Michaela Pelican

Sharing or Dividing the Land? Land Rights and Farmer-Herder Relations in Burkina Faso and Northwest Cameroon

ResumeLes changements dans les droits fonciers et les modeles d’utilisation de la terre qui s’y rattachent sont une force essentielle dans les relations entre fermiers et bergers. La transformation des lois foncieres est au centre des processus de restructuration et de decentralisation dans la majeure partie de l’Afrique sub-saharienne et la question des droits fonciers est donc devenue de plus en plus importante dans la recherche anthropologique. Cet article compare les relations entre fermiers et bergers au Burkina-Faso et dans le nord-ouest du Cameroun ou les bergers agriculteurs forment une minorite ethnique dans les societes dominees par les fermiers. Il y a de grosses differences entre les groupes pour ce qui est de l’integration et du conflit. Si les relations au Burkina se distinguent par une integration pacifique, en revanche au Cameroun, elles se caracterisent par d’occasionnels violents conflits. Ces differences s’expliquent du fait des differences memes entre les systemes judiciaires et les mo...Résumé Les changements dans les droits fonciers et les modèles d’utilisation de la terre qui s’y rattachent sont une force essentielle dans les relations entre fermiers et bergers. La transformation des lois foncières est au centre des processus de restructuration et de décentralisation dans la majeure partie de l’Afrique sub-saharienne et la question des droits fonciers est donc devenue de plus en plus importante dans la recherche anthropologique. Cet article compare les relations entre fermiers et bergers au Burkina-Faso et dans le nord-ouest du Cameroun où les bergers agriculteurs forment une minorité ethnique dans les sociétés dominées par les fermiers. Il y a de grosses différences entre les groupes pour ce qui est de l’intégration et du conflit. Si les relations au Burkina se distinguent par une intégration pacifique, en revanche au Cameroun, elles se caractérisent par d’occasionnels violents conflits. Ces différences s’expliquent du fait des différences mêmes entre les systèmes judiciaires et les modèles d’utilisation des terres dans les deux pays. Une utilisation partagée de la terre et des “ressources agricoles” encourage l’intégration grâce à des conflits permanents peu sérieux, tandis qu’un paysage divisé et une allocation de titres fonciers exclusifs augmentent la possibilité de conflits violents. Au Burkina, l’organisation historique et politique encourage la pratique et l’idéologie d’un paysage partagé, tandis qu’au nord-ouest du Cameroun, la législation coloniale et post-coloniale promeut la division des ressources entres fermiers et bergers.

Mbororo on the move: from pastoral mobility to international travel

This contribution deals with historical and contemporary experiences of mobility among Mbororo (Fulbe pastoralists) in northwest Cameroon. It examines the impact of these experiences on Mbororo interaction with their environment, and the emergence of ideas of tourism and heritage among Mbororo based in Cameroon and abroad. It argues that while Mbororo mobility has now attained a global scale, it is largely limited to the more prosperous and educated elite, and contributes to social stratification within Mbororo society.

Friendship among pastoral Fulbe in northwest Cameroon

This article discusses perceptions and practices of friendship among the Mbororo (pastoral Fulbe) in northwest Cameroon. The concept of friendship is culturally and socially embedded, and the author highlights the flexible and multilayered character of friendship in Cameroon. While in Europe and the U.S. the voluntary and emotional connotations of friend- ship are stressed, for the Mbororo, it includes a significant economic component and may overlap with other relationships, such as kinship and patron-client relations. Furthermore, Mbororo women and men differ in their perspectives and practices of friendship. Finally, the author argues that interethnic friendships between Mbororo pastoralists and their farming neighbors are of an individual nature and that in the face of conflict, their integrative capacity is limited.

The indigenous rights movement in Africa: perspectives from Botswana and Cameroon

This article outlines the different trajectories of the indigenous rights movement in Africa, and discusses the factors that have contributed to its success or decline. Two case studies are compared; namely, the case of the San people of Botswana in Southern Africa, and the case of the Mbororo people of Cameroon in West Africa. On a general level, this article argues that the indigenous rights movement in different parts of Africa has gone through various phases, from expectation and success to disillusionment and pragmatism. Moreover, it demon- strates that the San and Mbororo communities and other groups not only rely on the global indigenous rights movement, but have also adopted alternative and complementary strategies to deal with the unforeseen consequences of this movement. Finally, we argue that our case studies attest to the enduring relevance of the nation-state and the ideal of ethnic coexistence in Africa.

Between regular and irregular employment: subverting the kafala system in the GCC countries

Abstract The focus of this paper is on the strategies of migrant workers and employers to circumvent or subvert the kafala (sponsorship) system in the Arab Gulf States. While the kafala system provides individual and corporate sponsors with both near-exclusive power and legal responsibility for their employees, a range of informal practices has emerged, among them is the so-called ‘free visa’. We argue that the irregularities analysed in this paper are one aspect of the broader frictions between the restrictive kafala system and the need for a more flexible labour force in most Gulf States. Furthermore, both the migrant’s and the employer’s sides must be considered in order to understand the sustainability of these alternative practices, which often are at the margins of the law, and thus entail a number of risks for both parties. Finally, we draw attention to the fact that many employers are non-nationals, and that their perspectives and interests may differ from those of nationals.

INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL TOPIC "INDIGENOUS IDENTITIES AND ETHNIC COEXISTENCE IN AFRICA"

In recent decades, discourses of citizenship, minority, and indigenous rights have ranked high on the agenda of the international development establishment (Niezen, 2003). They have also made their way into national and domestic politics in many parts of Africa. Among these, the concept of indigenous peoples has raised debates, both in political and academic circles, particularly in the African context (Kuper, 2003). At the same time, this and related notions have been adopted by many minority groups in their struggles for recognition, resources, and rights, yet with varied outcomes. In September 2007 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Among its most significant assertions are indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination to lands, territories, and natural resources, and to free, prior, and informed consent. Activists and organizations concerned with human and minority rights saw the adoption of the declaration as an important step toward the improvement of the precarious situation of minority groups. Today, seven years later, many peoples are still involved in struggles over citizenship, belonging, and identity. In this volume, we wish to reassess in this light the current and historic situation of selected minority groups in different parts of Africa. Among them are the prehistoric pastoralist groups in northeastern Chad (Lenssen-Erz), the Sandawe and Hadza in Tanzania (Yatsuka), the Mbororo in Cameroon, and the San in Botswana (Pelican and Maruyama). In Africa, the situation of minority groups or indigenous peoples cannot be understood without factoring in their varied and multi-faceted relationships with neighbouring ethnic groups. The contributions in this volume take into consideration that African peoples do not live in isolation, but coexist with other population groups, and that they are a part of overarching regional and national societies. In some cases, issues may arise from a problematic relationship with the state; in others, they emerge over conflicted relationships with neighbour ing groups. The contributions in this volume thus focus on both the contentious and collaborative relations with neighbouring population groups as well as on processes of inclusion and exclusion against the background of national and international politics. Furthermore, the papers critically engage with the achievements and failures of the indigenous rights movement in Africa. More specifically, they discuss the numerous ways in which discourses of citizenship and indigeneity have been translated locally — or vernacularized in Merry’s (2006) terminology — and have been put into use. As the papers suggest, different groups may pursue quite different