ISSN:
2193-987X
Language:
English
Pages:
xii, 137 Seiten
,
Illustrationen, Karten
Series Statement:
Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. Field Notes and Research Projects 15
Keywords:
Republik Niger Ethnie, Afrika
;
Wodabe
;
Nomade
;
Nomadismus
;
Migration
;
Identität
;
Behausung
;
Behausung, mobile
;
Stadtforschung, ethnologische
;
Urbanisation
;
Wirtschaftlicher Wandel
;
Krisenbewältigung
;
Feldforschung
Abstract:
Conclusion: Although mobile communities are not bound in space, "home"f for them nevertheless has concrete and stable manifestations. The example of nomadic architecture demonstrates that these manifestations are not tied to specific localized sites, but that they can move through space with their inhabitants. The constant and ongoing process of placemaking constituted by the permanent disassembling and reassembling of the house assures continuity [...] and the nature of this habitat is apt to assure "situatedness durig mobility" [...]. If this is important in the pastoral nomadic context, it certainly is so in the context of contemporary translocal migration, as well. By analysing their urban habitat, I have demonstrated how Wodaabe migrants reproduce the socio-spatial configurations and cultural practices of their society of origin in a constant process of negotiation with local practices and conditions. In particular the fact that the well-being of the cattle is not the main concern in town as it is in the pastoral context, changes the priorities with regard to habitat and thus leads to important divergences. Like other mobile pastoralists, the Wodaabe do not have a materially elaborate habitat. The furniture is reduced to a functional minimum in order to guarantee a maximum of mobility, which in the arid climate of Niger is an essential element of any pastoral strategy. From this perspective, it is not astonishing that the urban dwellings of Wodaabe migrants are not elaborate. This should not, however, be interpreted in terms of a deficit or of a refusal, but rather as the continuation of a cultural pattern.The analysis has shown that the few but essential elements of habitat and material culture that in the pastoralist setting provide a feeling of continuity and belonging despite mobility . especially certain items which have an important cultural value and symbolic meaning . are carefully preserved in the urban context as well and contribute to maintaining cultural identity. Similarly, characteristic organisational features of the pastoral camps continue to structure social practice in the urban dwellings, despite considerable differences and adaptations. On the other hand, the analysis has shown that the often ephemeral nature of Wodaabe urban dwellings is due less to an "essential quality of the nomad" or a resistance against the state and sedentary society, but rather to their often precarious status and their lacking perspectives for staying in the same dwelling for a longer period. The phenomenon of intraurban mobility of migrants, which is characteristic of the study context, is in fact generally rather forced than self-chosen. The placemaking strategies in the city resemble the non-territorial strategies of resource appropriation in the pastoral context insofar as in both cases, the current situation of increased competition and the marginal position of the Wodaabe limit their possibilities for a sustained access to the resources. In the end, in both cases the only options they are left with are on marginal, interstitial resources.
Description / Table of Contents:
Introduction -- Photo Essay: Moving Camp -- The Spatial Organization of Wodaabe Pastoral Camps -- Photo Essay: Making and Unmaking the Mobile House -- A Typology of the Dwellings of Wodaabe Urban Migrants -- Photo Essay: The Urban Condition -- The Transformation of Habitat in the Urban Context -- Photo Essay: Female Items of Identity and Belonging -- Discussion -- Photo Essay: The Use of Interstitial Resources in the City -- Conclusion -- Photo Essay: Rural Transformations -- Bibliography
Note:
Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 131-135
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