Cécile Perret

Local Systems of Exchange in Kabylia: Economy of Reciprocity and Constraint of Traditions

Abstract Purpose In a period of moral and economic crisis all the alternative solutions to finance economic activities are interesting to study, specifically those embedded in solidarity practices. The nature of the ties (bonding ties, linking ties or bridging ties) and solidarities (institutional solidarity, formal or informal solidarity, intergenerational solidarity) must then be examined. Methodology/approach The exchanges between the people are governed by three different modes: the market, the redistribution and the reciprocity which acts to maintain the relation (Lavoue, Jezequel, & Janvier, 2010, p. 34). The exchanges are not only of economic order and also participate in the symbolic world. Our main question is: can the relations of exchange become emancipated from the reification? We illustrate this chapter with the case of the Kabylian traditional society and market (Benet, 1957–1975) where the practices of exchanges are not only of economic order (redistribution …) but also matter with the symbolic world (honour). Findings Even today, in Kabylia, the survival of an ancestral social organisation (tajmaat) which has anchored in tradition and rooted values (tirugza) and practices (tiwiza) sometimes allows the local populations to offer the missing public goods or the solidarity towards those who need help (elders, orphans). Originality/value In traditional Kabyle society, exchange practices are not only economic in nature (they contribute to mutual assistance, redistribution, etc.), but are also symbolic.

Capital Social, Confiance Et Développement Territorial: Une Étude Appliquée En Kabylie (Social Capital, Trustworthiness and Territorial Development: An Applied Study in Kabylia)

French Abstract: Des organisations informelles sont creees en l’absence d’institutions formelles fortes ou en cas de manque de confiance dans les institutions. Le capital social structurel civil, comme par exemple le systeme de gouvernance traditionnel des villages kabyles, peut alors se substituer au capital social structurel gouvernemental. Le mode d’organisation traditionnel kabyle, fonde sur un certain nombre de valeurs (democratie, entraide…), privilegie les liens de type bonding qui caracterisent des relations communautaires. Mais, cet etat de fait ne tend-il pas vers un renfermement communautaire qui pourrait avoir un impact negatif sur la dynamique territoriale ? Cet article montre, grâce au traitement d’une enquete originale sur la confiance, que cela ne semble pas etre le cas.English Abstract: As numerous economists and anthropologists underline it, informal organizations are created in the absence of strong formal insitutions or in the case of lack of trustworthiness. Civil structural social capital, as the traditional villages’ governance system in Kabylia, can then be substituted to the governmental structural social capital. This traditionnal organization, based on values such as mutual aid, equality, democracy...promotes the bonding ties wich characterize community relations. Can this situation engender a “relational closure” wich could have a negative impact on territorial dynamics? This research brings into light, with an original survey administrated in Tizi-Ouzou, that it’s not the case.