Jewsiewicki, Bogumil & Plankenstein, Barbara (eds.). – An/Sichten. Malerei aus dem Kongo, 1990-2000 (Views/Opinions. Paintings from Congo 1990-2000)

How do people manage to cope with continuing economic and political chaos? In the case of Congo/Zaire this question has imposed itself, unfortunately, already for decades. Another special trait of this country is that its popular paintings provide if not an answer to this question, then at least a vivid image of how people struggle to cope. The beautiful and well-documented catalogue by Bogumil Jewsiewicki and Barbara Plankenstein of Congo paintings from the 1990s–for an exposition in the Vie..

Introductory remarks to the 2013 Lugard Lecture ‘youth, waithood, and protest movements in Africa’ given by Alcinda Honwana

Welcome and many thanks to all of you for coming to attend this lecture at such an early hour. It is a great honour for me to welcome all of you on behalf of the International African Institute to the Lord Lugard Lecture – by now an old tradition of our Institute. This might be a good occasion to emphasize, first of all and once more, that over the last decades we have had lengthy debates on the title of this lecture: is it right to retain the name of Lord Lugard, the founder of our Institute but also an icon of colonialism? This certainly does not fit with our continuous struggle to overcome this colonial heritage and constantly renew the Institute. On the other hand, one does not overcome a heritage by denying it. So, again and again, the outcome of our debates was that it seemed best retain the title - after all, it is part of our heritage; so probably best to face this - but to be particularly diligent that we use the occasion to open up new perspectives in a constantly changing world. This is one of the reasons (there are many more) why I am so happy to introduce here Professor Alcinda Honwana for this year’s Lugard lecture

Panel 2. Anthropologie de l’Etat : guerre, esclavage et domination politique

© musée du quai Branly, photo Anna Gianotti Laban Laurent BergerAnthropologue, maître de conférences à l’EHESS Je vous propose de continuer ce colloque sur des bases aussi intéressantes que celles qui ont été établies ce matin. Ce second panel est consacré à l’anthropologie de l'État et abordera des phénomènes tels que la guerre, l’esclavage et la domination politique. Pour introduire ce panel, je vais prendre quelques minutes afin de rappeler les principaux éléments de la théorisation par ..

Reflecting on loss in Papua New Guinea

This article takes up the conundrum of conducting anthropological fieldwork with people who claim that they have 'lost their culture,' as is the case with Suau people in the Massim region of Papua New Guinea. But rather than claiming culture loss as a process of dispossession, Suau claim it as a consequence of their own attempts to engage with colonial interests. Suau appear to have responded to missionization and their close proximity to the colonial-era capital by jettisoning many of the practices characteristic of Massim societies, now identified as 'kastom.' The rejection of kastom in order to facilitate their relations with Europeans during colonialism, followed by the mourning for kastom after independence, both invite consideration of a kind of reflexivity that requires action based on the presumed perspective of another

Homophobic Africa? Toward A More Nuanced View

The recent emergence of homosexuality as a central issue in public debate in various parts of Africa has encouraged a stereotypical image of one homophobic Africa, often placed in opposition to a tolerant or depraved West. What is striking is that this image of Africa as homophobic is promoted by both traditionalists who insist that homosexuality is a Western intrusion and by the Western media that focus on homophobic statements from African political and religious leaders. What both neglect, however, is the existence of internal debate and disagreements among Africans on the subject of homosexuality. In this article we try to counter this image of a homophobic Africa with a more nuanced discussion, including a comparison of different trajectories in the emergence of homosexuality as a public issue in four countries (Senegal, Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa). The comparison highlights considerable variations in the ways in which the issue became politicized. There is a world of difference, for example, between the image of the homosexual as un Grand (a rich and powerful "Big Man") who imposes anal penetration as a supreme form of subjection (as in Cameroon or Gabon, where homosexuality is associated with witchcraft and other occult forces; compare Achille Mbembe's visionary evocation of a "phallocracy") and the often quite marginal persons who become victims of gay persecution in other contexts. More insight into the variations of what is loosely and inaccurately called "homophobia" can help connect international pressures for decriminalization and protection to local circumstances. Working through local activists is crucial for the effort to counter homophobia in Africa

Regard académique, sorcellerie et schizophrénie (commentaire)

Geschiere Peter. Regard académique, sorcellerie et schizophrénie (commentaire). In: Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales. 56ᵉ année, N. 3, 2001. pp. 643-649

L'agriculture de subsistance, l'autonomie de la femme et l'autorité des aînés chez les Maka (Cameroun)

Among the Maka people of the Cameroons food production consists of cassava and banana cultivation supplemented by cucumbers and peanuts. There is no scarcity in land available for cultivation or in agricultural implements and suckers to plant, and therefore no basis for functional power to develop, the same is true of stock management and the woman's status which is characterized by autonomy. As a matter of fact, elders do not control directly food production. In contradistinction to production, polygamy allows a chief to extend his power through accumulating wives, which would suggest that local strategies exploit biological reproduction capacities instead of coordination of agricultural activities. In order better to substantiate the conclusion which he arrives at, the author compares the Maka case with those of other Cameroons peoples, such as the Beti and the Mkao.La production vivrière des Maka du Cameroun repose sur la culture du manioc et des plantains, complétée par celle des concombres et des arachides. Elle est essentiellement activité féminine. Ni la terre cultivable, ni les outils ni les boutures et graines ne sont rares ; on ne peut donc trouver là une base au développement de l'autorité des aînés, non plus que dans la gestion des stocks agricoles ou dans le statut de la femme qui est caractérisé par l'autonomie. De fait, les aînés n'exercent pas de contrôle direct sur la production agricole. Par contre, le chef peut étendre son pouvoir en « accumulant » les femmes par polygamie, ce qui suggère que l'utilisation des capacités de reproduction biologique du groupe joue le premier rôle dans la stratégie des Maka. Pour mieux asseoir ses conclusions l'auteur esquisse des comparaisons avec d'autres ethnies camerounaises, telles que Beti et Mkao.Geschiere Peter. L'agriculture de subsistance, l'autonomie de la femme et l'autorité des aînés chez les Maka (Cameroun). In: Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée, 29ᵉ année, bulletin n°3-4, Juillet-décembre 1982. pp. 307-320

Sorcellerie et modernité. Les enjeux des nouveaux procès de sorcellerie au Cameroun

Witchcraft and Modernity. The Stakes of the New Witchcraft Trials in Cameroon. P. Geschiere. Since 1980, State courts in the East Province of Cameroon began to convict "witches ", mostly on the basis of the testimonies of "witch-doctors ", whose "expertise " thus receives official recognition. Such direct interventions by the State in witchcraft affairs are not exceptional in post-colonial Africa; they reflect a general obsession with a supposed proliferation of "witchcraft". Striking is that "witchcraft" becomes an overriding issue precisely in the more modern sectors of society. A comparison with historical studies of witchcraft trials in early Modern Europe is of interest because in these studies as well the relation between "witchcraft" and "modernity" is a central, albeit highly differently interpreted, issue. Of special relevance is Michel de Certeau's insistence that the witches, as much as the magistrates who convict them, are part and parcel of the modern changes. In Africa as well, witchcraft is not to be studied as a relief of a tradition that will disappear with "modernisation". It is rather modernity itself, its dreams and practices, that seems to reproduce the witchcraft imaginary on an unprecedented scale. Witchcraft trials offer a concrete setting to locale the intermediares that play a key role in this. The African examples, like the Italian "micro-historians", emphasize the role of seemingly subaltern actors in the crystallization of the modern changes: the nganga (witch-doctors) — more than the State and its representatives —figure as key actors in this modern reproduction of witchcraft discourses.Geschiere Peter. Sorcellerie et modernité. Les enjeux des nouveaux procès de sorcellerie au Cameroun. In: Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales. 53ᵉ année, N. 6, 1998. pp. 1251-1279