Abstract
The etiology of the rise and fall of important persons provides a link between the social patterns and interpretive schemes of nineteenth century western Sudan and the present. It corresponds to continuities between the political modalities of the past and those that articulate with nation states since independence. This article focuses on purposeful ritual action in the western Volta region as an enabling condition of social success. The notion of fanga (« force ») underlies personal trajectories and their social ambient. Analytic categories such as legitimacy, political office, succession, territory, are of limited usefulness in understanding these social landscapes where juxtaposition of dissimilar but equivalent social segments prevails. The euphoria of decolonization following World War II provides an example of how these paradigms emerged in social action as urban populations and their rural periphery started participating in electoral politics.
Translated title of the contribution | Fanga as knowledge and destiny: The social significance of personal success in the western Sudan |
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Original language | French |
Pages (from-to) | 63-90 |
Number of pages | 28 |
Journal | Homme |
Issue number | 179 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2006 |
Keywords
- Colonial anthropology
- Post-colonial politics
- Religion in Africa
- Volta region
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Anthropology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)