki et de Dogon. Het is daaom het relaas van een dubbelleven, zowel in Nederland als in Afrika, maar ook een dubbelleven in twee verschillende Afrikaanse culturen, waar in beide gevallen een intense relatie mee is opgebouwd. Van Beeks Afrikaanse levensverhaal is verweven met deze twee gemeenschappen, hun dagelijkse leven, hun kleine en grote rituelen, en vertelt van smeden, huwelijken en maskers, en van de diepe indruk die hun prachtige begrafenisgezangen op hem maakten. Hier voeden dood en leven elkaar door de indrukwekkende wijze waarop deze mensen een boeiend bestaan weten te realiseren in een moeilijke omgeving. Dit is het Afrika van de dorpsgemeenschap, beleefd en beschreven van binnenuit, een Afrika van gewone mensen die tot ons spreken doordat zij een antropoloog de kans hebben gegeven voor een dubbelleven. Thuis in Afrika is thuiskomen bij onszelf.[2e Gewijzigde druk; oorspronkelijke uitgave: 2015] Show less
Moving beyond existing approaches that largely deal with the biophysical consequences of climate change realities in Africa, this book explores an alternative perspective that traces climate change... Show moreMoving beyond existing approaches that largely deal with the biophysical consequences of climate change realities in Africa, this book explores an alternative perspective that traces climate change as a travelling idea. It focuses on how globally constructed discourses on climate change find their way to the local level in the Bamenda Grassfields of Cameroon, thereby seeking to understand how these discursive practices lead to social transformations, and to new configurations of power. In the translation process from the 'global' to the 'local' level a continuous modification and appropriation of the idea of climate change takes place that finally leads to a concrete implementation of climate change related projects and sensitization campaigns. Hence, it is argued that in this increasingly interconnected and mediated world people in Africa (and elsewhere in the world) do not solely adapt to a changing climate, but also adapt to a changing discourse about the climate. Travelling between traditional rulers and their palaces, to the world of NGOs, journalists and ordinary farmers this study brings the reader on a captivating journey, that reveals how climate change engages in a variety of ways with different lifeworlds, revitalizes local cosmologies, gives birth to a new development paradigm, and moreover how it evokes apocalyptic anxieties and trajectories of blame at the grassroots level. Show less
In Cameroon as elsewhere in Africa, the subject of ownership and access to land among different groups has been an issue of major concern. The arrival of the nomadic Fulani alongside with herds of... Show moreIn Cameroon as elsewhere in Africa, the subject of ownership and access to land among different groups has been an issue of major concern. The arrival of the nomadic Fulani alongside with herds of cattle by the 1920s into Wum Central Subdivision did not only bring about profound changes in the political economy of the area but also introduced new ways of cohabiting, land use patterns and different perceptions about land and resources. This was partly so because the Aghem and Bu people who historically had exclusive ownership rights and access to land were compelled to compete and negotiate these rights and access on the same fertile lands that had abundant pastures for cattle with Fulani herders. With the presence of the Fulani, the issue of equal access and control of land and resources has constituted a contentious and perennial problem. Despite their long presence in the area, they are still considered as 'strangers' and/or 'intruders'. The objective of the research was to investigate why the conflicts between women cultivators and Fulani cattle herders are persistent. The outcome of this research reveals that the conflicts are more complicated than they appear and are embedded in gender relations and cultural practices where respect for tradition is optimal and exacerbated by a weak and out dated statutory land law. The law proscribes customary tenure system and does not guarantee women's ownership land rights but helps in the alienation and dispossession of women from their ancestral land. In addition, it is also a lever for rich domestic elites who now acquire huge tracts of land at the detriment of the rural poor. Constrained by this, they turn their frustration towards the Fulani by invoking ethnic sentiments as the legitimate strategy for their land claims. With increasing population and competition over diminishing resources and the sedentarisation of the Fulani, this research advocates for a new and more inclusive land law where all stakeholders would have security over their land and property. Show less
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as nuts, leaves, resins, barks and honey from Cameroon have medicinal, food, energy and cultural uses. This study examines the arrangements governing eight... Show moreNon-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as nuts, leaves, resins, barks and honey from Cameroon have medicinal, food, energy and cultural uses. This study examines the arrangements governing eight such NTFP value chains, worth over 32 million US$ annually with around 34,000 people active, investigating their impacts on the livelihoods of the harvesters, traders and consumers involved. Multiple arrangements are prevalent: regulations, traditions, market-based, projects, involuntary standards and corruption. The mix and intensitiy of arrangements governing access to species and markets results in sharp trade-offs between the sustainability of the species and socio-economic benefits gained by different groups in the chains. 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
With a focus on Cameroonian migrants from Pinyin and Mankon who are currently living in Cape Town and the Netherlands, this volume examines the workings of the social fabric of mobile communities.... Show moreWith a focus on Cameroonian migrants from Pinyin and Mankon who are currently living in Cape Town and the Netherlands, this volume examines the workings of the social fabric of mobile communities. It sheds light on how these communities are crafting lives for themselves in the host country and simultaneously linking up with the home country thanks to advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and road and air transport. ICTs and mobilities have complemented social relational interaction and provide migrants today with opportunities to partake in cultural practices that express their Pinyin-ness and Mankon-ness. Pinyin and Mankon migrants are still as rooted in the past as they are in the present. They were born into a community with its own sense of home, moral ethos and cultural pride but live in a context of accelerated ICTs and mobility that is fast changing the way they live their lives. Show less
While the skills of players can be observed on pitches throughout Africa, the actions of those who run the game's administrative side are less visible. Based on anthropological fieldwork in Ghana... Show moreWhile the skills of players can be observed on pitches throughout Africa, the actions of those who run the game's administrative side are less visible. Based on anthropological fieldwork in Ghana and Cameroon, this study's main characters are rich and powerful men who take up positions within clubs and football associations. Through their involvement in football, these African "Big Men" convert symbolic, social and economic capital. In other words, they transform the game's popularity into status and prestige, political power and business opportunities. To this end, they maintain power within football administration through patronage politics. They also tend to resort to foul play. Match-fixing, juju, intimidation and age cheats are some of the methods these Big Men employ in order to achieve their goals. Show less
This book explores the relationship between plantation labour and gender in Africa, particularly Cameroon. It demonstrates that the introduction of plantation labour during colonial rule has had... Show moreThis book explores the relationship between plantation labour and gender in Africa, particularly Cameroon. It demonstrates that the introduction of plantation labour during colonial rule has had significant consequences for gender roles and relations within and beyond the capitalist labour process. These effects have been quite ambivalent, being marked by both profound changes and remarkable continuities. The book focuses on two tea estates established in anglophone Cameroon in the 1950s, the Tole Estate and the Ndu Estate, the first employing mainly female pluckers, the second mainly male pluckers. This allows for an examination of the variations in male and female workers' modes of resistance to the control and exploitation they meet in the labour process. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Neoliberalism has become the dominant development agenda in Africa, but neoliberal experiments have displayed a remarkable diversity in different countries. This book focuses on Cameroon, where... Show moreNeoliberalism has become the dominant development agenda in Africa, but neoliberal experiments have displayed a remarkable diversity in different countries. This book focuses on Cameroon, where the neoliberal project has been influenced by the nation's complex economic and political history. Currently, the country is witnessing resistance to the neoliberal experiment by the authoritarian and neopatrimonial elite, as well as various civil society groups. The book examines elite opposition to the neoliberal reforms imposed by the Bretton Woods institutions and Western donors, the role of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the effects of two key policy prescriptions of the neoliberal agenda, namely privatization and global open markets, political liberalization and the secessionist movement in Anglophone Cameroon, the link between privatization, good governance and ethnoregional conflict, the border dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria, China-Cameroon relations in the era of neoliberal globalization, political liberalization and the 1990-1996 student revolt, innovative activities of the youth in Douala to cope with the economic crisis, trade unionism and globalization, and changes in the position of workers on the Ndu Tea Estate during the economic crisis and liberalization. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Physical mobility of people from place to place as individuals or as groups is essentially horizontal, potentially limitless, and generally motivated by the desire and ambition to take advantage... Show morePhysical mobility of people from place to place as individuals or as groups is essentially horizontal, potentially limitless, and generally motivated by the desire and ambition to take advantage of new opportunities for self or group advancement. This mobility is the basis of Grasslanders' communities in Anglophone Cameroon and beyond. In this study of Kom, the second largest kingdom in the Bamenda Grasslands, life histories and rich archival files enlighten the history of mobility in relation to the development of communication technologies. Between 1928, when the St. Anthony's Primary School, Njinikom, Kom was opened and 1998, when the road linking Kom and Bamenda was tarred, the number of people travelling out of Kom and back steadily increased. This spatial mobility was greatly facilitated and accelerated by 'modern' transportation and communication technologies like the roads and vehicles. Such persons were usually among those whose horizons had been widened by other modern agencies of change like the schools and churches which are themselves considered as technologies in this study. Kfaang, a notion of newness, has become the core to understand the flexible identity of Kom people and their appropriation of technologies in their notions of being Kom and a Kom community that transgress international borders. Show less
This book discusses the consequences of the economic and financial crisis that befell the Cameroonian agro-industrial sector in the 1980s, using as a case study the plantation economy of the... Show moreThis book discusses the consequences of the economic and financial crisis that befell the Cameroonian agro-industrial sector in the 1980s, using as a case study the plantation economy of the anglophone region of Cameroon. Two agro-industrial enterprises have dominated the plantation sector: a huge parastatal enterprise, the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), and a private company, Plantations Pamol du Cameroun Ltd, a subsidiary of Unilever. The crisis of the 1980s brought both companies to the verge of collapse and led to a number of neoliberal economic reforms, including the withdrawal of State intervention and the restructuring, liquidation and privatization of the agro-industrial enterprises. These reforms in turn had severe consequences for several civil society groups that had a direct stake in the plantation economy, notably the regional elite, chiefs, plantation workers and their unions, and contract farmers. The study shows that these groups have never resigned themselves to their fate but have been actively involved in a variety of formal and informal methods of resistance. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Health and healing in Africa have increasingly become subject to monetization and commodification, in short, the market. Based on fieldwork in nine countries, this volume offers different... Show moreHealth and healing in Africa have increasingly become subject to monetization and commodification, in short, the market. Based on fieldwork in nine countries, this volume offers different perspectives on these emerging markets and the way medical staff, patients, households and institutions navigate them in their quest for well-being. Contributions: Introduction: Economic ethnographies of the marketization of health and healing in Africa (Rijk van Dijk and Marleen Dekker); Milking the sick: medical pluralism and the commoditization of healthcare in contemporary Nigeria (Akinyinka Akinyoade and Bukola Adeyemi Oyeniyi); Organizing monies: the reality and creativity of nursing on a hospital ward in Ghana (Christine Böhmig); Market forces threatening school feeding: the case for school farming in Nakuru town, Kenya (Dick Foeken et al.); Dashed hopes and missed opportunities: malaria control policies in Kenya (1896-2009) (Kenneth Ombongi and Marcel Rutten); The market for healing and the elasticity of belief: medical pluralism in Mpumalanga, South Africa (Robert Thornton); Medical knowledge and healing practices among the Kapsiki/Higi of northern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria (Walter E.A. van Beek); The commodification of misery: markets for healing, markets for sickness (Zanzibar) (Nadine Beckmann); Individual or shared responsibility: the financing of medical treatment in rural Ethiopian households (Marleen Dekker); Can't buy me health: financial constraints and health-seeking behaviour in rural households in central Togo (Andr‚ Leliveld et al.); Marriage, commodification and the romantic ethic in Botswana (Rijk van Dijk). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
The studies in this volume are the result of research carried out by students of the Research Masters in African Studies (RMAS) at Leiden University who graduated in 2008. The studies cover such... Show moreThe studies in this volume are the result of research carried out by students of the Research Masters in African Studies (RMAS) at Leiden University who graduated in 2008. The studies cover such areas as conflict, democracy, migration, urban and rural studies, language, communication and youth. An introduction by Mirjam de Bruijn, RMAS director, and Daniela Merolla, RMAS academic coordinator from 2006-2009, is followed by eight contributions: Facilitating return: notions of conflict and peace in ending internal displacement in northern Uganda (Hilde Kroes); Political parties and intra-party democracy in East Afria: considerations for democratic consolidation (Josh Maiyo); How the youth of Soweto have turned language into a transformable object in the context of a changing society (Pierre Aycard); How linguistic features and social arrangements can interrelate: the position of Swahili and its speakers in Bujumbura [Burundi] (Lianne Belt); Peer groups and human anchorage: girl-migrants making it work in N'Djamena, Chad (Jonna Both); Recycling gifts: ritual and money in present-day 'tonw' in Bancoumana [Mali] (Esther Khn); Negotiating insecurity through mobile telephony in Buea, Cameroon (Barbara Tah Gwanmesia); Challenges for ethnographic research in fragile situations: research among youth in post-war Burundi (Lidewyde H. Berckmoes). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
'We cannot imagine life now without a mobile phone' is a frequent comment when Africans are asked about mobile phones. They have become part and parcel of the communication landscape in many urban... Show more'We cannot imagine life now without a mobile phone' is a frequent comment when Africans are asked about mobile phones. They have become part and parcel of the communication landscape in many urban and rural areas of Africa and the growth of mobile telephony is amazing: from 1 in 50 people being users in 2000 to 1 in 3 in 2008. Such growth is impressive but it does not even begin to tell us about the many ways in which mobile phones are being appropriated by Africans and how they are transforming or are being transformed by society in Africa. This volume ventures into such appropriation and mutual shaping. Rich in theoretical innovation and empirical substantiation, it brings together reflections on developments around the mobile phone by scholars of six African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Sudan and Tanzania) who explore the economic, social and cultural contexts in which the mobile phone is being adopted, adapted and harnessed by mobile Africa. Show less
Civil society and empowerment have become buzz words in neoliberal development discourse. Yet many unanswered questions remain on the actual nature and configuration assumed by civil society in... Show moreCivil society and empowerment have become buzz words in neoliberal development discourse. Yet many unanswered questions remain on the actual nature and configuration assumed by civil society in specific contexts. Typically, while neoliberals perceive civil-society organisations as vital intermediary channels for the successful implementation of desired economic and political reforms, they are inclined to blame the current resurgence of the politics of belonging for the poor record of these reforms in Africa and elsewhere. This book rejects such notions and argues that the relationship between civil society and the politics of belonging is more complex in Africa than western donors and scholars are willing to admit. Konings argues that ethno-regional associations and movements are even more significant constituents of civil society in Africa than the conventional civil-society organisations that are often uncritically imposed or endorsed. He convincingly shows how the politics of belonging, so pervasive in Cameroon, and indeed much of Africa, during the current neoliberal economic and political reforms, has tended to penetrate the entire range of associational life. This calls for a critical re-appraisal of prevalent notions and assumptions about civil society in the interest of African reality. Hence the importance of this book! Show less
Cameroon's economic crisis has led to widespread unemployment and poverty since the 1980s. Civil society organizations, including the churches, believe that bad governance is at the heart of the... Show moreCameroon's economic crisis has led to widespread unemployment and poverty since the 1980s. Civil society organizations, including the churches, believe that bad governance is at the heart of the country's economic problems and are calling for the introduction of democratic institutions. However, a growing number of Pentecostal churches, especially in Anglophone Cameroon, are also offering an attractive message of salvation to the suffering masses. This study considers how the new gospel of accumulation and prosperity relates to the material predicaments of Cameroonians. It investigates the transition from 'classical' to 'modern' Pentecostalism and the continuous defection of members of the mainline churches to the new Pentecostal groups that are propagating this gospel of prosperity as opposed to the ascetic doctrine of mainline groups. The book consists of five published articles and a general introduction. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
During the current economic and political crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, urban dwellers tend to display a large measure of creativity in the invention of survival strategies, the development of... Show moreDuring the current economic and political crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, urban dwellers tend to display a large measure of creativity in the invention of survival strategies, the development of social networks, and the construction of imaginative practices. This collective volume explores the importance of the urban neighbourhood in these creative processes. Two different approaches to the neighbourhood are pinpointed. The first perceives the neighbourhood as a geographical domain in which people are engaged in a variety of activities to advance their material and immaterial well-being, making use of the 'wealth' of opportunities, assets and forms of 'capital' (natural, physical, financial, human and social). The second approach sees the neighbourhood not as necessarily geographically bounded, but as created and defined by human beings. These 'neighbourhoods' may take the form of self-help organizations, associations, churches, etc. or may be based on gender, generational, ethnic and occupational identities. The two approaches do not necessarily exclude each other. The volume contains contributions on Nakuru, Kenya (Samuel OwuorandDick Foeken), Douala, Cameroon (Piet Konings; Basile Ndjio), Kampala, Uganda (Emmanuel Nkurunziza), Kano, Nigeria (Katja Werthmann), Accra, Ghana (Deborah Pellow), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Eileen Moyer), Lom‚, Togo (Charles Piot), Mongo, Chad (Mirjam de Bruijn), and Aioun el Atrouss, Mauritania (Kiky van Til). [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
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
