National Library of Canada Bibliothkque nationale d J Canada Acquisitions and B~bliographicServices Branch dzs services b~bllographrques 395 W?ll~r,gronStreet OtIawa. Ck?ano 395, rue Weilington Ottawa (Ontaro) KIA ON4 Cirection aes acquislt~onset :<:A ON4 \,w 1,c L, [ ti ,+'I'> <v,,% The quality of this microform is heavily dependent upon %he quality of the original thesis submitted for microfilming. Every effort has been made to ensure the highest quality of reproduction possibfe. La quaiit6 de cette microforme depend grandernent de la qualit6 de la ttadse soumise au microfilmage. Nous avons tout fait pour assurer une qualit@ supbrioure de reproduction. If pages are missing, contact the university which granted the degree. S'il manque des pages, veuiller communiquer avec I'universit6 qui a conf6rC. le grade. Some pages may have indistinct print especially if the original pages were typed with a poor typewriter ribbon or if the university sent us an inferior photocopy. La qualite &impression de certaines pages peut laisser a desirer, surtout si les pages 4% originales ont dactylographiees a I'aide d'un ruban us6 ou si I'uniwersite nous a fait parvenir une pholocopie de qualite infhrieure. Reproduction in full or in part of this microform is governed by the Canadian Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1970, c. C-30, and subsequent amendments. La reproduction, m h e partielle, de cette microforme est ssurnise A la toi canadienrse s w le droii d'auteur, SRC 1970, c. C-30, et ses amendements subshquents. - MEN'S HOUSES:WOMENfS SPACES AN ETmTOARCHAEOLOGICALSTUDY OF GENDER AND HOUSEHOLD DESIGN IN DELA, NORTH CAMEROON BY Diane Elaine Lyons M.A., The University of Calgary, 1983 THXSIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of ARCHAEOLOGY O Diane Lyons 1992 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY APRIL 1992 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. Library *IofNationai Canada Acquisitions and Bibliographic Services Branch Bibtiotheque nationale du Canada Direction des acquisit~onset aes services blbliograph~ques The author has granted an irrevocable non-exclusive licence allowing the National Library of Canada to reproduce, loan, distribute or sell copies of his/her thesis by any means and in any form or format, making this thesis available to interested persons. &'auteur a accsrde urne licence irrevocable et non exclusive perrnettant a la Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduire, preter, distribuer ou vendre des copies de sa these de quelque rnaniere et sous quellque forme que ce soit pour mettre des exemplaires de cette t h h e a la disposition des personnes interessees. The author retains ownership of the copyright in his/her thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without his/her permission. L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur qui protege sa these. Ni la these ni des extraits slabstantiels de celle-ci ne doivent 6tre imprim6s ou autrement reprraduits sans son autorisation. -- APPROVAL 'VAME: DIANE LYONS I3ECREE: DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (ARCHAEOLOGY) TITLE OF DISSERTATION: MEN'S H0TJSES:WOMEN'S SPACES AN ETHNOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF GENDER AND HOUSEHOLD DESIGN IN DELA, NORTH CAMEROON EXAMINING COMMITTEE: CHAIR PHILIP HOELER - DR. DAVID BURJ&Y Senior Supervisor Associate Professor ( ~ r c h a e 6 l o ~ ~ ) j~rofcssor(Archaeolo ) P f DR. NICHOLAS DAVID Professor (Archaeology) University of Calgary - 7 DR. JONATHAN DRIVER Internal External Examiner H c i a t e Pro$ssor (Archaeology) Professor (Anthropology) University of California, Berkeley DATE AI'PROVED: , s -J ,- PARTIAL CQPVRXGHT LLICEjWSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to uscrs of the Sirnan Fmser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such uscrs or in response to a request from the library of any ot,kr university, or othcr educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agrcc that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowcd without my written permission. Title of ThcsklProjecUExtended Essay MEN'S HOUSES: WOMEN'S SPACES AN ETHNOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF GENDER AND EIOUSEIIOI,D DESIGN IN DELA, NORTH CAMEROON D i m e Lyons (name) March 12, 1992 This is an ethnoarchaeological examination of household design in four mio-cultural groups living in the village sf Dela in northern Cameroon. These groups are the Mura, the Urza, tlie Wandala and the Shuwa. In particular, thc study explores the relationship between household styles and cultural perceptions of gender roles and relationships. The theoretical approach to the study is strongly influenced by Ian Hodder's contextual archaeology and Anthony Giddens' theory of structura tion. This approach presents jndividuals as active participants in the production and reproduction of social structures through the meaningful manipulation of material culture in the course of daily practice. Men and women's capacity or power to act is realized through the economic and social resources which they have the authority to manipulate in the negotiation of self-intcrcsts. Thc construction of gender is examined through the distribution of social and economic resources of men and women in each group. All four groups are maledominated in terms of values placed upon and control of particular resources. One resource controlled by men in all groups is household design. On the basis of interviews with household heads, ideal internal spatial orders are drawn. These ideal household plans are compared to maps and histories of the informants actual compounds. It is suggested that men represent their interpretation of the dominant perception of gender roles and relationships in internal household design. An important consideration is that household style is part of two contexts of interaction and conscquently of two design strategies. Internally visible design forms the domestic context in which co-resident men, and children interact. Externally visible design is part of the community context. In Dela, the community is characterized by a hierarchy of maledominated in terest groups. Of interest is the design and spatial placement of features and house furnishings controlled by women. These features draw visual attention to activities women perform in the iii compound which are not explicitly valued by men. It is suggested that these objc~tsarc ordered and designed by women t3 negotiate their value and contributions to the material and spiritual well-being of the household with their male relatives. Consqucntly, household design is activcly engaged in the construction and reconstruction of gender in thcse four groups. Not all stylistic choices in compound construction can be meaningfully interpreted as part of the negotiation of gender roles and relationships. Men use externally visible hauschold design as a strategy to promote their interests within the male community. Other practical considerations and ideological beliefs are also integrated into the design of domestic buildings. These choices impinge upon internal design in varying degrees within each community. To Eric, Kccs, Matsamc and the people of Deia ... This dissertation could not have been accomplished without the help and pdrtiiiption ol several people. I a m deeply indebted to the following individuals for their assistnncc, guidnncc and many kindnesses. I thank my senior supervisor, Dr. David Burley, ior his s ~ i p p r and t assistance. His perspective on household space and comments on all drafts helped enormously. His generosity in sharing notes and information greatly reduced my work load in the last crucial semeskcrs. Dr. Nicholas David gave me the opportunity to work in Africa as a rncrnbcr of thc 1986 Mandara Archaeological Project team. Africa is an experience which challcngcd and enriched nw both professionally and personally. I thank him not only for this cxpericncc but for a Icttcr of encouragement and good advice in the early part of the project. His words sustained me -3s 1 sought my footing as an ethnoarchaeologist - a more difficult transition than most archacologisls are led to expect! Dog-eared as that letter is, it will be part of my field-kit in ycars to come. I am also grateful for his insightful comments on this and previous drafts. 1 also extend my appreciation to Dr. Roy Carlson for his support throughout the years. Dr. Ruth Tringham acted as external examiner for the defence. Her comments on thc study of gender and households has stimulated new avenues for future analysis with this research. My greatest debt and thanks goes to the people of Dela. In particular, I would like to acknowledge Chief Amanaji Boukar, Maloum Yakuba, Adjigre Gwe, Adjedc, Aba Fadi, Matsarnc Gala, Uhmate and the members of all of the households who participated in this study for thc many hours they spent answering my questions. Most especially I thank Matsamc Siliman for his assistance and friendship. His work as an interpreter and field assistant was cxcmpiary. Much of the success of this project is due to him. I thank other members of the Mandara Archaeological Project Research team of 1986. 7'hc development of a broader feel for the research area, essential for interpreting the information sr~llcctedin Dcla, came from conversations and collaboration with Scott MacEachem, hlzureen Recvts, Ian Robertson, Judy Sterner, Kodjo Gavua and Mike Wilson while in the field. During my years at Simon Fraser, 1 have been fortunate to have the friendship and support of Shannon Wood, Yvonne Marshall, Andrew Barton, Joanna Casey, Olga Klimko, Diane Hanson and Brian Chisholm. I especially thank Shannon Wood for computer drafting the local and regional maps presented in the study. lnge Dahm and Greg Sullivan provided translations of several German texts. I thank Ingrid Nystrofi~fx her ongoing assistance and kind heart throughout the years as well as Denise Kask, Linda Bannister and Lynda Przybyla. I also express my gratitude to Brenda Beck for her assistance in editing the household floor plans and to Jim Kostyniuk for many of the figures and tables. I am vcry appreciative of Rob Sieniuc for holding down the fort! A special thanks is in order for the staff of Kahpoo for their extra help during the crunch. Hospitality and assistance were offered by researchers in Cameroon. I thank Eldridge Mohammadou and the Institute of Human Sciences office at Garoua for information and lodging. 1 also thank Michelle Dclneuf, Alain Marliac and Daniel Barreteau for their hospitality. Hermann Fork1 kindly shared his unpublished field map and other information which were invaluable. The Mandara Archaeological Project is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (grants 410-83-0819,410-85-1M0,410-88-0361 an 410-89-0871) and the University of Calgary. My own research was funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowships and by Simon Fraser University. My parents, Evelyn and Akxander Lyons, have always been supportive of my cndcavours. They are part of this accomplishment. I have also appreciated the support of my inlaws Anne and Ben dc Ridder. I give my thanks to Eric for all his help, support and love. I could not ask for a better partner. And finally to Kees for putting it all in perspective. ' TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES iii vi viii xii ., . Xlll CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Introduction The Project Analytical Progression CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND ANAYTICAL FRAMEWORK Introduction Approaches to Gender Approaches to Material Culture Style Power, Gender and Social Interaction Household Deisgn and Power Previous Studies of Household Space Summary CHAPTER THREE: THE STUDY AREA Introduction The Physical Environment Climate and Vegetation Regional Demographic Distribution Montagnards on the northern Mandara Mountains Plains people Montagnards on the Mora Plain Linguistic Relationships Regional History and Prehistory Regional culture his t o y Mura ethnohistoy Urza ethnohisfory Wandala ethnohistoy Shuwa efhnohistory Precolonial Relationships Between the Study Groups The Colonial Period Independence Dela Summary CKr23TEB FOUR ETHNOGRAPHIC CONTEXT Introduction Ethnographic Distribution in Dela The Mura Social organization Economic organization viii 8ifz.rul organizafiun T'hc Urza Socia! organizafiorz Economic orgunizntion Rif ual organizatinn The Wandala Social organization Economic organization Ritual organization The Shuwa Social organization Econmic organization Ril tial organization Summary CHAPTER FIVE: POWER AND GENDER IDEOLOGY lntrnduction Resource Distribution by Gender in Mura and Urza Households Rcsourcc Distribution by Gender in Wandala Households Resource Distribution by Gender in Shuwa Households Summary CHAPTER SIX: THE CONFIGURATION OF DOMESTIC SPACE Introduction Dcla Households Informant Descriptions of Domestic Spatial Order Mznra and Urza Domestic informant descriptions Wnndala infornzant descriptions Shuwa informant descriptions 'Time-space Con texts Mura and Urza Domestic Time-space Contexts Daily time-space contexts Biolo,qical time-space confexts Ritual time-space contexts Wandala Domcstic Time-space Contexts Daily time-space contexts Biological time-space con texts Ritiial time-space contexts Shuwa Domestic Timc-space Contexts Daily time-space contexts Biologcai time-space contexts Ritual fime-space contexts ldcal Compound Spatial Configurations M u m arid i l r m idml compound configtlraiion Wandala idml compound configuration S h u m ideal cornpound configuration Sumn~ary CHAPTER SEVEN: THE ACIZTALORDERING OF 001v.fESTIC SPACE Introduction Mura and Urza Compcunds Compound 20 (logone) M1n-Dela Compound 14 (Logone) Wa-Deln Compound 4 (Logone) Wa-Deln Compound 11 fh4ura) Wa-Dela Compound 9 (Logone! Sela-Podokmo Compound 2 (Kuvra) Sela-Podokmo Compound 3 (Kovm)Seln-Podolwo Compound 26 (Kmva) Sela-Podokwo Compound 6 (Murai Sela-Podol-do Compound 81 (Mura) SeEn-Podokwo Compound 5 ILlrza Mada Tzingd Wa-Deln Compound 13 (Urza Kzrdangala) Wa-Dela Compound 193 (Urza Gulidje) Widive Compound 1 94 (Urza Gulidje) Widive Summary of Mura and Urza Compounds Wandala Compounds Compound 53 (Wandala) WandaZa Centre Compoi~nd110 (Wandala) Wandnln Cefitre Compound 122 (Wandala) Wandala Centre Compound 12 (Wandala) Wandala Centre Compound 15 (Wandala) Wandirla Centre Compound 148 (Wandala) Wandala Centre Compound 7 (Wandala) Wandala Centre Compound 18 t Wandala) Wandala Centre Compound 8 (Wandala) Wandala Centre Compound 76 (Wandala) Wandala Centre Summary of Wandala Compounds Shuwa Compounds Compound 19 (ShuwafWandala), Shuwa Quarter Compound 25 iShtm4, Shuwa Quarfer Compound 187 (Shuwa), Shuwa Quarter Compound 206 (Shuwa), Shuwa Quarter S~mmaryof Shuwa Compounds Summary CtWTER EIGHT: OTHER FACTORS SPATIAL CONSIDERATIONS Introduction Compound Structures and Features Externally Visible Design Wall materials Roof materZcils Granaries Internally Visible Design Floe rs Grinding tables Cooking hearths Waier storage and beer ,fmnenting pots Summary CHAPTER NINE: DISCUSSION A-ND CONCLUSIONS Summary of Objectives Power Structures Dominant Ideology and the Meaning of Household Styles internal household design Exl.errm1 household design Ncgotiation and Alternate Female Ideology Toward a n Engendered Archaeology Ccmdusmns APf7ENI>IX A: LIST OF INFORMAhTTS APPENIIIX R: FLOOR PLANS OF HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED REFEIlENCES CITED LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Population Estimates for Dela Sincc European Contact. Table 2. Th2 Distribution of Household Heads by Pakrilined Affiliation. Table 3. Land Farmed by Household Heads. Table 4. Patrilineal Affiliatio~lsof Marriage Partners in ~Murahaand Urza Mouscholfs. Table 5. Ritual Cycle of the Mura. Table 6. Ritual Cycle of the Urza. Table 7. Wandala Ranking and Caste. Table 8. Ethnic Affiliation of Wandala and Shuwa Marriage Partners. Table 9. Relative Frequency of Room Shape to Roof Type. Table 10. Construction costs and Life Expectancy of Wall Typcs. Table 11. Relative Frequency of Room Shape in each Group. Table 12. The Relative Frequency of Room Shapes and Room Types. Table 13. Relative Frequency of Room Shape by Occupant' Table 14. Relative Frequency sf Wall Material Types. Table 15. Relative Frequency of Wall Materials and Room Type. Table 16. Relative Frequency of Wall Material by Occupant in the Four Groups. Table 17. Relative Frequency of Roof Types. cl Table 18. Relative Frequency of Roof Type and Room Type in Mura and S h u ~ ~1-lc>ux:l~olcfs. Table 19. Relative Frequency of Roof Type and Room Type in Wandala and Shuwa Hnuscho!ds. Table 20. Relative Frequency of Roof Types by Occupant. Table 21. Comparison of Enclosed Space to Actual Built Space. Table 22. ?he Relative Amount of Built Space of Men and Women in Each Group. Table 23. Mura and Urza Women's Grinding Tables. Table 24. The Distribution of Hearth Types in the Four Groups. xii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. 'lhc location of the study area. R p r c 2. The physical geography of the region. F'igwrc 3. The distribution of ethnic groups in the region. f:il;ure 4. The linpistic relationships of the four study groups (after Barreteau r.t al. 1984:166-167. Figure 5 . Tho rndximum extent of Wandala territory in the eighteenth century. Figure 6. 'I'hc location of physical and historical features and quarters in Bela. Figure 7. A vicw of ikla from Deb Mountain looking to the northwest. Figure 8. hlura ancestor pots a(approximate1y 20 cm in height). Figure 9. A young Wandala woman's dowry. Note the enamelware pots against ihc far wall and the metal bed to the right. Figure 10. A young Shuwa bride's dowry display. Figtire 11. An older Shuwa woman's dowry and household objects. Milk gourds arc sorted on a low rack in the same fashion as the enamelware pots but hhind the bed. Figure 12. Distribution of Mura and Urza allocative resources. Figure 13. Distribution of Mura and Urza authoritative resources. Figure 14. Mura and Urza time systems. Figure 15. Distribution of Wandala allocative resources. Figure 16. Distribution of Wandala authoritative resources. f3l;urt. 17. Distribution of Shuwa allocative resources. Figure 18. Distribution of Shuwa authoritative resources. Figure 19. An Urza compound. A sorghum drying rack is visible to the left of thc compound. Note the tight clustering of the buildings. Figure 20. A Wandala compound. Note the metal roof tops and the high surrounding compound wall. Figurc 21. A Shuwa compound of large circular buildings and open central area. Figure 22. Rclaticms5ips of Mura household heads. F i g ~ m23. Rclationships of Urza household heads. Figure 24, Rclationships of Shuwa household heads. Figure 25. ldedl Mura and Urza compound compared to burial position. Figurc 26. ldcnl Wandala compound compared to burial position. Figure 27. Ideal Shuwa compound compared to burial position. Figure 28. A placenta pot embedded in the floor of a Mura compound is just visible in the centre foreground. Figurc 29. Granaries dominate the central courtyard of the Mura and Urza compound. Thc vicw shown is from the entry. A woman's beer pots can be seen on the othcr side of the compound. Figurc 30. Wandala wall construction involving a mason working on top of the wall and thc ~ s s i s t a n cof~ thc owner, his children and neighbours. Figure 31. The entry to the Dcla chief's compound. The walls of this building are higher than other buildings, it has a flat daub roof, and 3 triangular elements on the roof top, one of which is visible in the photograph. It is a modest example of the Sudanese style. Figure 32. Thc distribution of rectangular buildings in Dela. Percentages rcprcscnt the proportion of total buildings in each ethnic group which arc rectangular. Figurc 33. .4 Mura woman's granary which has broken exposing the three internal divisions. Men's ... Xlll granaries have no divisions. Figure 34. A Shuwa granary with a three pronged applique design. Figure 35. A Mura one stone grinding table. Figire 36a. A tripod hearth of three stoiies ~ ~ p p o i i i the i ~ gcooking pi. Figure 36b. A bordered hearth with a clay berm surrounding the firc pit. Figure 36c. A segmented hearth with fire guard. This hearth is not dccctratcd Figure 37. A Mura potter preparing pots for firing. The pot she is working on is a water storage pot which is distinct in shape and decoration from the other pots. There is a large beer fermenting pot at the left. Figure 38. A Wandaia woman's water storage pots embedded in her vcrandah floor. The pot at the back is a Mafa pot and the one in the centre is a Kanuri pot.. Figure 39. A Mura woman's beer fermenting pots embedded in thc courtyard floor. Only first wives of lineage heads place their pots in the inner courtyard. CHAPTER ONE: IPbTTRODUCTION 'This study examines the meaning of household design. In particular, the relationship between dcsign and cultural perceptions of gender are addressed. While gender is culturally constructed In all societies, there has been little systematic work by archaeologists to explicate the rclationship between gender and the creation and reproduction of material culture (see Conkey and Spector 1984; Gero and Conkey 19911. Although studies of gender archaeology are increasing (see Ccro and Conkey 1991; Waldc and Willows 1991), the call for improved understanding of gcndcr and material culture continues (see for example Kent 1990:149; Spector 1991; Tringham 149 11. Household dcsign includes elements of the physical structure as well as the shaping and ordtv-ing of spice itself. When household designs of a social group are patterned in a recognizable way, they constitute a style. I t is through the recognition of stylistic patterning of material culture, including houschold remains, that archaeolog.lsts havc traditionally identified past cultural groups. 'But what does the patterning mean? Since men and women usually share domestic buildings, are cultural perceptions of gender implicated in design considerations, and if so, how? Somc archaeological style theorists suggest that material culture style, while constrained by environmental and functional requirements, is a medium for communicating information. In this vicw, artefact stplcs are encoded with cultural messages. Studies based on this premise vary in terms of how and to whom mcssagcs arc sent (see for example Weissner 1984; Wobst 1977). For example, Wobst suggests that material culture style is used to send messages between social groups Wobst 1977). Yet, cthnoarchaeological research conducted on style in northern Cameroon, indicates that this is not thc case and that here, messages are predominantly intended to be 'read' by mcmbcrs of the same social group (David et al. 1982). This latter conclusion is borne out by the study of interior household design in Dela Since stylistic messages are intended to he read by n~emlzcrsof a cultural group, then the meanings of these objects are culturally constituted within thc contexts in which individuals interact. Some postprocessual research indicates that because individuals undcrsfanci stylistic meanings at a sub-conscious or even conscious level, they arc also capable oi manipulating stylcs as a strategy to create and reproduce both cultural and personal values and idcals for their own interests. This takes household dcsign beyond the passive retlocticrn of cultures. It bccomcs d : ~ active medium which is structured by and also structures the production and rcprociuction of culture. Domestic buildings are simultaneously part of two contexts of interaction: the community and the family. Since men control the internal and external design of hozlscholds in all groups studied in Dela, they potentially control what information is presented in both ccmtcxts. Although domestic relations are nested within community relations, the naturt of social interaction within each of these contexts is different. For example, members of diffcrcnt households and wen visitors from other communities can interact within the context of social obligations and rcldtions of the community. However, participants in activities taking place insidc houscholds art. intimately related men, w70menand children who are bound togcthcr by social, economic and ritual obligations which differ from, yet are interwoven with thosc which tic the community together. While this study considers the active manipulation of hc~~schold design in both contcxts, it is the constitution of meaning a: the domestic level which forms thc focus of the study. In particular, the study examines cultural perceptions of gender rolcs and relationships, and how gender is implicated in the configuration of domestic spatial order T'iis study is realized through an examination of domestic space in four ethnic g o u p s living in the village of Doulo in northern Cameroon. Thew g ~ o u p sarc thc Mura, ihc Urza, thc Wandala and the Shuwa. The presentation of original ethnographic information o n the Mura and Urza in particular, is considered as one of the major contributions of thc study. Duulo is located in the district of Mora in the department of Mayo Sava, in the Extreme- North province of Cameroon (see Figure 1). The village is situated at the base of an inselberg' called Wa-Dela on the Mora Plain approximately 10 km north of Mora along the main highway to Waza (see Figure 2). The name Doulo is a corruption of Dela or Dala and its meaning and origin is unknown (Mohamrnadou 1982:225). As the villagers refer to their town as Dela, this name is uscd in the text. The Project Data presented in this dissertation is based upon an eleven month ethnoarchaeological study which I conducted in 1986 as a member of the Mandara Archaeological Project (MAP). The Project is directed by Dr. Nicholas David of the University of Calgary. Dr. David began invcstigations in the region in 1984 and his research in the area is ongoing. The goals of MAP are twofold. First, to improve current understanding of the cultural history of the peoples living on the northcrn Mandara Mountains and surrounding plains, and second, to generate a more useful and comprehensive theow of material culture style as a form of communication through ethnoarchaeological study (David 1981; David and MacEachem 1988; David and Sterner 1937). Thc unique environmental, cultural and linguistic diversity in this region makes it an appropriate chnicc for a study of this nature. However, archaeological information for the region is cxtrcmely limited. Ground work for ethnoarchaeological studies was initiated in 1984 by survcying a 2000 sy km area. This was supplemented with test excavations of one Neolithic and one lrnn Agc site (David and Sterner 19879. In 1986, a MAP team began an intensive cthnoarchaeological study of the region. Team members were stationed in three localities: Mokolo and Soulcde in the nmuntains and Mora on the plains. I was staticned at Mora with three 'Inselhc.rgs arc. rcxk cores which have been exposed by the weathering of surrounding rock matrices which are nmrc ~ulncrablcto erosion (Grove 1989:lO-12). other members of the project team. From Mora, I conducted research in Ihla and in other arcas on the plains. Although our research concentrated on different groups and various aspects cf material cultnre style, collaboration on small studies of common interest and occasional visits to each othcrs projects was invaluable. For example, data presented here were enriched by accompdnyin~ Maureen Reeves to Shuwa and Kanuri villages, visiting and observing M1andala smiths with l m Robertson, and interviewing and observing potters with Scott MacEachern. The field of ethnoarchaeology incorporates a broad range of approaches and research goals. In this study, ethnoarchaeology is understood as the study of the relationships bctwccw material objects and the social, economic and ideological actions of humans in particular uontc~ts. Aspects of these relationships are potentially recoverable by archacolngists. The goals of such research however, are not limited to providing direct correlations betwcvn hchaviour and material residues which can be recovered by the prehistorian. While et hnoarchaeology can providc analog5 for archaeological interpretation, it also provides a separate and rich body of ethnngraphlc information on the relationship between humans and their nlaterial culture. 'The followinl; study of households takes this approach. While some elements of the study arc of direct usc to thcb archaeologist examining household remains, the intent of the study is to explore the dynarnic relationship between household design and gender ideologies. In the early stages of the 1986 project, my role in MAP was to invcstigatc thc taphonomy of style in households in Dela. The goal was to elucidate stylistic pattornmg of d~ffcrcntwcral groups in the production of the archaeological record. Although some rescarchcw may objtrt to the term taphonomy beyond the study of natural and cultural transforms dcwribed by Schiffcr (1876), 1 suggest that ideological stntciurcs such as culiural perccptlons oi gcndcr are incxtricably linked to the production, use-life, remodelling, reuse and ultimate disposal of households and their contents. This does not deny nor minimm functional or environmental consrderat~ons involved in these processes. What I am suggesting is that Dela households arc more than shelters in the Sudan. As is shown in chapter six and seven, people know how households should be designed and Lhc reasons for this arc implicitly and sometimes explicitly bawd on ideological structures including gender. While this dissertation is not expressly framed in terms of a taphonomic study, the results are considered an integral aspect of the production of the material record of Dela. Although the community of Dela is small, it is ethnically and linguistically diverse. During the course of the study, 42 households were studied. These households were headed by mcmbcrs of different ethnic affiliations including Muktele, Mura, Urza, Wandala, Mada, Shuwa, Mineo, Podokwo and Mafa. Only 36 of these households drawn from four ethnic communities are uscd in this study. These households were selected on the basis of their historical and social relationship as will be discussed in detail in chapters two and three. I'ermission for the study in Dela was first obtained from Chief Boukar in January 1986 and then from each of the blarnas2. The chief died a few weeks later following a long illness. Chief Boukar's son, Amanaji, was elected chief in June at which time he consented to the continuation of my work. Infcmnant interviews were conducted through a Mura interpreter and research assistant, Siliman Matsamc. Matsame, who was approximately twenty-five years of age in 1986, is the youngest son of the b l a m of Scla-Podokwo. He is a farmer by occupation and a household head. Although the information presented below is based on interviews with informants listed in Appendix A, the opportunity to talk on a more casual and frequent basis with Matsame and his family was a natural outcome of our working relationship. As Matsame is Mura and his wife Urza, insights into the meaning of Mura and Urza households presented in this study are richer than those for thr other iwo groups. Tnis may be perceived as a strength or a shortcoming of the 'A h l m a is an adjudicator and administrator of a village quarter or subdivision. In defence of this position, the opportunitv to develop a rapport, especially with the Mura and Urza who are virt~lallyunknown ethnographically, eventually led to the revelation of aspects of traditional beliefs which otherwise may not have k e n disclosed. This is particularly tnw of Mura and Urza ancestor practices previously reported as virtually defunct (Fork1 1988). Explanations concerning the ancestor pots were not forthcorning prior to the sixth month of thc 1986 field study. At that timc the senior member of the Mura community indicated that hc trusted me enough to discuss aspects of Mura belieis and practices pertaining to the ancestor pots. Following his acceptance, other lineage heads agreed to discuss and show me their pots. I consider this an enormou~privilege, and one which I doubt would have becn possible without first having been found trustworthy by Matsame. Matsame and I communicated in French, while he spoke with informants in scvcral of thc languages in which he is apparently fluen?. Most frequently, he conducted his conversations in Wandala. This was not an ideal linguistic arrangement, but due to timc constraints and thc number of languages and dialects in the village, i t was the only practical solution. Undoubtedly nuances of conversation and cultural meanings were lost through this process which is by no means the fault of the interpreter. On certain occasions Wandala informants in Dcla and acquaintances in Mora spoke French, and conversations were held without an intcrmcdinry. Informants who provided information used in the text are listed in Appendix A. Thc introduction to the Appendix explains the reference notation system used in the study. A more serious problem in the study was the difficulty in interviewing femalc mformdnts and determining the female world view directly. This difficulty was in part a linguistic problem. Although Matsame was an excellent interpreter and assistant, most questions, answers and clarifications to answers were channelled through him. Certainly his perspective as a male Mura individual influenced this process. Unfortunately, a femaie inicrpretcr was not available as 3Multi-lingualism amongst montagnards in this regon is commonplace. Most men speak three to six languages and women may speak even more as a result of mamage practices (MacEachern 1990: 257-258). 7 women rarely receive enough education to learn French. Furthermore, discussions of household and grave construction were conducted with male household heads as men are responsible for the production of these features. On occasions when questions were directed to wives, husbands tended to answer for them. Consequently, the female perspective is under-represented in this study. I also found that there is no guarantee that women feel more comfortable spealung to a fcmale stranger than to a male. As a white woman, I occasionally found myself placed into a genderless category as I did not fit into a classification of local experience with white male foreigners or with traditional women. This undoubtedly affected the results of the study in ways .which arc not immediately apparent. This reflexive criticism of the study should not leave the impression that women were not interviewed or observed. Certain aspects of the study were completely conducted through in tcrvicws and conversations with women. These included discussions and observations of beer making, pottery manufacture, marketing, use and discard, and craft production. As well, the construction of features or activity areas used by women, particularly kitchens, were addressed through female informants. Women were also more generally accessible for casual conversations and obscrvation while at work in the fields, the market and in the home. It is the woman's explicit statements on thc relationships between men and women which are not gerlerally available in this study and are important areas for future research. On the whole, interviews were conducted both formally and informally with first visits to households being arranged and subsequent visits often on a drop-in basis. In both instances, notes were kept throughout the conversation and standardized types of information were eventually compiled for each household. This data included economic and social information on the family members including ownership and transfer of compound buildings and agricultural land, burial practices, compound construction practices, technology and choices of building materials. In addition, the recvciing and removal of various objects from the household especially ash, pot shmds, iron, stone tools, bones, and western goods which mainly are comprised of soft drink cans, bottles, and batteries was examined. Each house was carefully measured internally with t a p and compass, measurements which resulted in a household baw map to which changes and additions were recorded on subsequent visits. These maps a \asis of the analysis presented in chapter seven and are found in Appendix B. An inventory of tool and pottery designs as well as measurements from each household were collectcd. In addition, an extensive photographic record of households and the village itself was amassed. Studies were also conducted with local specialists, particularly potters, the blacksmith, a traditional heaittr, the weaver, tailors and cotton spinners. Village maps were produced using a base map kindly provided in the field by Dr. Hermann Forkl, a German anthropologist who worked in thc region in 1984. From the vantage point of the mountain, it was possible to locate each household in Dela and Widivc on the map. The ethnic membership of each household head was also determined by my assistant and by other informants. Cultural and historic features were also plotted on the base map. This information is presented in several maps in the dissertation. An important contribution of this study is to the ethnographic understanding of the Mura and the Urza. These two groups have received little ethnographic attention. Mouchet, a French mandate administrator, publiskid a series of brief articles on several groups living in the northern Mandara Mountains. Included in this series is an article on the Mura (Mouchct 1947:lll-l24) and one on the Urza (Mouchet 1947:111-124). In addition, a short article on the Mura living in Delo was published by Forkl (1988). 1 do not know how long Mouchct spent with the Mwa, but his research is comparable to information collected from informants in this study. This is not thc case of Forkl's work. The Wandala were the focus of Forkl's eight month long rcscatch in 14154, Fork1 worked with the Mum in Wa-Dela for oiily a few weeks using a 'flandala interpreter who was in fact a member of the royal family (Fork1 1988, personal communication). A s will be made clear in the study which follows, the relationship between the Wandala and the Mura is sensitive and competitive. I would suggest that these factors contributed to Forkl's flawed interpretation of Wa-Dela. Two gcneral sources drawn upon extensively in this study are works by Boutrais and Hallairc. Thew works arc the earliest systematic study of mountain peoples in the region. Boutrais, a French human geographer, conducted research in 1968 and 1949 centred around Mokyo, approx~mately60 km south of Dela (Boutrais 1973). The focus of Boutrais' study was to unravel migrations and movements of groups living in the northern Mandara Mountains and adjacent plains. Wailairc (1965), a French human geographer, produced an extensive study on the demographic distribution and agricultural practices of groups living north of Mokolo on the Mora plain and on thc northern Mandara Mountains in 1962 and 1963. The historiczl and jmlitical development of the Wandala has been more extensively reported by Mowhet (1946), Vossart (1953) and more recently by Mohammadou (1982), Morrissey (1984) and Forkl (l984,l985,l986,l989.,l99O). Mohammadou and Forkl are primary sources used in this text. Mohammadou, a noted historian and researcher in Cameroon, translated several of the Wandala's official histories recorded in Arabic. Four translations published in 1982 (Mohammadou 1982) are generally well accepted by researchers of the Wandala (see Forkl 1991). Forkl's research addresses the relationships between the Sudanic states of the plains including the M1andala and acephalous groups from the northern Mandara Mountains such as the Mura (Forkl 1985, 19881. Forkl (1984, 1986/ 1989) has also written several short articles on the Wandala which are used extensively in the following study. Morrissey (1984) conducted work on the Wandala in 1973. This is the basis of his unpublished doctoral dissertation. Forkl (1991) has demonstrated some disturbing problems in Morrissey's presentation of the Wandala particularly in conflicting dates and unsubstantiated conclusions (1984). Thc Shuwa of northern Cameroon have been researched by Frechou (1984), Tijani (19861, and Hagenbuchcr-Sacripanti (1977a,b,c). Ho11 (1987) has conducted ethnoarchaeological investigations of abandoned Shuwa communities farther to the north. All of these studies focus on scmi-permanent Shuwa communities, while the households living on the outskirts of Dela are more sedentary and are involved in agriculture. The Shuwa households prewnteci here arc considered more as families in the process of social and economic changc. T h ~ change s involvcs a selective adoption of aspects oi Wandala economic and material culture. Analytical Progression The goal of this dissertation is to cxaminc the meaning of dornest~cspatial ordcr. In particular, the study aims to elucidate the ways in which cultural pcrccptinns crf gendcr rolcs and relationships are produced and reproduced in the organiution of household spacc. The theoretical background and analytical framework arc prcscntcd in chzpter two. Ilw analysis examines the organization of domestic space from a postproccssualist pcrspectivc using Hodder's contextual archaeology and Giddens' theory of structuration as guidclincs. Following Giddens, power is perceived as the capacity of men and women to act through their economic and social remurces. The distribution and control of these resources within cach community partly structures and is structured by gendcr roles and relationships. One malc-controlled resimrcc i:, household design. It is suggested that men negotiate their interests through thc meaningful ordering of spaces, materials and shapes. The selection of designs and their placcment is understood at t h ~ level of practical consciousness by members of the community and the family The analytical framework for examining the design of domestic space is broken d o w n into three parts. The first part of the analysis is to identify and to describc thc distribution of resources between men and women in cach group. This is presented in chaptcrs three, four and fivc. Chapter three examines the physical en-;i;onmen: and wcial history of thc study region. The four ethnic communities in the study h a w a history of intensive, long-term jnteract~or!which has resulted in the domination crf resources by the Wandala. Although the physlcal environment constrains material resources available to the people of Dela, it is this h~stctryof social relatmns that dc-termines which ethnic groups have access to various resources within the regron. Corwyuently, the distribution of resources between men and women within each community is partly contingent upon intergroup power structures. Ethnog-raphic descriptions of the Mura, Urza, Wandala and Shuwa are presented in chapter four. In chapter five, the distribution of allocative and authoritative resources by gender arc summarized and dominant interest groups within each community are identified based on data from chaptcr four, Information elicited from informants concerning perceptions of the proper placement of family members, resources and activity areas as well as the location of men and women during daily, liietimc and ritual events is presented in chapter six. From this information, an ideal household floor plan is constructed for each group. In chaptcr seven, the internal organization of residents, resources and activity areas from actual households studied arc described. These descriptions are compared to the ideal spatial ordcr constructed in chapter six. It is apparent from the comparison of ideal and actual spatial organization that relative ordering of men's and women's houses and actiklty areas is an important consideration in all four groups, although it is more important in the styles of some groups than others. The reasons for this are linked to differences in social organization and subsistence base. It is a h cvident that the ideal organization of space expressed by informants is never completely realized in the actual constn~ctinnof households. In chapter eight, other factors are considered which contribute to the variation in tletrrplans presented in chapter seven. En\lronmental factors, construction cost, and historical faciors are aim considered. It is suggested that some men use the external design of their households to negotiate their social and political status within the community. In all cases, externaI design strategies impinge upon ideal internal domestic order. Discussion and conclusions arc prwntt-d in chapter nine. CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL BACKGROUhK) AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK Introduction The analysis of Dela households and gender presented in chapters six, seven and eight is based upon three interdependent perceptions of the nature of social interaction and context, Tkow three perceptions are that gender is culturally constructed, that variability of material objects is based on function and style, and that individuals or categories of individuals rxgotiate thci - r own self interests through the manipulation of household styles as a political strategy in social interaction. The theoretical background to these concepts is discussed in this chapter. A brict rexlew of previous studies on households demonstrates the complexity and variety of explanations of household style u7hich include the observation of a relationship between patterns of spatial order and gender. Approaches t o Gender The theoretical approach taken in this analysis is indebted ) postproccssuai rewarch, This body of research emerged during the late 1970s and 1980s and Is an extension of and a dcparturc from processual research dominant during the 1960s and 1970s in North America. Unlike in processual' archaeology, postprocessualists consider individuals within a culture as active knowledgable participants in the production and reproduction of cultural systems (I-ltdder Hodder presents the most developed 'school' of theory within postprocessual studies (sc* Patterson 1990). Hodder's theories are embodied in contexk~alarchaeology in which the 'Detailed comparative a n a l y s s of processual and postprocessual theory arc prcsentcd elsewhere (we for example Hodder 1985b,1986; Patterson 1990; Shanks and Tilley 1987a,b; Trigger 1989). perception of human agency borrows heavily from the theory of structuration developed by sociologist Anthony Ciddens (Giddens 1981; 1982; 198434). Both of these theories are discussed here in some detail as they strongly influence the analysis which follows. The theory of structuration presents all social interaction as inherently political with individuals pursuing strategies of self- or g r o u p interest (Shanks and Tilley 1987a:120). Structure in structuration theory refers to the social rules and resources which render the actions of individuals in social interaction intelligible and coherent (Giddens 1984:xxxi). What is important here is that abstract concepts such as rules or cultural codes d o not exist independent of the acts of individuals. The relationship between the social and the individual is a reflexive one, what Giddens calls the duality of structure which means that structure is both the medium and the outcomc of social interaction (Giddens 1984:19;25-29). Consequently, structuration is the process of producing and reproducing social relations across time and space (Giddens 1984376). It is the patterning of social relations over time and space which produces a social system (Giddens 19t34:164), Critical to Giddens' theory is the notion that humans act as knowledgeable agents who 'know' the rules and tactics involved in social conduct (Giddens 1984:90) at both explicit (discursive consciousness) and tacit (practical consciousness) levels (Giddens 1982:31). These levels of knowledge allow individuals to know what they are to do and what others should be doing within a wide variety of contexts of social action. Human action is both enabled and constrained by structure. That is to say human action is made possible by knowing the rules for interaction, but these rules also constrain the range of possible action in certain contexts. This does not mean that structures determine human action in predictable, mechanistic ways. Rather, humans acting as knowledgeable agents 'know' at the level of practical consciousness, how to work with and negotiate through social structures to achieve their own goals. In this approach, change is brought about by individuals within their cultural system but the naturc of change is not necessarily predictable nor intentional, although it can be. This is because an individual's actions are contingent upon his or her and historical context. For example, historical relationships between the groups in this study are shown to affect the externally visible design of households. In chapter eight, it is argutd that rccclnt change in house shape is a reaction to spatial reorganization of the community initiated by fcdcral policies and road construction. The Wandala who historically controlled the region through thcir state authority, changed the shape of their houses to distinguish themselves from thc other groups. Thc other groups counteracted by copying the new shape. Obviousiv, the Camcroon govcmrncnt did not predict nor intend that their actions would result in changes in household design. Faccd with an unforeseen situation, the Wandala intentionally brought about changc which created a now circumstance for other groups who reacted by changing their households for different reasons and in different ways. Gender is the structuring principle of social interaction which is the main concern of this s h ~ d y .In tandem with the recognition that individuals activcly engage in thc production and reproduction of culture, is the recognition that social systems arc not internally homngcncous. The capacity of individuals to act is contingent upon how their actions and uxpctctations arc defined by cultural perceptions of class, age, and gender and other socially relevant factors. Thc presentation of individuals as active participants in the production and transformation of c u l h w has resulted in a theoretical milieu, rather than a body of corriprehensive theory in which the relationship of gender and the production of material culture can bc examined (sce Wylic 19911. Gender roles and relationships refer to culturally specific perceptions of what arc appropriate activities and levels of participation in social, economic, political and ideological activities for mcar and for women (after Conkey and Spector 1984:15). Roles arc not biologically inherent -- they arc culiuraliy and hisioricaily determined (see Conkey and Spector i984). T'ncsc relationships are more thar, just what men and women do. Gender relationships arc cultui-ally meaningful in that they determine how men and women can act and how they can pursue per.wnal strategies and political claims (Moore 1988:37). Moore (1988:37) puts the concept succinctly: "It is through thc competing claims that women and men make on one another, in the context of particular sets of social and economic relations, that the cultural conceptions of gender are constn~cted." Approaches to .Material Culture Style The identification of social groups and culture change in the archaeological record relies to a great extent on the recognition of formal variability in material culture. In this regard, material culture style is implicitly or explicitly involved in all archaeological analyses (Conkey and Hastorf 1991:l). Variability in the household styles of differe~tsocial groups in Dela is examined here from an isochrcstic viewpoint as formal variability in household styles is considered the result of choices made by social groups from a range of functionally equivalent forms (see Sackett 1991). However, the identification of stylistic choices tells us little about the social groups who produced a certain style. In order to understand social groups through their material culture, archaeologists need to address the reasoning involved in the active process of choosing styles. For the purposes d this study I will adopt the broad definition of style offered by Conkey and Hastorf which: "... is a view that holds style and material culture to be part of the means by which humans make sense of their world and with which cultural meanings are always in production." (Conkey and Hastorf 1991:4). The focus of this study is to determine if cultural perceptions of gender are a consideration in the selection and production of particular household styles and, if so, how gender roles and relationships arc represented in household design. The relationship between gender and households is exammed through the framework of contextual archaeology. Contextual archaeology fuses the concept of structuration with material culture style. One of the most important contributions of this approach is that it makes possible an examination of structuring principles of social interaction including gender in the production of material culture. This is an important theoretical connection for archaeology, as it implies that gender ideology is potentially incorporated into the archaeological record in recoverable ways. Hodder presents material culture and its style as an active and meaningful constituent of social relations (Hodder I979,1982a,1985b,1987a,1989). What Hodder is suggesting is that interaction is not just a reflexive relationship between individuals and social structures but among individuals, social structures and the material objects which form part of the context of interaction. This does not mean that material objects take on a life of their own -- they d o not. Material objects take on meaning partly through their functional role in practical activities and partly through the social structures or ideologies which articulate action in these contexts (Hodder 1982b, 1987a:4,1989). This meaning is understood at a practical level of consciousness and is subject to mafipulation and change in the course of ongoing social negotiation between cultural players. In this sense, meaning in material culture is not entirely arbitrary and beyond the grasp of the archaeologst. Rather, meaning is constrained partly by function (Hodder 1989:258,266)). For instance, a kitchen functions as an activity area for food preparation. In th,~case of the Mura, women do all of the family cooking. The association between womcn and the activity of food preparation in the kitchen are reflexively linked with the Mura's dominant ideological perception of women as nurturers. Further meaning and value arc given to women's food preparation activities by the spatial placement of the kitchen relative to activities routinely performed by men in other locations in the compound. In this example, symbolic meaning in Mura household design is evoked partly through the function of the kitchen in thc compound and through the cultural assignment of Mura women to kitchen activities. Although Hodder raises the hopes of archaeologists to penetrate meaning through thv association of symbolic meaning and function of material objects, hc warns that the reading of material text is not straightforward ( H d d e r 1989). Material text, unlike written text, is not s t out in a linear fashion with a beginning, middie and an end. Rather, meaning can only be understcroci through an examination of the entire context of objects and actions ( H o d d ~19891, ~ Furthermore, the message can be ambiguous and mean different things to different individuals depending upon thc context of action (Hodder 1989). Since the meaning of a material text is generally interpreted by cultural players at the level of practical consciousness, then such meaning can only be understood within a particular cultural context and historical situation (Hodder 1989; Moore Thc danger in archaeological interpretation is that material text can represent, misrepresent, mask, disrupt actual social relations (Hebdidge 1979; Hodder 1982a,b,1985b,1987a) or change meaning in different contexts (Conkey 1991:I 3). Since meaning is neither arbitrary nor clear-cut, it can be manipulated and reinterpreted by different groups for their own self-interests. It is this constant reinterpretation and manipulation of the meaning of material objects, that implicates material culture as an active component of culture change (Hodder 1982b,1987aP1989). Households arc an excellent location for the study of gender relationships since it is the location of daily and ongoing social and economic interaction of men and women in the sense of a shared context (Spector 1991:169; Therkhorn 1987:104; Tringham 1991:103). Clarke (1977:463-464) anticipates that at the level of household space individual and social factors largely dominate economic ones in determining spatial relationships. This suggests that household design addresses family relationships which are somehow separated from the subsistence base. This perception of household space as structured separately from other cultural relationships is rejected here as it is by others (see Beneria and Sen 1981; Guyer 1984; Moore 1986,1988:32,59; Tringham 1991:lQO). Rather, domestic relationships are recognized as nested within the social and economic organization of the community and the region of which it is a part. Consequently, the prewntation or misrepresentation of gender-based roles and relationships in domestic design are considered to be part of active strategies implicated in the generation of culture change. This is not to suggest that the study of gender is restricted to households. Gender roles and reiationships have been investigated through various forms of material culture and their styles including containers (Braithwaite 1982; Hodder 1982a1, graves and refuse (Hodder 1982a;1987c). Powerr Gender and Social Interaction Most postprocessual studies approach the active role of material culture in the negotiation of gender roles and relationships in terms of power strategies. A major flaw in many of thew studies is that power relations are presented by the researcher along clcar-cut lincs of malc domination and female subordination (see for example Braithwaite 1982; Small 1987). Moorc (1988:9) criticizes the application of a 'universal subordination of womcn' as an ethnocentric bias on the part of western feminism. Amadiume (1987:3-10) uses stronger language accusing wcstcm feminists of inflicting racist, patronizing attitudes in their interpretations of African womcn. The portrayal of women as 'losers' and men as 'winners' distorts thc complexity of gender relations (Moore 1988:79). It has the dangerous tendency to portray women as passive rather than activc participants in culture change and it fails to recognize difference between cultural experiences (Moore 1988:79). This does not deny that men can dominate major resources in a given society. The point, is that women also have power and resources which they ccntrol and use in the negotiation of their own interests. Power in structuration theory is not equated with coercion although i t can be coercive, Giddens defines power as the capacity of individuals to chose to act from a rangc of possible actions in a given situation (Giddens 1982:3-9;1984:9). As such, power is an integral and primary aspect of all social action which can either enable people to get things accomplishcd or i t can bc used to constrain the ability of certain individuals to act through the reproduction of st.ructurcs of social control and dominationZ(see also Miller and Tilley 1984; Shanks and Tillcy 1987a,b). T'hc critical point of Giddens' concept of power is that there is always a dialectical relationship between those with power and those with less power. This relationship involves social and economic expectations, obligations and reciprocity. 2The term domination is used in this study as dominion over or the capacity to usc certain resources based upon gender. Crucial to this study is the construction of power through the distribution of resources bawd on gender within each group. The representation and legitimation of the resulting power structure occurs through daily social practice. The latter includes the meaningful manipulation of household styles to create contexts in which power structures are produced and reproduced. Giddens identifies and defines two types of resources: allocative and authoritative (Giddens 1984: 258-262). Allocativc resources are material resources derived from the environment, the skills and technology required to exploit these resources, and the goods produced. Authoritative resources are social resources which grant individuals the capacity to organize the activities of others. Unfortunately, Giddens does not deal adequately with the importance of ritual and spiritual resources in his studies. These factors are critical in interpreting the distribution of resourccs in Dela households. For the purposes of this study authoritative resources involve authority to control activities of both the living, the dead, and the supernatural. Atlocative and authoritative resources have equal importance in the creation and expansion of power structures (Giddens 1984:258). Obviously, these two types of resources are not independent of one another. For example, the ability to exploit certain environmental resources may dcpcnd on social access to such resources through inheritance as well as the energy one can command in its production. Although ideologies and power structures are realized through the production and reproduction of resources, Hodder (1%6:70) suggests that "...Ideas are thernselves thc 'real' resources used in the negotiation of power; the material resources are themselves parts of this ideological apparatus." This refers to the fact that access to material resources is not based on a group's technological capacity to exploit a particular environment, but rather on social strategies which organize technology, labour, and access. A fundamental concept of pnstprocessual archaeology is that ideology is equated with st~tionalinterests within society rather than as a set of rules, beliefs and practices of a cultural totality (scv for instance Hodder 1986:69; Miller and Tilley 1984; Shanks and Tilley ?987a,b). Dominant interest p u p s produce and reproduce structures of legitimation to bolster their right to control resources. These include sanctions, ritual and formalized laws which make wcial ~trnctiscs appear as normal and right. Ideologies through symbolic systems and structures of legitimation present a set of representations of social relations which mask or misrepresent actual relations between people and their resources. It should be stressed that this is not in the Marxist senw of a 'false consciousness' (Shanks and Tilley 1987b:75). For instance, power structures try to opcratc in reality 'as if' the relationship were real, but individuals are not fooltd by ideologies (Hoddcr 1984, 198669-70; Moore 1986:90). Instead different groups negotiate their interests by creating their own material representation of their interpretation of a given ideology (Hoddcr 1986:67; Mcvort? 1986:90). Household Design and Power Giddens suggests that the articulation of time-space relations in social systems has to tic examined in conjunction with the generation of power (Giddens 1981;1985). Individuals or intcri.st groups strive to control who can or cannot be present during types of social interaction in a specified location. By controlling who interacts with whom and when, groups can also regulate who has access to resources and information associated with types of social interaction. This study is an interpretative approach to the investigation of household design as an active part of the negotiation of gender roles and relationships. By this is meant that domestic space is not a reflection of human behaviour, but is meaningfully constituted in the daily and long-term interaction of co-resident men, women and children. This meaning is not simply communicative 'cues' to remind people how to act and when as suggested by Rapaport (1990). Rather, it is a context which cultural players use to produce and reproducc social structurcts. All social interaction takes place at the intersection of the primary dimensions of context: time and space. Time and space are often linked canceptualiy and samctimes ljnguisticaiiy (Skar 1981; Kagame 1976). In this study time and space are bound together in the term: time-space. Time-space is not synonymous with place. Rather a place, which in this study is a compound or household, acts as a venue for activities involving different sets of individuals doing particular types of activities at different times. Each event involves different areas within the compound and specific individuals or classes of individuals who are socially authorized to be present at an event. This scheduling of activities and individuals in a location is what is meant by a time-space context. Giddcns (1981:19) proposes that ihere are three systems of time-space manipulated by ideologies. These are daily routine, the human life-cycle, and long-term time which transcends generations. Unfortunately, Giddens discussion of time and space is not fully developed and in somc instances his explications of time and space present a Western ethnocentric bias (see Urry 1991:lh7). It is generally recognized that the perceptions of time and space are not universal constants. Cultural groups perceive time and space differently (see for example Gurevich 1976; Hall 1983; Kus 1983; Leone 1978; Lyons 1991; Rapaport 1990). Some studies indicate that men and women perceive time and space differently within their own culture (Ardener 1981; Hall 1983; Lyons 1991; Moore 1986; Skar 1981). This is in part due to the cultural construction of gender roles and relationships which structure modes of production in a given society. The division of labour places men and women in different time-space contexts not only during daily activities but during the course of their lives. Some have suggested that the regularized association of men and women with particular spaces in daily activities results in an association of 'maleness' and 'femaleness' in related spatial contexts (Moore 1986; Skar 1981). Moore (1986) found that with the Endo, goat houses were considered as 'male' through an association of men in herding activities, and kitchens with 'femaleness' for similar reasons. For the purposes of this study, an important fourth system of time-space is required. Ritual time-space is constituted by the cycle of festivals and practices which are part of a society's belief systcm. These four planes of time will be examined for each of the four groups studied. Previous Studies of Household Space The study of domestic spatial order is not new to archatlology. It has bccn analyzed from various theoretical perspectives. Although the relationship between gender and household ordcr has long been recc gnized it is only recently that studies have attempted to interpret the relationship between households and gender. Many processual studies approach the shape and organization of domestic space in tcms of functional requirements of housing including resourcc storage, production, processing and consumption areas of the family unit (see for example Wall 1966; Hitchcock 1987; Z-funterAnderson 1977; McGuire and Schiffer 1983; Pmssin 19691, or as reflections of socio-political organization or social values (see for example Blake 1981; Brown 1974; Kramcr 1979; Levin 1471; McGuire and Schiffer 1983; Schorr 1974; Watson 1978; Whiting and Ayres 1968). A number of ethnoarchaeological studies have examined the behavioral and physical processes by which household structures and associated objects become incorporated into the archaeological record (Fried and Steel 1980; Hayden and Cannon 1983; Lange and Rydbcrg 1972; Savclle 1984; South 1977). Other ethnoarchaeological studies have tested the confidence of archaeological inferences based on household remains, including the interpretation of activities (Bonnichsen 1973) and resident composition (David 1971; Oswald 1987). Gender roles and relationships are rarely explicitly addressed in these studies although these relations are implicit in the organization of activities produced by co-resident mcrl and women, in the composition of social groups, and in site formation processes conducted by household members. Exceptions usually address sexual division of labour based on thc assumption that men's and women's activity areas are represented in the household by 'male' and 'female' tools (Flannery and Winter 1976). Assumed correlations between tool type and gender have been criticized as reflecting a western androcentric bias (Conkey and Spector 1984; Ccro 1991; Gibbs 1987). This is a problem in the studies of Longacre (19641, Dcctz (1965) and Hill (1970a,b) 23 who each attempted to correlate women potters and the distribution of pottery styles in households in order to infer postmarital residence. Their research is criticized on theoretical and methodological grounds (Allen and Richardson 1971; Scluffer 1972,1976; Stanislawski 1969,19731, including the failure to understand the gender roles and relationships upon which the assumptions of their studies are based (Conkey and Spector 1984:ll-1). Kent (1 984,1990) has attempted to examine household space from a sociopolitical rather than economic perspective ming cross-cultural data. She suggests that increased segmentation of domestic space correlates to increased sociopolitical complexity based upon social and political organization, economic specialization and division of labour (Kent 1990:129). One criterion Kent uses to measure increased complexity in the division of labour is an increased segmentation of household space into gender-specific activity areas. Kent found that this was the only criterion which did not conform to her model (Kent 1990:145). In other words, the division of household space into men's and women's areas did not correlate with other factors invcdvcd in the segmentation of space such as political complexity, economic specialization, stratification or functionally-speci fic activity areas (Kent 1990:149). Kent calls for more research to elucidate the relationship between gender and household space (Kent 1990:149). One of the problems in Kent's study is that she does not treat gender as either a social or a political criterion within a cultural context. Instead gender is equated with economic activities of men and women without examining the social relationships which structure these activities. Particularly disturbing is Kent's perception of the sexual division of labour for less complex social catcgories as based upon biological sex (Kent 1590:149). There is no inherent biological reason for the sexual division of labour for almost any task at any level of sociopolitical complexity (Conkey and Gero 198.2; Moore 198829-30). Layne" (1987) and Bawden's (1990) studies of household space indicate that the segmentation of domestic space cannot be interpreted through Kent's overly generalized model. Domestic space can only be understood within its particular cultural context. Other studies have presented domestic space as a symbol of a .social goup's cosmc~logy and social structure (Blier 1987; Cunningham 1964; Kuper 1078; Prickett 1982; Yates 1989) including structures organizing the sexual division of labour (Dupirc 1963; Humphrev 1974.1). While such studies demonstrate that the house is meaningfully constituted, they either d o not show how or why these meanings are relevant to the practice of daily lives or how thew structures generate culture change. Postprocessual studies of domestic space attempt to knit together symbolic meaning with practical action. Frequently these studies interpret the symbolic presentation of materials and space in the household in terms of the negotiation of gender-based power structures. Studics vary in the degree to which power strategies and the use of space arc integrated. For example, the segmentation of space in urban Swahili households is interpreted as a stratcgy of the dominant male elite to control the interaction of men and women in order to maintain control of Jongdistance trading on which their power is derived (Donley 1982; Donley-Reid 1990). Cnnvcrscly Abu-Lughod (1983 suggests that the control of space for sectional power interests can bc as much a concern of women as it is for men, even in societies where men have the economic and political advantage. Others warn that the relationships which are presented in domestic spatial order can bc an edited version of the true nature of gender relations. For instance, thc dl~ellingmay present thc perception of gender roles and relationships which best represents the intercsts of the dominant social group (Gibb 1987; Hodder 1990; Moore 1986). In Moore's study of the Endo, the patdineage controls the construction of domestic space which is used as a strategy to produce and reproduce male values and to legitimate male authority in Endo society. Conscquently, the femalc perspective of gender relations is not represented in domestic spatial text (Moorc 1986:lfB). Mmre cautions that due to this misrepresentation, changes in domestic space cannot be correlated directly to changes in gender elation ships because the presentation of tension and conflict in maleifemale relationships is masked and one-sided (Moore 7 986:153-%j4). 25 An intcrcsbng conclusion of Moore's work which contrasts with studies of material culture stylo presented by Hoddcr, is that women do not present a separate ideology in the negotiation of their own interests. Instead, Moore suggests that men and women are enmeshed within the same dominant ideology. As a result, women do not negotiate from a separate ideology, but may negotiate their and contributions within the same system of meaning. Consequently, cmczshouJd not expect women and men to present two separate ideologies in material culture style. Rather they may represent different interpretations of the same dominant ideology. Summary Household styles arc the result of stylistic choices made by their manufacturers from a range of functionally equivalent forms and are potentially meaningful. Meanings associated with rnatertal culture are not arbitrary but are constructed partly through practical action. In Dela households, building construction is controlled by men in all groups. As a result men have the capacitv to manipulate a material context in order to negotiate their interests. In all groups sh~dicd,male interests are also the dominant ideology of their social groups. In doing so, the design of Dela households becomes an active part in the production and reproduction of dominant social structures. As the internal design of households is the context of intensive interaction k t r w c n men and women, the social structures actively being negotiated may include perceptions of gender roles and relationships. CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY AREA In this chapter, the physical and historical context of Dela is described. The historical relationships between groups in the region affect the demographic distribution of these sarnc groups in Dela. These relationships are shown in chapter eight to affect men's choices of extcricw compound design in order to negotiate self-interests within community power structures. Environmental considerations and the availability of construction materials also affect design considerations discussed in chapter eight. The Physical Environment The natural environment can be divided into two geographic regions consisting of thc northeastern Mandara Mountzins and the plains of the Chad Basin. The physical landscape of thc region is presented in Figure 2. The Mandara Mountains are aligned in a north-south orientation, straddling the northern Cameroon/Nigerian border ranging from the Mora Massif in the north to the Benue River in the south. These mountains attain a maximum elevation of approximately 150() m at Mount Oupay north of Mokolo (Boutrais 1984e:23). However, most of the massifs range between 1000 and 1200 m (Boutrais 1984x23). The granitic bedrock produces a fertile but thin soil which is vulnerable to wind and water erosion. These soils are good for cultivation using intensive agricultural techniques including terracing, crop rotation, and the usr. of fertilizers. To i k northeasi of the Mandara Mouiltiiins k s the Chad Easln which is dividcd by the Earn Ridge into two plins: the Mora Plain and the Lcgonc Plain. The Mora Plain is a piedmont plain cut by rivers originating in the Mandara Mountains. I t is broken by isolatcd granitic intrusions called inselbergs. These occur to the north and east of the Mandara Mountains and generally are less than 1009 m in elevation (Boutrais 1973:24). At the foot of the Mmdara Mountains, the plain has an elevation of 400 m as1 and slopes slightly down to the Bama Ridge (Hallaire 1965). Red coloured sand dunes, several meters in elevation, occur in the northeastern part of the Mora Plain. The age of thesc features is uncertain, as dunes can form in one dry pcriod, become dormant during moist periods and be reactivated in subsequent dry periods (Wilson 1992, personal communication). Currently, they are believed to have formed during a hyper arid phase ot the late Pleistocene. The Mora Plain is characterized by three soil types: alluvium, vertisols, and ferruginous soils. Alluvium has been deposited by rivers and streams originating in the mountains. These are rich friable soils which can be cultivated with a hoe. Vertisols, or karal (harde, pi.), are fertile black clays which frequently occur in low-lying areas and become submerged during the rainy season. Consequently these soils retain moisture into the dry season and can be used to grow sorghum at the end of the rainy season (Hallaire 1965:65-66). Fern~ginoussoils, or harde', occur in the interfluvial areas and consist of alluviums which have evolved into hard, red soils into which rains cannot penetrate. As a result, salts in the soil tend to accumulate limiting soil productivity. Such soils deteriorate rapidly under annual cultivation (Grow l989:47). Thc Mora Plain is bordered to the northeast by the Bama Ridge, a sand ridge several meters in height which is believed to have been formed by wind and wave action of Lake MegaChad around 12,000 to 4 / 5 0 years ago (Grove 1989:24). However, there is growing evidence that the ridge is a fault (Wilson 1992, personal communica!ion). This does not preclude the formation from also being a beach ridge. However, the presence of a fault explains the prominence and linear shape of the ridge (Wilson 1992, personal communication). The Logone Plain, referred to as the Yaere, to the north of the Bama Ridge is characterized 'Jiarilc is Fulfulde for sterile soils and plural of bra1 which is confusing. by vertimls called firhi or yaere, which are created by flooding of the Logme Rivcr during thc rainy season. These soils retain meisture into the dry season, provide good psturagc for herders, and conditions appr~priatefor flood-retreat farming (see Connah 1985). Climate and Vegetation The region has a tropical climate characterized by a rainy season from Junc to Scptcmkr and a dry season from October to May. The hottest month is April with a mcan maximum temperatures of 41•‹Cand mcan minimum temperatures of 26•‹C at Maroua (Hayward m d Oguntoyinbo l987:236). The coolest month is December with mean m x i m u m tempera turcs of 33.5OC and mean minimum temperatures of 19•‹Cat Maroua (Hayward and Opntoyinbo 1987236). The cool temperatures in November through January are characterized by dry Harmattan winds bIowing from the Sahara and carrying large quantities of diatomaceous dust. The rainy season is characterized by violent storms of a few hours duration. t-lowtvcr, much of this moisture is lost as run-off before i t can penetrate the upper levels of the soil. Rainfall decreases from south to north and is greater on the mountains than on thc plains. For cxamplc, Mokolo receives 975 mm mean annual rainfall, Maroua 832 mrn and Mora 750 mm, Howcvcr, there are major variations in rainfall over short distances and from year to year. Vegetation in the region is heterogencous and geographers disagree on whcthcr to classify the region as sahel or sudan. This disagreement in part results from differences of definition between French and English researchers over the composition of environments (see Boutrais 198420-22). Generally speaking, the mountains, having greater moisturc, support more sudan type species than the plains which are more of a Sahel thorn steppe environment. The plains however are not homogeneous and the distribution of species depends on thc soil type, with clays being more appropriate for Sahelian spccies and sandy soils for Sudanian specics (&)utra~s l984:94). Dasrid (1974226 foiloviing Letouzey) states that the natural Sudan and Sudano-Sahelian dry savanna woodland has replaced by 'domesticated' vegetation. This means that certain twes and shrubs were selectively protected or encouraged while other vegetation was cleared for agricultural land. Protected species include Acacia alttida, tamarind (Tamarindus indica), cailcedrat (Khaya senegefensis), and baobab (Adarzsonia digtfata). The loss of natural vegetation may be more recent on the plains than the mountains. There is geomorphological evidence that the northern Mandara Mountains were being cleared in a significant way at the beginning of the current millennium (David and MacEachern 198864). However, the plains retained much of their forest until the past few decades. For example, in the nineteenth century Rohlfs travelled from Grea to Oela and later from Dela to Mora. In his narrative, he describes areas of densc forest (Rohlfs 1875:29,39,56-57). As recently as 1949 Boutrais (1973:50)states that the Mora plain was covered with forest abundant in game. By 1970 this forest was completely denuded, mainly by montagnards moving onto the plains and clearing interfluvial regions for agriculture (Boutrais 1973:SO). This is supported by information elicited from older men living in the region who remembered large areas of heavy forest cover on the plains and the southern platcau during their youth (David and MacEachern 1988:63). Regional Demographic Distribution The population in the study area can be divided into three categories: the montagnards2 living on the northeastern Mandara Mountains, montagnards now living on the plains, and plains peoplc. There are many distinct social groupings or ethnir groups within each of these categories. The regional ethnographic distribution is shown in Figure 3. Ethnicity in this region is not a bounded social, linguistic or even stylistic entity. Instead, "Thc term 'montagnard' used here, refers to people who consider themselves to be members of social groups whose traditional home territory is on the Mandara Mountains or associated inselbergs. ethnicity is in the sense that an individual's self-identity and the identity attributid to her by others, changes depending on different situations (David et.al. 1991:175; MacEachern 1990:1.W). For example, individuals within Mura and Urza families change ethnicity depending on their social obligations or roles. Although a woman is a member of her husband's ethnic group in h i l v events, she is considered as an outsider on ritual occasions. On such occzsions, depending on her status in her husband's patrilineage, she returns to her own ethnic group where she resumes a natal identity. In marriage, men are required to partake in certain rituals including the burial o t parents-in-law. During such events, men actively participate in their wife's ethnic group with clearly defined roles and obligations. To fulfil social and ritual obligations, men and v,lonwn require mastery of at least two languages as marriage generally involves different lingwstic groups. MacEachern (l!BO:316-317) suggests that the cor.tingent and manipulablc nature of ethnicity amongst montagnard groups in the study area is a result of the history of social and economic relations which have developed over the last few centuries. 'These relations arc characterized by intergroup conflict which results in highly structured ethnic affiliation and a nced for neighbouring groups to cooperate for protection against plains groups and other montagnard 'coalitions'. The latter situation encourages a more rnalleable ethnic identity. I would also argue that in Dela, the degree of ethnic fluidity depends in part on how ethnicity is structured within groups and upon intergroup power structures. Ethnic identity is structured differently in three of the four groups. For instance, amongst thc Mura, Urza and Shuwa ethnic identity is determined by birth or adoption. Most, although by no means all, of an individual's multi-ethnicity results from social and economic obligations determined through kinship and marriage. Ethnicity of montagnard women is particularly situational, as marriage tends to be patrilocal and divorce frequent. Consequently, women change social groups wvcrai times in the course of their lives. This is identical to thc situation d e w r i b d by MacEachcrn (1990) for the Muraha' in the Mandara Mountains. However, individuals can either be born or choose to become Wandda through Islamic conversion and other socio-cultural changes monitored by the established Wandala community. The basic rcfcrcnt of cthnicity for the Wandala is at the community rather than familial level. Montagnards in Dcla explicitly referred to Islamic conversion as 'becoming Wandala' rather than 'becoming Moslem'. 'Becoming Wandala' is perceived locally as an upwardry ~ , o b i l eeconomic and political strategy. These individuals are completely cut off from their families in the montagnard community, which suggests that there are definite limits to ethnic malleability. Being Wandala appears to bc much less contingent than being montagnard. One reason for this is that being Wandala is socially, politically and economically advantageous, at least at the local and regional sphcrcs of interaction. No one ever expressed an ambition to become Shuwa, Mura or Urza. For the purposes of this study, ethnic affiliation is based on the informant's selfidcntif~cation and thc idcntifica tion attributed to them by other members of the community. In most cases, montagnard women's natal patrilineage was determined. This is more difficult amongst thc Wandala, as it is beneficial for women marrying into a WandaIa household to claim to be Wandala even if they arc not. In the description of social groups in this and following chapters the terms patriclan, patrilincitge, descent groups and moiety are used. The definitions of these terms are taken from Fox (1984:39,180-184.1). A patriclan is a group of lineages who claim to be descendants of a common male ancestor. Patrilineages are individuals whose common descent from a male ancestor can be demonstrated in terms of specific links. Fatrilincages are corporate descent groups sharing cimirnon property and rituals Giscussed in chapter four. A moiety involves two distinct rmilinral descent groups who, along with other reciprocal obligations, exclusively exchange marriage partners with each other. It is important to note that these groups have not been studied 'The Muraha is thc name for all of the lineages who claim to descend from Katsaka by anthropologists trained in kinship analysis. Montagnards Lirling on the Northern Manrdara Mountains. Thc northern Mandata Mountains are some of the most densely populated areas in Cameroon attaining an average density of 135 people per sq km on Mora Massif (Boulet et al. 1983:110). The region is also one of the most ethnically complex regions of Africa. However, these groups arc poorly understood. The problem is complicated by the fact that previous ethnographic analyses often refer to ethnic groupings which are not real. Instead, these groupings are based either on language distribution or on administrative labels' of Muslim or European governments (see David et al. 1991:171; MncEachern 19913 6 ) . The current socio-cultural groups in the northern Mandara Mountains arc generally acephalous, small scale groups scattered over individual massifs in patrilincat;~or family groupings surrounded by their terraced fields (B~utrais197335). Plains People. The Mora Plain has a mean population density of 25 to 36 persons per sq km (Boulet et al. 1984:112). The plains population includes the Wandala and thc Shuwa discusscd in this study. The Wandala are concentrated in villages and towns whosc distribution is greatly determined by the availability of a year-round water supply. Wandala villages are oftcn locatcd at the foot of inselbergs and the Shuwa Arabs, who are semi-sedentary, settle in small villages oftcn on sand dunes (Hallaire 1965:48-49). Hallaire (196551) notes that the Wandala tend to prcfer villages with a minimum population of 500 individuals. Montagnards o n the Mora Plain. Montagnard immigration to thc plains has becn ~ o n ~ u r r c t ~ t with crises such as a 1931 famine and by policies of first the French protcctoratc administration and later the Cameroon administration. Government policies requiring montagnard emigration to the plains in the 1960s were largely unsuccessful- !n !943,30,000 individm!~moved from Mora massif to the plains but by 7973 10,000 had returned to their homc massifs (Boutrais 147350). 'I%c failure in migration was due to inter-ethnic tension, exploitation of the montagnards by the Moslems and agricultural problems on the plains. The latter include termites, thieves and the perceived lack of supernatural protection from local spirits (Boutrais 1973:50,73). Linguistic Relationships Northern Cameroon is one of the most linguistically diverse zones in the world (Barreteau ct al. 1984:160). Three of the four language phyla of Africa defined by Greenberg (1963) are represented in the region and in Dela itself. Only the Afroasiatic phylum is of importance in the immediate study and thc linguistic relationship of speakers of Afroasiatic languages are summarized in Figure 4 after Barreteau et al. (1984:166-167). The Kanuri mentioned below are classified with the Nilo-Saharan phylum, and Fulfulde, the language of the Fulani, is classified in the Niger-Congo family of the Congo-Kordofanian phylum. The Mura, Urza, Wandala and Shuwa all speak Afroasiatic languages. Since Greenberg's (1963) study, other linguists have refined his original classification (see Newman 1977, Kordass and Annett 1977, Barreteau et al. 1984). Barretau et al. (1984:166-167) have renamed the former Biu-Mandara branch as the Central branch. Wandala, Mura and Gamergu (Mulgwa) are classified as dialccts within the Central Branch of the Chadic family of languages, sub-branch A, Wandala group, Eastern subgroup, Wandala language. The Urza speak a less closely related language but within the same sub-branch A of the Central Branch of languages. Urza is a dialect of Ndreme which is classified under the Mafa group, Northeastern subgroup. Shuwa is a dialect of Arab which is listed under the Semitic family of languages. Ehrct (1984:27) proposes that the proto-Afroasiatic language originated in the Ethiopian highlands possibly as early as 15,000 years ago. David (1975:257) suggests that proto-Chadic emerged in thcr southern Sahara, possibly as a result of contact between its pastoral population with pople to the south. As desertification progressed after 5000 BP, the proto-Chadic speakers migrated south in order to continue exploiting the retreating Sahel and north Sudan environment (David 1975257). The Sahara advanced more quickly than the retreat of the forest to the south leaving the Chadic-speakers in a narrow savanna zone (David 1975:257-258). Population pressure on limited resources may have led to increased specialization and experinwntation of their economies. Consequently, David (1981:93) speculates that the spread of the proto-Chndic languages accompanies the diffusion of stxk-breeding and cereal agriculturt, a process which involved the absorption of indigenous hunter/gatherer populations (David 1981:93). Ehret (198429) places the earliest divergence of proto-Chadic languages in northern Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad around 6000 BP which is at least a millennium earlier than David's model. In any case, researchers agree that Chadic languages precede both Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo languages in northern Cameroon. Regional History and Prehistory The culture history of the region is based on scant archaeological, cthnohistorical and linguistic studies. This evidence is summarized here in order to show the antiquity and changing nature of relationships among the four study groups. This is partly attributable to the fact that the socially and politically complex Wandala have attracted more researchers. As well, the Wandcila recorded an official history of their state, and their relations with Borno are recorded in thc Bornuan chronicles. Consequently, more is known of the Wandala than of the montagnards, Regional culture history. A detailed account of the archaeological data is not required for the purposes of this study beyond an understanding of the nature and antiquity of the rr!latlonship between the Mura, Urza, and the Wandala. The Shuwa are recent immigrants to the region (see below). Archaeological research conducted by MAP has resulted in a more comprchensiw culturc history of the region (see MacEachem 1990). Neolithic sites are concentrated on the plains to thc north of the Mandara Mountains with only a few contemporaneous sites on thc mountain periphery and surrounding foothills (David and MacEachern 1988:62-63). For reasons not understood, the Neolithic ends about the beginning of the first millennium A.D. with an abrupt change in pottery styles. This may be the result of either population replacement or a change in subsistence strategies or both (David and MacEachern 1988:63). This coincides with the first evidence of iron at the site of Daima to the northwest on the firki plain in the Borno region of Nigeria (Connah 1981). The Neolithic and early iron age materials from the study region are similar to those of Borno. David and MacEachern (1988:58) suggest that around the eighth century A D . , the northern Mandara area began to develop independently from the area to the north. This rift may also have excluded the groups in the study region from trends towards the formation of more complex societies around Lake Chad at the end of the first millennium A.D. (David and MacEachern l988:58). There is a massive population increase in the northern Mzndara after the ninth century A.D. (David and MacEachern 1988:64). It is possible that intensive forest clearing at this time resulted in serious slope degradation which produced the large colluvial fans found at the base of the northern Mandara massif (Wilson 1992, personal communication). This activity may have destroyed or buried earlier sites on the periphery and foot of the mountains, which may explain tho small number of sites in these areas prior to this period (Wilson 1992, personal communication). Archaeological, linguistic and cultural evidence indicates that there is considerable cultural contir,ziiy in the region since the beginning of the current millennium. For instance, an analysis of Iron Agc ceramics indicates spatial correlations between ceramic clusters and modern major ethnic groupings in the region (David and MacEachern 1988:M in reference to N. Jones). Moreover, social s o u p s on the mountains speak many related but different languages (see Figure 4). The most closcly related languages am usually found geo,oraphica!!y nexest to one another. This situation indicates that languages developed in situ over a considerable period of time and are not the product of migrations of diverse peoples. The number of diverse languages also indicates that these languages did not develop in a situation of high population density and intensive interaction 36 as is the case in the region today (MacEachern 1990:307). Archaeelc@cal e v i d c ~ msupports a caw of low population density in the mountains until around the sixteenth century, a situation which is conducive to the development of the linguistic diversih. in the region. The current montagnard groups have a number of shared or similar social, economic and ritual practices which also support a long period of in situ development and interaction (MacEachern lW0:307-308). MacEachern proposes that the early Iron Age population of thc northern Mandara Mountains at the beginning of the seeond millennium A.D., are the ancestors of current sociocultural groups, and that they spoke precursors of the languages spoken in the region todcly (MacEachern 1990:308). Around the sixteenth century, some plains dwellers wcrc forced to takc refuge in the mountains from expanding states particularly the Kanuri and the Wandala. According to oral history, the Sao and the Maya were two of the emigrating plains groups. Connah (1981:195-196) suggests that the Sao are strongly identified in oral traditions with groups living on the firki plains south of Lake Chad. Ethnohistoric accounts of many groups in the region refer to the Sao either as their ancestors or as the people living on the plains when their ancestors arrived (see Lange and Barkindo 1988:443; Lange 1989). The origins of the Sao are unknown. Lange (1989) concludes that the Sao were not o w but several groups living south of Lake Chad who are ancestors of people still living in the region including the Kotoko. Lange (1989:205) claims that the name Sao probably mcant walled village or town. Although it is unreasonable to suggest that the Sao formed a politkal or social entity (Lange and Barkindo 1988:448), Lange (1989) proposes that the Bornuans and subsequently the Wandala, adopted the institutions of the magira and gumsu from thc Sao both of which arc found in all Kotoko territory. These institutions are discussed in chapter four. According to legend, the Sao were a race of giants who lived in walled cities or towns, were organized into chiefdoms, and buried their dead in large pots. 'Sao' pots have becn recovered from northeastern Nigeria, northern Cameroon and Chad (Cannah 1981; LeBcuf 19621. Rodinson and LeBeuf (1956) report the recovery of a Sao pot from a hill at Dela around 1930. The pot was subsequently reused in the villzge dye works. S o p t s occur in the D a h a q w n c e in Period I11 (circa A.D. 700 to 1150), although pot burials are not common until the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries (Connah 1981:239-240). At this later date, a ditch was constructed at Daima, possibly for defensive purposes. This ditch coincides with the shift of the Bornuan capital south of Lzke Chad. According to various ethnohistoric accounts (Mohammadou 1982:225; Mouchet 1947:101), Dela was the walled capital town of a people called the Maya, were displaced by the Wandala some time between A.D. 1650 (Forkl 1989:543) and 1675 (Forkl 198864). The Maya are said to have fled to Urza territory (Mouchet l947:ll2-ll3) and Wmko (Mouchet l947:lOl,l 13) where they continued to fight the Wandala but eventually lost and were assimilated by them. F'orkl (1989:543) states that the Maya were a Kotoko group. In fact, the Maya are described similarly to the Sao, as a race of superhuman giants living on the Chad plains in walled villages, organized under a chief (Mohammadou 1982:2Il,2E-227). If Lange is correct, it is possible that the Maya were one of the groups called Sao by the Kanuri. However, Mohammadou (1982:16, 219-211) states that the Maya were a completely different peopje than the Sao. The argument hinges upon whether the Sao refer to one or many different groups living in walled towns. The Wandala originate on the plains to the northwest of the mountains. They and other groups including the Marghi, appear to have developed centralized polities by the sixteenth century, possibly in response to contact with Bomo (MacEachern 1990:309; see also below). The Bnrnuans and the Wandala were involved in the trans-Saharan slave trade and took slaves in raids of groups living on the periphery of their respective territories. MacEachem (1990:312) suggests that immigrants from the plains arrived in small numbers and not all at one time; large migrations being a rarity. The immigrants probably formed subordinate, smaller kinship-based units to the autochthonous groups, as is suggested in ethnohistoric accounts (MacEachern 1990:312-313). Eventually, populations on the mountains .ncreasd in order to produce a large enough population to both defend mountain communities from plains groups and to provide a workforce for the intensive ag~iculturalpractices rcquirtvl in the mountain environment (MacEachern 1990:315). MacEachern suggests that eventually high population densities led to conflict between montagnard groups over scarce agricultural resources which would have increased each group's need for warriors leading to more population incrcax (MacEachern 1990:315). This explains the high population density found in the Mandara Mountains today. Mura ethnohisfoy. According to Boulet et al. (1984119) the total population of the Mura in 1964 was 2,300 individuals. He does not specify if this figure includes Mura living outside of their home massif. The ancestors of the Mura of Dela come from the Mura patriclan on Mora massif. According to Mouchet (1947:125), the Mura were amongst the first people to settle Mora Massif. Their founder Katsaka was a Mulgwa4, who had been living on the Waza inselberg located 60 km northeast of Dela. He fled Waza to escape an epidemic and Arab raids of his cattle and children (Mouchet 1947:126). The reference to Arabs may refer to pressure from the Kanuri who abandoned Kanem for Borno to the southwest of Lake Chad in the 14th century (Lange 1984:258) or later by the Bornuan ruler or mi,Idriss Aloma (A.D. 1569-1600) (Fisher 1975) who was accompanied by Shuwa Arabs (seeTijani 1986:64). Aloma conducted raids against the Sao in thc region at this time, using tactics such as burning the forest (Fisher 197574-751. The flight of Katsaka would then date to the end of the sixteenth century. Katsaka settled Mora massif with his wife Dune and their seven sons: Cagadama or Adama, Agala, Magye Mura, Mdala or Ala, Cugye, Faka or Mdawa and Kovra (Mouchet 1947:126). Mouchet (1947:133 states that the name Mora, pronounced Mura, is dcrivcd from Magye Mura but the reason for this is not made clear. Mura individuals in Dela trace their descent to patrilineages founded by these seven sons, w t h the exception of the Logonc T h e Mulgwa or Melgwa are a non-Muslim ethnic group whose home territory is on the plains to thc southwest of Lake Chad and in present day Nigeria. They are also known as the Camergu. 39 patrihneagc drscused t#llo\v. !v%\ifcmbership in a patrilineage and relationships based on personal trust tend to determine the spatial dustcring c\f compounds both on the Massif (Mouchet 1947:126 128) and in the current vlltage of Dela. Five of Kafsaka's sons established villages which are named after them. The descendants of these men call themselves the Muraha. The distribution of their villages is shown in Figure 3A. Forkl (1 988) suggests that the Mura of Dela are descendants of men who came hunting and looking for agricultural land. A few of these men settled on Wa-Dela. Since Forkl (1988) believes that thc Maya were established at the foot of Wa-Dela by the end of the sixteenth century prior tcl the anlval of the Mura, and the town was taken by the Wandala around A.D. 1650 (Forkl 1989:543) or 1675 (Forkl 1989:H.l after the Mura's arrival, then the Mura's settling of Wa-Bela can be dated to the period between A.D. 1600 and 165017' 5. If the Mura were in fact displaced directly or indirectly by Mni Idriss Aloma, then Wa-Dela was settled shortly after Mora massif. The Mura of Dcla maintain ties with the Mura of Mora massif to this day. For example, the senior male iineagc head on Mora massif determines the timing of agricultura1 festivals and ancestor cult cclcbratinns for the Mura of both Mora massif and Dela. Forkl's account of the Wa-Dela history is similar to the account collected from informants in 7986. Thcre arc ntverthclcss certain problems. Among these are Forkl's interpretation of the Wa-Dcla quarter as being members of the same patrilineage. This is not the case (see Table 2). Furthcrmorc., not all Mura in Dela live in the Wa-Dela quarter. The Logonc are the senior lineage of M1a-Dela. They are descendants of the first Mura man to =t-tle Dcla Mountain and a woman whose father was a chief in the region around the Logonc River near Lake Chad (M2A 12:25;M20A 10:70). The Logone patrilineage of Dela are descendants of this union. The significance of the lineage being named after the mother is unclear, hut it suggests the importance of bath male and female kinship relations To mv knowledge, Fork1 only interviewed the head of the Logone patrilineage in Dels. Other clders give different accounts. The head of the Kovra patrilineage in Dela (M2A 12:21,23-25) 40 stated that the origmal inhabitants of Wa-Dela were a Kovra and a (hlagyc) Mura man. The two eventually had a falling out and broke their blood ties. There is some c\.idencc to support this history. The Logone and Kovra share a graveyard on Wa-Deia which is spatially sepgatcci from the graveyard for other Mura patrilineages. This hints at a fom~erbond between the Kovra and the Logone not shared with other groups who eventually scttlcd on Wa-Dcla. Urza ethnohistory. Boulet et al. (1984:119) state that the Urza population in 1964 totallcd 1,000 indiklduals. The Urza home territory is the Urza Massif near Memc. Mouchct (1947:112) states that the population of Urza mountain is comprised of seven groups with different origins, six of which share the same language and customs. These seven groups are collcctivcly called thc Urza (Mouchet 1947: 112). The seventh g ~ o u pis tied to the Mada who occupy an area on the Mandara Mountains to the west (Mouchet 1947:112). The Maya who fled Dela to cscapc the Wandala are included in the six who share a common language and customs (see Mouchel 1947:112-113). The distribution of these lineages is illustrated in Figure 3B. The group living at Widive are mainly of one family whose head is the blarna of thc quarter. This family is from the Urza village of Gulidje (U194A 10:89) (Mouchet's Gulidc 1947:114). According to Mouchet, the Gulidje Urza are not of Mada descent. This conflicts with Forkl's (1988) reference to the Widive Urza a5 being Mada. This group has lived on the outskirts of &la since the 1950s first in Wa-Dela, later on Wa-Talake with two Dumc families, and currently at Widive (U194 12:31). Ruins of three compounds were examined on Wa-Talake in 1986. The Widive lineage head still maintains a compound in Wa-Dela. Other Urza in Wa-Dcla include a household of the Kudangala lineage W13A 10:49) and another from the Mada 'T'zinga group (U5A 10:17). The Wandala. Boulet et al. 119&4:116)report the Wandala to have numbcrcd 13,500 in 1964. Boutrais (1973:44) suggests the Wandala numbered 17,000 while Fork1 (1989:542) places thc number of Wandala at 30,000 in 1970. The latter figure is probably an inflated one and possibly includes montagnards who joined WandaIa villages in large numbers during the mid to lakc 1960s Linguistic and cultural evidence indicates that the Wandala state is an in situ development and not the result of population movements (David and MacEachern 1988:65). For instance, the Wandala language is closely related to the Podokwo (David and MacEachern 1988:65) and is virtually identical to the language spoken by the Mura (Kordass and Annett 1977). The origm of the name Wandala is obscure. It has been suggested that the term 'Wandala' rsfcrs to a chicf or a social class rather than an ethnic group (Vossart 1953:33). The Wandala refer to themselves collectively as the Wandalaha and their country as larde Wandala (Mohammadou 1982:1?). The term Mandara is the Kanuri name for the Wandala, and is not used here as it is a misnomer (see Mohamrnadou 1982:13). Mohammadou (1982) has arranged the translation of four of the Arabic texts written by the Wandala during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. According to the Kirgam-a-Wandala, a 23 page list of Wandala rulers and their reigns, the Wandala descend from a man who married a daughter of the chief of the Mulgwa in a land called Ishge-Kewe believed to have been located near thc present site of Dikwa in Nigeria. The Mulgwa chief and his daughter came from the Nija clan who were the first settlers of the region. As such, they had the power of an alliance between thcir ancestors and the local earth spirits. This alliance gave the Nija clan the legitimate right to rule that territory. After discord between the descendants of the Wandala-Nija union and the Nija clan, one of the former (Adja Makiya) made peace and ruled as tlikse. This term translates as 'chief of thc village' (Mohamrnadou 7982215-217). In practice the title is restricted in use to the head of tho Wandala royal family currently resident in Mura. The title is translated as 'Sultan' by the French and Cameroonian administrations. Adja Makiya ruled with the sanction of the head of thc Nija clan whose title was sliza or master of the earth. The sliza performed religious rites on the tlikse's hchaif. Fork1 (1986:6) places the reign af Adja Makiya with the founding of the Wandala state in the fiftc~nthcentury. Adja Makiya's union with a female spirit produced a daughter called Soukda who in turn married a hunter called Gaya. Gaya founded the first Wandala dynasty at Kerawa. The satretion of the tlikse's rule by the sliza and the magico-religious origin of Soukcid and her ciescendants reinforced and legitimated the divine character of the tlibc' and his right to rule (hfohan~n~adou 1982218). To this day, the Wandala tlikse is invested by the slita (Fork1 1469:.%2; Mohanmmdou The Wandala, under their leader Sankre, moved from Kerawa to Dela in either A D . 1650 or 1675 (Forkl g v e s two dates see Forkl 1989:543;1988:64). The move was prompted by the expansion of Borno under Idris Aloma, to whom the Wandala were vassals {Mohamxnad;~, 1982194). Sankre allied himself with the Maya who ruled Dela, by marrying the chief's daughter. Through trickery, he eventually seized Dela forcing the Maya chief and many of his fcqdt. to fftx (see Mohammadou 1982:24-25). The appropriation of Dela marks the beginning of the Sankrc dynasty which continues to this day. Tribute was paid to Borno irregularly in slaves (Mohammadou 1982: 195) taken from non-Muslim groups bordering Wandala tcrritory (Boutrais 198417236). This rich source of slaves, crucial to Bornuan trans-saharan trade, made the Wandnla an important vassal (Boutrais 1984h:236; Mohammadou 1982:231). The Wandala were not easily controlled and were able to defeat Bomo in a battle near Dela circa 1781 (Mohammadou 19#2:1,44- Sunni Islam was introduced to the Wandala in 1723/24 by flikse Bukar Ali (Fork1 1986:lO). It was not generally accepted by the people until the rule of tlikse Bladi bctwccn 1762/63 and 1780 (Forkl 1986:lO). Forkl (1986:9) states that even today Wandala religous practices involve a mix of Islamic and pre-Islamic elements. The maximum size of Wandala territory was achieved by the end of the eighteenth century. It extended south to the Mayo Kebi, west to the northcrn Mandara Mountains, io thc northwest by the Yedseram River, north to Kotoko territory and northwest to the Logonc River (Moharnmadou 1982:189). During the nineteenth century the southern boundary was pushed back to the Mangafe River by the Fulani (Mohammadou 1982:189). Thc territory comprising thc Wandala statc during the eighteenth century is illustrated in Figure 5, However, the Wandala never directly controlled montagnard groups. In pre-Islamic times, the Wandala political system was characterized by sacral and aristocratic traits typical of early states (see Forkl 1989:543). For example, the Wandala were c~riginallyorganized tnto patriclans, the most important of which was that of the sliza or the master of the earth. The sliza's position was hereditary and the positions of the four provincial governors were given to his sons (Forkl 1986:6;1989:542; Mohammadou 1982). Each governor paid taxes to the flibe but also collected and redistributed sorghum from their own towns (Forkl 1986:6;1989:542-%3). in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Wandala rulers used the Sunni ideology of equality to secularize traditional hereditary positions within the state and to appoint their own men. Consequently many of the flikse's loyal men were slaves whose position in the hierarchy was dependent on him (Forkl 1986: 6;1989:543; Morrissey 1984:127-128). The Udle-a-Wandala translated by Mohammadou (198267-71) lists over 80 titles and duties of eight politicaladministrative bodies of the Wandala court during the nineteenth century. The most important of these institutions were the rnalumha, a council of five Islamic dignitaries, and the alamaha, a council of twelve dignitaries who included the sliza (Mohammadou 1982:125-143). These councils advised thc t l i k x in his duties and the alamaha had the power to depose a ruler, and to select and invest the flike's heir. Court was conducted with elaborate etiquette (see Mohammadou 1982174-175), and the cost of the bureaucracy was paid for through an extensive system of taxation and tributes (Mohammadou 1982:73-77). As political positims b t ~ a m esecularized, the patriclans and descent groups which had held powcr collapsed and disappeared (Forkl 1989542). Power was held in the hands of appointed individuals who sought titles in the bureaucracy to enhance their social and economic status. In the nineteenth century the bureaucracy increased the number of titles and these posts could be purchased. This was a strategy to increase the state's revenue, but in turn it opened up new political avenues for merchants and traders (Forkl 1986:?,1989: ,533; Murrissey 19$4:?6,191- hiorrissey (198429) states that an important part of the LVandala's economy was based in th By thv iron trade with Kotoko and Borno beginning in the fourteenth to thc ~ v e n t ~ n centuries. end of the nineteenth century the Wandala's main exports were slaves and cotton gowns Thew commodities were distributed through long distance trading networks as far north as 'I'ripoli and as far south as Ngaoundere (Forkl 1989:543). In 1895, Dela was sacked by Rabeh who killed many of the tliksc's children, t-lc subsequently took tlikse Anarbana and many of his family and subjects to Dikwd as prisoncrs (Mohammadou 1982:33,36). Other Wandala took refuge on Mora massif with onc Wandaln priricc, while others fled to Urza or Podokwo Massifs or to Maroua (Mohammadou 1982:33), lcaving Dela virtually abandoned (Vossart 1953). Anarbana was executed at Dikwa in 1899 (Mohammadou 1982229). Anarbana's son Umar became the tlikse and with Mura assistance fought Rabeh's troops, eventually forcing the latter to retreat (Mohammadou 198232-36). The Wandala dcscendcd from the mountains and rebuilt Mora under Umar (1895-1911). Umar's reign was marked by a pcriod of despotism and tyranny against his subjects (Forkl 1986:7). Shuwa ethnohistoy. Boulet et al. (1984:116) states that the Shuwa in northern Cameroon numbered 6,300 in 1964. According to Tijani (1986:62), the Shuwa Arabs entered the territory of Kanem-Borno in the Chad Basin from Egypt during the late fourteenth century, possibly as a consequence of wars of Islamic expansion dating back to the seventh century A.D. The Shuwa were reported by the Kanuri as troublesome and wcre never successfully integrated into thc state (Tijani i986:62-63). T'ne migration of the Shuwa pastoralists south of Lakc Chad occurred in large numbers in the eighteeilth and nineieenth centuries (Tijarri 198664). The Shuwa were raiding the northeastern and northern Wandala borders in the early nineteenth century but were not living inside Wandala territory at that time (Denham et al. 1826:116), The Shuwa wercl not reliable as Wandala allies and sometimes retreated or joined enemy ranks during battle (Morrisscy 19M:4). The Shuwa have always been nomadic pastoralists, who are synonymous with cattle-herding south of Lake Chad in Borno (Tijani 1986:66). Tijani states that cattle-hcrding and the need to continually locate pasturage and water for cattle is the focus of Shuwa cxistcnce and that farming was practised unwillingly (Tijani 1986:66). The need for mobility has madc the Shuwa disinclined to commit to any political administration in the region, particularly since such administrations historically have taxed them heavily for pasturage and have provided little assistance when needed (Tijani 198666-69,72). Forkl (1984) states that the Shuwa introduced cattle to the Wandala. This seems unlikely. Fulani herders whose original homeland is the region of Senegal, have been Iiving in the Chad Basin possibly since A.D. 1200-1300 (Mohamrnadou 1982:200). The nomadic Fulani were attacking the Wandala's southern borders at the end of the eighteenth century (Mohamnadou 1982:201), and in the mid-nineteenth century they were paying head-tax for grazing rights to the Wandala tlikse along with the Shuwa (Mohammadou 198273). Consequently, the Fulani are as likely a source for cattle as are the Shuwa. Furthermore, cattle were not unknown in the Mandara Mountains before Moslem herders arrived. The montagnards have raised a dwarf breed of cattle for centuries (see David 1981; Epstcin 1971:276,291) and the Kapsiki, Bana and others still do (David 1990, personal communica tion). Thc Shuwa living outside Dela are mainly recent immigrants from the village of Kirza approximately five km to the northwest. The longest established Shuwa compound is 17 years old Precolonial Rrlationships Between the Study Groups Although the Wandala historically raided groups living in the Mandara Mountains for slaves, they madc alliances with some massifs bordering the plains (Boutrais 1984:236). Forkl (198867) states that the Mura of Wa-Dela had certain privilege: they did not pay taxes and they were free of conscription in the tlihe's army. The Mura 01 Mora massif, Wa-&la, GagadamaQnd the Urza paid an annual tribute of firewood (Mohammadou 198275) which Fork1 claims was a lesser tribute than was paid by other non-Muslim subjects (Forkl 1988:67). The ori!y other ncnMuslim group mentioned is the Podokwo who supplied hay for the royal stables, sr) i t is hard to assess Forkl's conclusion (see Mohammadou 198275). What the tribute list may indicate is some form of political relations between the Wandala and the above groups. For instance, it is thc Mura, Urza, and Podokwo who gave refuge to the Wandala on their massifs when the latter were attacked by Bomuans (Forkl 1988:64),by the Fulani (Vossart 1953), and by Rabeh (Mohammadou 1982:33). The Mura of Wa-Dela built a refuge on their mountain for the tlikse in thc event of attack, the foundations of which still stand (Forkl 1988:65; personal observation). Forkl ("988:M) also states that the Mura of Wa-Dela were spared Wandala slave raids. However, this is not the impression generally held by the Mura living in Dela today. Many recounted stories of relatives taken in slave raids or of general mistreatment of their anccstors by the Wandala. Certainly hostilities between the Mura and the Wandala occurred. Tlikse llliassa (1845-58) fought the montagnards of Mora massif for seven years and in the end was killed by them (Mohammadou 198228). His successor, Bukar Anarbana revenged his father and, following a montagnard raid on the jail in Mora, he attacked Mora massif for another prolonged war resulting in heavy losses on both sides (Mohammadou 1982:28-29). It was only news of the destruction of other Central Sudanic states by Rabeh and his troops that caused Anarbana to end the war with the Mura (Mohammadou 1982:29). The tlikse used other practices to intimidate the montagnards. He is said to have reclinpd in his residence on a skin of a man, presumably a montagnard (W89A 3:168). Mura claimed that the wall around Dela was built by montagnard slaves, and when they were too exhausted to work T h e Gagadama are descendants of the oldest son of Katsaka, whose tics with the Mora patriclan were broken when he tried to kill a younger brother (Mouchet 1947:127). 47 they were buried in the wall (M26A 12:13). The Urza of Widive faced hostility from the Wandala following their move to Wa-Dela in this century. Initially, the Urza family head settled at the base of Wa-Dela near the Mayan well, a water source which dried u p soon after. When the Urza women went into Dela to use the well by the river, the Wandala broke their water pots. Despite the tense relationship between Wandala and the Mura and Urza, they share in common a distrust of the Shuwa. One Wandala informant (W15A 10:57) stated that this distrust is rclated to cattle theft. The Shuwa are often blamed for allowing cattle to ruin farmers fields (W138 11:148). A similar perception is reported of the Shuwa by the Kotoko (Holl 1987). Colonial Period Rabch's attack on the Wandala is coincidental with the arrival of Europeans in northern Cameroon. Rabeh was killed in a battle with the French at Kusseri in 1900. In 1885, Cameroon became a German protectorate but did not establish administrative control in Mora until 1902 (Mohammadou 1982230). The German administration was content to confirm Moslem control over the mountains and in 1912 put the montagnards living on the northern edge of the Mandara Mountains under Wandala control (Boutrais 1973:60). During the first world war, Mora was a German military stronghold with troops entrenched on top of Mora Massif. From here they fought both English and French forces in the region. Forkl reports that German tombs and structures from this period on the massif were destroyed in the 1980s by Europeans (Forkl 1984:4). In 1916, Cameroon was divided into British and French protectorates under a League of Nations mandate (LeVine 1964:31-35). The region under study was part of the French protectorate. In 1918, the French administrative centre was moved from Mora to Maroua, an action which contributed to thc economic and political decline of the Wandala (Forkl 1984; Marguerat 1984). The French and Germans initially administered the region through the Wandala and the Fulani whom they perceived to be socially and politically organizd in contrast to the montagnards who seemed to exist in a state of anarchy (Boutrais 1973:60-63). The goal of French policy was to encourage montagnards to m o w onto the plains so that they cauld bc govcrrwcl and to facilitate tax collection (Boutrais 197362-63). Payment of taxes was made possiblc through the commercial production of peanuts which grows best on the piedmont. The movement onto the plains was met by the montagnards with rcsistancc and hostility for at least two reasons. First, the montagnards were forced into historically hostile Wandala territory. Second, tax collection through the Wandala aided by French military guards a p p r c t d as though the French were conspiring in the collection of Wandala tributes (Boutrais 1973:62). In the early 1930s a severe famine eventually forced thousands of montagnards onto thC plains to seek work with the Wandala. The Wandala took the displaced montagnards in and then worked them for meagre salaries and poor food (Boutrais 197363; Momssey 1984:62-63). During this famine, the Podokwo came and settled in Dela. The French tried to emancipate the montagnards from the Moslems by assuming control of the northern massifs in 1942, and by attempting to restore the montapards traditional power structure. This process resulted in the dismantling of the Wandala sultanate (Boutrais 1973:64), The new roles for montagnard leaders required by the French administration were incompatible with traditional roles. Consequently newly created chiefs had no more secular authority ovcr their people than had traditional chiefs (see Boutrais 197364). Political emancipation was only part of the problem. The Mora Plain traditionally was controlled by the Wandala. Montagnard immigrants found that they had to rcnt fields at exorbitant rates and pay additional taxes and tributes to the local chiefs (Boutrais 1973:M-67). The traditional concept of rights t~ l a ~ dinvdving ancestral occupancy left montagnards at the mercy of the Wandala establishment, in whose vi!lages mon tagnards tended to reloca tc. &)u trais (1973:134) states that this was the problem in Dela. Newcomcrs were allowed to rcnt but the Wandala, on the basis of their ancestral right to the use of this land, would not let them clcar land surrounding thc town (Boutrais l984:36S). Independence Following Cameroon independence in 1962, the government attempted to unify the nation with policies aimed at eliminating ethnic differences and 'modernizing' the image of the nation. In the north, these policies were particularly targeted at ~nontagnardgroups who were forced to wear clothing and whose ancestor rituals, beer drinking, feasts and sacrifices were frowned upon (Boutrais 1973:69). Part of the policy renewed attempts to move the montagnards onto the plains. In 1963 the administration at Mora made descent to the plains obligatory; chiefs of massifs who failed to move their people were imprisoned (Boutrais 1973:69). The result was large scale movements from many of the massifs, including Mora massif which lost the majority of its population to thc plains (Boutrais 1973:51,60). The ultimate goal of the policy - eradicating ethnic differcnccs -- failed. One of the greatest obstacles in settling montagnards on the plains was provision of a ~ i w l t u r a land. l This required a policy of agrarian reform, which was attempted during the 1960s and 1970s through three "casiers of colonization" or agricultural settlements. The term 'casicrs' refers to thc division of land into rectilinear parcels (see Boutrais et al. 1984d:339). These settlcmcnts wcre created to provide a welcoming structure for immigrant montagnards. The project included an introduction to new agricultural techniques for exploiting the inter-riverine rcgions not occupied by the Wandala (Hallaire 1965:85,93-94). The largest was that of DouloGanay, founded in 1961 (Hallaire 1965:85). This project incorporated 15,700 hectares and involved four cantons: Dou!o, Djor-lndc, Magdeme and Kosa. The settkrs included Mada, Zoulgo, Uderne, Vame, Mouyang. Mura and Podokwo families (Boutrais 1973:192). Unfortunately the administration made no effort to ease interethnic tension on the plains. The hostility between groups in the mountains is expressed on the plains in village demography where ethnic groups cluster by clan and lineage and where ancestral quarrels are not forgotten @outrais 1973:193). When the experiment of Dodo-Ganay was abandoned in 1972 many of thc montagnards returned to their massifs. Their main reasons for doing so were a sense that they had btxm taken advantage of by the Wandala, agricultural problems on the plains, and the lack of su~wnlatural protection which only their ancestral massifs could offer (Boutrais 1?84h:364-366). Other prablcn~s included the dislike for the rigid, obligatory agricultural system enforced by the project (Boutrais The distrust of the montagnards towards the Wandala was carried into thc producticm of cotton. The Cameroon government made cotton growing obligatory on the plains, each farmcr being required to grow a 70m x 7'0m plot of cotton (Boutrais 1973:123). Cotton requires an intensive labour force which the administration hoped would be provided by the migration of thc montagnards (Boutrais 1973:123-124), and karals were under-utilized for lack of a labour forcc (Hallaire 1965:96). Cotton sales, controlled prior to 1974 by Compagnic Francaisc dc Developement des Fibres Textiles (CFDT) and after 1974 by the Socicte dc Dcvelopcmcnt dc Coton (SODECOTON), were originally implemented to pay taxes (see Boutrais 1973:236-237). The montagnards believed that they were systematically cheated by the agents of the cotton company. They felt that they were not given a fair chance in acquiring ploughs, as such a purchase required the recommendation of the village chief who was usually Wandala (Boutrais 19Wb:365). In turn, the Wandala opposed the move of the montagnards onto the plains as it involved loss of their control over land allocation (Boutrais 1973). Dela In 1986, Dela had four public buildings: a primary school, a mosquc., a SODECO?'ON building, and the chief's residence. The distribution of ethnic quarters and physical features in Dela are presented in Figure 6. The village is divided in half by the highway along a northeast- 51 southwest axis and by the river, Gwa-Dela or Gwa-Daga. Mohammadou (1982:232\ interprets this latter name as "the river of the servant". The river lies to the west of and runs roughly parallel to the highway, Gwa-Dela originates on Mora massif and flows for a few hours following very heavy rains. Today there are three operating wells, two beside the river in the town centre and one near the Widive quarter. Widive is located approximately two km to the northeast of WaDela. The distribution of historical and cultural features are presented in Figure 7. There are remains of two city wall enclosures. According to Forkl (1989:543), the first wall was built by Sankre. Within Sankre's wall was a second mud wall which enclosed his palace and may be the location of the earlier Maya royal residence. Forkl identifies a mound inside this area as of Maya origin (Forkl 1985:545). The first European to visit Dela was Denham in 1822, who described it as a thriving city "...containing at least 10,000 inhabitants, has springs of beautiful fresh water, and in the valleys figtrees; and trees, which bore a white flower resembling the zeringa, possessing a grateful d o u r , were plentiful." (Denham et al. 1826:110). Forkl (1989:543) points out that by Denham's visit the population of the town would have been too large for all of them to live inside Sankre's wall. Sankre's residence was used as a royal residence until Anarbana's time when he built a compound for himself on the west side of the river. His several hundred wives continued to occupy the old residence (Forkl 1989:545-546). Only a low mound remains where the surrounding wall of An~rbana'spersonal compound stood. During the nineteenth century the Wandala court moved back and forth between Mora and Dela -- Dela being destroyed once by the Fulani and later by Bomo (see the Kirgam-aWandala in Mohammadou 1982:12). However, Rohlfs (187561) described Dela, then Anarbana's capita!, as a city of 30,000 people. At that time, Anarbal-ta was constmcting the second enclosing wall (Rohlfs 387546). ??Gs wall had six guarded wooden gates or welcoma (Fork1 1989: M9A 12:lO; W7A 123). The current mosque, located in the town centre, is built on the location of one of 70 nineteenth century mosques (Forkl 1989:547). In the first half of the twentieth century dye wells were constructed along the cast side of the river near the centre of town a i d were worked and c;wn& by Mdgwa (W7A 1311). mew wells have not been used for over 40 years IW7A 13:13). Originally there were thirty-nine wells but only thirteen of these are still visible and several of these are being eroded from the river hank (personal observation). Six dye wells were also in operation at welcornfi dela and five at welconrrz lade 1W7A 13:11) but these could not be relocated in 1986. I'hs slave milrket calltd twrarna was held outside welcoma lade in the nineteenth century, lade meaning Sunday (W7A 124-5). Dela Mountain is divided into two sections: Wa-Dela and Mbata. The two pcaks arc separated by a low pass. At the north side of the pass is a stone-lined well is located which according to oral history was constructed by the Maya and is called golawkwa (M9A 12:9). On granite outcrops near golawkwa and at other locations on Wa-Dela there are a number of shallow grooves whose origins are unknown, These features are like those reported by Sassoon (1962) and by Mouchet (1948). They suggest such features are made from grinding either grain or clay for pottery or cailcedrat for nil. Remains of the compounds and terraces of montagnard families who lived on Mbata and Wa-Dela until the 1960s are still visible. These ruins are clustered at the Logonc-Kovra villag on the northeast side of Wa-Dela; those of other Mura and possibly Urza on Mbata; and those of the Mineo-Podokwo-Muktele on the northwestern side of Wa-Dela. The separate graveyards of thc first two groups are found in the pass between the two mountains; and the graveyards of thc latter are found near their former settlements. No one lives on the mountain today. However, it is still used by montagnards for rainy season pasturage and as a source of wood, straw, and stone. Some of the lower terraces arc still farmed. Sacred sites continue to be used for communal ceremonies particularly during funerals and rain sacrifices. In addition, there are two sacred trees in the Wa-Dela quarter and a stone outcrop used for certain rituals. The latter is located by welcoma Memc and is also used by montagnard women for threshing beans. The Wandala graveyards are located at the north and the south side of the Wandala quarter on the banks of the river. Former flikse were buried in their residences as is the custom for the town chief (W89A 11:147). The Shuwa graveyard is located just outside the nineteenth century wall, south of the Shuwa quarter- A view of Dela from Dela mountain in 1986 is shown Summary The Mura, Urza and Wandala are believed to be the descendants of populations with a long antiquity in the region. The Mura and Urza are descendants of mountain dwellers, the Wandala arc from the plains and the Shuwa are recent immigrants to the region. The precolonial relationship between Mura, Urza and Wandala was one of uneasy alliance. The Mura and Urza provided the Wandala with refuge and goods, and in turn the Wandala did not raid their territories and provided a buffer from Borno. This alliance was broken many times and resulted in conflict and violencc. The Wandala, although they never could control the montagnards, have maintained political and economic advantage in the region since at least the seventeenth century. First European and now Cameroonian governments have reinforced the Wandala's regional authoritv in order to facilitate tax collection and administration through the Wandala infrastructure. However, these new authorities ultimately have undermined the Wandala's political and administrative clout. The Shum are not part of this long history of interaction. As outsiders and relative newcomers, thcy are considered with suspicion. This is exacerbated by their historically ambiguous political loyalties at key moments in the Wandala's past. In accordance with the montagnard and Wandala perception o i seniority and continuity on land as prerequisite to social authoritv, the Shuwa are subordinate to Wandala as well as Mura. The Shuwa's shared Islamic faith with the Wandala does not influence the formers' position in the local hierarchy. In fact, the Wanuala associate the Shuwa with theft and drinking which are considered as serious sins by Islam. This situation results in a village hierarchy with Wandala at the top, Mura and Urza in the middle and Shuwa at the bettor, The relationship between the Mura and the Wandala historically has sometimes been antagonistic and at other times symbiotic as they faccd common enemies. In certain respects the MuraiWandala relationship is analogous to that of lowert'upper classes, a point which is examined in chapters eight and nine. CHAPTER FOUR: ETHNOGRAPHIC CONTEXTS Introduction One of the goals of this study is to increase the ethnographic understanding of social g o u p s in the region. This chapter presents the social, economic and ritual organization of four groups investigated in Dela. Since this research is in some instances the only ethnographic data available, their remain inevitable gaps in knowledge. Informants, ethnographic literature and personal observation point to certain dynamic power structures within each group. This chapter is dedicated to uncovering the construction of gender in each group on the basis of its social and material resource distribution. The data here are summarized in terms of gender power structures in chapter five. Ethnographic Distribution in Dela Table 1 presents population estimates for Dela in the years since European contact. It is unclear whether tilese estimates include the surrounding populations or just those people inside Dcla's walls. 1 have assumed the latter case and the 1986 estimates refer to people living inside the old walls. Consequently, the figures in the table should be considered as only roughly comparable. Population estimates of the Shuwa and Widive quarters are given at the bottom of thc figure. -1 he popuiation estimates reveai that Dela was a major city during the nineteenth century. I - I C ~ U T ~ ~the T , destruction caused by Ra&h in 1895 dealt a blow from which the town has never recovered. The twentieth centurq. population peaked around 1920 possibly as a result of the influx of Kanuri into Wandata territory escaping a famine circa 1913/14 (see Connah 1981:59). According 56 to population estimates presented in Table 1, the population of Dela doubles during the period following the destruction of the capital by Rabeh in 1895 to 1920. To my knowledge, the Kanuri currently locate within the Wandala quarter or on its periphery and may have k i n included in the estimate for the Wandala in 1920. It is possible that the Kanuri are partly rcspnsiblc for the population increase. The Kanuri were involved in the weaving and dying trade and it may not bc a coincidence that these industries were prospering in Dela during the 1920s and 1930s. The montagnard population has changed significantly in composition since the study by Hallaire in 1965. In Kallaire's ethnic distribution map for the Mora plains and Mandara mountains, the Mada are shown as comprising 20% of Dela's montagnard population. Yet, in 1986 there were only two Mada families remaining while the Urza, whose presence was not indicated in the 1965 study, occupy 24 compounds in Wa-Dela and Widive. There were no Fulani families living in or near Dela in 1986. In 1986, Dela was divided into four ethnic quarters inside the old walls: Wandala Ccntral, Sela-Podokwo, Mada, and Wa-dela. Also included in this study is the Shuwa quartcr irnmcd~ately to the north of Dela and the Urza quarter of Widive to the northeast. The blamus of both of theso quarters are under the administration of the village chief. The ethnic composition of each quartcr is presented in Table 2. Household ethnicity is defined as that of the male household head. The current village bureaucracy is based upon traditional positions which have becn incorporated into the Cameroonian administration. The most important positions arc vrllagc chief and the quarter chiefs or blurnus who are responsible to the chief. Both chief and blamas are elected. The chief is elected from male members of the Sankre royal family by the blamas who serve under his administration. Such an election was witnessed in June 1986. Blumas arc elected from male members of the founding or senior patrilineage by men of that quartcr. When thcre is no capable heir, a new family is selected by same electorate (W12A 10:45). The village chief's responsibilities include passing judgments on local disputes, collecting 57 taxes for the Cameroon government through the blamas, maintaining public buildings, feeding the poor, assisting the sick, and providing for various rituals and feasts (W89A 11:146-147;W139 11:'145). The chief is assisted in his duties by two traditional officials: the chima and the wa-zeel. The chima acts as the chief's messenger (Kn143 11:135-136),and the wa-zeel acts as the chief's secretary and counsellor, as well as tempering the chief's judgments and fines (W139 11:148). The types of grievances heard by the chief in order of importance include agricultural damage caused by Shuwa cattle, problems over women, and theft of grain, goats, cows, money and clothing (W139 ll:148;Kn143 11:135-136). The chima and the wa-zeel both claimed that there is more trouble during the dry season when people are not busy with farming and have too much time on their hands (Kn143 11:136;W139 11:148). One stated (Kn143 11:136) that theft is decreasing. He attributes this to a higher standard of living from cotton farming and to improved policing between markets where robberies were common. Both of these officials expressed the sentiment that the traditional power structure was being eroded as people could ignore the chief's judgment and go to the government authorities in Mora for another ruling. Blanzas arbitrate and receive payment f ~ judgments r of minor disputes such as domestic conflicts within their quarter. They also receive a payment for collecting taxes on the chief's behalf IW89A 11:136;M2A 10:4;M20A 1O:73). Immigrants must ask the chiefs permission to settle in Dela. The chief refers newcomers to the appropriate blamrz on :he basis of the household head's ethnic affiliation. The blama then determines where they will live and which fields they can cultivate (W89A 11:146; W53A 48,55). Montagnard household heads of the same patrilineage tend to cluster together while 'Wandala f a d i e s are more dispersed throughout their quarter. When someone leaves Dela, their compound reverts back to the blama who either keeps or redistributes materials such as wood or grinding stones as well as their fields if they move too far to continue using them (W89A 11:146; S2&X 3:150; U13A 2102; USA 3:18,55; IL13 2:43). As wood and stone are scarce commodities on the plains, large pieces of wood appropriate for house construction cannot bc rcn1ovek4 from tho chief's territory without his permission. Boutrais (1984:239;241-242) concluded that the Wandala have a feudal land system in which villagers have only the rights of usage of the chief's land. This is inaccurate. Tabic 3 presents the distribution of land in the study sample by household head. Land ownership i s similar but not identical to the western concept of ownership (see Fork1 1984:6,16). The diitersncc is that land is not a commodity that can be bought and sold. What is bought and sold arc rights to use the land, and these rights are constrained by certain social practices. For instance, a man has the right to use a section of land if he is the first person to clcar and cultivate it. This right to the land is held in perpetuity and forms the inheritance of his sons or other male members of the patrilineage as long as he and his heirs continue to occupy and work the land (M2A 106). Each man marks the boundaries of his fields around Uela in recognized ways including piles of stones, a smaX section of uncultivated bush, or special plants. Two plants are commonly used, one is called looba or kooba which bears large red flowers and thc other is nave a non-flowering shrub (M26A 10:140; M3A 10:10; U5A 10:19; MI4 10:53; S19A 10:68; M20 10:75; U194A 10:91; WllOA 10:96; W76A 10:102;). This is the system of land ownership described for groups in the Mandara Mountains as a whole (Pontie l984:210,221-222). Although a land owner can sell his rights and improvements to his fields such an action can have dire consequences for his children's future. Boutrais (1973:216) states that prior to independence, Mura immigrants to the plains were primarily the disinherited who* fathers had sold their land. However, Mouchet (1947:134) suggests that the Mura on Mora Massif only "sold" fields when in need of money and with the provision that the land could be repurchased. This suggests that land was rented out and not actually sold. In 1986 some Dela household hcads claimed to have bought fields. Such transactions are between members of the village since occupancy in or near Dela is a requirement for ongoing ownership of land. In other words, a farmer so inclined can dispose of his land, but only within certain recognized guidelines; otherwise his land reverts back to the village. The chief and blamas redistribute abandoned fields among villagers. They do so not because they own the land but because it is their right as descendants of the founders of the village. Continuity on the land and offerings to the spirits give thc founding patrilineage seniority and ritual authority over other patrilineages. The chief's land holdings are the largest in the village (W89A/M26A 10:121-123). In the past, villagers were required to pay the chief a tribute of a day's labour or a portion of their harvest (W89A 10:123;W15 10:58). These payments are now given voluntarily as signs of respect (W89A 10:723,17:147; WE 10:139; W139 70 10:148). The chief hires field labourers in the same manner as other Wandala. In addition, individuals work the chief's fields in lieu of paying a fine for a judgment (W89A 10:123). The Mura are concentrated in the quarters of Wa-dela and Sela-Podokwo (see Table 2). The current quarters werc created when the families living on Mbata and Wa-Dela were forced down to the foot of the mountain following Independence. They now include other rnontagnard groups who have arrived since the 1960s. The Mura households investigated in this study are comprised of four Logone, three Kovra and two other Mura families. These represent over 56% of the total Mura households in &la. In order to compare households of different status, the bkmas of b t h quzrters werc included. Social organization. Ranking in Mura mciety is based upon the closeness of one's genealogical relationship to the ancestors, one's age and one's gender. Patriiineages within the community are ranked on seniority. This is defined by the length of time each has been rcpresenttd in the community as well as alliances with earth spirits. Within lineages, male 60 household heads are ranked by age, and the spiritual authority of each lineage is passed from father to oldest son (M2A 220; M6A 2140; M20 3:9;M26A 11:154). In practice, household heads act as independent equals. Lineage heads have ritual authority as heads of the ancestor cult. Women do not hold named positions of political authority within the community. Like men, they are ranked within the family by birth order, and within their husband's family by the birth order of their husband as well as their own seniority in marriage. There arc special namcs for the first and second wife only. The first wife is called mugse embe, the second rnugse te aa, all other wives are referred to as mugse kee lee (M26A 11:11). The first wife's status is based upon her role of preparing the beer and food her husband offers to his ancestors and the family during ritual occasions (M26A 11:154). She has no apparent institutionalized authority over her co-wives. There are few formal initiations in Mura society. Children are named by their father. Girls are named four days and boys five days after birth. Some now name their children on thc seventh day following the Moslem custom (M6A 11:35; M2A 11:41). Neither circumcision nor clitoridectomy are practised. Girls between eight and twelve years of age pierce upper lip and ears, but this is an informal practice. When a father feels that his son is ready for marriage at around fourteen years of age, he gives his son a private blessing called nyay hay (M26A 1227). Mura marriages tend to be patrilocal and often polygynous, with serial polygyny as the rule. All male household heads in the study had at least one wife, but few were able to maintain a household with more than one wife at the same time. In the nine Mura households studied, only two househoIds included more than one wife -- one man had three wives and another had two wives. The rest were at least temporarily monogamous. Almost every adult individual in the study is divorced at least once. Unmarried womcn within their reproductive years are looked upon with suspicion. Similarly situated men are impoverished and considered unlucky. In either case such individuals are not common. There is no support for Forkl's (1984:16) conclusion that Wa-Dela and Widive form two endogamous moieties. Table 4 summarizes the premarital patdineage of women in the households studied. The table indicates that the Mura families in Dela select wives from Vane, Dume, L'ria, and Magye. Informants suggested that Mura, Urza and Vame never mamed Podokwo, Muktele, or other groups in the Mandara Mountains except the ones already specified (M2A 1235). The mrriage network in Dela follows that established in the home territories of these groups in the northern Mandara mountains (see Nyssens 1986). One informant stated that marriage alliances between the Mura, Urza and Vame were political in nature as the Urza and Vame are too outnumbered by the Mura to ever successfully fight them (M2A 12:35). Marriage is forbidden within and between lineages of the Mura patriclan or where ancestors formed a bond of friendship which made them like brothers'. In certain circumstances, the bonds of blood or friendship can be broken, and the prohibitions against intermarriage are ~ removed. This is the case for the Mura and Gagadama documented by M o u c F . ~(1947:127)(see also footnote 5). The same situation may have occurred between the Kovra and the Logone (M2A/M26A 1225). If the Logone are in fact partly descended from the Magye Mura lineage as suggested in chapter three, then this would explain the marriage of a Kovra man and a Magye Mura woman in the study group (see Table 4). Informants (M9A 11:5; M26A 115') describe marriages as being arranged either by the father of the boy or girl, or by the couple themselves. An engagement is initiated when the boy approaches the girl's father. If accepted, he gives his future father-in-law tobacco and a cow femur or humerus' called muguimy. The girl's mother receives firewood (M26 11:7,20; M2B 11:21; M2a 21 2 2 ) . Fai the following two years, the h y brings firewood ad a cow femur or humerus to his prospective in-laws at each festival. He is also obliged to work during the engagement in his future father-in-law's fields with his fiancee (M26A 11:7, M2A 10:6, personal observation). Usually 'The bones which I was shown did not have meat on them nor were they fresh. Informants stated that the bones are smashed to make a white sauce which is eaten during festivals. the boy's father pays the brideprice for his son's first wife, but this does not always happen. Brideprice is expensive especially for a first marriage, one man stating that he paid 60 Maria Theresa thalers for his first wife's brideprice (M24A 11:ll). If a man fails to pay the bridepticc for his wife, he must send his firstborn daughter to be raised by his father-in-law so that the latter can receive her brideprice in compensation (M26 11:20, M2A 1123). The amount of the brideprice is correlated with the bride's status in her husband's house and viilage. Families make considerable efforts to reconcile young couples and often the blama is asked to pass judgment on marital disputes. In the case of divorce of a union which produced no viable children, brideprice must be returned. However, the groom often gets back only half of thc original sum as the girl is no longer a virgin (M26A 11:11). Since divorce is endemic, young men delay the full payment of the brideprice for as long as possible far fear of losing their money (M26 1120). It can be argued that the payment of brideprice is not entirely compensation to the girl's family for the loss of her labour or for the cost of raising her. Brideprice is for her fertility and thc children she will give to her husband's patrilineage. Although a woman's labour is valued and she is expected to work in her husband's sorghum fields and compound, a woman still has access to her own labour after her marriage. For example, a woman can grow her own crops, make craft items, work as a labourer in other people's fields, and retain the right to keep her earnings for herself. However, a woman does not have the right to keep her children with her. Childrcn maintain emotional and financial ties and responsibilities with their mother throughout their lives, but are raised by their father or by his family if their parents divorce. Although levirate was traditionally practised by the Mura and other montagnard groups (seePontie 19&4:222),this is no longer the custom in Dela. According to Mouchet (1547:132), wives were part of the dead man's brotheis inheritance. It would appear that this was not a strict practice however, for Mouchet also states that if the woman married someone else, the brideprice was paid to the dead husband's estate (Mouchet 1947:132). The marriage of daughters and the receipt of brideprice from the groom's family is used to pay brideprice for wives for the bride's brothers. This lateral circulation of wealth and women enmeshes different lineages into economic and social obligations and extends the ties of kinship. Howcver, the foundation of the agreement rests upon the relinquishment of women's virginity and fertility by the bride's patrilineage to the groom's patrilineage upon payment of the brideprice. Mura girls do not receive dowry, but instead receive small gifts from their mothers (M2B 11:21). A mother gives her daughter a calabash and a crocheted bag called a taba, which is manufactured from the fibres made from the bark of the baobab. The taba is used to hide gifts the wife purchases for her husband from his other wives and her in-laws (M2B 11:21). A mother may also give her daughter an enamelware pot. The latter is probably a custom borrowed from the Wandala, as enamelware is the basis of Wandala dowries. Pottery is provided by the girl's mother and mother-in-law for the first few months after the marriage. Following the marriage, a son-in-law is responsible for sending meat and beer with his wife to his father-in-law at festivals. In addition, a husband is obliged to provide a goat for the funerals of his wife's parents even if they are divorced (M26A 11:77,89). In-law avoidance is practised by the Mura. For example, a bride cannot look directly at her father-in-law until after the birth of the first child, so she hides or covers her face in his presence (M2A 11:8). A common expectation of men and women in marriage is children. Children are cherished for both social and economic reasons. Children are a valuable source of labour in the field and home by five to seven years of age. Sons are a particularly important source of economic and emotional security for both parents in their old age. For instance, when a man can no longer work his fields his youngest son takes over his compound and looks after his father's needs. When a woman can no longer carry water and cook for her husband, one of her sons takes her in and looks after her (M14A 2:82) In order to maintain domestic peace, men try to heat their wives identically. Howwer, they confide thdt this is difficult in practice. Perceived or actual unfairness can result in considerable tension among co-wives. This tension can erupt into violence that typically ends in one wife's departure (M2A 11:168). When a wife leaves behind childrcn, they are somctirncs mistreated by the remaining wife (M2A 10:5; M26 11:169). Divorce is not a formal event, but is realized through a wife leaving her husband's compound and returning to her kinsmen. Informants claimed that both men and wonicn can initiate divorce, although Forkl (1984:17) claims that only women can divorce in Wa-Dcla. Fork1 (1984:17) states that divorce among the Mura of Wa-Dela is as high as that in the Wandala and is due mainly to infertility. While infertility may be a factor, social rather than biological reasons were cited by those interviewed. In fact all women in Mura and Urza households studied had living children and the six cases of estranged wives had each left children in their ex-husband's home. In 1986, informants stated that a husband can goad his wife into leaving him by insulting her. Two means of doing so were related by informants. The husband can hide all of her pots and p t in their place a very large pot called a salay err va bwa. When the woman goes to collcct water, she will not be able to carry the full pot home. She will be ridiculed either by her husband for being lazy or by other villagers as everyone knows the significance of this pot (M26A 538). A man can also instigate divorce by inverting a calabash over his wife's head. Sincc a woman is buried with a calabash over her head, the husband's gesture is taken as his wish to see her dead (M26A 11:93). However, a husband cannot turn out a wife who refuses to do untraditional work such as picking cotton, although he can divorce and confiscate her material property, shou:d she become too rich. This property consists of sheep and goats kept inside the family compound Commonly cited reasons for women leaving their husband's included the husband's lack of appreciation for her work, poverty, old age, problems with co-wives or other mistreatment including fear of witchcraft (M26A/M26B 15:44,10:4). Women who are not angry enough to leave their husband's home are said to express their discontent by refusing to cook (M26 11:9). According to Mouchet f1947:135) adultery is not necessarily a cause for divorce. Mouchet (1947:135) describes the following as settlement for adultery. At the time that Mouchet wrote a wife's lover's compound was plundered and the lover paid a fine to the woman's h-~sband consisting of a rooster and a goat. The husband first drags the live rooster over the floor of his room and then the billy goat over his bed in order to prevent his own death. If the woman was not pregnant she remained with her husband. If she was pregnant by her iover, her husband could send her back to her father and the brideprice was returned. The woman's father either kept the child himself or gave the child to its father for a sum of money (more for a girl than a boy?. According to Mouchet a girl was exiled f ~ premarital r pregnancy in the past (Mouchet 1947). He does not state where the girl would go. Economic organization. The Mura economy is based upon the cultivation of sorghum, vegetables and legumes. The Mura classify sorghum into three main types: yellow, white and red. All are included in the taxon Sorghum bicolor of the caudatum race by Hallaire (1984:411-412). There arc two varieties of yellow sorghum (chargay, nga dowa); four varieties of white sorghum (markway, walagana, madukway, dakwallee), and two varieties of red sorghum (damogyay, rnahalkangny). Yellow sorghum is preferred for its flavour and for its capacity to swell more with water, thus providing greater food volume to equivalent amounts of other grain. Yellow varieties also last longer in the granary than other sorghums, though not longer than for millet, and produces more alcohol in beer fermentation. While yellow sorghum is not grown on the plains, it is essential in certain ancestor sacrifices and must be purchased in the market (M26 10:147-148). White sorghum is grown only on the plains. It was the predominant sorghum cultivated in f98b, although Fork1 (1984:17) says that red sorghum was the predominant crop in the year of his study in 1984. The advantage of the plains variety of red sorghum (pa in Wandala, possibly Forkl's g w a z 1984:17) and of white sorghum (mad~&aay)introduced by the Kanuri is that it riycns in a shorter growing period thari varieties on the mountains and is thus more suitable to the growing season on the plains (Hallaire 1965124). Families also g ~ o wpearl or bulrush millet (Pennisefum typhoides, prmiousty P. americanum). The basic economic unit in Mura society is the individual household comprised of a man, his wife or wives and their children. All work as a unit to plant the sorghum fields. Men own both sorghum and cotton crops and they have the right to expect their wives and children to assist them in their mltivation. When a larger labour force is necessary, a cooperative force of neighbours, family, and friends is invited by a household head to work in his fields. This group is paid in beer prepared by the host's wife (M2A 10:6; M3A 10:10; M4A 10:14; M6A 10:24; M14A 10:53; M9A 10:64; M26 10:143). Cooperative labour is invited only for weeding and harvesting sorghum fields and when one is building a new compound (M26A 10:142). Only two Mura families in Dela claimed to occasionally hire field labourers and all families invited their neighbours for assistance from time to time. During harvest men and women work as teams in the field, threshing and collecting/winnowing respectively. Neighbours schedulc these activities to avoid too many invitations on the same day. This maximizes the labour force and the social festivities associated with harvest time. Pontie (1984:213) suggests that this form of cooperative labour is virtually 'institutionalized' in every non-Moslem society in northern Cameroon. Almost all househoIds grow cotton for cash. Cotton production is a family effort, and never involves invited cooperative labour parties. Cotton farming is labour intensive and requires twice the amount of energy investment as sorghum. After harvest, a man redistributes grain to household membcrs (M26A 11:17'1). Each wife receives enough grain to make a batch of beer. Each son receives a portion of grain relative in size to his place in the birth order, with the most going to the oldest. Resident daughters are treated in the same manner. The oldest male and female children receive enough sorghum to make a batch of beer. The others either eat their share or pool their grain to make beer to drink or to sell in the market. Women *OW peanuts, earth peas (Voarrdzeia subterranpa), sesame (Sesamum indicum), beans, and a variety of vegetables including okra (Hibiscus esculentus) and gourds (Lagenaria siceraria). These crops are planted and harvested after the sorghum. Women do not have legitimate access to other people's labour in order to cultivate their own crops. Consequently they work their plois alone or with thc help of their children. Vegetables and gourds for containers are g o w n in gardens adjacent to the family compound while beans are often interspersed with the sorghum crop. Sesame and peanuts are cultivated in small separate plots. Most families have a few goats, sheep or chickens. These animals are killed on special occasions such as religious festivals, births, marriages, and funerals. Both men and women can own livestock and it is considered as personal property. Cattle are considered a major investment and are entrusted to Shuwa herders (M2A 10:6). The Mura pay the Shuwa in field work or in cash from cattle sales (M2A 10:6). The family livestock are herded by the children or households within the quarter may cooperate and share the task. Although hunting in the denuded plains is restricted, most male household heads in the stody claimed to hunt during the rainy season (M4A 10:15;M6A 10:24; personal observation). Rats and mice art. trapped in the fields using funnel-shaped baskets, and other animals including lizards, toads, birds, snakes, monkeys, and antelope are stalked. Locusts are considered a delicacy and are collixted by adults and children (personal observation!. Women also collect edible wild fruits and Leaves. Mura men and women are hired by the Wandala and the Shuwa. Men prepare the fields for dry season sorghum, draw water from the well for livestock, or cultivate fields (M3A 10:9). Women water and plant the sorghum seedlings and pick cotton (personal observation). This form of sorghum is called mtlshari and is a Sorghum bicolor of the durrn race. Women's wages are half that of men (M26A 10:146). Three Mura families in Wa-Dela had plough and draught teams and the men hired themselves and their teams to plough Wandala iields in Mav and Junc (M6A 1025; M20 10:75). There are few specialists among the Mura. Some men make baskets (M2A) or sckko mats for sale in the market (M6A); others cut firewood and manufacture roof frames on commission, Two men in the study group are traditional healers called wadake or gowaha (Xow) (M14A, M9A). Gows prepare medicines and are paid to perform exorcisms from acts of witchcraft. Costs for these services are borne by the afflicted individual's family (M26 9:37). Women who make pots sell them at the Mora and Banki markets during the dry season. In Dela, many women can makc sen-iceable pots, but few make them well. One of the few respected Dela potters frcqucntiy works on commission (M6E 13:73,89). In Dela, a beer market is held on Friday when women prepare and sell beer from thcir husband's compounds. Not every woman makes beer each week, but usually two or three will do so at a time. The profits from beer sales belong to the woman (M6a 10:27). A s already noted, the grain for one batch of beer is given to each wife by her husband each year, after which shc must either buy the grain from him or from someone else. Boutrais (1973:) claims that women, making two large pots of beer per week in 1969, could make more than thcir husbands from a cotton crop. However, none of the women in the households studied ever produced bccr on this scale. Although women's earnings are considered their own, men will try 1.0 prevent thcir wivcs from acquiring wealth as it is generally understood that a rich wife was more apt to run away. Men attempt to thwart their wives from accumulating wealth by denying them the money needed to grind sorghum at the village mill. This effectively limits a woman's time for sclf-profiting pursuits as, depending on the size of the family, grain grinding takes onc to two hours ptlr day (M20B 598). In fact few .Mura women were ever observed a t the mill. Women's wealth can cause domestic tension, particularly if they d o not share profits with the family unit in times of need or if co-wife jealousy results in wives refusing to cooperate and help their husbands in the fields (M6A 10:27). Consequently, women invest their profits in small stock which arc often kept unbeknownst to their husband in their father's or brother's compound (It126A1, It was impossible to learn the extent of women's livestock holdings but, as most families had iess than a dozen animals, one may presume they have only a few animals. However, sales can be lucrative. For example, families requiring an animal for funeral obligations will pay premium prices. One man was said to have paid a woman approximately three times the market value for a goat for his father-in-law's funeral (M4A 11:76). Mcn and women have gender specific tasks within the compound. Men must construct and maintain the family compound buildings and granaries following the rainy season. They are also responsible for defending the home from thieves and supernatural attack. Women are responsible for acquisition of water, house cleaning, child care, cutting firewood for cooking, and ail cooking. The latter includes the preparation of sorghum flour to make a stiff porridge called data, the preparation of vegetable sauces to go with the dafa and the rendering of salt substitute frcm thc ash of either cereal stalks or burnt goat dung. Forkl (1984:16;1988:70) states that Mura inheritance in Wa-Dela is bilineal. Presumably children inherit through both parents but Forkl does not elaborate on this point. Informants iM9A, M26A, M20A) in this study indicated that major resources are transferred to specific sons in the patriiineage, The oldest son, called the makaji, and the youngest son, called gaji, inherit most of their fa ther's property. A s sons marry, they move out of their father's compound (M9A 1l:l67; MZbA 11:172). The oldest son settler; next to his father while the youngest son stays with his father as long as domestic relations allow. This clustering of patrilineage related compounds was observed in Dela in 1986. Other sons may remain near their father's compound and assist him by giving him grain and livestock, but only the oldest and the youngest son are obliged to look after their father. The oldest son of the patrilineage is heir to his father's ritual knowledge and ministers to the ancestor pots for the family. The youngest son inherits his father's compound on the basis that he has helped to maintain the structures longer than his other brothers. According to a youngest son iM26A 11:167;172), the father's land is divided between thc youngest and oldest sons. The land is divided equally between the two unless one of the brothers is unmarried. In this case, the unmarried brother gets the most productive field in order to produce enough wealth to pay brideprice. If the youngest son Ieavcs, the oldest brother will inherit the compound. The father's mobile wealth including clothes and livestock arc dividcd between the oldest and youngest son although other siblings, male and fcmalc, may recc'YVC a small portion of this property. Sons can be disinherited if they do not pay the proper rcspcct to their father. Although the youngest son receives the most material wealth through inheritance, i t is not always perceived this way by the Mura. One youngest son, for examplc, (M26A 11:172) stated that to be other than the oldest son is to be nothing since status comes with the maintenance of the family ancestor practices. Men without family Iand, or without enough land, can still rent or purchase the right to use someone else's fields. A man can also ask and receive permission to live on another man's land for free; rent is only paid if the land is cultivated on a large scale (M26A 10:137). Whcre rcnt is charged, it is paid either as an agreed percentage of the harvest or in cash. The amount often depends on the relationship between tenant and owner (Boutrais 1984:366). Wornen d o not ow^? land, but they camot be refused the right to grow crops in either their husband's fields or in an uncultivated section of a neighbour's field, Traditionally wc,rncn in many of the groups in the northern Mandara Mountains were allotted their own land by their husband upon marriage (Boutrais 1973:119; Pontic 1984:221 quoting Wallaire 1971). Boutrais {1973:119)claims that men inherited these fields from their mothers which they redistribiltc to their wives. He (Boutrais 1973:204) suggests that lack of land for wives on the mountains restricted the numbcr of wives among the montagnards so that only elders were able to have two wives. Boutrais (1973:115) also states that women had the right to dispose of their fields themxlves. if, for example, a woman had no sons her land could be inherited by another man (Boutrais 1973:119), but presumably one living on the massif as women only had the right of use or usufruct (Boutrais 1573:159;Pontie 1984:227). The point is that women's land is always returned to a man ar.3 is never transferred directly from one woman to another. Bouh-ais (1573:247) has proposed that with the exception of a few old women, the montagnard tradition of women receiving land was lost in the move to the plains (Boutrais 1973:159). This is in part a result of the lack of good agricultural land available to newcomers and is part due to men's reluctance to reduce their land holdings with the increasing value of commercial crops. In 1986 only one older woman was said to have her own field in Dela, thus supporting Boutrais' interpretation (M2B 10:6). Thc suggestion that women formerly had greater access to land is tempered by comments to the effect that such land was not optimal for sorghum or was inconveniently located. Boutrais states that a man either gives his wives land which he has inherited from his mother and is iocated at higher elevations or he clears new fields on the plains. Land above 900 meters is not suitable for sorghum and can only be used for growing beans (Boutrais 1973:207). Boutrais (19?3:20?) also states that peanuts traditionally grown by women are grown on land found at the edge of a group's territory or in the fields farthest from the home. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana), a woman's crop amongst the Mafa, is appropriate for poor soils (Hallaire 1984:413). Furthermore, in the recent past, working fields on the piedmont and plains put one at risk of attack by slavers and thieves. This situation particularly affected Mpra peanut production. Hallaire (196527) points out that pcanut production was weak on Mora massif, most likely because the Mura did not use the piedmont where peanut crops are grown until recently, due to the potential danger prescntcd by the neighbouring Wandala. This may have been particularly true at the end of thc ninctwnth century prior to the attack by Rabeh. During this period the Mura and Wandala expricnccd a lengthy period of hostility (see chapter 3). It would thus appear that the land given by men to their wives was land which men could not or preferred not to use for sorghum. Lately howcvcr, crops traditionally grown by women on the mountains are now being grown on a commercial scale by men. These crops include peanuts by many groups, bcans by the Mineo; and okra by thc Podokwo (Hallaire 1965:30). With the traditional system of land inheritance it is apparent that women's land could easily be appropriated by men if crops became economically significant. Land was typically relinqrished to a male heir before it was redistributed to a new gcneration of wives, and it is here that such an appropriation could be effected. Ritual Organizafion. Fork1 (1984:18;1988:74-75) states that the Mura of Wa-Dcla no longer practice their traditional ancestor cult. Fieldwork in Dela in 1986 challenges this conclusion. Aftcr decades of government policy bent on eradicating montagnard beliefs, it is not surprising to find them reluctant to discuss their practices particularly with researchers who are white, foreign, and perceived as Christian moralists. Reluctance also stems from the fact that ancestor pots, once touched by their keeper, must be fed meat (M6A 2:142) a cost a man may not wish to incur for a stranger. Although initial inquiries were met with silence or denial, after several months of working with the same families, it became possible to gain some insight into religious practice. Based on these insights it is conceded that while montagnard traditional religious structures on the plains are endangered, they continue to persist for they lie at the heart of Mura social structure. In the study sample, five of nine households contain lineage heads. Each is the oldest male member of the lineage and the closest genealogically to the ancestors. Four of these men keep ancestor pots called gerda lay, meaning sacred beer jar (M20A 323; M2A 220; M6A 2: 1411; Mall. The fifth man claimed to no longer gwe sacrifices to the ancestors, but instead to other spirits (M9A 2:169). The gerda lay represent two generations: the lineage head's parents and paternal grandparents. One informant insisted that the pots actively used by the current guardian had to have been seen by that individual during his lifetime (M26A). Pots representing older generations do not receive sacrifices and are left behind when the compound is abandoned. For example if a man has pots of his father, mother, father's father, and father's mother, then when he dies, his son will make a pot for him, keeps the pots for his grandparents discards those of the great-grandparents. The son will also make a pot for his mother when she dies. One man claimed that younger sons of different mothers than the oldest son, will make pots for their own deceased mothers and house them under their own gabaka (M26A 11:154). This was not observed in any of the households. However, it is consistent with the nurturing and protective role generally attributed to mothefs for their children within Mura households. Ritual pots are small, usually no more than 20 cm in height, and approximately two to five cm across the mouth (see Figure 8). More exact measurements could not be taken as the pots may only bc touched by the lineage head. If someone other than the lineage head touches the pot, it is believed that they will become ill or suffer some other misfortune (M20A; M2A 2:20). Except for thc female cncestor pots of the Kovra (Figure B), the pots are without decoration. Lineage members gather in the lineage head's compound to sacrifice to the ancestors at each festival in the annual ritual cycle. Sacrifices are made to the ancestors in recognition that the sorghum fields come from the ancestors and that the ancestor's protection is necessary to ensure the succcss of both the crop and the lineage. Table 5 presents the ritual cycle of the Mura as described by Moushet (19471, Forkl {1988), by informants in Dela in 1986, and personal obsen-ation. The 1986 study agrees with Mouchet i1947:133-134) on the data and purpose of agricultural festivals with the exception of Edza sadake. This festival was not mentioned by DeIa informants in 1986 and is not reported by Forkl (1988:73). However, Forkl 11988:73) states Mokwaza Mura occurs in November/December while the 1986 data agrees with a February date for t h s festival as reported bv Mouchet (1947:133-13.1). The following is a description of the ritual cycle in Dela in 1986. The annual ritual cyctc includes three agricultural festivals, the exact dates of which are determined by the chief of Mura Massif. Urake, meaning dry season, occurs at the maturity of the sorghum harvest and marks thc beginning of the Mura new year. Each family sacrifices a goat for this ceremony (M26A P1:150). Mokwadzu Mz~raoccurs in February when the sorghum is put into the granaries. This festival also involves the sacrifice of a goat and it is at this time that the compound is purified of disease by throwing burning sorghum stalks out of the compound (M26A 11:150). The third festival, Sadnkc, occurs in May just before the sorghum is planted. The term 'sadake' is an Arab word and has been borrowed and transformed in meaning by the Wandala and the Mura. This festival is often referred to as the chicken festival as each family sacrifices a chicken as part of the ritual. Roughly translated, sadake to the Mura means a gift or offering. Mouchet (1947:133-134) states that in thc past this festival was marked by a cooperative hunt of village men and boys. Two other festivals honour the ancestors of the patrilineage and the patriclan: the annual festival of Bakashidpe and the Hwalhwalday festival held every three years. The festival for the dead called Bakashidgwe, meaning to "chase away the shadows", takes place every February. I t is possible that this festival is - x t of Mokmdza Mura. During this festival the spirits of the Mura who have died since the last Bakashidgwe are chased away (M26A 11:79; M20 11:8;7). Male spirits are exorcised on a Monday and female spirits on the following day. New gerda lay arc consecrated during Bakashidgwe (M26A 11:1541. If a parent died during the year, the oldcst son has a pot made for them by a prepilbescent girl or older woman preferably from his lineage (M20A 323; M2A 220; M ~ 2:140). A In the time between their death and Bakashidgwe, the deceased's 'spirit' is fcd with beer m d with daja made with yellow sorghum. Offerings are given to the deceased's personal gerda (beer jar). During Bakashidgwe neighbours and family are invited to the son's compound and the son pays other families to prepare beer. A goat is sacrificed and &er and food are given to 75 the gerda lay fM26A 11:154). Sons who are not lineage heads and who have a different mother than their oldest brother, may have a pot made for their own mother which they keep in their cornpc~undsbeneath their first granary (M26A 11:154). A father also gives medicine called mataprm to his sons during either Bakashidpe or Mokwadze Mura (M26A ll:l54). The Hwalhu~aldayor hokwace festival was thought to be unique to the Mura (Mouchet 1947:330). Recently however, Nyssens (1986:2) has suggested that this festival is shared by their mountain neighbours the Vame. This ritual takes place approximately every three years on Mura Massif with the most recent occurring in January 1990 (S. Matsame 1990, personal communication). This recent date conflicts with information presented by Mouchet who states that the festival occurs in the rainy season (Mouchet 1947:130). A description of the rites is provided by Mouchet (1947130-131). According to Mouchet the tern hokiuace means festival. The ceremony involves only patrilineages descended from Katsaka with the exception of the Gagadama. The Gagadama are excluded from the ceremony as blood ties betwec:~them and the other Mura patrilineages are considered broken. The rites take place near the village of Jue at a large rock called nokwa hlay near which is buried hlay or the sacred rock of the ancestors. This rock is said to have been brought by Katsaka from Waza. During the ceremony the hlay is disinterred, and a sacrifice of a chicken and a bull are performed. The bull is bred and raised either on Mora or Podokwo Massif and the cost of the animal for sacrifice is shared by the community. The meat of the bull is cooked by men and shared by all male members of the patriclan. Following the ceremony the hlay is reburied. There is no dancing involved with this festivai. This particuiar ceremony is celebrated by male agnatic kin only -- ail women are excluded from the actual ritual because exogamy makes wives and daughters strangers (Mouchet 1947:131). Although daughters are members of agnatic kin, they, like all women, are perceived as transient in rttcrcnsc to the patrilineage and the ancestors. Marriage ultimately weakens women's ties to the patrilineage, and they fall into a category between kin and stranger. Annual festivals can be times of tension between men and women. Since oifcrings to the ancestors are directed toward the well-being of members and resources of the patrilineagc, wives return to their father's home (M26A 11:171). Men claimed that women often took this opportunity to leave their husbands. Other events which are potentially stressful take place during B ~ k a s h i d p e . At this time u70men sing songs that first praise then publicly mock their husbands (M26A 11:149; M20A 11:151). Women also attack other in song. In some cases, a mother/sister may stand outside their son's/brother's compound and sing against his wifc whom they accuse of using sorcery or witchcraft against him (M20A 11:87). Witchcraft is bclicvcd to run rampant during the festival. At the end of Bakashidgwe the head of the senior patrilintnge in the village leads a collective ceremony at a large stone outcrop in Wa-Dela, a location where womcn thresh beans. In this ceremony everyone in the community drinks beer from a black calabash and swears that they will not use witchcraft or sorcery against the others (M20A 11:87). Aside from Bakasfiidpe, ancestor pots can also be manipulated by their owner when he requires their intervention for the well-being of his family or for personal rcasans. In thls regdrd, he may sacrifice meat to the pots when there has been an accident or illncss in the family or he can use the pots against his wife if she gossips about him or runs away (M6A 2:140). In this way he may cause her to become ill, insane, or dead. The pots can also be used to wreak vengeance on a neighbour (M6A 2:140). However, the main function of the pots is to protect the family's health and welfare and to ensure a good sorghum crop (M6A 2:40; M20A 3:8). A pot similar to the ancestor pots called eladuray, is used for divination or for sorccry This type of pot is never kept under the same granary as the ancestor pots. The elnduray is offcred a special meat sauce to bring good luck to a new venture such as the planting of crops or when the children start school (M6A 2342). A third pot called sadake is givm meat sauce i f there is a n accident in the family (M6A 2:1421. Informants claimed that Moslems do the same thing, as in the event of an accident they kill a goat and give the meat away tM6A 2:142). The ehduray and sadake are also made either by female potters who are not of reproductive age such as old women or prepubescent girls (M6A 2:142). Old women (MI1 2:86) will keep pots to which they will sacrifice meat for the health of their young grandchildren. These pots are inverted serving bowls kept under the granary, On the north side of Wa-Dela at the edge of the ruins of the abandoned mountain conwnunity, there is a stone called hlay to which men give sacrifices for rain. The hlay is in a sense the embodiment of ail of the ancestral spirits of the Wa-Dela Mura. The ceremony is conducted in association with an offering by the Wandala community. The cost of the sacrifice on Wa-Dela is said to be shared by the entire community (M26A 13:121). A similar situation occurs on Mora Massif and Grea. Mouchet (1947:134) describes a communal altar which is used for rain rites by the klura of Mora massif in cooperation with the Wandala tlilcse who provides an animal for sacrifice (Forkl 1984; Mohammadou 1982). The flikse also sends an animal for sacrifice to the 'Master of the Rains' at Grea. The montagnards on Grea sacrifice at the same time as 'Islamic' people at the foot of the Grea inselberg, the two events reinforcing each other (Mohammadou 1982:93-93). During the course of rain ceremonies, a separate offering for men and for women is placed on top of the hlny by the senior patrilineage head (M26A 9:47). The same process is followed when ministering the gerda lay (M26A 9:473. A separate offering is given by the lineage head to the pots on behalf of men and of women. The remnants of an August sacrifice were still caked on the May wher, obwrved in N o \ w r h r 1956. The women d o not participate in tkie sacrifice to t??e h l q . Instcad, the womwn and children dance and sing for rain around the remains of a sacred tree nearby. The Mura recognize a creator god called Dedamya or "our father" (Forkl 1984:18;1988:72), who it is claimed, cares little for them. However the Mura have other beliefs which profoundly T.+- 78 influence their iives, particularly a belief in supernatural forces. Most montagnard groups in thc Mandara Mountains believe that their ancestors made an alliance with thc spirits of the carth and thus established a tight link between themselves, their descendants, and the soil that fwds thtm (Boutrais 1973:120-121; Pontie 1984:210). This sense of communion ~ l t the h spirits of the earth i s reaffirmed when a man buries medicine bundles in the floor and threshold of his compound to ensure the protection of his family, himself, and his property (Bo~trais1973120-121; Lyons 1988). Buried objects are also perceived to counteract the effect of sorcery brought into the houw by outsiders including a man's wives. As someone steps over a buried object, thcy come under its power. If they are intending ill-will, their power is in a senso neutralized or even o\c.rpowcrcd bj9 the buried object. Lembezat (1948) describes other rituals where montagnards step over objects which have the effect of offsetting malignant supernatural forces. Among the Mafa, disease spirits are trapped in pots buried in paths and individuals who step over thcsc pots run the risk of becoming infected (David 1991, personal communication), The belief in sorcery affects daily action and is the explanation offered (or sickness, accide~t,misfortune, and death (M2A 11:107; M20A 11:106; M3A 10:8; M26 11:99L The Mura believe that every person is capable of sorcery for everyone has a good and a bad spirit. Thc former is called sheedugway, and the latter is called mctsarnay, which was translated as 'someonr's anger' (M26A 11:74). When one person wishes to harm another though supernatural means it is also termed mafsamay (M26A 11:149; U5A 11:103) and results in a disease in a victim called wabruy mabray fM26A 11:149). Supernatural attack occurs through medicines or objects with which a .;,,,,, unhoivingly comes into contact. A sorcerer*sspirit may also attack an individual during the night when one is sleeping @A26B 932-38). In order to ward off attack, children and adults wear protective amulets, wash with special medicines, and place special magical objects in their houses, compounds, or other places of individual significance fM4A 251; personal observation). For example, womcn usc beans to ward off sorcery when firing pots CM6F 13:91; M6D 13:97), and people eat beans during Bakushidpe to protect themselves from witches (M26A ll:149f. Similarly, the location of the communal oath at the end of Bakashidgwe to evade acts of sorcery is not coincidentally in the location where women thresh beans. Since sorcerers often try to control a victim by collecting materials produced by the victim's body, considerable precaution is taken in the disposal of afterbirth, hair, nail pairings, excrement, and saliva associated with bone fragments from meals (M2A 2:22;M26A/B 3:44). Sexual relations between a man and 5is wife always take place in his hut where he enjoys the ritual protection of medicines buried in the floor. Although witches can be men or women most expressions of witchcraft are attributed by informants to women. The Mura believe witchcraft is possible from anyone within their family, thelr c~mmunity,and from other groups. This contrasts with Forkl's (19$4:19-20;1988:2) statement that the Mura believe witchcraft is only brought upon them by the Wandala. Twins are seen to be both dangerous and auspicious. Their spirits are especially dangerous to their parents and to each other CW99 13:115; M26A 5103). There are a number of amulets, bracelets and pots associated with twins. Twin pots are given sacrifices associated with crop sowing and harvesting each year (M3A 226; W99 13:115). I t is believed that theft and dishonesty are punished with reproductive problems. For instance, stealing another man's land by shifting the field markers is thought to cau-e the thief to sterile and to cause women to have trouble in childbirth (M26A 10:10). The Mura community is losing young men and women to Christianity and Islam. lslarnization is considered more drastic as embracing Islam is to become Wandala. Considered scandalous within the family, such an occurrence results in the son or daughter being shunned by their kin and treated as if they had died (M26A 11:172 on loss of nephew). It is disastrous if the oldest son (the nt!zkaji) converts, for he has been trained by his father since childhood to manipulate the p r d n lnq and to prepare medicinss for his agnatic kin. If he leaves, it endangers the well-being of the entire patrilineage. The conversion of montagnards to Islam is not only a religious conversion but an ethnic conversion to Wandala. It occurs principally to advance onc's economic and social status. Chw Mura informant stated that to become Kanuri is not an improvement as the Kanuri do as r-i~tlcl~ physical labour as the montagnards and to become Shuwa is only to become a herder (U133 11:15). Clearly to become Wandala is viewed as a means to a bettcr standard of living. Yct converts are not always fully accepted by the Wandala. If they take Wandala wives thc w v n ~ c n are often scorned by the Wanda12 until they leave their husband. The Urza There are 8 Urza households in the Wa-Vela quarter and 13 in Widive. Most of the Widive households belong to the same patrilineage. Two households from Wa-Vela and two from Widive participated in the study. They represent 14 percent of the total Urza cttmrnunity. Thcsc households were selected in order to compare the Urza compounds in both quarters. Onc household head in Wa-Dela has lived in the community since the early twentieth century, having f f moved to the base of the mountain following independence (U5A 2:57). His compotlnd is next ttr I his elderly mother's house and the compounds of his male kin. The other Urza houwhold in WaDela immigrated in 1971 from Meme, below the home massif of the Urza. The history of the Widive community has been described in Chapter three. Social organkafion. Urza social structure and practices are identical to the above description of Mura social organization, engagement (inchding the g i f t of a bond, marriage, birth and divorce (U193 !i:15,103; U5A 11:103; U13A 11:103). A s well, there arc only mjnor diffcrencc-s in the settlement of adultem discussed by Mouchet (1947:!203. Ecmomic organl'xfion. Urza economic organization is also identical to that of thc ,Mura 81 1U13A 1050; U5A 1O:l9; U194A 89-911. The onlv observablu economic dif fcrcnccs bctwivrl the two groups are in the specialization of male household heads. Urza specialists include a ~ Z iU5A), U as well as men who make wooden ag~icuItura1tools for market including digging sticks (mbcbr) and handles for axes and hoes fU5A 10:17; U13A 10:49). One woman specializes in fdci~lscarificati~m, currently popular with some young women (Lam 15:32-34; U1?4E/F 1528). However, a n elder Mura woman stated that Mura and Kovra g r l s rarely have facial scarification. Should they scar themselves in this manner, the ancestors will not recognize them and cnnscquently they cannot bc first wives (MI1 5:67). These differences in specialization in the Mura and Urza survcycd most likely reflect the small sample size rather than true distinctions in marketable skills. The division and inheritance of property by oldest and youngest sons is also identical to that dcscribcd for the Mura (U5A 10:17,2:57; U194A 330; U193 3:108,10:99). Ritual organization. The Urza share ritual beliefs with the Mura, includmg the fear of sorcery and the special power of twins 1U5A 1l:lO3; M26B 10101; M26A,B 5:103). Some differences exist in the ancestor practices of the Mura and Urza even though they follow a similar ritual cycle (see also Mouchet lW':ll7; Nyssen 1986:12). The ritual cycle of the Urza is prescntcd in Table 6. The ritual calendar includes a celebration when the sorghum ripens in Scptcmbcr or October called Gudi,about the same time as the Mura's Umkse. A ceremony callcd Bur-sirryok or 'chasing away shadows' occurs in March, around the same time as Bnfinshidpe. The third festival, called Talake, occurs in April at the beginning of sowing the sorghum ficlds at the same timc ds Sadake in the Mura community. Mouchet (1947:117) states that the Urza have a single ancestor pot callcd irnbre, kept by thc patrilineage head of each Urza ~lllage.This represents the spirits of all deceased male lineage heads, from founder to the most recently deceased. The imbre is kept under a granary, lying on its side, mouth open to the exterior of the compound IMouchet l947:ll7). Mouchet (1 947:ll71 dcxribcs this pot CIS being carefully curated, and repaired by an old woman if it breaks. Beer and food art put on top of the jars during Gudi. Two Urza families in the study are lineage heads. Both said that they kept ancestor pots but only one was willing to expose the pots for study. The other two household heads went to their 11neagehead's household for ceremonies (C13;193). The family head who revealed his ancestor pots referred to them once as imbre, but otherwise the pots do not correspond with Mouchtt's description as there were four pots rather than one. These four small, plain pots are identical to the Mura's gerda lay, and were made by the lineage head's mother when she was old. The pots represent the same individuals as did the Mura pots in the sample, with the exception that one of the pots is for a deceased younger brother. The other three pots represent the lineage head's paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother and father. Unlike the Mura who can give with certain& the names of only two previous generations, the Urza informant named seven male predect:=3sors. The same individual is also a gow. He keeps other sacred objects beneath a separate granary (U5A 2:60). These objects included a horn filled with stones and are used for prayers for health. This horn was passed down to him from his father as part of a line of gows. Associated objects include long oval-shaped grinding stones and a plain inverted pot which was embedded into the ground. The grinding stones arc used to pray for wealth, but the use of the inverted pot was not revealed. Either Mouchct's description of the Urza ancestor pots is correct and the Urza of Dela have adopted at least some of the Mura's practices or the use of pots was unknown to hlouchet. l'hc latter explanation is more convincing as it seems unlikely that a custom passed from father to oldest son and involxing ministrations to a family's own ancestors would be revealcd to and adopted by an immigrant family. The Wandala compounds exanlined in this study are situated in Wandala Crntrc, Thirteen of approximately 80 households allowed detailed maps to be made of their compounds. Only 10 of these are used in the analysis presented in chapters six, seven and eight. Thcsc. I 0 represent about 10 percent of the Wandala compounds in Dela. Households wcre sclcctcd on thc basis of different occupations and social status of household heads. Social Organizafion. Stratification in Wandala society is based on social position relative to the flike, personal wealth, caste, guild memoership, seniority and gender. According to Forkl (19845-4) Wandala social structure corresponds 1, that of the prccoIonia1 Wandala state whcrc political power is held by individuals within a government and not by clans or lineages. This is only partly true. The royal family maintains the major points of control in Dela. For example, the village chief is a nephew of the tlilise. The position of blama is also clccted from members of a patrilineage. As weil, land and compounds are inherited father to son. This is discussed bclow. Traditionally the Wandala were divided into three social strata which are described by Boutrais ( I 98.2:240-242) and Forkl 1984:ll-12;1986:7). Forkl notes that thcrc is overlap 111 class and status. The aristocracy and nobility were the top social level. The general population wcre stratified into two classes of free born individuals. There is a superior class, the ~ulipahu,forrncid of families whose social status was determined by their position in the administration. Thc second class was an inferior class called the falagaha who were not employed by thc administration. Slaves cross-cut both of these classes. Separate from these two classcs wcrc two castes anc of blacksmiths and the other of butchers. These castes were endogamous until indepcndcncc (Forkl l984:ll). The organization of Wandala society is summarized in Table 7. Wandala social t;trocturc is fluid and the boundaries between free/slave are not clear cut. Titles could be purchased or 84 gained as a personal favour from the flikse and/or the magirk. Consequently wealthy mercha71tsin the nineteenth century could buy their way into the galipaha (see Monissey 1984). Thcre was no butcher and on!y one blacksmith in Dela in 1986 so observation on castes was not possible. In practice, an individual's social status is achieved through personal wealth and acts of generosity. Sacial status is extremely important to the Wandala, and men and women constantly strive to improve their circumstances. The usual path to individual wealth is through comm~rcialenterprise and the conspicuous consumption of wage labour in the performance of domestic production and processing. To this end, the emancipation of a man's wives from phvsical labour outside the compound is in itself perceived as a demonstration of wealth which contributes to a man's status. The main social unit within Wandala society is the family comprising a man, his wife or wives and their children. The Wandala rites at birth and at puberty are associated with both preIslamic and Islamic beliefs. A child is named by the father in front of the mosque seven days after birth (W15A 1526; W53A 11:37), in keeping with Islamic focus on the community rather than patdineage and family. In the past, Wandala babies underwent scarification of the face, body and cxtrcmities in the first two weeks of life (WIIOA 15:30; W15 15:26), although several women in thcir fifties stated that their scars were created by a friend when they were eight years of age (W18B 1528; W93/93 15:28). These scars were considered marks of beauty and according to legcnd, rescmblc claw marks from a lion (Mohammadou 198284435). They identify an individual a s Wandala so that other Moslems would not take them as slaves (W15 15:26; W12A 10:44). This practice has k e n in dec!ine over the past 25 years (W15 !5:26; W121A IC:ll8). The scar patiems are said to be differentiated by ethnic group, village of origin, and by royal birth (W14 10:54,15:36; W121.4 l a 1 18; W8.4 10:61). Scarification is performed by the barber, an individual called the ulnzum iM792i9315:28; W121A 10:118; W18A 10:61). Boys are circumcised around eight to ten years of age by the wazurn as part of Islamic 85 practice. Forkl (1984:9) states that in recent years circumcision is performed only in hospital. No further information on this subject can be offered by this study. The Wandala share the same coming of age ceremony described for the Mura bctwwn young men and their fathers called nyay hay. This ceremony was performed publicly in lunc 198b when the flikse gave his approval to the newly elected chief Table 8 presents the ethnic affiliation of husbands and t l v e s in households studied Wandala marry within the Wandala community or with other Moslem groups, particularly with the Kanuri. However, it is highly possible that women married to Wandala household heads, claimed to be Wandala as it is nf higher social status. Often, the preferred Islan~icmarriage is between parallel or cross cousins but Fork1 (1986:3) states that the Wandala do not allow this in practice. Post-marital residence tends to be patrilocai at least in the sense of living within the same quarter. Neither brothers nor fathers and sons systematically built adjacent compounds although there are two instances of nephews living in or building behind an older relative's c o m p u n d (see chapter seven). An exception to the general practice is that of the chief's family, in which brothers, male cousins and their families live in a large family conglomerate of compounds surrounded by a common outer wall. Forkl (1986:4) concluded from his intensive study of the WaRdala that competition and jealousy between members of the family are strong and thrcatcn family and socia! solidarity. In fact, children are raised to be compctitivc (Forkl 1986:4). This was supported by informants' statements in the Dela study. One man (W12A 38 10:45) stated that brothers never work together in the fields as they might try to kill each other for the crops. Marriage is expensive, especially for the bride's family. A man usually chooses his bridc and asks her father for permission to marry. The groom's family pays for the weddlng musicians and the brideprice for his first wife (W7A 11:ll; W53A 11:16). The groom's family also must give money to assist the girl's father in wedding costs (W53A 11:16). If it is the groom's first marriage his father provides a room in his compound for the new couple and, if he has the means, fceds and cbthes them for the first year OW32 11:131. T h s was not observed in the study. Thc father of the bride and his family must purchase the girl's dowry (W53A 11:16). In 1986, a dowry included a decorative metal bed, radio, suitcases, glassware, cutlery, a &nun-style water storage pot, pottery, a large quantity of enamelware pots, metal cooking pots, jewellery, money, clothing for her husband and herself, wall hangings, mats, and a cow for the marriage feast. The total cost of a dowry may exceed $2,000 in equivalent Canadian funds (W53A 11:16). One of thc most important items in the dowry are enamelware pots which Boutrais states are used as a form of currency (Boutrais 197355). These pots are carefully displayed in the bride's room after her marriage (see Figure 9). Although the groom's family assists in wedding expmses, the girl's parents bear the larger sharc of thc cost. In part this is so because of their obligation to continually augment their daughter's dowry following each of her husband's subsequent marriages (W53A 11:16; WEt 11:14). This cspense maintains their daughter's seniority status among co-wives. A father of three or four daughters is said to be impoverished by the time his daughters are all married (W53A 11:16). The Wandala practice in-law avoidance in much the same way as the Mura and Urza. According to Moslem law men can have a maximum of four wives at one time. Only one man in the study had this number. Table 8 presents the number of wives resident in each compound in 1986- Men claim to treat their wives equally in order to preserve harmony and usually cite jealousy between wives as the cause of domestic trouble (WEt 65 11:13). A gift given to one wife by a husband had to be met with equal gifts for all of the wives to avoid dissension (WEt 11:13; tt'53). Domestic protocol for sleeping arrangements gives all wives equal sexual access to their husbands in most households (WEt 11:13). This varies according to class. For example, thc nuhungi, the Ilikse's first wife, has the right to spend the night with the tlikse whenever she wishes and the tlikse's daughters have the same privileges as the nuhungi in their husband's home iMohammadou 1982). Before the night that a woman spends with her husband, she is expected to 87 d o all of the cooking and cleaning for her husband and her children iWEt 11:l3; W53A 3:lE; Wl8A 2172). Although only one house in the community practxed purdah, a custom in which women do not leave the household during the day, men stated that purdah prCSCrVi7j family harmony by preventing a jealous wife from seekmg out other men (WEt 11:15). Although women vie for status with co-wives, no wife has any apparent special authority. Again, this may depend on social class. For example, Mohammadou (1982) states that the tlikw's current favourite wife, the gumsu, acts as intermediary between the other wives and their husband. This position is not permanent for the tlikse can replace one gumsu with another wife. The glrrnsrt has separate quarters from those of the other wives in the compound. Yet Mohammadou (1982:252) states that the tlikse's legal wives and concubines were all addressed with the same title. This title varied depending on the sex of their children. Co-wives are perceived to be jealous of each other. Two informants stated that one wifc may try to put magical medicine in the other wife's food so that the husband will dislike her, or render the husband impotent when with her rival (WEt 11:13; M26 3:106,5:124). For this reason women eat together and if the cook does not eat, suspicions arc raised. This concern is extended to all meals where cooks must eat a portion of the food to assure others that it is safe to cat (WEt 11:13). It was remarked by my interpreter that inverted unpicrced pots in the kitchen beside the hearth were believed to harbour medicine which one wife could put into her husband's food to render him impotent when with her co-wife. Many, but by no means all, inverted pots used as pot supports in hearths were pierced through the bottom. The rate of divorce is high amongst the Wandala (Fork1 1986:4). Boutrais (19$4:259) suggests that domestic tension is one of the most difficult points of stress in Wandala society. Men blame female independence as the root of the problem calling women bad-natured (Buutrais 2984259). In the study, almost all men have been divorced at least once and some women had divorced one husband, remarried, divorced and then returned to the previous spouse. &th men 88 and women can initiate divorce (WEt 11:13). If the divorce is the woman's fault her husband gets back his portion of the cost of the wedding, but if it's the husband's fault he gets back only half (M26A 11:71). How fault is decided is not certain, although domestic disputes were part of the blarna's jurisdiction. Traditional Wandala divorce involves formal repudiation as required by Islamic law. Islamic marriage requires formal repudiation of the wife by the husband, but is my impression from informal conversations that this practice is not always followed. The main cause of divorce cited by informants is the arrival of a new wife, although other rexarchcrs cite sterility as the principle cause (Boutrais 1984:259; Forkl 1984:6). Indeed there is a higher infertility rate amongst Islamic groups in northern Cameroon including the Wandala, in comparison with montagnard groups including those living on the plains (see David and Voas 1981:648,649). In a study of the settled Fulani, with whom the Wandala share similar patterns of infertility, David and Voas (1981) concluded that female sterility was the result of venereal disease. David and Voas (1981) however, contend that while frequent divorce is implicated in the spread of venereal infections, both economic and social factors and high infertility rates are involved in the high frequency of divorce. They propose that high frequency of divorce is a means for the individual to extend their network of personal contacts necessary for success in petty trading, the main mcans of upward mobility in settled Fulani society. A similar economic situation can be argued as existing for the Wandala who seek their social and tconomic fortune through the market place. This interpretation helps to explain a game described by Forkl (19865) in which young Wandala boys marry a doll which they then divorce. Although Forkl states that the high rate of divorce is caused by sterility, this child's game suggests that young children anticipatc divorce as part of their adult life, rather than the result of unforeseen, albeit irequent, sterility. There are five women in the households studied who are n~anied,and have no children. While admittedly a small sample, the findings suggest that infertility does not necessarily result in divorce. 89 Daughters can return to their father's compound if they are widowed and their father approved of her husband (WllOA 3:100). If she married a man against his wishes, the girl must solicit her father's kinsmen to encourage her father to let her return (W11OA 3:lOO). One informant stated that the latter practice is more common today but in the past such girls werc 'thrown out' (Wl1OA 3:100). Today young men try to have 'modern' marriages where wives sign an official form at the prefecture 04'132 11:13). Legal papers allow a husband to force the return of a runaway wife. Women resist this practice, preferring the more easily broken traditional marriage (W132 11:13). Children are desired by both men and women. The parent-child bond is the strongest within the domestic group. Like the Mura and Urza, children remain with thcir father or with his agnatic kin on the divorce of the parents. Unmamed men and women in their rcproductivc ycars are rare. However, widowed sons can return to their father's compound. Levirate is mcntioncd by Mohammadou for the tlikse's hell- with certain restrictions (see Mohammadou 1982:1M), but this practice was not indicated for families in the study. The ~ l and d infirm are looked after by the community at certain times of the year such as festivals (W148A 8:115), but there is no express obligation upon children to look after their parcnts in old age. This may account for the situation of elderly womcn who often occupy a hut next to those of other elderly women. Unfortunately these womcn were not systematkally interviewed. None of the Wandala households surveyed supported an elderly parent while five of tho twelve Mura and Urza compounds did so. This is not to say that parents arc not cared for by their children, only that daily interaction between elderly parent and children is not routine. Economic Organization. During the first half of the twentieth century agricultural problems led the Wandala to move from small towns into iargcr market centres like Memc and Mora (Boutrais 1973:M). The regional Sunday market held in Eela was moved to Mora by 1915 (Forkl 1984:ll). In the 1920s and 1930s there were many dyers and weavers working in Dda. Although 90 traditional strip cloth is still used to wrap the dead, as a clothing fabric it has been virtually replaced by cheaper industrially produced cloth. Gnly one weaver remained in 1986. During the 19405 and 1950s with the introduction of new varieties of cotton, expanded cotton production (Mainct et al. 1984:54) brought the entrepreneurial Wandala back into commercial agriculture fBc,utrais 1973:44; Hallaire 1965). Increased desiccation during the early 1970s severely reduced cotton returns (Mainei et al. 188;2:54i. Nevertheless, cotton production remains an rrnportant aspect of the Wandala economy in Dela. The Wandala household economies in this study are based upon the cultivation of white sorghums, maddekwe and massakwa (Fork1 1984, millet and vegetables for family consumption, and c ~ crops, h including cotton, beans and peanuts. In addition, all men and most women were involved in a market enterprises. According to Wandala household heads, they do not grow quite enough sorghum to meet thc annual needs of their families. However, they grow approximately four times as much cotton as the Mura and Urza combined. One of the reasons for the difference in cotton yields for the Wandala and the montagnards is that the Wandala control karal. Karal are used for the production of dry season sorghum called mukwari (Sorghum bicolor of the race durra). Karal enable the Wandala to grow cotton on alluvial soils during the rainy season, and then produce their staple crop in thc early dry season. Shortages in family sorghum supplies are made u p purchases in the market. Tho montagnards, without liaral, have to use their alluvial soils for wet season sorghum. This effectively restricts cotton production (Boutrais 1984:365). The greatest cash return available to Wandah households is from cotton, exclusively a man's crop in the households studied. With cash from cotton sales men can eventually hire others to work the fields for them and in so doing acquire troth status and free time for other profitable pursuits. Wandala wealth is represented in their ability to purchase more expensive industrial goods such as motorcycles, bicycles and radios than the other s o u p s in the study. 91 Most families have sheep and goats but the investment in livestock is less in Wandala households than in other groups. Small stock are herded on a cooperative basis with neighbours (W15A 1057; W18A 10:60), and cattle are placed in the Shuwas care 04715 10:57). Cattle holdings for all groups in the study were low in 1986, a result of the 1984 drought. Onc Wandala man claimed to have Iost over 500 head of cattle from that event (W11OA 10:97). Other men oftcn recounted similar losses by other members of the community following the drought. Even though losses are likely exaggerated and current holdings underestimated, nevertheless, large herds of over 100 animals were never observed around Dela. In fact few herds were observed and !hew usually numbered less than 50 animals. The Wandala differ from the montagnards in the social organization of labour. Although most male household heads cultivate their fields with their children in the mornings, they spend afternoons in other commercial endeavours. Montagnards are hired as field hands during the labour intensive times of the season. Most of thcsc men are Muktelc or Uldeme (W15.4 1056; W7A 10:23; W18A 10:62). The reasons for this are practical. The agricultural schedule on thc northern Mandara mountains is slightly different from that on the plains, and thew individuals can be hired without disrupting ?heir own subsistence pursuits (Boutrais 1973:lOO). This situation is also a means for montagnard men without land to earn a living. In 1986, the montagnards resident in Dela without bra1 were available to prepare muskwari fields and to pick cotton at the end of the rainy season. Some labourers return every year to work for the samc Wandala employer with whom they have developed a bond of trust (M26.4 10:150). A new measure of social status is modern education. Wandala invest in their children's education both at Koranic school and at the government school in Dela. The ability to speak French i s an advantage in dealing with the Cameroon administration and in procuring government jobs, although thcsc positions are already more open to Wandala than to Mura because of political prejudice against montapard lifestyles and beliefs. Although Islamic princjples deprecate women from undertaking physical labour as it is considered degrading, this is not always practical. However, a husband strives to remove his wives visibly from agricultural labour for it improves his status in the Islamic community (W11OA lo:%; W12A 10:45). Also, by hiring wage labourers do the work, he achieves status through visible consumption of labour. Poorer men, and men without children, may require their wives to work with them in the sorghum and cotton fields, but women who do help in their husband's fields do not receive a share of the crop. Besides growing vegetables in the compound garden, women also grow rnuskuari seedlings for their husbands, the latter being transferred to prepared fields at the end of the rainy season (personal observation October 1986). In the households studied, only women beyond childbearing years or widowed female household heads have their own fields (W148A 10:103; W7D 10:21; W76B i0:93). One woman grew a commercial crop of okra and the other two grew sorghum for their own food, suggesting that their land holdings are small. Two of these women occasionally hire field workers (W148A 10:102; W7D 10:102). No other women in the study h a w hired assistants for commercial Every male household head had a market trade. Mens' trades often involved a lengthy apprcnticeship with their father, a cousin, or another ma!e artisan (W89A 9:22; W8A 13:33; W7A 13.4; W18A 10:61,68). These trades include tailoring, preparing traditional medicines, amulet making, weaving cloth, mat and hat making, leather work, blacksmithing, barbering, Koranic teaching, spiritual advising arid divining. Many were businessmen, marketing products such a.; metal pots, gasoline, (synthetic) clothing, jewellery, and packaged foodstuffs, cattle and firewood. Women also participated in commercial activities. Wives who do not have to work in their husbands fields are free to do crafts or other commerce. However, women do not have the capital that is available to men through cotton sales so the scale of the endeavour and its profits arc restricted. Most women are reliant on gifts or the size of their dowry to finance these enterprises. The nature of Wandala women's crafts is completely difiercnt from that of thC montagnards. Wandala women d o not make pottery and many claimed that the Wandala h a w not made pottery for at least 30 years W148.4 5129, W15A/B 5:tiO-81; W12B 569; W76R 5:131). Pottery is purchased from montagnards and Kanuri. Younger women's craft work such as wall ornaments, embroidery or basket3 are often restricted to transactions with relatives and friends ( W 8 C 10:61f. Only older Wandala women, at least in Dela, are involved In market activities outside of the home. Two women ir, their fifties spin cotton which they sell to the villagc weavctr and in local markets (W7D 1021; M176B 10:93?. Some women sell foodstuffs from the entrance hut of their husband's compound (W121A 10:119). These foods include peanut oil and roasted peanuts, proccswd and prepared in the compound from peanuts purchased in the market. Others sell packaged goods including sugar, candy, tea, and bouillon cubes. Profit margins are small. Women often acquire cash to start an enterprise by selling enamelware from their dowry (see below), or with money received as gifts from their husband IW121A 10:119) or relatives or from an ~nheritance. Women also grow a plant called gzmrokmo (garongo in Kanuri see Connah 1981:73) in their garden, the flowers of which arc used by Moslem women to die their teeth and gums red. Some women sold the flowers In the market fM153D3:123!. Aside from agricultural work men maintain their compounds with the help of their children and often the assistance of a hired mason (see chapter eight). Women clean the compound, care for children, cook, and sometimes carry water although children are often assigned this task. Women do not collect firewood. Grinding grain is considered to bc degrading and is associated with montagnard women's work. Consequently, husband's give their WIVCS money to have sorghum ground in the village mill. Women only grind grain when the mill breaks down W148 2:121) or when thcir husband is angry and will not givt them money W2hA 21:9). Thc owner of the mil1 stated that the mill breaks down every few months (W53A 10:107). Forkl fl990:79) states that the Wandala may once have had patrilineal clans but that these c-eaxd to exist over a century ago. Today the Wandala have bilineal inheritance (Forkl 1986:3), but the types and quantity of property inherited is restricted by gender. Compounds and land are usually inherited by the oldest son (W53 3:125; W8A 2:91; W7A 2:157; W148A 3:113). A woman can take over a deceased husband's property and run it until her children come of age (W148A As a woman's property tends to be less and of less value than men's property she ultimately has less to leave to her heirs than do male kin. Koranic law regulates inheritance such that a daughter receives a half portion of what each of her brothers receive from their parents. A husband inherits half of his wife's property if there are no children and one quarter if there are, while a wife inherits a quarter of her husbar.dPsproperty if there are no children and an eighth if thew are children. In practice women rarely own compounds. Their wealth is in mobile objects such as jewcllcry, enamelware pots, and small stock. The inheritance of paternal titles causes considerable domestic tension, especially in the case of important positions like that of the chief. In 1986 the candidates for election for the Dela chief were two sons by different mothers and a cousin from Meme. The brother who lost the elcction was obliged to move himself, his family and his mother to Mora. More drastic measures M T ~ C taken in the past in the election of the tlikse. When the tlikse died, the heir elected by council was hiddcn to protect him from being killed by his brothers. The brothers were reportedly rounded u p and mutilated by the remosal of one ear. This rendered them ineligible for kingship and consequently removed any incentive they had for killing the new ruler (Mohamrnadou 1982:99). Although mutilation was stopped by the colonial government (Mohammadou 1982:99), cornpition betwcen brothers continues. Therc are few traditional positions of political influence available to Wandala women and many of these have lost their importance due to colonial interference. In the pre-Islamic past, women in the royal family held positions of power. There are at least two pre-Islamic 'qtleens', Katale and Sukda, named in the Wandala chronicles as presented by Mohammadou (1982:6-12). Sukda and her husband Gaya founded the first Wandala dynasty at Kerawa (Mohammadou 1982:20-21). It is Sukda's family which made alliances with the spirits of Wandala territory. Every itikse is obliged to marry one wife from Sukda's line to confirm his legitimate right to rule (Mohammadou 1982:105-108). This wife is called the nuhungi, and ranks abovc her cowives. Tho only other formal female position of power in the Wandala court was that of the magira, held by the flikse's mother (Mohamrnadou 1982:105;116-121). This is a special position shared by other Sudan states including Borno (Cohen 1977; Morrissey 19&1:131-132). Wandala historians disagree on the relationship of the magira to the flikse. Fork1 (1985:229) states that the official mother of the king was not necessarily related to him as the title is passed to the next oldest sister of the tliksds father. Alternatively, Mohammadou (1982:105) states that the new magira, the tlikse's mother, occupies the palace and takes over the staff of her predecessor. The previous magiru is given 3 new place to live and retains considerable status and a source of revenues from certain lands (Mohammadou 1982:105). The latter explanation does not anticipate how the position of rnagiru, which was an important one, would be filled if she died before the end of her son's reign. The magira had a political and moral role to temper the tlikse's decisions, and her palace served as a sanctuary for political refugees. She was in charge of the palace children and was the only one trusted by the tlikse (Mohammadou 1982; Rohlfs 1875:562). At some point in thc past a magira became too powerful and threatened the authority of her son. In order to clanfy the p w ~ ' r structure a custom was developed in which the tlikse was obliged to put his mother to death publicly after the first year of his reign. In order to avoid this execution an elaborate charade was enacted which culminates in the flikse sparing the magira's life while publicly reinforcing his supremacy (see Moharnmadou 1982:118-121). Information on the magira is contradictory. For example, Forkl (1984:229) states that the magira lived in the unwalled town of Gamboru while Mohammadou (l982:ll6-l l7,l2O-l2l) and Morrisscy (1984:131-132) state that her palace was located next to that of her son. Furthermore, Rohifs 1187555) states that the magira was the only one trusted by the tlikse to cook his food. As her position was important and powerful, it is most likely that she was located nearby so that the tliksc and the alamaha could monitor her activities. Thc magira's position in court was structured on the same lines as her son. During the nineteenth century, she presided over an identical court, received the same homage on feast days, and was called by the same title of 'lion' (Mohammadou 1982:116-117,120-121; Morrissey 1984:131132). Furthermore, the magira was publicly presented as a man dressed in male attire identical to that of her son (Mohamrnadou 1982:117) possibly with the addition of a false beard (Morrissey 1984:131-132). Financially, the magira did not have access to the kind of wealth that was available to tht tlikse but she did receive tributes from certain villages as well as gifts of dignitaries who sought her influence with the flikse (Mohammadou 1982:117-118; 120-121). Morrissey (1984:131132) states that during the nineteenth century the magira's title system grew to include villages and markets. This statement has been challenged by Forkl (1990:87 table 111) for lack of reported sources. Under Anarbana, whose mother was Mura, the position of magira became very powerful, but disintegrated under Gennan administration at the beginning of the twentieth century Ritual Organization. Islam provides a universal justice system, education system, codes of moral conduct, and a round of daily prayers providing social cohesion and rhythm to daily activitics (hlohammadou 1982). The incorporation of preIslamic belief systems into Islamic practices is not uncommon in West African Islam (Trimingham 1963). This is the case for the Wandala who retain several aspects of pre-lslarnic beliefs (Forkl 1984:13; Vossart 1953). Forkl (1986:9) states that the Wandala have practices and beliefs which are akin to those of 97 montagnard peoples in the Northern Mandara mountains. These include witchcraft, sacrifice for the dead, the special position of twins, and the belief in several djinns or spirits (Forkl 19tjh:9) (WEt 9:42; W132 9:22; W99 92-3,1420; WAt 9:4,6). The Wandala also practise sacrifices for rain in cooperation with the montagnards (W78 11:155). Wandala rain rites include a redistribution of a porridge cooked across the road from the mosque by Wandala women. The ingredients are donated by the villagers and the porridge is redistributed to children, the elderly and crippled people in the community regardless of ethnic background. This offering is followed by a communal prayer by the Moslem community for rain. Forkl (1984:13-14) suggests that the Wandala perceive a correspondencc between social order and nature most notably in sexuality. For example if there IS not enough rain, the tlikse forces the prostitutes in Mora to marry in public. Forkl also states that ancestor sacrifices arc practised today as part of Allah's will (Forkl 1986:9). There is some evidence of the continuation of ancestor cults amongst the Wandala, at least in the case of the royal family. The royal family makes an annual pilgrimage to a sacred lake north of Dela into which the parents of Sukda arc said to have disappeared (Mohammadou 1982:219). At the lake the family throw small ctfferingr; to the lake spirits and to their ancestors (Mohamrnadou 1982:219). There are other forms of Wandala practice which do not conform with Islam. For instance, the coronation of the flikse conserves characteristics of pre-Islamic coronations (sw Mohammadou 1982:100-101). Before the coronation, the chief of the blacksmiths places his anvil between the lower legs of the candidate tlikse seated on the ground and hammers on it (WDMII 12:38-39). The Chief of the smiths at Manawachie stated that "there can be no chief without the blacksmiths" (WDMH 12:38). In a sense, the tlikse is forged by the smiths. Following the ceremony, the smith bangs on the anvil to answer the congratulations of the guests (WDMH 12:39). This ceremony suggests the importance of the smiths in the original power basc of Wandala society. There is one mosque in the Wandala quarter of Dela where men gather to pray on Fridays. Women, with the exception of the very old, are not all0 wed into the mosque. There are no women imams or teachers although young g r l s do attend Koranic school. There are two main Islamic festivals practised each year by the Wandala: Id at the end of Ramadan and Tubaski. These are characterized by religious observances a d alms giving. The dates are determined by the lunar cycle observed in Mecca and announced to believers over the radio. Like other Moslems the Wandala fast for the entire month of _Ramadan (March 1986), taking food and refreshment only after sundown and before sunrise. At the end of Ramadan, the feast called Id takes place. The household head buys new clothes for himself, his wives and children and gifts for his in-laws. Communal prayers are conducted in a field located to the east of welcoma Magdeme, one of the gates in the old wall (personal observation). During these prayers, men stand at the front of the congregation, and women as a group stand behind the men. Family feasting foilows the prayers. Food and cakes are distributed by women and children to people on the streets and to visitors for three to seven days, depending to their household's wealth (W15A 10:58). The obligation of gift giving at this time of year is a major financial burden for household heads (Mf15A 10:58), In the twelfth month of the Islamic year (August 1986), there is a sheep festival called Tabaski (hadji Iaya). Communal prayers are again held in the same location as at the end of Ramadin. At the end of the prayers, imams go to each household and slaughter the sheep purchased by the household head for the occasion. If a fmily is too p o i to bily a sheep, the richer mcmhclrs of the community buy one for them (W15A 11:153). Old women without families arc given meat by others in the village including the chief (W15A 11:153). During Tabaski, certain craftsmen provide free services. For example the blacksmith in &la (IY148.4 8:115) repairs tools for Moslem women, the elderly, and the poor as an act of charity. On the birthday of the prophet (October-November) called Nash ecr nee people arc said to donate food and gifts to the old and the poor (WEt 10:139). The Shuwa In 1986 fifteen households occupied an area to thc northwest of wdcoma Magdemc. Thcy come under the jurisdiction of the Wandala Centre blama (W12A 10:45). A second group of fivc. households occupied an area farther to the west called Lumda Maiali, meaning 'dead man's field'. They are under a separate blama. A total of four households from these two quarters participated in the 1986 study, representing approximately 21 percent of the 1986 Shuwa community. Tllc Shuwa cemetery is located to the southeast of their quarter just outside the old city walls (see Figure 6). Self-claimed ethnic identities for Shuwa compounds are ambiguous. Although all of the compounds are Shuwa-like in construction and all are farmer-herders, three of the families interviewed claimed to be Wandala (S19A 10:67;S187 1U:ll I; S206 A/B 10:115) and said that the real Shuwa lived at Kirza. Yet, the families claiming to be Wandala also stated that they had comll from Kirza in the last five years. One man (S19A 10:67) who claimed to be Wandala said that his fzmily spoke Shuwa amongst themselves. Only one family identified themselves as Shuwa (S25A 10:81). It would seem then that these are Wandala-izing Shuwa. These four households are treated as an intermediate group demonstrating the manner in which compound construction changed as the socio-economic base of the Shuwa is in the process of changing. Social Organization. The families in these quarters have a mixture of Wandala and Shuwa cultural affinities. However, the social organization of the households studied mast resembles that described by Tijani (1986:70-72) for the Shuwa living in the region of Lake Chad. According to Tijani (1986:70), the basic unit of wcial organization is that of the extended household consisting of a male household head, his adult sons and their families and possibly the head's brothers and their families. This results in a large agnaticaily linked community. Ail four households in the study sample are organized similarly but at the level of father and son groupings or of brothers. Tijani (1986:71) suggests that Shuwa community buds off into smaller, generational groups where ecological conditions or poor leadership discourage the larger types of aggregation. The Shuwa household heads stated that their emigration from Kirza was prompted by their distrust of the blanra (S'OtiA/B 3:150). Shuwa are ranked by age, gender, pat~ilinealkinship and number of cattle. A man's household is not fully recognized until he reaches the age of 40 after which he participates in community decisions (Tijani 1986:70). Until 40 a man is part of his father's household (Tijani 1986:70). All decisions are made by the elders of the family or of the community (Tijani 1986:71). Babies are named on the seventh day of life by their father, who gives a feasr for the occasion (S187A 11:37). The Shuwa practice circumcision of boys and clitoridectomy for girls (M. Reevcls 1986, personal communication). Until recently, the Shuwa also practised scarification of a baby's face, body and limbs to identify them as Moslems and thereby preventing their enslavement (S187A 11:39). The scars are similar in placement to the Wandala but differ in number (W121A 10:118). When practised today, scarification is for beauty and for healing. Both Wandala and Shuwa individuals bear magical numbers of specifically placed scars on their bodies to prevent certain types of disease (W121A 10:118). These scars are also made by the wnzum (S19A IS:,%; SlSfC 1538). The Shuwa marriage practices differ from the Wandala in terms of financial obligation. Brideprice is paid by the groom and his father. However, the father of the bride pays for his daughters dowry and presents her with a large sum of money which she in turn gives to her r,ew husband (S2%A 11:1?). The girl's mother's kin do not assist in the financial burden of dowry 101 (S187A 11:17; S206A 11:17). The dowry comprises many of the same goods as tho= of thc Wandala, including decorated metal beds and enamelware, although ihc nundxr of enamelware pots displayed by young women was generally less. Women also have a number of gourds for milk storage displayed inside the house. Figure 10 shows the dowry display of a young Shuwa bride. This is contrasted with the traditio~alproperty of an older Shuwa woman's objccts in Figure 11. A father tries to continually augment his daughter's dowry in order to maintain her status when her husband marries zclditional wives (S187A 11:17). The bride's and groom's fathers try to outdo each other when they each give a feast for their respective families and friends. Pnstmarital residence is patrilocal. The groom comes for the bride and takcs her home riding a horstl or a cow, even though car transportation has been popular for the last decade (5187 11:l7). Thc Shuwa practice forms of in-law avoidance identical to those &scribed for the Urza and Wandala It is assumed that divorce is as high amongst the Shuwa as with the othcr groups in ~ h c study. Children remain with their father and his kin upon the divorce of their parents. Among Shuwa households, elderly parents are provided for and live with one of thcir sans. Table 8 presents the ethnic affiliation of marriage partncrs in the Shuwa households studied. Although the Shuwa men take Wandala wives, Wandala men do not take Shuwa brides. At any rate, there is no indication from the households studied that intermarriage between thc Shuwa and Wandala is a widespread practice. Reeves found in her study of Shuwa and Kanuri villages, that there were no instances of Shuwa women marrying Wandala husbands although occasionaily a Wandala woman married a Shuwa man (M. Reeves 1992, personal communication). The reasons for this observation may be that, similar to religious conversion, marriage to a Wandala man may mean an upwardly mobile change of ethnicity for a woman. Altc-rnativcly, thc change of lifestyle for women bttween these two groups may not be desired by the women. Although the sample is small, there is little evidence for divorce. A similar finding was made by Reeves in her study (M. Reeves 1992, personal communication) and only one woman in the s h ~ d ydid Iiot have children. Economic organization. The basic Shuwa economic unit is comprised of a man, his wives, thcir children and marricd sons and their wives and children. Traditionally, the family economy is bascd on cattle herding supplemented with grain. The family herd consists of zebu cattle and large numbers of sheep and goats. Wealth and status both of individual men and their agnatic kin-qoup are based upon the size of the herd (Tijani 1986:71). It is difficult to determine the number of cattle owncd by each family, as tax is determined by head of cattle, and owners are reluctant to give accurate figures. Either a male member of the family or a hired herder moves large herds to pasture during the dry season. During this season, smaller herds looked after by boys and girls graze over the stubble of farmer's fields. Many claimed that they used to manure fields with their cattle for farmers during the dry season in exchange for grain or cash. However, now that thc rains are less, manuring is said to make the fields worse and there is little demand for this service. Farmers claim that the manure either doesn't break up properly and inhibits crops or is washed away 6187 10:113; S206A 10:117), During the rainy season cattle graze to the northeast of the highway away from planted fields. Hired herders receive a monthly cash rate and rights to the milk of one cow. As mentioned above, the Shuwa herd cattle for other groups including the Wandala and the Mura. Cattle contribute an important part to the Shuwa diet. According to 1960/61 figures, the Shuwa consume approximately 100 grams of milk per person per day and about twice as much meat as the montagnards (Frechou 1984:435). The montagnards consume almost no dairy products whilc other plains people fall into an intermediate position in the consumption of both milk products and meat (Frechou 19&1:435). The location of Shuwa outside Dela is not unusual as Hallaire states that the Shuwa often settle near cultivators in order to sell their milk products and 103 to buy grain (Hallaire 1965:62h All of the households in the study cultivate sorghum and millet. Sons worked with their father using a plough. Some hired field workers, primarily Uldeme, Muktelc and Podokwo, although several montagnards from the village were also hired by the Shuwa to work fields and water cattle. Shuwa women also grow vegetables for sauces behind their houses. Aside from herders and Koranic xhoiars there are no specialists in the Shuwa comnwnity. Both men and women make sekko mats for sale in the market (S25A 10231). Women do not makc pottery, rather they use gourds to store milk products and purchase cooking and water pots in thc market from montagnards and Kanuri Men and women have responsibilities inside the home. Men arc responsiblc for constructing and maintaining the family compound. women milk the cows in the morning and at night. They also prepare and sell dairy products in the market in order to purchase salt and grain for the family (S206A 10:117). After losing so many cows in 1985, many said that they now keep the milk for their children 619A 10:67). Each day women supply the house with water and vegetables, take v a i n to the mill to bc ground, collect firewood, cook meals, make salt substitute, care for sick cattle, prcparc miik products and sell the surplus in the market. There is some ethnographic evidence that Shuwa women used to collect wild grain. Barth, a nineteenth century explorer of the region observed, "... a woman collecting the seeds of an ediblc poa, called "kreb" or "kasha" of which there are several species, by swinging a sort of basket through the rich meadow-ground". (Barth 1965 2:247). Although Barth does not say that the woman is Shuwa he does state that this wild grass is particularly important to them (Barth 1965 22473. M. Reeves related to me that she was shown a similar basket in a Shuwa household and was told it was used by a woman in the same manner as described by Barth (Reeves 1986, personal communication). Women still provide the family with grain by purchasing it with the 104 proceeds from their sale of milk products (S206A 10:117). However, as men now are growing large sorghum and millet crops in Dela, the need for women to purchase or even to collect grain is decreasing. Thc main resources of the Shuwa are livestock and more recently land. The bulk of these rewurces are cont~olledby men either through inheritance from their fathers or through cash gained from cotton sales and livestock transactions. Like the Wandala, women's resources are their dowry with the addition of dairy product sales. Inheritance rules for the Shuwa follow those described for the Wandala. Here the transfer of compound buildings is unimportant as the structures are traditionally abandoned every few years. This may be changing as more permanent structures arc being established (see chapter eight). Ritual Organization. The Shuwa are Moslems. They participate in Islamic celebrations with the Wandala even though their quarter has a separate mosque with their own imam. These households share beliefs in witchcraft and fear of supernatural spirits expressed by other groups and wear the same protective amulets. This chapter has described the economic, social and ritual organization of each of the four groups in the study. This information forms the basis of the interpretation of gender roles and relationships presented in the next chapter. The ethnographic data shows a marked social, monomic and ritual simibriy between Mura and Urza households. h e carnot state for certain that these similarities are not due to the gradual integration of Urza into the predominantly Mura quarter. It is most likely that these similarities are more a consequence of a long history of social ties, particularly through the exchange of marriage partners. This practice would require a d e g e e of cultural similarity to allow the movement of women from one economic, social and ritual 105 community into another. This is not the case for the Wandala and Shuwa. Although these two groups demonstrate some common social and ritual practices is a result of tho Islamic heritage, other similarities are the consequence of changes in the economir bast of Shuwa families. This last point is discussed more fully in cllapters eight and nine. CHAPTER FIVE: POWER AND GENDER I'DEOLOGY Introduction Giddcns' concept of power, discussed in chapter two, is defined as a person's capacity to act through resources. As-ymmetry in power structures are created through an unequal or unequally valucd distribution of allocative and authoritative resources between different individuals and groups of individuals. Obviously there are many types of power structures within any community. For example, in Dela access to resources differs for men and women, and between families within each g o u p as well as b e t ~ m nethnic groups. In the latter instance, the Wandala have a political and econon~icadvantage over the Mura, Urza and Shuwa, yet within the regional power structure the Wandala are less powerful than the provincial government authorities. Consequently, gender based power structures are nested within increasingly broader power networks. Although this dissertation focuses on the reiationdaips between men and women, it rccopizcs that resources held by men and women in each group are contingent upon the nature oi the resources controlled by their particular communities. However, it is suggested in chapters six and seven that internal household design is one medium for the construction and reproduction of gender bascd ideologies in each group. This chapter examines the perception of gender roles and relationships in each of the four communities based on the ethnographic information presented in chapter four. The distribution of primary allocative and authoritative resources based on gender in each group are summarized and dominant perceptions of gender are identified. Resource Distribution by Gender in Mura and Urza Households The distribution of resources by gender in Mura and Urz;; households is summarized in Figure 12. Both Mura and Urza economic and social structures are dominated by the patrilincngu. The ideology of the patrilineage places greater social and ritual value on the rmurces contro1lc.d by men in comparison to those controlled by women. Men own the majonty oi allocat~vc resources. However, in the negotiation of resource control, which seemingly g i \ ~ men s greator social and economic power, women are accorded considmable personal autonomy. The major economic resources in Mura and Urza society controlled by men arc land, sorghum, shelter and the protection of environmental spirits. These are the major resources l n thc sense that their economy- is agriculturally based, the centre for agricultural production and storage is within the family compound, sorghum is the staple of their diet, and ritual sacrif~ccsand alliances with environmental spirits are the means of supernaturally protecting land, sorghum and family compound. Control of these resources comes with certain social and tvlonomic obligations. Men earn relatively large cash sums in the sale of cotton with which they are responsible for thv payment of agricultural tools, taxes on the family fields and cattle, brideprice for wivcs for themselves and their sons. In addition men pay the costs of building and maintaining a compound for themselves and their families, and costs for providing medicine, clothing, sorghum, shelter and spiritual protection for their wives, children and elderly parents. Mcn increaw ttrcir personal wealth by acquiring land, livestock and occasional luxury items. Women's allncatit-e resources are not independent of those of men. Womcn do not control iand, but neither can they be denied the use of land to grow vegetable, or seed and lcgumc crops. Women use these crops in farmiy meais and sell the surplus in the marketplace. Although mcn own the sorghum mop, a woman has the right to a poriion of her husband's annual crop with which she may produce beer for market. Women produce a salt substitute from the dung of goats or sorghum stalks for family meals. Pots, hearths, calabashes and utensils which arc rtquirod for the processing of sorghum and vegetables into dafa, sauce and beer are produced and/or controlled by women. Ultimately if a woman leaves her husband, these resources are left behind. New ones are made or provided in her next husband's compound. Women's resources make a substantial contribution to the household economy, although they are given less recognized importance in comparison to men's resources. For instance, sorghum is considered as sacred, coming from and protected by the ancestors and earth spirits. Women's foods arc a complement to sorghum, and are not p e n to the ancestors in rituals. In certain sacrifices salt is specifically omitted in their preparation (MI1 2237). However, women's legume crops arc essential in maintaining the fertility of sorghum fields by replenishing nit~ogen in the soils. In addition, women's crops provide dietary balance in daily meals and salt is an essential dietary element in hot climates. Although women have access to an economy of their own through sales of vegetable surplus, beer and pottery, these rewurces have neither the economic potential nor social value as those of men. Cash demands on women in the family unit are minimal. Women have the right to keep the profits from thc sale of their market goods, but often must supplement their sauces by purchasing dried fish, bouillon cubes and cans of tomato paste when vegetable supplies run low. Women also purchase luxury items including jervellery and metal pots for themselves and for their daughters, gifts of meat for their husband, as well as medicines and amulets. The control of material remurces and the vaIues given to them present men as primary producers and providers for their families and women as dependents and processors of male resources. For example, vegetables, beer, dafa, pottery and salt substitute are produced or processed from land, sorghum and livestock -- the latter owned exclusively or primarily by men. This pacepior! of men 2s prosidcrs and wmwn as processors and depeadents masks ihe considerable contribution women make to agricultura! production and in providing the home with water and firewood, no small task in Dela's arid environment. However, it is in the role of family nurturcrs that women are esplicit1:i valued by the patrilineage. The perception of men and women as providers and dependents respectively is ideological, a conceptual fr2mework created and promoted by the patrilineage. This perception is represented in the festival for the dead. During Bakashidgwe the spirits of deceased men arc chased away before those of deceased women. One male informant stated that the reason for this is men's superiority over women since women do not own sorghum, land or c o n ~ p u n d and s must rely on men to provide for them. In death as in life women follow men. Figure 13 summarizes the distribution of the principle authoritative resources by gender in Mura and Urza households. The distribution of these resources again draws upon and reproduces patrilineal power. Established, formalized practices give men the right to expwt or request the assistance of wives, children, sons-in-laws, and friends and neighbours in the production of his allocative resources. In the market place a man can sell his own labour for twice what a woman can earn. The production of women's crops and marketable goods is limited by time and labour. A married woman's first obligation is to work in her husband's fields, cultivate vegetable crops for the family, replenish the daily water supply for the family, grind soi-ghum for the meals each day, cook, clean the compound and child care. Only after these obligations arc met is a woman free to produce foodstuffs and material objects for sale in the market. Women do not have the authority to draw upon institutionalized forms of cooperative labour and consequently work alonc. Yct, they have the right to work for, and to keep wages as agricultural workers when not working in their husband's fields. The patrilineage controls biological reproduction. At marriage a woman's fertility is relinquished by her patrilineage to that of her husband's on the payment of the bridepricc. CMdren are under the d ~ m i n i o nof their f s h e r and his male kin. If Gridcwealih payrncni is paid in full, the father has the right to the co!!ection of bridewea!th for his daughters or fernalc kin whom he raises. This can then be used to pay bridewealth for his sons' wives. Such a practice ascribes value within the patrilineage and allows a woman freedom to leave unbearable domestic: situations without the burden of providing for children with limited material resources. Nevertheless, closc relationships between children and non-resident mothers are maintained. Inheritance rules sustain the continuity of land, ritual knowledge, and the compound in the hands of the male members of a patrilineage. The inheritance of these resources is not equal for all sons. The first son gains ritual knowledge, the youngest son inherits the compound, and land is divided between them, Mobile wealth of fathers and mothers is inherited by their male and female children Asymmetry in authoritative resources curbs the accumulation of women's wealth and economic independence. A woman cannot be denied the use of land to grow her crops, but the amount and nature of that land is allotted to her through men. There is evidence that women formeriy acquired land through their husbands, although the land appears to have been of inferior quality unsuitable for male crops. This land was distributed by women to their sons who in turn allotted the land to their wives. Ultimately this land was patrilineal property--inherited through the male line from father through mother to son. There was no evidence for this practice in 1986, although the tradition may be expressed in the ancestor pots as will be discussed below. The pah-ilineage head has the right and the knowledge to call upon the ancestors for supernatural assistance in the production of crops to ensure the health and fertility of the members of the patrilineage. A man's first wife has the authority to prepare food and beer for the sacrifices to her husband's ancestors if he is the lineage head, or for other sacred pots if he is not. There are no rituals for Che production of female crops. Witchcraft is said to be performed secretly by both men and women and is considered antisocial and dangerous. Such strategies are the only source of supernatural action available to womer, as they cannot manipulate ancestors or earth spirits. The prception of women being involved in witchcraft, and by association with disease and misfortune, has been expressed in many montagnard societies. This perception may act as a strategy to limit women's market economy potential. For example, tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus), a woman's crop, is believed to cause smallpox (Hallaire 1965). Some mountain groups reportedly believe that sesame, a female cash crop, causes or spreads !eprosy or smallpox, sn some massifs don't grow it (Hallaire 1965). The Mura use beans to protect themselves from witchcraft during festivals and to protect pots from breaking undcr the spell of an adversary whilc k i n g firid. Certain women's crops, particularly beans, are considcrcd as famine crops (Hallairc 1984). Although beans are undoubtedly valued as a food and protlrtion irom witchcraft, they are at thc same time associated with misfortune. This is part of the ambiguity of the pcrccption of womcn in Mura and Urza ideology. Women are outsiders and dangerous and yet thcy arc the nurturcrs of the family. The fear of witchcraft is pervasive in all communities in Dela. Mura and Urza men manipulate their ancestor pots to prevent attack from their wives and othcr outsiders, and bury medicine bundles in the floor inside and on the courtyard side of thcir entry huts where thcy sleep. These medicines are provided for each man by the male patrilineage head each year. Onc of the few specialized occupations in montagnard socicty is that of traditional hcalcr or $ow. Gows, who are always men, use their knowledge to counter the attacks of witchcs, Although allocative and authoritative resources are dominated by the patrilincagc, i t must be emphasized that patrilineage power depends upon the reciprocal relationship bctwecn husbands and wives. A man cannot maintain a compound, work his fields or have children without a wife. A woman is without shelter, food, children and land without a father, husband, or son. According to Giddens, power is implicated in the contrctl of time-space. Pahrilincal authority and power in Mura and Urza societies is legitimated through the manipulation and representation of men as continuous or fixed in a place through time and womcn as discontinuous or transient in time-space. The legitimate right for a man to own land, compounds, sorghum and alliances with earth spirits is based upon continuous occupancy and usc of agricultural land svcv time. Patrilineages within the villagc are ranked by the length of time of occupancy. Earliest settlers have the highest rank, while more recent, immigrants have the least status. Thc right of 112 the voungtst son to inherit the father's compound is based on continuity within his father's compound, from the son's birth to the fathef s death. Rank for both children and women within a family arc also based upon relative order in birth or marriage respectively. Consequently, the greatest ritual privileges are afforded to oldest sons, oldest daughters and first wives. In Mura and Urza society men are presented as having continuity in place over time. Children are born and remain with their father until marriage. Men tend to remain in their patrilineal village after maniage and either build close to or eventually assume their fathefs con1pour.d. During religious festivities, men celebrate within their patrilineal village and compounds. When sons d o move elsewhere for whatever reasons, they recreate the same structurc. The first man to clear and cultivate land and make alliances with the ezrth spirits of that place has the right to that land in perpetuity. Land and the earth spirits' pr@--7' ion are passcd from father to sons. In contrast to men, women are presented in social and ritual time-space contexts as impermanent or discontinuous. In accordance with social rules for property ownership, women have no legitimate claim to land, compounds or sorghum. This concept may be expressed in the ancestor pots and in the spatial manoeuvering of women during festivals and in maniage. Principal sacrifices given to ancestor pots occur during the agricultural festivals which cclcbrate the fertility and protection of the patrilineage and the sorghum fields. Land itself is inherited through the ancestors. On the basis of evidence collected in 1986, ancestor pots represent men and women as two different systems of social time. These time systems are summarized in Figure 13. Male pots present a continuous time-span between the current male lineage head and thc past two generations of males from his patrilineage. In contrast, female pots are representative of women from two outside patrilineages, each of whom have contributed one maie generation using procreative powers 'controlled' by her husband's patrilineage. The 'discontinuous' nature of women is reproduced and legitimated by the ritual cycle which effectively marginalizes women from ancestors and consequently from resources. This is done by controlling the spatial and temporal context of ritual interaction. During festivals women move from husband's to father's houwhold. In doing so, women's temporal and spatial impermanence is presented in contrast to rites celebrating the temporal and spatial permanence of the patrilineage. In addition, virilocal, exogamous marriage forces women to break continuity with both their father's and husband's ancestors and therefore with the legitimate right to resources from either lineage. This both legitimates and is legitimated by the limitations of f m a l c participation and access to ancestor rites within their own patdineage. The conflict between patrilineal control of resources and the pivotal role of women's work and fertility in the prosperity of the patrilineage results in certain regularized expressions of hostility. The spatial medium for the release of tension once again presents women literally as outsiders and troublesome toward both men and other women who have married into their own patrilineages. These expressions occur publicly and outside of the family compound. For example, on the death of their father, daughters come to the outside of his compound, and sing of his murder by witchcraft and the impending death of their brothers. During Rnkashidgwc, mothers/sisters stand outside their son'slbrother's house to sing against his wife accusing her of using witchcraft against him. During the same festivals, women as a group sing praiscs and then insults directed toward their husbands, often concerning his lack of wealth and generosity (M26A 11:149; M20A 11:151). Women are perceived to be the cause of domestic tension even involving violcnce causing community discord. Men commonly attribute these actions as part of female jealousy and fickleness. However, Mura and Urza women cannot be overly exploited. The mobility of both a wonan's material possessions and economic skills along with minimal auihariiative responsibilities allow her to leave an unpleasznt domestic situation at will. Furthermore, women have the social right to do so. Women are highly valued for their fertility. Theoretically the bridewealth received for the daughter is used to pay the bridewealth of her brothers. Consequently women provide the means for the continuity of their own patrilineage and that of their husband while linking the two lineages together in sociaI obligations. This stands in marked contrast to thc domestic power structure of the Wandala. Rcsourcc Distribution by Gender in Wandala Households Wandala economic and social resources are manipulated by men and women within a dominant ideology which values the upward negotiation of individual social position through the accumulation of wealth and prestige. Prestige is based upon occupation both in the market place, in Islamic scholarship and in traditional and national bureaucratic posts. Although all families are involved in their own food production, physical labour is considered low status and even demeaning. Both men and women strive to remove themselves from food production, processing and compound construction, Even though patrilineage structure is not as pervasive in Wandala society as with the Mura and Urza, subsistence resources are concentrated in the hands of men through inheritance. As a result, men dominate the higher valued or larger portions of available resources in comparison to women. This structure of parallel but unequal control of resources based on gender is further embedded in the hierarchical structure of Wandala society. Wealthy high status men marry women from wealthy high status families who can provide appropriate dowry and wcddings for their daughters. Marriage is endogamous within the Moslem community. This practice concentrates wealth within ethnic groups. The Wandala households in this study are of approximatciy the same sncio-economic scale with the exception of households headed by recently converted montagnard males. The latter were poorer both economically and socially than the others. Thc Wandala power structure is also embedded within ethnic relations. The Wandala pcrct.ive theinselves as being morally and socialIy superior to the montagnards. The manipulation 115 of resources by both men and women is partly to negotiate visible distance betwtltn themselves and the montagnard communities. T h s is particularly evident in the organization of production in which the Wandala strive to hire montagnards or to use other nwchanical means of distancing themselves from physical labour. Figure 15 summarizes the distribution of allocativc rt.snurcos by gender in the Wandala households. Wandala men control the basic resources consumed directly by the domestic unit: sorghum, land, compound, and alliances with the environmental spirits which protect these resources. Unlike the montagnards, the Wandala economy is more diversified. Agriculture still provides food and shelter for the family but in addition almost all Wandala men arc involvcd i n trading goods or specialized crafts and services. These trades often require long-tsrm apprenticeship and training. In marriage a man is expected to provide food, clothing, she1tcr and spiritual protection for his wives and children. Men also pay taxes, provide brideprice payments for their wives and the first wives of their sons, and pay a substantial part of dowry and wedding costs for their daughters. Cash requirements for male household heads are most pressing at thc end of Ramadan when they are expected to outfit their families in new clothing and lo proviclc gifts for their in-laws, friends and neighbours. Generosity is a means of maintaining and increasing one's personal prestige in the family and in the community. Men aequirc cash through the sale of cotton, cereal and bean crops as well as market trade. Cash can bc used to hire labourers to work their fields and to build and maintain compounds. Although this practicc intensifies production, the actual profits left from market and agricultural product~onfor many men may be small. Still the goal of social status is augmented or at least maintained through freedom or partial freedom from physical labour. 'Women contribute to the household economy by producing garden vegetables, legumes and muskwari seedlings. A woman's i01e in Wandala food proccssi~gand preparation is howcvcr less direct than in Mura and Urza homes. Women purchase rather than make pots, and as Moslems they do not prepare beer. Sorghum is ground at the village mill for a small fcv paid by husbands. A woman grinds her own flour only when she lacks funds or when the rrill is broken. Firewood is usually purchased and children are often sent to the well to bring water. The main well is within the Wandala quartcr so that if a woman must carry her own water, it is for a much shorter distance than most Mura and Urza women. A wife is expected to prepare meals, provide the vegetables for sauces from her garden, and to produce s l t substitute from plant stalks. Yet these activities involve physical labour ar~d,while necessary, are not highly valued. Women's market activities differ from those of men. Women's crafts tend to involve informal training without apprenticeship and their retail trade tends to be much sma!ler in scale than that of men. Consequently it is less lucrative. A woman's cash needs vary at different stages of her life. For a young married woman in her reproductive years, cash is needed to purchase luxury items and gifts for her husband in order to negotiate her status amongst her co-wives. An oldcr woman may necd money to purchase basic requirements of shelter, food and clothing 3r hire labourers to work fields. Women who practice any market trade also need cash to purchase raw materials for their craft. Thc distribution of Wandala authoritative resources by gender is presented in Figure 16. Men have authority over their own labour as well as that of their wives and children. If a man is poor hc hds the right to request his wife to assist him in his fields. Still, a man strives to improve his status by hiring labour to remove his wife from such tasks. Ultimately a woman's involvement in agricultural work depends upon the wealth of her husband. A man's market involvement depends upon his ability to free himself from subsistence. This is achieved most often by hiring workers to do the labour intensive stages of cereal and cotton production. Some of the profits from the crop pay for the labour. Others produce just enough food from their land to f e d their families. Shortcomings in yields are made up by purchases in the market with cash from market trades. If a man has enough land he can rent the use of his land in exchange for a set quantity of grain. Although some men in Dela make considerable profit in market trade, all household heads interviewed claimed to produce the bulk of their family food requirements. Consequently, while status is achieved through the market, profits and concomitantly status arc tied to an agricultural base. The extent of a woman's participation in the market is affccted by hcr husband. A husband can discourage his wife from market participation. However, women's market skills are informally learned, so that women have the chance to take u p market activitics at any time. Dowry ensures that a woman can start up in business without the backing of her husband. This flexibility provides women with economic options outside of marriage and these are exercised particularly by older women. Although brideprice is paid by the groom or his father to the bride's father, the cost of the wedding and dowry usually exceed the sum of the brideprice so that it is unlikely that a daughter's brideprice will in turn cover the cost of brideprice for her brothers' wives. Womcn can inherit land and property from their parents or husbands, though the amount is always restricted to a portion of the share allotted to male kin. These restrictions are based on Islamic law. Traditional forms of inheritance also concentrate control of basic resources in the hands of men within the patriline. For instance, compounds are transferred from father to oldest son. There are a few instances of women working their own land and compounds. These women are all older or widowed with young children. The older women use one of their husband's fields or rent or make an arrangement with a man in the village for thc u x of his fields. The one instance in the study of a widow working fields was as a trustee of the land for her young sons. A woman's primary source of independent income during her reproductive ycars is her dowry. The size of the dowry influences a bride's status amongst her co-wives and is dcpcndcnt upon the wealth of her parents and their ability and willingness to cont~nueto a u p c n t her dowry upon her husband's subsequent marriages. Men have the socially esteemed positions of ritual authority. Although girls attend Koranic school, all Islamic teachers and spiritual advisors are male. Imams lead community prayers in the IsIamic ritual cycle as well as traditional prayers for rain. Food sacrifices are provided for the community and for the family by men. Women's participation in these rituals is in the preparation of food for community and family consumption. Men and women are said to practice witchcraft on their enemies and fear of such attack is ubiquitous in the Wandala community. Men, women and children wear protective amulets made by male specialists to kcep them from such misfortune. Women are said to use witchcraft to intimidate their co-wives and husbands The drive for individual status in Wandala society is dominated by male interests, although it would be difficult to present male interests as united. Inheritance rules and the ideology of individual success make male interrelationships highly competitive, particularly between brothers. Nonetheless, social sanctions and ritual practices limit women's ability to acquire wealth and status relative to men within their socio-economic group. Women are presented in social and ritual contexts as inferior to men in an attempt to naturalize the ideology of the Wandala power structure. For instance, women must treat their husbands and men older than themselves with deference. Mohammadou (1982:177) states that if a woman meets a man on the road and he greets her she answers him with the same address that a man gives to a dignitary, noble or someone of superior rank to himself and she addresses her husband with the title that is given the tlikse -- eroare ('my lion'). The ideological perception of female inferiority is presented in the control of social and ritual time-space. Women, in their daily routines are spatially associated with the household through religious sanction including the separation of women from agricultural labour, restriction of female market success and access to craft learning networks. In addition, there is an increasing trend to restrict women's movements by seeking modern marriages which legally prevent women from traditional right to divorce by abandonment. In public and ritual gatherings the spatial order of men and women recreates perceptions of male superiority, as only men can lead prayers, teach, divine or assist in judgments in the chief's court. PremenopausaI women are not allowed in the mosque because they are considered to be in a constant state of impurity. In public prayers and political meetings women stand as n group behind men, a spatial position considered as inferior in Wandala society. In a sense, women are a source of family tension and financial strain. A man spcnds much of his energy in removing women from labour and paying his daughters' dowries. Regardless, women are valued in myth and political position as protectors and guardians of Wandala male interests. For example, Dela was taken by Sankre when he convinced his wife to betray her father who was the Maya chief of Dela -- Grea is said to have been taken similarly (Mohammadou 1982). An old woman is said to have warned and saved prince Caya, founder of the royal dynasty (Mohammadou 1982). In political practice the power of the rnngim was ncxt only to that of the tlikse. Significantly, the mugira's court, like male/femalc relations as a wholc, were parallel in structure but rest~ictedin power to less than that o: the tlikse and his court. It's main role was as a sanctuary and court of appeal to protect the Wandala community from the tlikse's injustice. Therefore, the goals of Wandala men and women can be described as both reflexive and conflictive. The relationship is reflexive because the individual status of married men and women are dependent on that of each other. However, this is not balanced as the status of a husband must exceed that of a wife. This strategy involves men controlling and restricting the movcmcnt and activities of wives to the household. This results in a series of conflicts within the family. The spatial control of women's movements comes into direct conflict with women's interests in the negotiation of their own status with other women. Co-wives compete with each other to maintain status within the family through the accumulation of wealth. If a woman is reliant on manipuiating her dowry for this weaith, she must pressure her famiiy to supply i t and this is not always possible. The ongoing refurbishment of a daughter's dowry prewnis a source of tension between parents and daughter. Parents are obligated to provide for female children even aftcr their marriage to the detriment of their own accumulation of ptrsonal wealth and prestigc. 120 Brideprice does not cover the costs of marriage and dowry. Male informants stated that daughters led to impoverishment. Undoubtedly conflict emerges between sisters and brothers as a woman's dowry reduces what sons will ultimately inherit. Consequently a woman's chance to maintain and increase her own weaith is through commerce and the market outside of the home. This practice directly contests husband's interests and men frequently complain about female economic independence as a source of domestic friction. In sum, the Wandala domestic power structure differs markedly from that of the Mura and the Urza. Wandala men's and women's interests are marked by strong individualism. The only reciprocal relations apparent in the male/female relationship is at the level of subsistence and repmduction. The parallel but conflictive nature of men's and women's interests results in intrafamily tension over the control of resources between male kin, between co-wives, between parents and their children, and between husband's and wives. The relations between husband and wives pivot around the ability of men to restrict women's resources and movements with the sanction of Islamic law and ritual practice. Resource Distribufiotz by Gender in Shuwu households The Shuwa power structure is dominated by male agnatic kin groups which control wealth in the form of cattle. Figure 17 summarizes the distribution of allocative resources on the basis of gender amongst the Shuw-a. Male agnatic kin groups collectively own and herd cattle and a quantity of small stock made up of sheep and goats. Grain and cotton are increasing in importance as part of agnatic corporate property. Women's allocative resources may include some cattle and small stock but the quantities are small. h e informant dearly stated that women in fact owned no cattle (S206A 10:119). Shuwa women, similar to Mura and Urza women, are perceived as processors and dependents of male resources. Their primary economic contribution is in processing and selling dairy products 124 and supplementing the diet with vegetables and perhaps in former hmcs with wild gains. Unlike Mura and Urza women, labour is not valued by the male communih,. As Illoslems, men try tc) remove women from physical labour in order to improve their personal standing in the community. Consequently, women's activities are focused around the compound maintaining cattle keeps and looking after young and sick animals. Figure 18 summarizes the distribution of authoritative resources by gender in the Shuwn communitv. Men have control over their personal labour and can hire out as herders to another family or herd for their o ~ m family. Men also have authority over the work of their wivm and children who assist in herding and cultivating when necessary. As in other groups studied, Shuwa men have the authority over their children through the transfer of bridewealth payments. Women have the freedom to divorce a man for mistreatment, neglect, poverty or infertility. Shuwa men dominate ritual positions as scholars and Islamic leaders and teachers of thc community. An interpretation of Dela Shuwa perceptions of gender roles and relations in time-spacc IS difficult as so few households were surveyed. From the llttlc ava~iablcevidcnce i t appears tlut, since the Shuwa move their villages every few years for new pasturage, there is no strong attachment to or competition for land amongst the Shuwa, although this is apparently changing. Traditionally, both men's and women's interests were enmeshed in the maintcnancc an$ incrtnsc of the herd. Yet, as dairy products dwindle, women are losing their role and valuc within thv Shuwa home. This is not true for men as agrjcultural production can assume the placc of cattlc as corporate property. This situation is undoubtedly the cause for the appropriation of Wandala-type dowries for young women. Dorvry appears to be replacing milk as the separate resource of Shuwa women. The distribution of ailocative and authoritative resources within each of the four cornmunitics partly structures and is structured by gender roies and relationships. In all four groups, domcstic power structures are as,vmrnetric favouring men. The Mura and Urza structure is virtually identical which is to be expected in groups which exchange mamage partners from a network of independent patriheages and in which women's ro:e in the production and processing of resources is crucial. Within a set of predictable and highly structured domestic rctations, women can freely move between households in the course of their lives. Women's mobility in Wandala households, however, is a mixed blessing. The cont~ibutionsin agriculture which husbands and wives make 1s not given value. Value is sought within thc community and not the home. This system creates conflict, as men seek to improve their status in the community by restricting women to the home, and women seek to improve their status through the marketplace. The Shuwa domestic power structure is different. Men's wealth is structured through male a p a t i c kin. Although the resource base is changing from cattle to grain, the nature of male relationships remains the same. However, women's allccative resources are dependent on those of men, and arc jeopardized by the loss of cattle and milk. The solution may in part be through Wandala dowry. The process of change in women's roles within Shuwa households must be affecting domcstic power structures although the small sample size prohibits a clear definition of thew changes. These power structures are implicated in internal household design which are examined in chapters seven and eight. CHAPTER SIX: THE CONFIGURATION QF D8aMESTICSPACE Introduction T h s chapter examines the ideal configuration of domestic space in Mura, Urza, Wandala and Shuwa households. In all groups the family compound is comprised of structures which house activities, family membcrs and resources. However, a compound is more than the sum of activity areas and storage facilities. The spatial arrangement of structures, resources, activities and consequently the location of men, women and children within the compound is culturally meaningful. This meacing may or may not be at a discursive level of consciousness where individuals can explicitly state the reasons for spatial arrangements. However, at a practicd level members of a cultural group know where types of individuals should be located, what they should be doing when and with whom. It is suggested here that this practical level of ~mplicitly knowing where individuals, activities and resources should bc placed within households is a knowledge partly based in dominant perceptions of gender roles and relationships presentcd in chapter five. This chapter and the following two chapters analyze Dela households in order to not demonstrate the role gender ideology plays in the configuration of domestic space. T h ~ docs s suggest gender ideology is the only factor involved in internal household des~gn-- i t is not. Spatial requirements of certain activities and different types of resources certainly affect overall design. What is being examined here is how each group spcrtially orders or arranges these ' activities and facilities rather than the specif~cdesign of individual structures. The study focusc.5 particularly on the placement of similar types of activities or resourcc5 such as sleep~ng arrangements of adults, the location of children, kitchens and food preparation equipment, grain storage and water storage in each of the four groups. Thew same types of activities and resources are arranged in a plan according to choices made by household owners, and to some extent their wives, within each g o u p friim 2 range of possible locations. For example, a gianaiy could be placed in the centre of the compound, to the side of the courtyard, or inside a room. In other words, there is a range of choices a builder has to chose from in designing the compound. It is suggested here that gender ideology is an important factor which gives meaning to the rclativc ordering of these activities and facilities. What men and women do, and where they do it, constructs and reproduces perceptions of gender roles and relationships. Additional factors implicated in the configuration of domestic space are examined in chapter nine. In this chapter, the compounds of each group are briefly described. Then the link between spatial arrangements and perceptions of gender roles and relationships is presented. This is done in two parts. In the first part, descriptions of where structures should be placed in the compound arc presented as provided by household heads. In the second part, informant descriptions and field obwrvations of the placement of individuals and activities in certain areas of the compound at certain times are described. An ideal configuration of domestic spatial order is then inferred from these descriptions. Dela Households Building materials and design elements are described in detail in the following three chapters. However, a brief description of households is necessary prior to the presentation of ideological concepts. Mura and Urza co npounds are virtually identical in outward appearance (we Figure 19). Each compound is made up of a tight clustering of round and often rectangular buildings which arc connected to each other by sections of wall. Each room opens into an inner, partially cnvcred courtyard. In the centre of the courtyard are several granaries. The buildings themxlves are made of daub which is made from a mixture of earth and other materials, termite mound soil, stone, or cereal stdk or mat walls with thatched or metal roofs. M'andala compound buildings are enclosed within a high daub wall or cereal stalk fence. 125 From the exterior, an observer can only see the roof tops (for example seu Figure 20). Buildings are almost all rectilinear in shape, made of daub or cereal stalk with thatched or mctal roofing. The buildings are arranged around an open, uncovered courtyard, with garden areas behind or to the sides of the buildings inside the enclosure. Lime trees and palms arc snmctimes found in the gardens. One of the striking characteristics of the compound is its scale. Shuwa traditional round buildings are two to four times the size of Mura and Urza structures although rectilinear shaped buildings identical to those of the Wandala are found in some compounds (sce Figure 2 1 ). Traditional buildings are made of millet stalk walls with a thatched roof, and thc rectilinear torms are of either stalk or daub, the latter often having metal roofs. Buildings occupied and used by an extended family of agnatic kin are arranged around a very large ccntral area. Buildings are neither attached to nor surrounded by walls. informant Descriptions of Domestic Spatial Order Mura and Urzu informant descriptions. Household heads were asked where stmcturcs for men, women, children, elders, animals and their separate and common resources should be pldced within a compound and why. Usually informants illustrated their description by drawing a floor plan on the ground and then pointing to where individuals houses and fc%iturcs should bc placed. All but two of the descriptions were provided by male household heads. The exceptions are that of a Mura man's first wife who offered information in the absence of her husband on the morning of one \+sit and that of a Wandala female household head. The Mura woman's account was identical to that of Mura men and the Wandala woman's description fell within the same range of variability described by Wandala men. As described by informants, compound interiors arc oriented from the entry facing into the compound. In the following descriptions, terms such as left and right are in reference to this viewpoint. Front refers to the area towards the entry, back to thc area farthest away. Mura and Urza compounds appear to be identical from this observefs perspective. Furthermore, six Mura and three Urza household heads provided almost identical descriptions of the appropriate locations for family members and features in the compound. It should be kept in mind that this virtual consensus may partly be attributed to the fact that several of these household heads arc related. Figure 22 is a kinship diagram of Mura household heads and Figure 23 and Urza household heads. As both Mura and Urza men construct their own compounds with their children, the construction techniques and spatial order are taught by fathers to sons, a process which could be expected to result in similarities of design at least between father, sons and brothers. A more detailed description of compound construction is found in chapter eight. In building a compound, rooms are constructed in the following order: kitchen, animal houses, bedroom for wife, granaries and entry (M20A 3:6). If the man is the head of his lineage, a granary is built first to house the ancestor pots as informants stated that the gerda lay do not like sunlight (M26A 3:4,7:90) Male houset~oldheads sleep either in the entry chamber or have a room to the left or right of the entry (M2A 2:16;M3A 2:.34;M4A 2:48;M6C 2:132;M14B 2:108;U5A 2:62;U194A 3:80). This vantage point allows a man to protect his family and livestock from thieves during the night (U13A 2:96). All but one informant stated that the household head's first wife is loczted directly opposite the entry at the back of the compound. The one exception (U13A 2:96) suggested that the placement of the cntry was not as important as locating women on the opposite side of the compound from their husbands (U13A 296). Although most stated that the house opposite the entry is the first wife's kitchen, two informants claimed that it is the first wife's bedroom (M2A 2:16;1?5A 2:6?). Subsequent wives are located to the left or the right of this individual (M2A 2:16;M3A 2:.34;M4A 2:48;M6C 2:132;M14A 2:108;U5A 262). One informant claimed that if a man preferred his second or third wife to the first he builds her kitchen on the right side of the first wife iM26A 7:90). Two suggest that the second wife should be to the right of the first wife and 127 the third wife to the left ( M K 2132; LEA 2:62?. Yet another man states that the second wife is placed on the left side and the third on the right IU194A 3:80). Wives of married -sons are plnctd 2:16S). One informant stated that the youngest son and to the right of the father's first wife (M9-4 his wife are placed in a house on the left side of the entry (Ul94A 380). It is mandatory that each wife has her own kitchen and, if spacc is available each wife will also have an adjacent bedroom. Women embed placenta pots in the floor area between their kitchens and bedrooms where they also wash and urinate (M4A 5:24;M6E 5%; U5A 5:213). Placenta pots are either a sauce or dafa pot which is pierced through the bottom and placed over the placenta. Informants stated that the type of pot did not relate to the gender of the child. Forkl (1985:360) draws a connection between pot burials and placenta pots. This seems unlikely as none of the groups in the study now or in the recent past buried their dead in pots. Instead, thc practice seems to be connected to the denial of witchcraft practices by women. For instance, as stated in chapter four, a woman who keeps old inverted pots in the kitchen is suspected of hiding dangerous medicine which she will use against her husband. It is suggested here tha! thc burial of the placenta in the woman's area and the piercing of the pot is analogous with piercing pots in the kitchen. As the placenta is associated with the child and the parents, this material is potentially dangerous if i t falls into the hands of an enemy. By burying the placenta in the compound and by piercing the pot, potential danger is averted. Co-wives never share a kitchen, nor do resident daughters-in-law share with their mothers-in-law as new wives fear that their cooking will be criticized by their husband's mother (M26A 2:162; M9B 2:162). A woman's hearth should not be visible from the man's room or seating area at the front of the courtyard as it is considered acutely embarrassing for men and women to see each other in the process of eating (M6C 2:132;M9A 2:162;M14B 2:108;U5A 262). Each woman has a grinding table in her kitchen. There is no standard location for this table in the kitchen (M14A 2:108). Pre-adolescent children sleep in their respective mother's room lM2A 2:16;U5A 23621, 128 although some said that young male children are accommodated with their father (M2A 2:16;). The allotment of rooms for adolescent children is less firm. One informant suggested that houses for older boys and girls do not have a specific location in the compound (M2A 2:16), while others stated that adolescent boys are placed in a room near the entrance (M4A 2:48;U5A 2:62), leaving thelr mother's room to their sisters (M3A 2:34). One informant suggested that adolescent girls receive their own room near their mother (M4A 2:48). One stated that children of either gender are house3 near the entry (M14A 2:108). Animal houses are always located near and on either side of the entry (M2A 2:16;M3A 2:M;MM: 2:132) cjr the man's room (M4A 2:48;M14B 2:108;U5A 262) for security reasons as already stated. The granary under which the gerda lay are housed is placed in front of the first wife's kitchen at the back right side of the central courtyard (M2A 2:16;M3A 2:,34;M4A 2:48;M6C 2:132;Mld,E 2:108; U5A 262; U194A 3:80). The Mura and Urza call this granary the gabaka (M26A/U194 3:80). To the left of tho gabaka is the first wife's granary, and the other wives' granaries arc placed in a row from the first wife's granary toward the front (M2A 2:16;M3A 2:34;M4A 2:48;M6C 2:132;M14B 2:108;U5A 2:62;U194A 3:80). One informant stated that if co-wives are jealous and steal from each other's granaries, then each wife's granary is constructed beside her respective kitchen or bedroom (M26A 254). A man's other granaries are placed to the front of the gntlaka on the right side of the courtyard (M2A 2:16;M3A 2:34;M4A 2:48;M6C 2:132;M14B 2:106;Ul%A 380). If a man has other sacred or magical pots they are always placed under his granaries and never those of his wives (M6C 2:132). However, elderly women can have pots to which they give offerings for the health of their grandchildren (M11/M4A 2:87). These pots are placed undcr the woman's granary (MI1 /M4A 287). The tall cylinder-shaped granaries, described in detail in chapter eight, dominate Mura and Urza inner courtyards and prevent a clear view across the compound. Tlus is partly intentional. Both Mura and Urza practice in-law avoidance which is particularly difficult for a daughter-in-law residing in her husband's father's compound. The granaries help these women avoid being seen by their in-laws while they are working or eating. Several informants suggested that women's houses are located on the east and men's houses are located on the west side of the compound (M6C 2:132;U5A 2:62;Li13A 2:96;U194A 3:50). As described by Mura informants, this pattern is reproduced in the orientation of the body in the grave. Men lie on their right side with their right hand tucked under the head facing east and the rising sun, women are place on their left side with the left hand tucked under the hcad facing west and the setting sun (M20A ll:106;M2A 11:107;U5A 11:103;U193 11:103;U13 11:103). The reasons informants gave for the cardinal orientation of the grave is pertinent here as the orientation of men and women in the grave referred to the orientation of men's and womcn's activities which occur in the compound. Men are placed in the grave facing the rising sun so that they will know when to rise and go to the sorghum fields (M20A 11:106;M2A 11:107). This is thc same orientation expressed by informants for men's houses in the compound. Mcn's entry or bedrooms are located on the west side so that a man is oriented toward the east when facing into his compound. Women are buried facing the setting sun so that they will know when i t is time to prepare the evening meal (M20A 11:106;M2A 11:107). This is the orientation expressed by informants for women's kitchens. Kitchens and other women's rooms should be located in the east facing west across the compound courtyard towards the setting sun. Informants stated that cardinal orientation is sometimes reverscd when the compounds are built on the mountains. The orientation on the mountains is affected by the slope as women, who are perceived as inferior to men, must always be located below their husband. Accordingly compounds built on the east side of a mountain would follow the ideal orientation while tho% on the west slope would be the reverse (U194A 3:80). This spatial arrangement is again reproduced in burial practices on Dela Mountain. Mcn are buried in an area at the top of the mountain in groups with their malt kin, women arc buried apart from the men and in areas farther down the slope W5A 11:104;M20A 11:107;M2A ll:108;M26A 11:112). Wandalu inforrnanf descriptions. Wandala descriptions of structure placement are more variable than those of Mura and Urza informants. This was the case even amongst members of the same family. Figure 23 presents a kinship diagram of the eight Wandala households surveyed. The entry is considered by male informants as the most important room and its presence indicates the wealth of a family (W15A 2:118;W78A 2:172). Informants suggest that the male household head's bedroom is placed on either side of the entry IW8A 2:190;W18A 2:172; W76A 392; WllOA 3:100; W148A 3:ll4). Some informants claimed that boys stayed with their father at night and infants and girls with their mothers (W8A 2:190;W18A 2:172). Boys build themselves a bedroom near thc entry to the right or left side of the compound when they are eight to ten years of age (W18A 2172). Girls stay with their mother until they marry (W18A 2172). One man stated that adolescent girls receive a room near their mother's bedroom and adolescent boys near their father's bcdroom (W15A 2:118). Yet another stated that adolescent children are located near their mother's kitchen (WIIOA 3:100). One informant stated that the most important factor in arranging domestic space is that men and women must be located at opposite sides of the compound (W53A 3:126). Although others did not state this, this was the arrangement expressed in floorplans sketched out on the ground during intenwws. ' Descriptions as to the placement of women's rooms shared the greatest consensus amongst infornlants although variations occurred. Some said that women's bedrooms are located at the back W7hA 3:92;W148A 3:114) although one said women's bedrooms could be located to one side (WllO.4 5:100). In either case, the first wife's room is described as being to the right and subsequent wives placed to the left when facing the women's rooms (W8A 2:190;W18A 2:172;W110A 3:IUO). One stated that the spatial arrangement of wives was up to the women involved W53A 3:12ti). Each wife must have her own 'bedroom and washing/toilet area (W15A 2 1 18). One man stated that when Wandala buildings were round women stored their dowry of pots and wooden bowls along the back wall of their bedroom on a low sand platform (W15A A kitchen is shared by wives unless co-wives are jealous in which case each wife must have a separate kitchen (W15A 2:118;W53A 3:126). One man claimed that if there are several wives, then they must share a kitchen (W122 6:14), presumably because of constraints on space. Informants disagreed on the placement of kitchens. One stated that kitchcns arc placed wherever there is space (W18A 2:172), while the female household head said that a woman's kitchen is placed to the left or right of her bedroom (W148.4 3:114). One consideration in kitchen location is the visibility of the hearth from the entry. Like the Mura and U r u , the Wandala hearth must not be visible from the entry or courtyard as they consider it embarrassing for women to bc seen eating by men (W18A 2:172). In the past a man would divide up his compound for his sons so that they could live with him after they married (WIIOA 3:100;W148A 3:114). If sufficient room was not available he would buy property nearby for his sons. One informant also claimed that this tradition was not popular among young men today (WlIOA 3:100). Animal houses are built near the entry (W76A 3 9 2 ) particularly if there is a problem with thieves. If this is the case, animal houses are built near the man's bedroom from whcrc hc can guard the livestock at night (W18A 2:172). Wandala as well as Shuwa traditionally used pits lined with mats and cereal chaff to store grain. Old granary pits were located in the central courtyard (W15A 2:120;W110A 3:1OO;W14XA 3:114). The Wandala claim that they stopped using pits in the late 1960s and early 1970s because the grain didn't keep as well in pits as in above ground granaries like those u=d by the Mura and Urza. The latter are described in chapter eight. Currently, the Wandala and some Shuwa either hire a rnontagnard to build a granary for them or they store the gbTreinforced burlap sacks in the man's or the children's rooms (W15A 2:121). One informant stated that above ground granaries are also located in the central courtyard (W18A 2:172), while another statcd that the granaries are located near the women (W122A 6:14). 132 Most informants claimed that there was no specific orientation for the W-andaia compound. However two informants, stated that women should always be located on the east side the (W148A 3:114;W53A 3726). One suggested that men and the entry should be located on the -south (W53A 3:126). No reasons were provided for these orientations. If the compound is located on a slope, one informant stated that men should be located u p slope from their wives, a concern which could result in the entrance being located to the north and not the south (W53A 3126) For thc Wandala, burial orientation is the same for both men and women. Both are positioned with head to south, feet to north, hands tied between thighs and lying extended on the right side facing cast in the Islamic tradition (W53A 11:85). Women are buried with their husband and sons in Wandala graveyards located along the river to the north and to the south of the town. The correlation between the spatial placement of men and women in the grave and in the houschold is not as strong in the caw of the Wandala as it is for the Mura and Urza. However, thcre is a positivc and symbolic association given to the south and the east in Islamic burial. East being the general direction of prayer to Mecca from this region, and south being the orientation for the head in burial. Two informants suggested that east was associated with the placement of women in the household, and one suggested that south was associated with the entry. As most informants suggested that men are placed near the entry, then it may follow that men are also located in the southern section of the compound. Shuwn informant descriptions. Shuwa compounds differ from Mura, Urza, and Wandala compounds in that the compound accommodates an extended family of agnatic kin. Each adult male has a house which forms a part of an extended family circle around a common central space and cach clustcr is headed by the senior (eldest) male of the related male kin. None of the houschold groupings in this study were related. Three of the four household heads interviewed in the Shuwa quarter stated that they are Wandala and no longer Shuwa even though they construct their houses in the Shuwa style. Only one man (S25A 10:81) claimed to be Shuwa. His 133 perception of Shuwa domestic spatial order is the prime source for constnlcting- the Shuwa idea1 spatial configuration. According to this man, compounds are ordered in the circle according to an individual's relative age and relationship to the senior male member of the houschold (S25A 3%). The father's compound is placed in the east with his adult sons positioned in order of descending age counterclockwise around the central area (S25A 336). The father is iocatcd in the east so that when praying, his sons pray in the direction of their father's compound ( S E A 336). As all but one Shuwa man had only one wife, so it was impossible to discern the ordering of additional wives. The man with two wives (S19A1, housed both wives in a Wandala style two-room buildmg rather than in the traditional large, round house. In most cases, a man shares a house in thc compound circle with his wife if he has no other wives. However, in compound 9 5 , one man had a separate bedroomianimal house for himself and another for his wife. In the past, granary pits were located in the central area of the compound (S25A 3:3h). Above ground granaries are now used, but there is no specific placement for these types oi granaries (S25A 3:36). External animal enclosures are also located in the central area or adjacent to the senior man's compound for protection from thieves. The informant indicated that small granaries are made for older women in their houses in order to store food and other personal items (S25A 3:36). Men and women are buried in a graveyard to the south of the community. Mcn, women, and children are buried on their right sides, facing east, head to south, feet to north in an extended position with their hands tied betwecn their thighs (S19A 11:110; S25A 11:l'll; S187A 1184; S206A 11:85). There is no apparent correlation betwecn the orientation of Shuwa burials and household space with the exception of the importance placed on the east. The east wnerally describes the direction of prayer to Mecca and the suggested location of the scnior man's compound. The Shuwa house is kitchen, bedroom, and animal house. The interior is clcarly divided into two sections. In the following description, left and right are in reference to one's view from the doorway faring into the room. The left half of the room is the womn's side and the right side is used to keep cattle (S25A 3:32-33;5187A 21:142;S206A 3:150). The left side is furnished with the woman's bed, hearth, pot and gourd storage. Women traditionally construct an enormous enclosed bed on a rai.scd platform, but this bed is being replaced with a painted metal four poster bed identical to thc those which partly comprise Wandala women's dowries. Traditional women's beds were observed in other houses in Dela's Shuwa quarter and during a visit to the Shuwa village of Mehe Kijimitari. The right half of the room, in addition to sheltering cattle, may also includc a cot which was said to be the husband's (S25A 3:35; S187A 3140; S206A 3:148). In the first part of this chapter, information is presented which indicates that each group has a pcrccption as to where males, icrnales, adults, children and certain resources are located in the compound. In this section, informant descriptions and personal observation of the placement of males and females in the household during the performance of specific activities and at different times in their lives is described. Selected activities take place in specific time-space contexts that is certain spaces are routinely scheduled for events or activities which in2lude or exclude certain categories of people. For instance, a Mura entry house is a casual meeting area for guests by day except at meal times when i t is the cating area for male household members. At night, the entry is the place where a man sleeps with his wives, and where children are conceived. During certain rituals the entry is whcre a man buries medicine bundles to protect his family and property. Therefore, the entry is schedulivi into daily, biological and ritual activities depending on a point in secular or ritual time, The implication of time-spacc contexts is that domestic space is not a homogeneous area. Since all activities and events in the household have a temporal and a spatial coordinate, space cannot bc understood as unidimensional. The following descriptions are categorized into events 135 wh~choccur in the compound M-ithinthree systems of time. These systems are routine dally events, a periodic ritual cycle and the biological liic cycle of residents. Mura and Urza Domestic Time-space Contexts Daily time-space confcxts. Descriptions of daily activities are based on personal obwrvdtion and casual conversation gathered while mapping compound tloorplans. Daily actisitit5 of men are situated primarily inside the entry or outside the compound enclosure. These actisitics involve certain casual and formal furniture. Logs or large stones are often set at the front of thc compound e n t v as a seating area and in some instances a sand platform bordered in stone is constructed at the front as an eating platform. In entry structures thcrc is often a dud1 covrred platform which serves as a bench and a bed. The core of the platform is a fill of gravel and rocks. It is in this spatial context that men conduct certain daily actitities. For instancc, mcn cat their morning and evening meals with their sons in the entry or in fmnt of the compound. The household head sleeps with his wife either in the entry or the man's bedroom located at the frol?! of the compound. When men are engaged in making materials for the compound such as cording and mats, they work in a shaded area outside the compound entry. Men's weapons and agriculkural tools are also stored in the entry or their bedroom. Male visitors are entcrtalncd in the entw or in the front of the compound out.ibc :he entry. This arrangement is r c p i t c d at the Friday beer market when men drink beer as a group outside the entry of the host compound. A woman's household actj;iities occur in or around her kitchen and Scdroom. Wc~meric~i! in their kitchen, their bedroom, or the courtyard area in front of their kitchen with the~rdaughters and young sons. Gn nights when a wife does not sieep with her husband she simps with her cleaning duties aie divldc.6 amciiigsi coyowig chi!dren either in her kitchen or Ldroom. HGUSC- wives. Each woman removes the ash from her hearth, s w c ~ p her s own rooms and the area ~ ) thc f courtyard from her rooms to the centre of the courtyard. The front area of thc compound is swop? 2 36 by the wife whose turn i t is to sleep with the husband and prepare his meals IMGD,E,F 2136). A woman always cooks for herself and her children. Most food processing takes place at the back of the compound with the exception of the first part of sorghum preparation. In this case, women are allotted grain by thejr husband from his granaries which are located in the centre of the courtyard. Women are not allowed to take grain from their husband's granary themselves lMC,U1941. The grain is subsequently hulled with a mortar and pestle outside of the compound entry. informants stated that this task firas performed outside either because the grain remaining in the granary did not like the sound of it's brothers being crushed and would vanish (M4A 2:itB;MfjC 2:132;M14B 2 1 OSi or the male household head will die (U5A 262). Once the grain is hulied and winnowed outside, the rest of food preparation takes place in each woman's kitchen. In the kitchen grain is ground into flour at the grinding table, sauces are prepared from dried vcgctables stored ir? the woman's granary or in pots inside her kitchen or bedroom, and salt substitute is prepared in a filter located beside her hearth. Water is stored in large pots set into thc ground either inside or on the courtyard side of the woman's kitchen entry. Pots and cooking utensils are stored both inside a woman's kitchen or bedroom or along the interior courtyard walls bctwccn her rooms. Women potters shape pots in the shaded courtyard area in front of their bedroom or kitchen. Potter): firing pits are located outside of the compound at a distance and in a direction which will nat endanger compound buildings during firing. Women do not make beer on a daily basis, but many make beer periodically for market as well as during festivals. Women making D t ~ dr o so in the courtyard area around the kitchen. Mulch is sieved on a tripod filter and is brcwcd in pots in the courtyard in front of a woman's kitchen. Fermenting and serving is done from a woman's kr p t set into the ground either in her kitchen or is the courtyard in front of her kitchen. F1'ornc.n drink beer with other women inside the compound around the hostess' ki tchcn. Divorce is common amongst hlura and Urza households. When women leave their 137 husband's compound, their kitchen is left to collapse through natural proccsscs before the spacc is reoccupied (C'SA;M26A). Reasons cited for this practice were fear of witchcraft or even physical attacks by the estranged wife on the woman who occupies her houses. Biological time-space contexts. During Mura and Urza lifetimes, individuals are Iocatcxi in different areas of the compound depending upon their age and gender. Conception takes plnct. in the entry or father's bedroom at the front of the compound. Birth occurs in the mother's kitchen or bedroom at the back of the compound. k y s and in some instances g r l s are moved from thu back of the compound to the front. For instance, in early childhood girls and boys eat and sleep with their mother. When a boy is three or four years old he begins to eat and sleep with his father. By puberty boys may get a room near the entry. The youngest son eventually takcs ovcr the father's room at the front when he inherits the compound. Adolescent girls somctimcs receive a room located between their parents. When girls marry they receive their own kitchen at thc back of their husband's compound. Elderly parents are moved outside only to return dftcr death in the form of pots housed under the gabaka. Ritual fime-space contexts. Most men's ritual activities take place in the compound entry structure, in the interior courtyard, or outside at the front of the compound. Ritual activities performed by men in the entry house include naming his children, burying amulets in the threshold and burying medicine bundles in the floor. The latter activity occurs during the February festival wher, each man receives a medicine bundle called the matapram from his father or Iineage head (M26A 1l:l%). The matapram consists of a rooster cooked with medicines. The meat is eaten by each man and the bones are buried in the floor of their father's entry room, or in the entry room of their own compounds if they no longer live with their father. This ritual invoives male family members and exchdes women. During family rituals, men give sacrifices of f o d and btcr to ihc gerda iuy and other sacred pots under the gabaka in the back 3f the courtyard. This ritual takcs place in the prcsence of the family who pai a k e in beer drinking and reasting. Men who make medicines for their 138 family oftcn have a looxl grinding stone set near their entry chamber. The reason for this location is practical as womcn also use loose grinding stones around their kitchen areas to break u p dried vcgctables. Thc separation of loose grinding stones in the front and back ensures that medicines do not get mixed with food (M4k 2:46;M74B 2:110). Occasionally men prepare and eat meat which women do not eat. The man must cook the meat with his own hcarth and pots located outside the compound entry (M26A 6:34;M4A 2:41). Womcn's participation in rituals within their husbands' compound is restricted to the back where they eat and drink during festivals. Only a man's first wife is involved in the cycle of ritual ceremonies through the preparation of beer and food for the feast and for sacrifices to the gerda lay tM6C 2:132;U194A 3:80). A woman's active participation during important ritual events is outside their father's and brother's compounds. Here they sing accusations of witchcraft against othcr womcn who have married into their patdineage. The only ritual performed directly by women in the compound is the burial of her placenta in her washing area. Whcn mcn or women die, their personal buildings are not used by other household members tor fear of falling ill until the following feast for the dead (M26A/M6E 11:73). Rooms can be rcuscd upon the exorcism of the dead individual's spirit in the February festival. Spirits arc cxorciscd by a related child who carries a dead person's beer jar outside and to the back of the cornpc)und. Facing the compound, the child throws the jar backwards over his or her head and returns to the compound without looking back (M20A/M26A 11:86-87). The dead are buried in cemctcrics as described earlier. An exception is for infants who are buried on their backs behind their mother's rooms outsidc the compound in the hope that the child's spirit will bring another baby (USA 1 1:103). The WandaIa compound is divided into two principle zones: the front area where most 134 male daily and biological acti\-ities take place and the back area where most female daily and biological actixlties occur. There is no apparent ritual focus within the Wandala household. Instead ritual is centred around the mosque in the town centre. This is in keeping with Islamic beliefs which emphasize the community and not the family or lineage. Daily time-space contexts. In the Wandala compound men's activities occur i n or outside the entry or in the man's bedroom chamber. Men visit with friends in thcir entry or in the sh'~dc of trees in the Wandala quarter and eat in the verandah area of thcir bcdrooms with thcir sons. A man sleeps with his wife in his bedroom. Most men's commercial activities require workshops or storagc facilities in thc compound. Workshops are located at the front of the compound either outside the entry, in the cntry or in thi' courtyard next to the entry. Koranic teachers conduct lessons in the same locatmns. Indiv~duals such as the barber and amulet maker take their practice directly to daily markets in d~ffcrenl towns although they store tools and goods in their bedroom when not at market. Judgcments are heard and visitors are met in the entry of the Chief's compound. Larger political meetings takc place outside of this entry and in 1986 included the election and inauguration of the new chid. Women eat meals with their daughters and young sons on thcir verandah or they can share meals with co-wives and their children. Housework is divided amongst co-wivcs in the same fashion as described for the Mura and Urza. The wife who spends thc night with thcx husband cleans his room and the entry and prepares his meals on the same day (W18A 2:172). Food processing occurs inside the compound and primarily in thc woman's k~tchcn. Women are provided with grain by their husband from stores located bes~dcor insidc the man's bedroom at the front. Women pound the grain with mortar and pestle anywhere insidc the compound with two exceptions. The back, Rear the toilets (W18A 2:172), and the centre of the courtyard, which is visible to passers-by through the entry, is only used as a 51gn of mournlng when an adult member of the compound dies (W8A 2:190; W15A 2:118;W76A 3:92;W11OA 3:100). Grinding grain is the most timeconsuming abpect of cereal preparahon and is done cmtside the 140 compound at the miII. The rest of the food preparation takes place in the kitchen at the back of the compound. Women prepare meals for themselves and their children. In the kitchen &fa AS cooked, sauces are made from dried vegetables which women store in pots inside the kitchen or in thcir bedrooms, and salt substitute is prepared in a filter next to the hearth. Water is stored in large pots set into the ground in the verandah outside women's bedrooms. Women store cooking pots along the walls of the kitchen, or by the outdoor hearth. Women's commercial craft production is conducted in their rooms or in the shade of their verandas at the back. Women grow vegetables and the dry season sorghum seedlings inside the compound walls. In the past when Wandala houses were round, a low platform of sand was built up along thc wall opposite the door of the woman's house. On this mound she displayed wooden bowls and pots which were received as dowry (W15A 2:120). Today, most women have a wooden cupboard for the display of enamelware pots currently popular as dowry. This is placed against the wall opposite the door. Biological time-space contexts. Children are conceived in their father's rooms at the front of the compound while birth takes place in the back of the compound in their mother's bedroom. Childrcn progressively move from back to front as they get older. Young boys begin to sleep in thcir father's room and eventually receive a room near the entrance. Girls stay with their mother and may or may not receive a room located between that of their parents. As adults, men construct compounds with their rooms at the front, and women marry and receive rooms at the back of their husband's compounds. When a man or woman dies, their room is abandoned and allowed to collapse. Most Wandah arc buried in cemeteries. Exceptions to this practice are infants who are buried behind tho famiiv compound and the chief who is buried in his personal washing area inside his cornpound. No reasons were provided by informants for these practices. Ritrcal time-space contests. Most rituals in the Islamic ritual cycle are celebrated by the Wandala in community prayers outside of the compound. Rituals are usually accompanied by individual family feasting and special foods prepared by women for distribution to guests and neighbours. in the cycle of daily prayers, men pray outside the compound entry or at the mosque. Women are rarely seen praying publicly and presumably do so in their b & = o c ) mors on thcir verandas where they keep their prayer kettles. When a member of the household dies, men sit on mats set outside of the compound entry with male relatives and friends as a sign of mourning. Women mourn inside the compound. Shuwa Domestic Time-space Contexts The Shuwa compound is divided into two principal zones, the community of the cxtcndcil family of adult male kin located around the shared central open space, and the kouso sharcd by a man, his wife and young children. Daily time-space contexfs. Shuwa men and women conduct activities within the compound circle and in the house. Men eat their meals with their snns outside their wife's housc or in the shade of a nearby tree. Visitors are fed and met with on the sanded 'patio' in front of the oldest man's first wife's house. Men sleep on a cot on the right side of the housc or with their wifc o n the left side when the cattle are kept inside at night. Men provide women with grain from their granaries from the central area, although one older woman kept her own grain supply on thc left side of her house (S25B 341). Grain is ground at the village mill. Women store and prepare food on the left side of the house where they also cat with thcir daughters and young sons and visit with friends. Milk products arc prepared either on the loft side of the house or under the shade of a dalkej or a tree outside. Women look aftcr young and sick cattle and maintain the floors on the right side to prevent hoof disease. Biofogical time-spce coniexfs. It was ltot learned if children arc. concc.ivt?d on tkc kfi or 'A dalke is a post and beam frame platform approximately 7 5 m in height and 1.5 m long and 1 m wide. Women store pots and firewood on top of the dalke. 142 right side of the housc, although they are born on the left. Young children sleep with their mother on her bed. Male children gradually leave their mother's house by puberty and receive or construct their own house in the father's compound circle. Girls do not have separate houses. Elderly parents arc also housed within the family circle of buildings. The Shuwa are buried in a cemetery near the village wall with the exception of infants who arc buried behind their mother's housc. Ritual time-space contexts. Special ritual practices are shared with the Wandala in community prayers. Daily prayers of a man and his sons are performed on a prayer platform in the compound circle. Women's place of prayer was neither observed nor discussed. Ideal Compound Spatial Configurations From the descriptions of informants given in the first part of this chapter, it is apparent that there are three distinctive styles of ordering men, women, activities and resources in household space. The Mura and Urza have an identical ordering which is different, but with similarities to that of the Wandaia. The Shuwa design is much distinct from these two floor plans. It is also apparent that perceptions of gender roles and relationships are implicated in design considerations. In this part an ideal floor plan is drawn from these descriptions. These three ideal plans arc compared with actual floor plans in chapter seven. Mlrrn and U r x ideal compound configuration. The Mura and Urza ideal household spatial design is inferred from a composite of the above descriptions and is presented in Figure 25. Informants description of the househoid indicate that the compound is ordered about an axis, the ends of which are the first wife's kitchen at the back, east and downhill from ihe entry which is at the front, west and uphill. Other rooms are organized in the compound between these buildings. Kitchens and bedrooms of other wives are placed at the back on either side of the first wife's buildings and houses for animals are either placed beside the entry or the man's bedroom. Children's bedrooms are located somewhere between their parents. The man's bedroom and most of his daily and biological activities occur in the entry or in the front part of the compound. The only regular activities a man performs inside the cornpound are located in the central courtyard. These activities involve the daily distribution of grain to his wives and periodic ritual offerings of food and beer to the ancestors or helping spirits. Women's buildings are constructed at the back where most women's daily, biological and ritual activities take place, the kitchen and courtyard in front of the kitchen being the hub of each woman's activities. The only activities described for women at the front or outside the compound are conception which occurs at the front, and hulling sorghum and ritual singing which occur outside. These activities are associated with the protection of male resources: fertility of the patrilineage, grain in the granaries, and warnings of evil forces attacking their patrilinengc. Explicit statements concerning the meaning behind the oricntatioc of men and women's activities in burial and structures involved two activities: women cooking and men working thc sorghum fields. The ordering of men and women in burial space is considered analogous to thc ordering of men and women in households. These arc selected activities from the many tasks and contributions of both men and women. It is suggested here that the selection of these two tasks is meaningful for the following reasons. Men are symbolically oriented. towards the sorghum fields which draws upon at least three perceptions of male roles in Mura society. These are malc ownership of land and subsistence resources, the spiritual and material continuity of men with their ancestor's land which forms the basis of legitimate right to the land, and men's role as provider of his famiiy. Men, sleeping by the entry, guard the compound at night. They are consequently both physical and spiritual protectors of the family. Women arc associated with the kitchen and cooking the evening meal which is only one of many tasks women perform b ~ t h inside the kitchen and for the household as a whole. This task symbolically prescnts women as nurturers rather than as producers and providers in trruir own right. The relationstup between women, kitchens, the activity of cooking, the back of the compound, and the setting sun and men with sorghum production, the front, and the rising sun is neither inherent nor random. The division of labour and women's status relative to that of men is culturally constructed and the spatial and temporal presentation of women preparing meals is one strategy which reproduces gender ideology. The routine placement of women and their activities in one area and men and their activities in another creates an association between space and gender. This association results in spaces being given the same status or values as are given men and women within the dominant Mura and Urza gender ideology. In Mura society men own all major resources and women as dependents must follow men. Consequently a Mura kitchen logically should be placed at the back of a compound because it is physically behind a man's area and below because women are perceived as inferior. This spatial and temporal perception of men and women is reproduced in burial and in the exorcism of dead men's and women's spirits from the household described in chapter four. Finally the kitchen faces west and the setting sun signifying the time for evening meal preparation. This orientation is reproduced in the orientation of women in the grave. The Mura and U r u associate the strong morning sun with men and the weaker afternoon sun with women. This perception of time is analogous to the concept of women following men. However, the back of the compound is also associated with positively valued roles of women including birth and the nurturing of the family with food and drink. The particular status of the back is expressed in the standard placement of the first wife farthest to the back with co-wives placed between her and the entry. This also explains the placement of the gabaka and the gerda lay at the back where they nurture the family and where the ancestors are reborn. Clearly, the placement of men and women is meaningful and this meaning is drawn from dorninani gender idwiogy. A critical factor influencing spatial anaiysis of the Mura and Urza households is that compound smctures are men's resources: Guilt by men, owned by men, inherited by men. Since men control the ongoing construction cf domestic space, men can arrange thcmstzlves, their wives and resources to promote their self or group interests within the domestic 145 setting. Wandala ideal compound configurafion. The Wandala ideal conlpound floor plan is derived from a composite of informant descriptions and is presented in Figure 26. These dcscriptio~-1s indicate that the placement of the entry and the first wife's bedroom are in~portantin Wandala compounds and other structures and features are placed relative to thcse buildit~gs. The entry is the most important structure in the compound and is located at the front, uphill, and possibly on the south side of the compound. Men's bedrooms are located oyposjtc women's bedrooms and preferably by the entry. Most stated that the first wife's bedroom is located at the back right side of the compound and subsequent wives to the left. Thc placement oi the first wife to the right places her on the east side of the compound if the entry is to the south. There is no consensus on the placement of kitchens and the number of kitchens are presented by male informants as a sign of tension between co-wives. Male adolescent children are located toward the front, female adolescent children if they receive rooms are located at thc back, The location of animal houses are not an important consideration and oftcn such structures wcrc not mentioned by informants during interviews. Men's daily and biological actitlties are conducted both in their bedroom wherc they cat, sleep and store resources and the entry where they entertain, lodge workmen, and conduct business either in the entry itself or near the entry depending on spatial requirements of thc task. A woman's activities are centred around her bedroom where she stores her resources, eats and sleeps with her children except on nights when she sleeps with her husband. Womcn also spend part of their day in the kitchen preparing meals although they are spared the laborious task of grinding sorghum. The Wandala household is not a focus of ritual activities aside from the daily round of prayers. However, these prayers are conducted if the household members arc at home or in another location. In other words, ritual is not linked to household space, in keeping with Islam~c beliefs which stress the community over the family. 146 As in the ideal Mura and Urza compound arrangement, certain structures associated with men or with women are emphasized in the ordering of space in the ideal Wandala compound. The selection of the entry and women's bedrooms as foci for household spatial order is meaningful within Wandala gender ideology. Mcn are ideally associated wiih the entry even though they have separate houses for slccping and eating. The entry expresses the owner's wealth and his commercial occupation and identity in the community. Women may conduct small scale commerce from their husband's entry. Significantly, informants associated women with personal bedrooms and not with kitchens. In fact, individual kitchens for each wife are associated with conflictive co-wife relations. Kitchens also involve manual labour which is not considered prestigious by the Wandala. It is logical that kitchens cannot be a focal point for the orientation of compound structures. Bedrooms on the other hand are associated with individuals and their personal wealth. Theoretically, the first wife should be the wealthiest woman in the household according to informants descriptions of dowry instalments (see chapters four and five). As wealth, rank and status are primary concerns of Wandala men and women, it is iogical that the entry and the first wife's bedroom are the basis of Wandala domestic spatial order. However, a first wife's wealth is not equal to that of her husband and this is expressed in household configurations in which spaces are given values which reproduce those given to men's and women's rank in Wandala society. A higher physical elevation is a superior position in Wandala social interaction. For instance, visitors are seated beiow the chief or the tlikse as a sign of deference. The south is the position of the head in burial and the head is again associated with the upper, superior position. Placenient of the entry uphill and to the south draws upon these meanings and associates them with the front of the compound which is in turn associated by informants with men. The back is an inferior position in Wandala social contexts. FOPinstance, in communal prayers and public meetings, women are positioned as a group behind men as a sign of their lower relative status. Informant descriptions of household organization indicate that the same 147 relative ordering occurs in domestic space. Women's bedrooms are located to thc back, east and downhill. This location ensures women's privacy from the eyes of visitors in the entry, a ccnsideration of Islamic domeskic architecture. However, it places women's prsonal buildings in a space which is understood to be inferior to that of the ideal placemcr~tof the entry and by association, inferior to men. Two informants suggested that thc first wifc's bedroom is located tcr the east. The east has religious significance, and the placement of the first wife to the cast and thc others towards the west represents a deference to the first wife's status which is in fact contrary to Islamic p~incipleswhich require husbands to treat thcir wives equally. The practice is compatible with the competitiveness characteristic of Wandala families. Shuwa ideal compound configurafion. The Shuwa ideal domestic spatial order is prescntcd in Figure 27. The ideal compound is derived from the descriptions provided by the household head of compound 25, the only individual in the Shuwa-style households who considers himself and his family to still be Shuwa. According to this informant the primary consideration in the arrangement of buildings is the seniority of the group of male agnatic kin who collcctivcly hcrd cattle. These men are ordered counterclockwise from oldest to youngest beginning with thc senior male located in the east. The arrangement within each man's compound cannot be dctcrmincd as there were no households with men with more than one wife. Male informants discussed the ordering of thc compound in reference to whcrc men were placed which suggests that male relationships are the primary consideration in domestic spatial arrangements. However, observation and informant explanations of activi tics inside tradi tiunal Shuwa houses indicates that men's and women's activities and resources are spatially scparated with women located on the left and men and cattle on the right. A!thotlgh information on Shuwa household organizatim is from a sma!l sample, thc ordering of domestic space is meaningful. As in other groups the construction of domestic sparc. is controlled by men. In doing so men express the dominant Shuwa perceptions of gendcr redcs and relationships. The most important factor to men is the relationship between agnatic kin as thcsc relationships determine an individual's wealth, status and power within the group and the community. This is expressed in the initial ordering of compounds according to the seniority of men starting on the right side and moving to the left side sf the circle. Within each man's household, there is a further division of space by gender. Following the same spatial logic which orders male members of the extended family grouping, the right side of the house should be the senior, higher status space and the left side the junior, lower status space. This would explain why cattle and men are placed on the right side of traditional houses and women and their resources on the left. This analogy is compatible with the relative value dominant gender ideology places on men and women's roles and social relationships in Shuwa society. Summary In this chapter the first link between dominant perceptions of gender roles and rela tionships in Mura, Urza, Wandala and Shuwa households and the ordering of domestic space is presented. The initial link indicates how household heads conceptualize the proper or ideal arrangement of men, women, structures, resources and activities within the compound and the values culturally associated with these locations. Domestic spaces occupied by men and women arc given the same relative status as their occupants within each group. Analogies can be drawn between the spatial ordering of men and women in the household 2nd other contexts such as burial and public gatherings. In the next chapter, the ideal compound spatial configuration is comparcd to actual compound configurations from households in each group. CHAPTER SEVEN: THE ACTUAL ORDERING OF SPACE Introduction In this chapter the ideal compound configurations derived from Dcla informants prcscnted in chapter six are compared to the actual compound configurations of thew same individuals, Nine Mura, three Urza, ten Wandala and four Shuwa compounds were mapped using tape and compass. The following describes each household as a unit, as well as the spatial organi~atiorzof structures, indisiduals, activity areas and stored resources. The floor plan of each household and the occupants and functions of each room are found in Appendix B. The relative and cardinal orientation of each compound is compared to the ideal household spatial design of each group. It should be noted that the compounds described for each group are not sequentially ordered. Each compound was given a number in the field according to the order in which household maps were made. These numbers are retained in this dissertation for ease of future cross-referencing with field notes and maps. The ordering of the compound descriptions in this chapter and the floorplans presented in Appendix B are explained at the beginning of the descriptions for each group's compounds. Mura and Urza Compounds There are nine Milra and three Urza compounds analyzed in this study. Every compound is headed by a man. There are some important characteristics of Mura and Urza compounds which are not apparent from the floorplans. The compound walls that connect individual houscs c~rnprisinga household are appro;rimate!y 1.5 rn to 1.75 ii; iii height. The roofs and tops of wails of most structures are clearly rilsible from t!!e outside of the compound. A!1 occupied structures are connected to the neighbouring building with a wall. Abandoned buildings are often 150 'dixonnccted' from occupied buildings by reconstructing the outer wall from one occupied structure around the abandcmed structure to the next occupied stmcture (see compounds 2, 9 and 20). Doors are rare on any buildings with the exception of the front entry doors. These are often closed with a hngcd wooden or corrugated metal door, crossed sticks or a plank. A considerable portion of the inner courtyard is covered with a flat roof of sorghum stalks over a post and beam frame. As in chapter six descriptions of the following households refer to relative order in terms of left, right, back and front. These directions are from the viewpoint of an observer standing at the entry facing into the compound. Descriptions of Mura and Urza compounds are ordered first into patrilineages which are I. turn ordered by seniority within their quarter. Within each pasdineage, the households are grouped by relationship of household heads and are again ordered with the most senior first. The relationshps between Mura and Urza households studied are prcsentcd in Figures 22 and 23. Compoimd 20 K.ogugone) Wa-Dela. The senior Mura Logone lineage head built and occupies compound 20. He is the highest ranked Mura man in Dela and is the blama of Wa-Dela. Approximately 25 years ago, the blama and his family lived on Mia-Dela, but moved to their current location when the government ordered the Mura off the mountain (M20A 3:9). Compound 20 is located beside the highway in the town centre. Like compound 2, there is a wall enclosing the garden outside of the entry to the compound. The front wall which runs parallel to the highway is unique for a Mura compound in that it is over two meters in height and obscures the sicw ot the interior compound structures from the highway. In 19816 compound 20 was occupied by the household head, his first wife and three pnndchi1drt.n under the age of four (M2QA 10:71). The only son and father of two children living inside the compound, is widowed and currentlv occupies a structure behind and to the right side of compound 20. This snn works the fields with his father and his meals are prepared by his mother (kf20A '1WI 1. 151 I n s i ~2 the compound circle there are several occupied and abandc,~:cd buildings. The man occupies the e.a+ry and storage room in a three-room building located at the front and ~ v s side t of the compound. Hls 6r.t wife': bedroom and kitchen are located in a two-room building across from and slightly to the left of the entry on the east side of the compound. A grinding table is located inside the woman's kitchen. A beer filter is set-up in front of the kitchen beside a water storage pot which is embedded in the floor. Two beer fermenting pots are embedded in the floor of the courtyard beside the gabaka. A dry season hearth is located along the compound wall adjoining the kitchen. Next to and on the left side of the entry is a room for goats and sheep and iln area for cattle. The other rooms in the compound are abandoned. One abandoned structure lies between the entry and the first wife's kitchen on the left side and was occupied by an adolescent daughter prior to her marriage 1M20A,B 3:4). At the back to the right of the first wife's rooms are two round structures which were occupiec! by an estranged co-wife (M20A 3:4). In the ccntrc of thc compound is a rectangular building which was the first structure built on the site. The room was used initially as a kitchen by his first wife (M20A 3:4-6) and, In the year prior to the study, as a bedroom by his son, who just completed and moved into a room behind his father's compound. Between this room and the current entry is the remains of an old animal house and a room that was occupied by his now married daughter. There is a latrine at the back behind the daughter's abandoned house. A sorghum drying rack is in the garden behind the compomd. The organization of the compound conforms to the ideal location of men at the front to the west, women at the back to the east with animal houses and children's houses in between. Thls is also true of the earlier arrangement of buildings although the exact confiprahon is d~fhcultto discern. However, the women's rooms are to the east and back, and the rooms previously occupied by children and animals have been toward the west between the women's area and thc man's area. Five granaries dominate the courtyard in front of the kitchcn concealing the kitchen door from the entry. The gab& is located next to the first wife's tx_.droornat the back, right sidc of the granary (M2QA35). However, the gerda lay are not housed beneath this granary but instead are located under the second oldest granary (M20A 3:7). This variation from the expected location may be due to the unstable state of the gabaka. The multi-roomed buildings were constructed in the decadc preceding the study and the arrangement of the man's and women's granaries is no longer consistent with the ideal, although the man's granaries are mainly located to the front and the single woman's grdnary is to the back on the left side of the courtyard. Compound 14 (Logone) Wa-Dela. Compound 14 is occupied by a Logone household head, his first wife and five children. He and his wife constructed the compound 18 years ago when they relocated from the mountain (M14A 2:109). One son is 18 years old and the other children are under the age of ten. The compound is located in Wa-Dela less than 200 meters from the mountain. The household head's bedroom is located on the southwest side of the compound beside the entry and opposite his first wife's kitchen. His bedroom used to be the entry hut but the outer door has been closed on the advice of a gow following two seasons of bad crops which were attributed to an act of witchcraft (M14A 2:104). The closure of the door is said to have improved the owner's success. A large loose grinding stone with which the man prepares medicines is located beside the current entry (M14B 2 1 12). Inside the woman's kitchen there is a hearth, a grinding table and two pots - the latter set into thc floor. Onc is a beer fermenting pot and the other a water storage pot. Another beer fcrmentincg pot is embedded in the floor of her storage room. A beer filter and dry season hearth are located in the courtyard beside the storage room. The woman also has a bedroom and a storage room which are located at the back of the compound to the left and right of the kitchen respectively. The storage room was previously the first wife's kitchen. The teenage son's house is heside the entry to the leit of his father's house. Prior to the construction of tht. household head's rectangular bedroom at the entry, the room currently occupied by the boy was the compound entry. The entrv door on the west side of the boys room is filled in with stones and daub. There 153 are two animal houses. One is located to the ripht of the father's houses at the front and the ather is between the son's room and the first wife's bedroom on the left. The man's granary is at the front and on the left side of the courtyard and the woman's granary is at the back left sidc IM I-lB 2113). The family latrine and the zidzowny are both located outside thc compound enclosure at the back. While the relative orientation of individuals and structures agrees with the Mura ideal, the entry and first wife's kitchen are oriented along a southwest-northeast axis rather than thc prescribed west-east axis. Compound 4 (Logone) Wa-Dela. Compound 4 is occupied by a man, his first wife and hcr infant child, and his second wife and her two prepubescent children. This compound is located in Wa-Dela less than 100 meters from the mountain. The household head has occupied this location for 19 years following relocation from the mountain (M4A 2:41). There is no man's bedroom or entry house in compound 4. The household head has a hearth outside the entry where he prepares food which his wives do not eat (M4A 241 ). This activity was observed during the course of the field study. The first wife's kitchen is located directly across from and to the right of the entry on the east sidc of the compound. Inside the first wife's kitchen is a hearth, a grinding table and two beer fermenting pots which are embcddcd in the floor. The second wife's kitchen is located on the left side of the compound next to that of the first wife. There is a grinding table, a hearth and two pots embedded in the floor. Onc is a water storage pot and the other is a beer fermenting pot. Outside the kitchen another wa tcr storage pot is set into the courtyard floor. The first and second wife's bedrooms are located on the left side of the compound but toward the front area with the first wife's bedroom iocated next to the entry. PIacental pots are located in the area inside the compound enclosure beside each wife's bedroom. Tne wives share a beer filter located beside a woman's granary in front of the second wife's bedroom (M48,C 2:41). There are two animal houses located on the right side of the compound. The h o u x next to the f ~ s w~fe's t kitchen was abandoned partly because of the excessive build-up of dung on the floor (C4 2:381. The floor level was approximately 0.5 to .75 meters above the level of the compound floor. The current goat house is located on the right side of the entry at the front. It is Iikcly that this room was formerly the household head's bedroom. As there were fewer than a half dozen rainstorms in the regon around Dela in 1986 and rainfail has been infrequent over the last few years, the loss of a sheltered men's area for greeting friends is not much of an inconvcniencc. Like most Mura men, the household head greets guests outside the entry where largc stones, recycled grinding stones, and lengths of wood are placed by the walls as casual furniture. This arrangement of the entry and women's kitchens is in accord with the Mura ideal configuration. The position of the first wife's bedroom in the higher valued front area of the compound conforms with her relatively higher status to that of her co-wife. Cornporrnd 71 (Mura) Wa-Dela. Compound 11 is occupied by the elderly mother of the household heads of compounds 4 and 14. This compound is located approximately 75 metres west of compound 14 at the foot of the mountain where the woman continues to garden the lower terraces. The woman lived with her son approximately 200 meters to the south in compound 4, until he constructed her current home several years prior to the study (MI1/M4A 2:82). She is looked after by the families of both sons who supply her with some of her food and water. The entry of the house is oriented towards the south. The compound consists of a single house with an enclosed front area in which is located a granary. Under the granary she keeps an inverted sfrling pot to which she gives offerings for the health of her grandchildren (MIl/M4A 287). Inside the building there is a hearth, a grinding table and three pots set into the floor. Two of these pots are water storage pots and one is a beer fermenting pot. A beer filter stands in the enclosed front area. Cornporrnd 9 (Logone! SeIa-Podokuo. Compound 9 is occupied by a man, his first wife, his 155 youngest son and his son's two wives. The household head formerlv lived on Wa-Deb and constructed this compound 18 years prior to the study, Although he is a Logone lineage head, he said that he no longer gives offerings to the ancestors and has no gerda lay (M9A 2169). The floor plan of compound 9 is confusing due to the amount of renovation the front section has undergone in the past few years. There are in effect three entry structures which have successively scrvcd as the household head's bedroom. The orignal entry is part of the main circle of family buildings surrounding the granaries. The entrance structure is located on the southwest sidc of the compound directly opposite to the first wife's former kitchen. A second larger entry was constructed directly behind the first entry and did not change the orientation of thc man rclativo to the first wife's kitchen. To the front of this entry stands a large loose ginding stone used by the man to make medicines for the family (M9A 2:163). Recently a third two-room structure was built to the south of the second entry. The room on the left side is used as the current entry and the right room is used for storage. The new entry is oriented directly opposite that of his wife's current kitchen at the back of the compound to the northeast. The two daughters-in-law share their mother-in-law's grinding table located in the son's first wife's kitchen (M9B 2160,167). All three women have separate hearths in their respcctivc lutchens. Water storage pots are located in both the storage room and the mother's kitchcn. A beer filter is located beside the mother's kitchen, and a beer fermenting pot is embcddcd in thc courtyard floor beside one of the man's granaries located to the back right sidc. The sequential construction of entries is partly caused by the increase in family sizc due fo the recent marriages of the youngest son. This son is located in a room to the right of the original entry. He shares this room with his first wife. His first wife now uses his mothcf s old kitchcn located on the back right side of the compound. His mother's current kitchcn is located at the back ieft side. During the week prior to mapping compound 5, the son married a second wife and the animal structure to the right of the original entry was temporarily being used as a bedroom by his first wife. The final sleeping and kitchen arrangements for thew two wives were not 156 axertained. This is the only Mura compound surveyed which is built on a s!ope - the entry being u p slope. The household head's first wife's kitchen has a floor built on a low circular platform covercd in daub. The reason given was that the raised floor keeps the water out of the kitchen during ra~nstormswhen the surface run-off flows downhill through the compound toward the woman's area in the northeast (M9A 2:163). The first wife's bedroom is also being reconstructed between her kitchen and that of her daughter-in-law on a low circular platform covered in daub. Animal structures for cattle and sheeplgoats are located to the left of the original entry and between the woman's and the man's areas of the compound. The inner courtyard of the original compound structures is dominated by six granaries. The largest granary is for the man's crops and is located farthest to the back on the right side. Other male granaries are located on both the right and left sides of the courtyard towards the front. One woman's granary is at the back on the left side and the other is at the front on the right side. This configuration does not conform with the Mura ideal arrangement. A latrine is located behind the compound on the right sidc. Although this compound is unique with three entry chambers, all three are built in a line which maintains the ideal relative orientation of an entry opposite to the first wife's kitchen. The ordering of children and animal structures also follows the ideal plan. Like compound 14, the cardinal orientation of these two structures does not follow the ideal. Rather, the entry and kitchen are oriented along a northeast-southwest axis. This variation from the ideal may be the result of the precedent of the slope and the concern of placing the wife's buildings downhill from the man's structurcs, Co3ripotind 2 f # m d Sela-PoBokvo. This family emigrated to Dela eleven years prior to the study (M2A/M26A 2:23), shortly after which the household head was elected as blarna. The household i.; located beside the highway and across from the village chief's compound. An unusual feature of compound 2 is the lobv &daub wall which partially encloses the front garden area and runs parallel to the highway. The wall does not conceal the garden as it is only one meter in height. In 1986 the compound was occupied by the male household head, his first wife, and eight year old granddaughter of a nonresident married daughter. The child is living with her maternal grandparents in order to protect her from sorcery attacks perpetrated against her father (M26A 10:5). The man's second wife abandoned the compound several year's before. The younger son and his wife occupied a structure beside the entry. During 1986, the youngest son moved out of the compound because of problems with his step-mother. These problems ultimately resulted in accusations of witchcraft attacks against the step-mother by the man's wife (M26A 11:169). flc subsequently built a compound behind that of his father to protect himself, his wife and thew unborn child. The oldest son has three daughters, one son and no wife. Upon the loss of his wives, he returned to his father's compound where his three daughters were cared for by his parents while he temporarily occupied a separate house behind compound 2 (M2A/MXA/M3A). This structure, while outside of the compound is located on the same side of the compound as his mother's houses. He now occupies compound 3 with his daughters. The household head's entry is located in the northwest directly across the compound from the first wife's kitchen. The first wife's kitchen and the wall stumps of the second wife's kitchen are located in the east, the former being located closest to the gahaka on the right side of the compound. In the first wife's kitchen there is a grinding table and a hearth. Outside the kitchen door there is a water storage pot embedded in the ground and the woman's two beer fermenting pots are embedded in the courtyard on the right side at the back next to thc gabaka. The woman's beer filter is located next to her granary at the back and a dry season hearth is located bctwccn her kitchen and the animal house. The first wife's bedroom is located on the right side of the entry and is shared by the first wife and her granddaughter IM26A 2:12). The younger son and his wife occupied the room to the left of the entry. This is the ~ m c side of thc compound as was occupied by his mother. The room contains the daughter-in-law's hearth and grinding table. A water storage pot is embedded in the ground beside the house. There are five granaries which dominate and obscure the view across the inner courtyard <lnariesare from thc cntry. The women's granaries are located at the back left, and the man's grlocated on the right and left with the gabaka at the back and centre (M2A/M26A 221). The family latrine is iocated on the right and outside of the compound walls. The compound is surrounded by a garden in which stands the zidzoway, a post and beam frame for drying sorghum. This is a semi-permanent structure which most families dismantle in the rainy season to prevent the wood posts from rotting in the ground (M3A 228). In fact, these structures appeared to be used more as shade for activities during the heat of the day in the dry season than for drying heads of sorghum. The compound configuration varies in two ways from the ideal. The cardinal orientation of the entry is to the northwest of the first wife who is located to the southeast side of the compound. The location of the animal house and the first wife's bedroom are the inverse of the ideal confipration. No reason was given for this variation from the ideal although the shape, wall and roof material used in the room may be a factor. The first wife's bedroom is the newest structure in the compound and is made of the most expensive wall materials and roofing. These materials and the rectangular shape of the room are highly valued (see chapter eight). The location of this room near the front conforms with the strategy of Mura and Urza men of putting their wealth near the front to improve their personal status within the community (see chapter nine). Compound 3 (Kotyra) Sela-PodoXwo. In 1986, this compound was occupied by the male household head, his fifteen year old and two prepubescent daughters. It was a compound abandoned by a Mura family and was renovated by the current occupant (M3A 226-39). Ritual objects of the previous occupants were left in place. These include a placenta pot located between the kitchen and the current household head's room, and offering pots for twins located beneath the remains of a granary on the left front half of the compound (M3AIMXA 2%). The organization of compound 3 generally conforms to the Mura ideal floor plan. The entry is a break in the wall and is located on the west side of the ccmPund. Thc kitchen i s located to the east, across from the entry and slightly to the left. A grinding table and hearth are located inside the kitchen as well as two beer fermenting pots which arc cmbcdded into the floor. Outside the kitchen door a water storage pot set into the floor is located to the right and the bcer filter is to the left. A dry season hearth is located between the kitchen and thc oldest daughter's bedroom. The man's bedroom is kcated on the left side of the entry, and a bedroom for his younger daughters is located on the right. The adolescent daughter has a bedroom at the back of the compound opposite her father's room. According to the ideal Mura compound this is the room that should be occupied by the man's first wife who is in fact the girl's estranged mother. Thc same daughter also makes meals and prepares beer in the kitchen. The household head's single granary is located to the right and back of thc compound, in front of his daughter's bedroom. Theoretically, the gerda lay housed in compound 2 will eventually be housed under this granary. A low-walled rectilinear shaped feature built by children at play is located outside the compound wall between the man's bedroom and the kitchen (M3A 229). Latrines arc located outside and at the back of the compound. A drying rack is located in the garden at the front. Compound 26 ~Kovra)Sela-Podokwo. The compound was constructed by the compound hcad in 1986 and is occupied by himself, his wife and a daughter born during the study. Thc compound is incomplete and consists of only two buildings: a kitchen, a bcdroom shared by the husband and wife and an attached anteroom for meeting with visitors. Following the birth of their daughter, a mat screen was piaced in front of the kitchen where the mother and baby slept. The latrine is located outside the compound behind the kitchen. The orientation of the compound is difficult to determine as the compound wall is under 160 construction, However, the entrance or intentional opening in the front wall is to the west of the kitchen. The bedroom, like the kitchen, is located to the east of the entry, and according to the order of construction presented by the household head, his wife will receive her own bedroom bcsidc the kitchen (M26A 11:177). Compound 6 (Mura) Sela-Podolnoo. Compound 6 is an aggregation of four sub-compounds. Sub-compound 6b is currently occupied by the household head (C), who is also a lineage head, along with his three wives and children. This man's former sub-compound (6c) is occupied by one of his sons (J) and his wife and chld. Two sub-compounds, 6a and 6d are abandoned. The original sub-compound (6a) was inhabited by the current household head's deceased father (A) who moved from Mora Massif to Mbata 40 years ago. The second abandoned sub-compound (6d) was oceupicd by the current household head's brother (G) who now resides in Mora. The family movcd from Mbata to the current location 20 years prior to the study when the Mura were forced off of the mountain (M6C 2137). Sub-compound 6a is unoccupied with the exception of two buildings. The entry structure now connects the two occupied sections of the conglomeration and a second room is utilized by his widow for pot storage. To the right of the entry is sub-compound 6b of the current household and lineage head. The household head has three wives and fourteen children living in sub-compound 6b. The area betwcen his father's old sub-compound and the entry is enclosed forming an outer courtyard used by the current household head's wives to finish large pots prior to firing (personal observation). Commercial pottery is a significant business for the first and second wives (M6D,E). The household head also has an eating platform in the outer courtyard as well as two sheds for cattle. The man's room is located on the right side of the entry 2nd on the west side of his subcompound. The entry is l ~ c a t e ddirectly across from his first wife's (D) bedroom which is located on the southeast side and at the back. Her kitchen is to the left of the bedroom and on the east 161 side. Inside her kitchen is a hearth and grinding table. A water storage pot is emhcddevl in the ground outside the kitchen door. Two beer fermenting pots are set into the courtyard beside the woman's granary at the back. A beer filter is locattd outside her bedroom. The second wife's (E) bedroom and kitchen are both on the right sidc of the first wife's rooms. There is a gnnding table inside the second wife's kitchen. A &er fermenting pol and n water storage pot are both set into the ground inside and outside of her kitchon rcspectivcly. The kitchen/bedroom of the third wife (F) is to the left of the first wife's rooms. A grinding table and hearth are located inside the building and her dry season hearth is located against the wall between her bedroom and the first wife's kitchen. Thc animal house is locatcd on the left side of the entry. Although the arrangement of men's and women's rooms coincide with that of the ideal configuration, the location of the granaries do not. There are four granaries which dominate the central courtyard space. The gabaka is located to the front and centre of the compound. Thcrc is only one woman's granary and it is located to the back and right side. The man's elderly mother (B) has a bedroom with an attached verandah located to thc left of the entry house of her dead husband's abandoned compound. The door to her house is oriented to the northeast. The household head's son (J), his wife (I) and child occupied thc only extant building in sub-compound 6d during the early part of 1986. This building has been ~ s e dby other siblings who no longer live in the compound. Unfortunately, the roof of the structure collapsed during the s u r n r r s rains, forcing the couple to move to a room in his father's old sub-compound Sc. Sub-compound 6c is in disrepair. The granaries are collapfing and the courtyard is not covered. However, three rooms are functional and inciude the former kitchens of thc father's first and second (M6CJM6E 2133). The kitchen of the father's second wife is dr rcctly o p p s jtc the entry, and this woman still uses the building for storage. The wall stumps of rt divorced wife's kitchen are at the back and right side. The fatherJs first wife's kitchen is locatcd at the front 162 and right side and is currently being used by the daughter-in-law. The couple share a bedroom with their baby at the back Ieft side of the compound. The two buildings occupied by the couple are opposite each other in the sub-compound. The bedroom is located on the northwest side and the kitchen is on the southeast side. There is only one man's granary standing and it is located in front of his wife's kitchen (M6C 2340). There is a hearth inside the kitchen and a beer filter and a beer fermenting are set into the courtyard floor outside the kitchen. The garden in the front of the compound is enclosed with a high wall. The zidzoway is located inside the garden as is a stone bordered eating platform for men. Incorporated into the garden wall is the ruins of a single stmcture which was occupied by an elderly male relative of the houschold head. This individual died a few years prior to the study (M6C 2:128). There are three latrines. One is located behind the father's room, a second is in the grandfather's abandoned compound and the third is outside in the garden. Pottery firing pits are located to the southwest of the compound agglomeration. During the dry season when pottery is madc, the prevailing harmattan winds come from the northeast. The location of the firing pits ensures that flames and cinders are blown away from compound structures. Thc father's compound does not strictly follow the Mura ideal configuration. The entry faces thc first wife's bedroom rather than her kitchen along a northwest/southeast axis. However, the man's bedroom is located directly across from the first wife's kitchen which is located on the cast side. The other wives' houses are also organized to either side of the first wife. The organization of the granaries does not follow the ideal plan. Like compound 11, elderly dependent relatives arc located in separate accommodations outside the compound. Cornpottnd 8i tltfurai Seia-Podokwo. Compound 81 is iocated about 150 meters northwest of c ~ m p u n d5. The household heads of these compounds are parallel cousins. The household head of compound 81 is also a lineage head. Compound 81 was occupied by a man, his wife, a fifteen year old son and twelve year old daughter- Divorce resulted in the abandonment of the 1 63 compound during the study period (M26A 3531. M26A is a clow friend of this bmily and temporary guardian of some of the household head's propertyThe entry is on the west side of the compound opposite the adolescent %n's bedroom at the back and on the east side of the compound. The wife's kitchen is located to the left side of the entry. A grinding table, hearth and beer fermenting pot are located inside the kitchen. A house on the right side of the entry was under constxction when the compound was ahandoncd, but the intended function and occdpant of the room is not known. There are two granaries in the inner courtyard. The gabah and the yerda lay arc located at the back on the right side in front of the son's bedroom, and a woman's granary is located toward the back half of the compound and on the right side. The compound does not conform to the ideal Mura floor plan, although it is possible that the room occupied by the adolescent son was originally his mother's bedroom. If this is so, then the compound accords with the ideal. Such an arrangement also explains the placement of the gabaka and gevda lay in front of the son's bedroom. Compound 5 ( U r n Ma& Tzingai Wa-Dela. Compound 5 is occupied by a lineage head, his second wife and five of their children. The man's first wife had abandoned the compol~ndmore than a year prior to the study (U5.42 5 2 ) . However, the household head felt confldcnt that she would eventually r e l r n . The family constructed the compound five years prior to the study and previously had lived in three other compounds, the first of which had been on the mountain (U5A 257). One son is sixteen years old and the other children are ten years or under. The man's room is constructed to the right beside the compound entry. Outside thc cnlry there is an eating platform, a donkey paddock and a loose gnnding stone the man uses to prcparc medicines (U5A 2581. Along the path to the northcast of the house is an area where he repairs iron tools (U5A 2 5 3 ) . The entry to the compound is located on the west side directly opposite the flrst wifc's abandoned kitchen. The first wife's abandoned bedroom is located beside the kitchen to thca right, and the second wife's kitchen is located to the left. Although the second wife did not have her own bedroom, she did not appropriate the rooms of the abandoned spouse. These rooms were left unoccupied in the kelief that the wife would return (USA). However, the kitchen began to collapse from termite damage during 1986 (U5A 252, personal observation). The only objects left inside the first wife's kitchen are two beer fermenting pots and a water storage pot, both of which were embedded in the ground. A placenta pot is buried 'beside the abandoned bedroom next to thr compound wall. Inside the second wife's kitchen is a hearth, a grinding table and two pots set into the f l w r . One is a beer fermenting pot and the other is a water storage pot. A beer filter is set-up outside and a placenta pot is located in the area between the kitchen and the woman's bedroom next tn :he wall. The second wife and her daughters presumably sleep in the kitchen as her two sons now occcpy her former bedroom. Animal hnl:ses are constructed on the left of the entry and on the right side oi rht man's bedroom at the front. The man also keeps his bicycle in front of the goat house The internal arrangement of structures conforms to the Urza ideal, but the placement of the granaries does not. The household head is a gow and he has sacred objects placed under two of nis granaries. The gerdn lay are placed under the granary at the front area of the compound on the right side (U5A 2:55,60). Other sacred objects are placed under the granary near the first wife's kitchen. The women's granaries are located at the back adjacent to their respective rooms. Contpor-rnd I3 iLlrr;q K~liiangaln.)!+'a-Dda. Compound 13 is occupied by a man, his wife and nine-year old daughter. The family emigrated to this location from Meme fifteen years prior to the studv (U13A 97). Thr man's rmm is Iccated to the left cf the entry on the east side of the compund. Clriginally, thc wifc's kitchen was Iwated directly opposite the entry an the west side of the compound. This original kitchen was given to an elderly Mafa man who requested care and was taken in by the familv iire years ago. A new kitcher, was constructed to the right of the entry. 165 The old man died a year before the study and the room is now used ior storage and htvr production. The woman's k r fermenting pots are located inside the old kitchen, and her bmr filter is located outside the door. Her hearth, grinding table and water storage pot arc located inside the new kitchen. The woman's bedroom is located between the first and current kitchen on the right side of the compound. The animal house is on the left side of the compound bcside the man's bedroom. The woman's granary is located at the back of the compound in front of the woman's original kitchen and the man's two granaries are located towards the front by his bedroom. Thcrc is no latrine. A sorghum drying r ~ c kis located in the front of the compound. Before the change in kitchen location, the reiative ordering of individuals and houses conformed to the ideal. However, this order is the reverse of thc ideal cardinal orientation as the woman is located on the west side and the man on the east. The current order does not conform to the ideal relative or cardinal orientation. The location of the granaries also docs not follow tlw ideal. For instance, only one of the man's granaries is located in the central courtyard, the othw is off to the left side. Compound 193 (Urza Gulidje) Widive. Compound 193 is occupied by the blnrnn of Widivc, who is an elderly man in his seventies. This compound is locaied outside of his former compound which is currently occupied by his youngest son and his family. The father's structure consists of a bedroom and an attached, enclosed veranda similar to that of compound 1I discussed above. The entry to the bedroom is oriented to the southwest. Unlike compound 11, there is no cooking hearth or grinding table. Food is prepared for him by his daughter-in-law (U193 11):99). Compound 194 CUrza Gulidjel Vdidioe. Compound 194, is occupied by the hctusehold hcad, his two wives and nine of their children. Three of these children, one b y and two girls, arc between the ages of 14 and 17. Their other siblings are nine years or under, The household head is the oldest son of the blama. In fact U194 acts as blama for Widive on behalf of his fathcr. The family has lived in this region for over thirty years, having emigrated from Wa-Talakc.. His fathcr is lnratrd in a separate minimal compound less than 190 rn to the northeast. The man's entry structure is a two-roomed house. The entry serves as his bedroom and the adjacent room is an animal house. Outside the entry the man has a wagon, and two large animal enclosures made of thorn. The entry is located on the east side of the compound directly opposite his oldest resident daughter's bedroom. Next to the daughter's room is a bedroom for the oldest residen t son. The first -wife's kitchen is located to the back left side of the compound and her bedroom is located beside the kitchen towards the front. Inside the wife's kitchen there is a grinding table and a hearth. Beside the kitchen door a water pot and two beer filtering pots are embedded in the ground and a beer filter is set-up. Her dry season hearth is located beside her granary. The second wife's kitchen is located to the back right side and her bedroom is placed near the kitchen on the right sidc toward the front of the compound. A grinding table, hearth and water storage pot are located inside the kitchen, and beer filters are located outside her kitchen and bcdroom. Two beer fermenting pots are embedded in the ground beside her kitchen. A dry season hearth is located in the courtyard in front of her kitchen. An animal pen is located between the women's bedrooms on either side of the entry. Latrines are located outside of the compound enclosure behind each wife's kitchen. There are five granaries in the inner courtyard. A man's granary is located at the centre back of the compound with a woman's granary to either side. There are two man's granaries also on the right sidc of the compound courtyard. The Mura and U r z ~ideal compound configuration is elliptical in shape beginning with the ent? at one end and the first wiie's kitchen at the other. Compound 194 has effectively two clllipses joined by a common entry. The ordering of buildings in each ellipse are mirror images. For instance starting at the en+- and moving to the left, the first ellipse is animal house, first wiie's bcdroom, first wife's kitchen, then bedroom of the first wife's oldest resident child. The other cilipsc starts at the entry and moving to the right, there is an animal house, the second wife's bedroom, the second wife's kitchen and finally her oldest resident child. The variation of this c o m p o u d from the ideal configuration may be the rrsult of the rank of the second wife who is a daughter of the head of the Mura patrician. This man's daughters are called tlurnura (M26 11:115). The arrangement may be an expression which recognizes each woman's rank - one as a first wife, the other as a flumura. Summary of Mura and Urra compounds Gender roles and relationships represented in ideal household designs of the Mura and Urza described in chapter six are realized in the configuration of actual compounds studied. It is suggested here that the relative ordering of the entry and women's rooms is a primary consideration in the configuration of all Mura and Urza compounds. With the exception of compounds 13 and 194, all Mura and Urza compound structures arc arranged with the entry directly opposite to the first wife's kitchen, bedroom or the compound wall adjoining these two rooms. This correlates with variations between informant's descriptions of compound organization in which some stated that the entry was opposite thc first wifc's kitchen while others that it was opposite her bedroom. The location of thcse rooms in actual compounds suggests that the location of the kitchen is paramount. A woman's kitchen is always located at the back of the compound, while women's bedrooms are sometimes located near the front as in compounds 2 and 4. The only exception is compound 13 where the kitchen, now located at the front, was at the back when the compound was originally cunstructed. Howevcr beer continues to be made in the back kitchen. In addition not all women have bedrooms whcrtas ail wives of household heads have their own kitchens. The reason for this is that women appear to @ ~ -their e ~ r ~ r tontheir s sons at puberty, and sleep in their kitchens. is or was the cast. in compounds 2,3, 5,14, and 81. Compound 81 was abandoned at the time that it was mappcd. The reason for its variation 168 from the ideal was not ascertained. However, the man's room was a new, rectangular structure. The orientation of the entry may have -been shifted with the construction of this building. If the room Iast occupied by the oldest son had previously been his mother's, then the relative orientation of compound 81 would also follow the ideal. There are instances in the sample where w n s occupy their mother's houses. This is the case in compound 9 where the son's wife now occupies his mother's old kitchen. The ordering of compound 194 into two sections divided by children's rooms is discussed above. Although the entry is actually opposite the children's rooms, the ends of the two scctions are each wife's kitchen. Consequently, the ordering of men and women in this compound is a variation rather than a contradiction of the ideal. There is some evidence that the absence of a woman in a household results in its collapse and even the loss of the household head's independent status. For instance, in compound 20 a widowed son is housed behind his father's compound. A similar situation occurred in compound 2. In this instance, the son returned with his children and worked his father's fields and in turn was also housed in an annex behind his father's compound. After a few years this man moved into compound 3. While living behind their fathers' compounds, both men's children are or were c a r d for by the grandparents inside their compounds. The man now in compound 3 only reestablished a wifeless compound when his daughter was old enough to prepare meals. She subsequently uses the rooms which would be used by her mother or step-mother. However, her brideprice is to be paid to her paternal grandfather as he is considered the one who raised her and not her father. The fate of compound 81 is not known, but the household was abandoned at the same time that the wife left her husband. Informants' statements that divorced wives' rooms are left to deteriorate is confirmed in c o m ~ u n d 7s , 6 , 5 and 20. These rooms comprise the bulk of abandoned rooms in occupied Mura and E r a compounds. In fact, in compound 6 the household head's first and second wife have maintaintxi the use of their kitchens in their former compound which, only recently, was occupied by one of the iirst wife's married sons. This action supports the strong association informants 169 expressed between individuals and the spaces which they occupy -- an attachment not broken by physical absence. This confronts the dominant ideology which presents women as impermanent residents. In discussions of how compounds are ordered, informants were asked whew certain resources should be placed including granaries, men's hearths, men's eating platforms, placcnta pots, grinding tables, and women's cooking hearths. Granaries are found in every comyo~indwith the exception of compound 26. This compound is still under construction and the man did not have time to construct the granary in 1986. The ideal of placing men's granarics on the right with the gabaka at the back right side, and female granaries on the left is only realized in compound 2. Furthermore, wives do not always receive a personal granary. Of the five lineage heads przctising traditional beliefs, the gerda lay are kept under thc gabaka at the back of the courtyard in compounds 2 and 81 and at the front of the courtyard in compounds 5, 6 and 20. However, the gabaka is only located in front of the first wife's kitchen in compound 2. In compound 5 sacred pots are located under the male granary at the back. The difference between the ideal and actual location of the gerda lay might, in some circumstances, be contingent upon the physical condition of the gabaka, as is suggested in the case of compound 20. It is also possible that the placement of the gerda lay under granaries toward the front of the courtyard is a practical solution to the conflict between the ideal enactment of ritual activities at the back of the courtyard and the relatively lower status associated with the back area, In all but compound 2 the gerrfra lay are placed either in the front or closer to thc. front of thc compound courtyard. Alterndtively, since the gerda lay are associated with fertility and the continuity of the lineage, their placement in front of the first wife's kitchen is associated with hcr fecundity. i t may be that as the iineage is iosing importance in controiiing access to iand, the :matioil of the gerda lay ii?ay a h k losing its sigrdficance. There is some support for the suggestion that jealousy between co-wives results in the placement of their respective granaries in front of their bedrooms. Although the women's 170 g a m r i e s are not necessarily beside the women's bedrooms, they are located on opposite sides of the courtyard in compounds 4, 5, 9 and 194. However, not every woman has a granary as is the case in compound 6. Compound 4 has the only man's hearth located outside the entry, Men's eating platforms arc only found outside the entry of compounds 4 , 5 and 6 although identical features are found outside the entry of severai of the abandoned compcunds on the mountain. These platforms are remarkably similar to the surface feature of graves. Medicine grinding stones are only found at the entries of compounds 5, 9 and 14. Two of these household heads stated that they are gows. Placenta pots are only visible in compounds 3, 4 and 5. In all cases the pots are next to a woman's bedroom or kitchen. These pots are not treated preferentially, and it is very possible that pots occur in the other compounds but are now buried under deposits created by wall erosion or building renovation. A placenta pot is shown in the foreground in Figure 28. Every Mura and Urza woman has her own kitchen with the exception of daughters-in-law in compounds 2 and 9. The location of beer brewing apparatus and kitchen hearths at the back of tke compound make this location the hub of each woman's activities within the household. Every kitchen had a hearth and a grinding table with the exception of compound 26. In this household, the wife had not yet constructed her table and used a loose stone beside her kitchen. There is no standard placement of grinding tables inside the kitchen although hearths are located directly acress from the doorway in the area with the greatest amount of natural light. Although the fire provides light during cooking, fuel is not abundant and women do not bum it specifically for light. Sincc other tasks such as mixing ingredients and making salt substitute are conducted by the hearth before lighting the fire, natural light is beneficial. The exception is compound 26 where the hearth is constructed to the side. This hearth is unusual in other ways which are discussed in chapter eight. Mi'omen in compounds 2, 3,6, 14,20 and 194 have dry season hearths beside or in the courtyard area in front of their kitchens. These hearths are used when hot weather makes cooking inside the kitchen uncomfortable. Views of hearths from the entry are usually obscured by granaries in the courtyard as granaries dominate the central space (see figure 29). Howcver, it was observed that w-hen men or women can potentially see each other eating, they politely t u n away. After mapping the compounds it became apparent that a number of other objects and features are routinely located inside the compound. These include water storage pots and beer fermenting pots. Every wife of a household head has a water storage pot and beer fermenting pot embedded in the ground either inside or in the area outside of her ~ ~ t c h e nThe . only cxccytion is the third wife in compound 6 and the wife in compound 26. In the case of the Mura, only first wives of lineage heads had their beer fermenting and serving pots located inside the courtyard circle beside the granaries. All other beer fermenting pots were located inside their kitchens. I t is suggested that the placement of the women's beer pots is an expression of the first wife's role in Mura ritual and consequently her rank within the family. Male lineage heads have the only compounds with entry houses. The orientation of compounds never fo!lows the ideal east-west axis with the entry to the west and the women to the east. Compound 13 was originally ordered in the opposite direction with the woman to the west. Compound 194 also is arranged opposite to that of the ideal. I t may be significant that these are both Urza households although the sample of U r n households is small and such a conclusion requires further confirmation. All other compounds arc a modification of the ideal with the entry and mans' bedroom located to the northwest or southwest of the compound and the first wife's rooms to the southeast or northeast. Generally, the compounds are ordered with men to the west side and women to the east. Only compound 9 is built on a sl3pe so the relationships between slope and gender could not be examined in detail. In this compound the wife's structures are all downhill from those of her husband. Orientation of compounds was not affected by the location of roads, streets and neighbours. Howcvcr the location of compounds within the village was correlated with the rank of the household hcad. This latter point is discussed further in chapter eight. 172 According to health laws, each household must have a latrine. These are always located at the back or side of the compound behind women's rooms which correspondingly are in lower valued spaces further back and below men's rooms. Variability in Mura and Urza compounds studied is also a factor of the household head's age, marital status and rank within the lineage. These factors are implicated in three main types of compounds. The first type can be referred to as a "starter compound". It is headed by man bctween 18 and 25 years of age, who is manded, and has a separate c.r sub-compound which is attached to but separate from his father's. The starter compound has a bedroom shared by the husband, wife and infant children and a separate kitchen. This compound type is represented by sub-compound 6c and compound 26. Thc standard compound is occupied by men between the ages of 30/35 to approximately 60 ycars of age. These household heads have at least one wife, children of various ages and sometimes grandchildren. Such compounds have the maximum variety of room types with ki tchcns, bedrooms, entries, storage rooms, children's rooms, rooms for married youngest sons, an~malhouses, and annexes for widowed sons with young children. There is considerable variation within this compound type. In most h~useholdseach woman has a bedroom and a kitchen. The only exceptions are women living in their father-in-law's household as in compound 9, and in compound 6 where the third wife has a kitchen/bedroom. In both instances, the lack of a separate bedroom is a consequence either of the lack of space or financial means. Entry houses clearly symbolize a man's rank as only lineage heads have entry houses; other men have a bedroom located beside the entry. Youngest married soils are housed with their wives at the front of their father's compound in two of the households studied. However, only one of these sons is located on the left of the entry as one informant suggested. In compound 9 the son is gradually assuming the father's buildings. The er,try, which is also the father's room, has been relocated twice at increasing 173 distances away frcm the family circle cf buildings while still kir:g part of the overall compttnd structure. The son and his wives are spilling out of his room into the mother's old kitchen and the animal house at the front. In compound 2 the youngest son was housexi at the front until domestic conflict forced his relocation outside and behind his father's compound. In both instances the sons are housed on the same sides of the compound as their mother's kitchens. This practice may be a confirmation of mother-son solidarity within the household. Unmarried adolescent children often receive a room either for themselves or to share with siblings of the same gender. Adolescent children are found in compounds 3, 14, 5, 194, 81, 6, 13. Rooms are provided for adolescent boys in compounds 5, 14, and 81. In all cases there were no resident adolescent girls. As mentioned above mother's often give their bedrooms to sons. However, in compound 14, the son has taken over an old room of his father's. A son and a daughter each have a bedroom in compound 194 while a second adoloscent daughter sleeps in hcr mother's bedroom. The children with houses are of different mothers, as are the two adolescent daughters. It may be a factor that each of the women's oldest resident children received a room of their own, rather than the fact that male and female children are being scparatpd at puberty. There are only female children in compound 3. The adolescent daughter has her own room at the back of the compound and her prepubescent siblings are housed in a room at the frm* or occasionally with their grandmother in compound 2. Although the daughter is no longer rosidcnt, her abandoned room is located between the entry and the mother's kitchen in compound 20. Providing structures for adolescent children is not always a concern. For example in compound 13, the daughter shares a bedroom with her mother, and in compound h d d c r male children share their father's bedroom. Not all Mura families have animal houses, unlike Urza families studied. Animal houses are located next to the man's bedroom and/or the entry in all compounds with the exception of compound 2. The reversed order of the first wife's bedroom and the animal houso may be associated with the expense of the wife's new bedroom. This factor is discussed further in chapter eight. Thc third type of compound is occupied by elderly men and women. Elderly parents are located outside of a son's standard compound. Such individuals are semi-dependents of one or more of their sons as is the case in compounds 6, 14 and 19. These elders continue to work, the women growing vegetables or making pots and the men herding the family livestock. However, water and meals are brought to them by the son's family. Elderly individual's compounds are similar to those of Fulani widows described by David as "minimal units" (David 1971). The same term can be u_wd here. Minimal units consist of a single house with a small, enclosed yard in front of the entry. An elderly woman's unit is a combination kitchen/bedroom, and an elderly man's house is a bedroom only. In a study of Fulani compounds, David (1971) found that variability between the ideal and actual fit of occupants and domestic buildings at a given point in time was affected by the impermanence of buildings and frequent changes in family composition. David (1971) found that impern~nentbuildings are continuously being modified, and as a result, there are always some buildings which are not in step. It is suggested that this imbalance is seasonal (David 1971:1271281, with thc best and worse fit occurring at the end and the beginning of the annual compound maintenance period respectively. This is especially true of rural settings where land is free and men can build houses to suit their families (David 1971). This situation is comparable to +hat iorind in Dela. Even in the downtown section along the highway, compounds are rarely congested and tend to be spacious. Other causes for the lack of fit between actual an ideal are changes in family composition during the non-building season. This is certainly true of Compound 9, where the son's recent second marriage resulted in a housing problem. A less than ideal solution was instigated in which the son's first wife was given a refurbished animal house ior a while the second wife shared a room with the husband. What is perhaps most important here, is that the fit between structures and o c c q i n t s tcnds to be a structural problem and not a spatial one. For example, there is a problem in 175 providing the son's wives' with appropriate nuzbttrs and t 1 - p of ~ buildings. Nt.verthctess, the inadequate temporary solution is found in the appropriate spatial location for daughter-in-laws in a patrilocal residence, despite the congestion that this solution crcatcs. Wandala Compounds Like Mura and Urza compounds, there are certain characteristics of Wandala compounds which are not apparent from the two-dimensional perspective of floorplans. Wandala buildings are surrounded by a wall which normally is approximately 2 rnctcrs in height. This height conceals all but roof tops from the street. The only room which is visiblc from thc strcct is thc entry house. Unlike Mura and Urza compounds, the doors of houses inside the Wandala compound are often covered with a cloth curtain or a lunged wooden or metal door. Houses stand independent of one another and are not systematically integrated to other structures with walls as in Mura and Urza compounds. This only occurs when structures u s c the outor compound wall as one wall of the building itself. However, this practice was ncver obscrved to be part of all st~ucturesin a single compound. In Wandala compounds most bedrooms have an attached verandah to provide shade for activities in the heat of thc day. This is csscntial as tho courtyard is not covered. Few of the Wandala household heads interviewed are closcly rclated (see F l p r c 24). Descriptions of Wandala household heads are pouped into three categories. First, dcscripbons of long standing Wandala households are presented and are grouped into families. Thcsc arc followed by household heads who are first generation converts to Islam and Wandala, and finally household heads who have recefitly converted. Finaily the C O ~ ~ ~ of U flrst H ~ gcncrabnn S and recently converted Wandala households are described in sequential order. Compound 53 ff"lnndala1 Wandraia Centre. Compound 53 is located on a road running prpendicular to the highway on the southeast side of the Wandala quarter. Compound 53 i5 176 occupied by one of the wealthier men in Dela. This individual owns the flour mill which is located on the same street. The wealth of the household head is expressed in the ownershp of two motorcyles, expensive buildings and the man's ability to keep four wives. The household hcad was born in this compound which he inherited from his father more than 25 years prior to thc study (W53A 3:125). Only the original entry house dates to his father's compound, other structures were built in the last decade. The household head of this compound has the same father as the heads of compounds 110 and 121. The household is composed of the household head, his four wives and their five children. Three of h e male children ate betweell the ages of 12 and 20, the other two children are under the age of five. Thc ongmal entry is located on the south side of the compound and opens onto a small courtyard. In order to enter the inner courtyard one must pass through a newly constructed entry which is part of a three room building. The room on the left side of the new entry is for the man's sons and the room to the right is the household head's bedroom. However, the boys' room and the entry are not yet complete and lack a roof. Neither the boys' room nor the father's room opens into the inner courtyard. The inner courtyard is surrounded by the women's bedrooms, verandas and shared kitchen. The first wife's room is directly across the compound from the inner entry on the east side of the compound at the back. The second wife is located to the left of the imt wife, the second to her right and the fourth to the far left. The wet and dry season kitchens arc located on the right side of the courtyard. Each wife has water storage pots embedded in the ground of their verandas and a dowry displayed on cupboards or shelves against the wall opposite the door of their respective bedroom. The fourth wife also has a metal four-poster bed located to the right of the door as one enters the room. There is a single granary located on the right side of the man's bedroom in the inner courtyard. Each woman and the man h a w separate enclosed latrines and washing areas. A fnmily latrine is located beside the kitchen and is concealed from view by the granary and a piece of metal roofing. A lime tree is located between the first and sccond wives' verandas. One woman grows goorolio plants in her washing area to sell in the market. The compound conforms to the Wandala ideal cardinal orientation with the entry Po the south and the first wife's bedroom to the east. As in compound 8 there is an outer and inncr courtyard. The relative compound orientation is also realized in the inner courtyard arrangcnwnt. There is no animal house, but men and male children art. located at the front, women are on thc opposite side of the compound from the husband, and the kitchen is shared by the wives. Compound 110 (Wandala) Wandala Cenfre. Compound 110 is located on the castcrn boundary of the Wandala quarter. The compound is occupied by the household head, his two wives, nine of their unmarried children, one divorced son and hts child. The man is a fanner and entrepreneur, and owns a motorcycle. Of the nine unmarried children, two arc adolesccnt boys, one is an adolescent girl, and the rest are under the age of 11. There is no entry structure for this compound. Instead, the entry 1s through a break in thc wall. On some visits the entry area had a roofed structure of sorghum stalks across post and beam frame, and on other visits this structure was removed. The view from the entry into thc inner courtyard is somewhat obscured by a low wall constructed at the front of the courtyard and by the building to the left of the entry. This building is a four-room structure with two bedrooms at the back and anterooms which serve as ver;;.,das for visiting and eating meals. Thc mom o n the left of the entry is occupied by the t h ~ e esons. The room next to the wns' room was occnpiud by the household head on the first +.it in February 1986. On subsequent vlsits in 1986, ~t had 'become first wife's room and she had embedded a water storage pot in the anteroom floor. An animal house is located beside this room. Opposite the entry at the back of the compound and to the right is the houschrdd head's bedroom. This is the room formerly occupied by his first wide. There ts E;ntsgranary located to the right of the building. To the right of these structure arc the setvnd wife's bedroom and anteroom. The second wife's water storage pot is embedded in thc. ground in thc wurtyard in 178 front of her houw. The wives share their bedrooms 1%-iththeir respective daughixs. C?n the left side of the man's bedroom are the abandoned and current kitchens of thu first wifc. The second wife's kitchen is located to the right of her bedrocm. One cannot look dircckly into the kitchens from the entry, although verandah doors open into the inncr courtyard. The women and the man each have a latrine and washing arm behind their housrs which are concealed from the brie:ir of other family members as well as from dte entry. The compound does not conform to the idea1 cardinal orientation of Wandala structures. The original occupation of structures ccnforms to aspects of ideal relative placement of men and children at the front and women at the back. However, the second wife is locatcd to thc left and not the right of the first wife and each has a separate kitchen. The reason for the move of the first wife was not ascertained. Compound 121 W a n d a l u ) WandaIa Cenfre. Compound 121 is locatcd in the east side of the Wandala quarter next to the highway. The compound was abandoned 15 years ago and thc current household head moved in and rebuilt at that time (W121 3:149) Hc is a barber and a fanner. The compound is occupied by the household head, his wife and their six children. Two of the children are boys age thirteen and eight years. The entry is located on the west side of the compound and opens into a courtyard. 711c wife sells confections from the entry building. The inner courtyard is cndosed by another sct of walls and three occupied buildings. The father, mother and their young daughters occupy a bedroom to the right of the inner courtyard entry. There arc two water storage pots cmbcddrd in the ground on the verandah. Beside their bedroom on the nght is a bedroom for the boys. Between these two bedrooms is the wife's hearth and a palm tree. The rcason for the absence of a kitchen was never clarified. At the left and back of the inncr courtyard is the animal house. There is no granary, and sorghum is stored in sacks inside the bedroom shared by the husband and wife (W121A 3:159). The family latrifies are located along the far back wall, hidden from view by buildings or walls constructed for that purpose. A round building beside the 179 compound entry is collapsing and is the only extant structure of the previous occupants. The compot~nddoes not conform to the ideal relative or cardinal orientation of family mcrnbcrs and their building^^ Houses for animals and children are in the east and at the back of the compound rather than by the entry. However, the woman's bedroom, shared with the husband, is in the southeast side of the compound. Conpound 12 (Wandalai Wandala Centre. Compound 12 is located in the centre of the Wandala quarter on the street east of the river. The household head is the blama of the quarter, a position held by his father and his grandfather before him. He has no sons and unless he has one, the position will pass to another family on his death (W12A 10:45). The current compound occupies only a portion of his father's former compound which encompassed compound 12, a large vacant area souih of compound 12 as well as compound 99 (W12A 291) beside the vacant lot. The latter compound is occupied by the blama's brother. The structures of compound 12, with the exception of the entry, were built within seven years of thc study. The compound is occupied by the household head, his wife and their adolescent daug3ter. The entry to the compound which has no roof is located on the west side of the compound. All of the other structures are opposite the entry on the east side. However, the entry is constructed on an angle so that upon entering the compound, one faces the household head's room to the northeast. The wife shares a bedroom with her daughter to the south of her husband's bedroom. A water storage pot is embedded in the ground of the woman's verandah. The wife's kitchen is located on the east side of the compound and south of her husband's bedroom. Inside the kitchen there is a hearth and a second water storage pot exbedded in the pound. A dry season hearth is located between her kitchen and bdrrrorn. The man and structures are constructed so that the dwrs, while opening into the courtyard, are turned away from each other. The entry is also constructed at an angle which does not permit a direct view into the kitchen. There is no granary. The ordering of individuals and structures does not conform to the M1andaIa ideal. For instance, the bedrooms of both the woman and the man are next to each other on the east side, and the entry is located on the west side of the compound. Spatial constraints are not a factor as there is room for the entry further south along the outer wall. H o ~ e v e r there , is considcrablc similarity in the organization of structures in this compound with that of Compound 7. Compound IS (hkndalal M7andala Centre. Compound 15 is located in ihe Wandala quarter off a small square on the east side of the highway. The owner constructed this compound in 1971. His former compound was beside the old road, but a right-of-way on either side of the road WAS required for widening and paving the current highway. This resulted in the ~elocationof many households in the Wandala quarter (W15A 2:121). The southwest wall of the compound is shared with Compound 18. Both men are noted islanuc scholars in the community. The household head of compound 15 is the spiritual advisor of Dela's current chief, and is also a tailor. Compound 15 is occupied by the household head, his wife and nine children. Threc of his sons are of marriageable age ranging from seventeen to twenty-one, one daughter is fifteen and another eleven. The rest of the children are nine years or under. The household head's brothcrin-law was given permission to ~ 0 n s t r u dan onion storage warehouse behind the compound in early 1986 (W15C 2:117). He is not a resident of the compound. The entry is located on the west side of the compound as part of a two room building. This room is also used as a sewing workshop. The adjacent room is a bedroom for thc four oldest sons. Directly opposite the entry at the back, on the east side of the compound is an abandoned two room structure which w2s the wife's kitchen and b d r m m . The r o d of the= rooms has collapsed, and the rooms are now used to store pots. The owner stated that he intended to repair the rooms for reuse as a kitchen in the future W15A 117). Currently, the wife's bedroom is located on the southeast side of the compound directly opposite that of her husband's room, Shc shares this room with her daughters. The bedroom is attached by a small enclosed verandah to the animal house. A water storage pot is located in the centre of the courtyard between the wife's and the man's bedrooms and medicinal plants are grown in the damp earth surrounding the pot. A pyanary constructed inside the animal house is no longer functional. The household head's room is located at the back on the northeast side of the compound. Thc man has a private latrine behind his bedroom and the family has a second latrine located beside the abandoned bedroom at the back. There is ~3 separate latrine area for the woman The compound docs not conform completely to the Wandala ideal. The entry is on the west side and the man's room is on the east side as is his wife's bedroom. However, the children and animal houses are located next to the entry. Conlpound 146 !IVandala) Wadala Centre. Compound 148 is located on the west side of the highway on the south end of the Wandala quarter. It is the only Wandala compound surveyed whose head is a woman. The compound was inherited by her husband from his father (W148A 3:113). Upon his death, the woman became trustee and head of the household with several young children to support (W14SA 10:103). She did so by farming her husband's fields and selling producc. Currently only she and her youngest son occupy the compound. This son is nineteen years of age. The compound once covered a much larger area, but was reduced in size as the family became smaller. The entry is an opening in the wall on the east side of the compound. Directly opposite thc entry at the back is the woman's bedroom are a few enamelware pots on a shelf inside the bedroom against the wall opposite the door. Free access to this room was not granted beyond the glimpsc of objects beyond the door. However, it is possibie that the woman has a hearth inside the k d r w m for dry season cooking. A water storage pot is embedded in the ground in her verandah. To the left of the entry and beside the mother is the son's bedroom. Between the son's and mother's room is the mother's dry season hearth where three more water pots are set into the ground- She has an enclosed latrine and washing area behind her twdrooni. Therc is a p l n i tree behind the son's M r o o m . To the far right of the entr). is a new structure which the son was in the prnccss 0 1 constructing for his future bride (Wll8B 3:110). The wedding was postponed and thc structure was not completed during 1986. On the right side and toward cihc back is the animal houw. Compound 148 does not conform to the ideal cardinal orientation of Wandala conipnurid structures. The woman's room is in the west and the entry is in the east. However, the relative orientation of people and structures does conform. The wife is at the back, the son is at the side between the front and back beside his mother's kitchen. There arc no structures at thc front by the entry. This area should be occupied by the husband according to the Wandala idcal plan. The absence of structures at the front may express the death of the male household head. There was no indication of previous buildings by the entry. Compound 7 (Wandalal Wandala-Centre. Compound 7 is located in the centre of town on the street to on the east river bank. The owner is an elderly mar. who has lived in thc compound all of his life, inheriting the property from his father (W7A 2:157). His father was a Mafa slavc taken by the Wandala in childhood and adopted by a Wandala family. He was cvcntually married to a Wandala woman, and his son, the current household head of this compound was born Wandala. The household head has two wives who both moved out of his compound sevcral years prior to this study when he could no longer look after them (W7A 2:157). One wife still cooks his meals and brings them to the house. When he has the money he intends to repalr a room for her so that she will move back into the compound. He has no living children. Thc man has shared his compound for the last five years with a woman in her fifties. They arc unrclatcd and L h q do not share f w d or household tasks. They do however work in con?rnon cwxqxtions, as he is a weaver and she spins cotton. She sells her thread to him and sells peanuts in the market W7T3 10:21). The entry is located to the southwest side of the compound directly opposite the ruins of 183 the man's former bedroom. The man currently occupies a bedroom on the northeast area of the compound and the woman has a kitchen, bedroom and verandah on the south e e ~ :area. A water storage pot is embedded in the ground of the verandah between her kitchen and bedroom, and the hearth is located inside the kitchen. The ruins of his wives' shared kitchen is to right of the man's bedroom. The woman intends to repair the abandoned bedroom directly north of her own room and use i t as a kitchen in the near future. Both individuals have washing areas and latrines behind their .bedrooms, The man stores grain inside his bedroom in a burlap sack. Access to the woman's room was not permitted. The man has a locm workshop at the front of the compound on the courtyard side of the entry. The woman spins using a spindle whorl in the shade of her verandah (personal observation). The compound conforms to certain aspiration of the Wandala ideal configuration. The entry is located on the south side of the compound, and woman's rooms are on the east. Although the man's bedroom is not located near the entry, it is located on the opposite side of the compound from the woman's rooms. Cotnpottnd 18 t24bndala) Wandala Centre. Compound 18 was constructed by the current household head three years prior to the study. Before that time he lived near compound 12 W 1 8 A 2:175). The reason for the move was not ascertained. His father was a Mafa slave who worked for the tlikse in Mora. According to the current tlikse CWTl 10:60), trusted slaves, including this man's father, were given houses outside of the royal residence. The household head is a diviner with some renown in northern Cameroon (W18A 10:61). He is also a tailor and farmer. Compound 18 is occupied by the household head, his two wives and four of their cf;i!dren. The oldest resident chiid is a ten year old boy. The household head's parallel cousin and his bride occupv a section of the compound. This arrangement is to facilitate the cousin's apprenticeship as a diviner (W18A 10:61). The entry to the compound faces into a small square directly off of and on the east side of the highway. Tne entry is on the northwest side of the compound. The household head's t u ~ o wives sell peanut oiI from the entry of the compound (WlS B 2170). When entering the inner courtyzrd, the view across the compound is obscured by the mn's bedroom located along the north wall. The household head's room is in the same structure as the entry. A granary i s located on the right side of the man's bedroom and his latrine area is concealed bchind a wail bcsidc his bedroom. Located directly at the back, on the east side of the compound and opposite the houxhold head's bedroom are the bedrooms of the wives. The first wife's bedroom is located to the right and &e second wife's bedroom to the left. The first wife's kitchen is in her verandah and the second wife has a kitchen to the left of her bedroom. The first wife has two water storage pots embedded in the ground in the courtyard in front of her rooms. The second wife has a watcr storage pot set into the ground in front of her kitchen. One cannot look directly into the kitchens from either the entry or the man's bedroom. The younger children share their respective mother's bedrooms. Each wife has a separate latrine and washing area behind her bedroom. Access to the women's bedrooms was not obtained. The animal house is Iocated to the right of the man's room. A small structure bchind the animal house was constructed by the children in play (W18A 2:175). On the right side and back of the compound a separate enclosure is constructed for the cmsin and his wife. Thc enclosure is made u p of a bedroom shared by the newly wed couple and to the back is thc wife's kitchen. 'The young woman's d o w q is displayed on shelves located inside the bedroom against the wall opposite the door. A metal four-poster bed, part of her dowry, is located on the right side of the door. Their latrine is located behind the bedroom and kitchen. The compound does not conform strictly to the Wandala ideal configuration. The entry is located in the northwest rather than the south and each wife has a separate kitchen. However, the entry and the man's bedroom are located on the opposite side of the compound to the wornmfs bedrooms. The wives are also ordered from right to left according to marital rank, and the cousin 185 has a scparatc section of the compound analogous to that suggested for the placement of a married son. Compaund 8 f Wandala) Wandala Centre. Compound 6 Asoccupied by a Koma man who converted to Islam several years prior to the study. He is now Wandala and works as a blacksmjth, a trade he learned from his father (W8A 13:33). His father, now deceased, was in fact the head of the founding Kovra lineage. This man occupies compound 8 with his two wives and four children. One son is 14 years of age and the other children are under the age of nine. Thcre is no entry house, but the entry opening in the compound wall is located on the south side of the compound. There is an enclosed outer courtyard between the entry and the inner courtyard. The man's bedroom is located to the left of the entry to the inner courtyard and the women's bedrooms are situated on the right or east side of the compound. The shared kitchen is bcsidc the second wife's bedroom directly opposite the inner courtyard entry. The man's and women's bedrooms are constructed at angles so that the doors are turned away from each other. In both women's verandas there is a water storage pot embedded in the ground. In both women's bedrooms, dowry pots are displayed on a low mound of sand directly opposite the door. A shared latrine and washing area is located behind the women's bedrooms. A room for the male children is under construction along the west wall behind the father's bedroom. The forge is under a tree outside of the entry. The configuration of this compound conforms to aspects of the Wandala ideal. Although the man's room is not located near the compound entry, it is on the opposite side of the con~poundfrom the women's houses with the first wife to the right of the entry and the second wife to the left of her rooms in accordance with the Wandala ideal. What is significant is that there is a complete departure from the ideal Mura spatial order. Compound 76 (Wandaia) Wandala Centre. Compound 76 is located on the eastern boundary of the Wandala quarter. It is occupied by an elderly couple who have no children. They moved into the compound 17 years before the study (W76A/B 3:89). The couple were Mafa, converted to 180 Islam several years ago, and now consider themselves to be Wandala EW76A 10:93). The compound faces into a square which is comprised of several houses of elderly women and men, most of whom are living alone. The entry is a break in the wall on the southeast side of the compound. The walls are low enough to easily ~ l e winto the compound from the street. This height is more typical of montagnard than Wandala compounds. Directly across from the entry and at the back of thc compound is the man's bedroom. It is attached to an animal house to the left in which a granary is located. Another animal house is attached to the left of this building. Thesc three buildings are not only attached by a wall, but the adjoining walls have doors so that people and animals can move between the spaces. However, the only door to the courtyard for these adjoining structures is through the man's bedroom. The woman's rooms are on the right side of the compound. The woman's bedroom is at the right, back on the north side. There is a single latrine behind the woman's bedroom in the garden which is concealed from public view with a screen. Her kitchen is to the right of the entry on the east side of the compound and is attached to an animal house. There is an old grinding table in the kitchen which is the only such example in the Wandala kitchens surveyed. The only entry to the animal house is through the kitchen. Between this keep and thc woman's bedroom are a number of inverted large pot bases used as chicken keeps. Her water storage pot is embedded In the floor of the verandah. The compound does not conform to Wandala ideal cardinal or relative configuration. T'hc interconnection of rooms and interior doorways are part of the Mafa architectural tradition (see Seignobos 198239). However, the compound is not architecturally Mafa or Wandala, but a mixture of elements from each. Fsr instance, the woman's bedroom znd ~ e r a n d a his characteristic of Wandala domestic architecture. Summary of Wandala Compounds The Wandala ideal configuration emphasized the entry and the location of women's bedrooms in the ordering of compound buildings. There is in fact an emphasis on the entry of the compound in a manm: r s t expressed by informants. In compounds 7, 8, 12,121, 76/53 and 148 the entry stands apart from bedrooms and kitchens even when the entry is only a break in the compound wall. In fact in compou~ds8, 121 and 53 there is a separate courtyard between the entry and the enclosure to the inner courtyard of family buildings. A similar effect is created at the entry to 110 by a wall on the northwest side of the courtyard. This wall serves no purpose other than to provide privacy to individuals inside the courtyard. According to two informants, fhc entry should be located in the south and the women's areas to the east. Entries are located on the south side of compounds 7, 8,53 and 76. One of the constraints on orienting the compound buildings is the location of roads, streets and neighbours. In some instances compounds are built with shared compound walls. ideally, men are located by the entry and opposite the women's bedrooms. However, men's bedrooms are only located by the entry in compounds 18 and 53. The male household head of compound 110 was also located by the entry prior to an exchange of rooms with his first wife. In fact most men's bedrooms are located at the back but on the opposite end of tne back area from women's bedrooms. Men's workshops in compounds 7 , 8 and 15 are all iocated by or in the entry. There are no formal workshops for women. Women in compounds 18 and 121 sold goods from thc entry house at certain times of the day. Older women in compounds 7 and 76 who spun cotton did SO on their verandas and sold goods in the market. According to the Wandaia ideal, the first wife is iocated on the right and back side of the tompmnd from the entzy i%+thm-wives Iocated on either side of her. This is the case in all compounds with the exception of compound 110. In this instance the order of the wives was reversed b ~ t hbefore and after the first wife moved to the front of the compound. Ideally, co-wives share kitchens. However, only four of the ten households sunreytd had more than one wife and of these two shared a kitchen. Although men stated that the reason for separate kitchens had to do with co-wife jealousy, this did not appear to bc the cast in compound 18. These wives had separate kitchens, were cordial and sharcd a peanut oil cnterprisc. In both compounds the separate kitchens are located beside the uife's bedroom or in her verandah. Only in compourtds 12, 110 and 76 are kitchens constructed as more than rudimentary structures. This is in stark contrast to the expensive construction of Wandala women's bedrooms discussed in more detail in chapter eight. In fact, most women have their own kitchen by default as the only wife or by choice. However, these siructures and consequently activ~tiesconducted in kitchens arc ideally and in reality given little imp~rtancein compound construction. Each c o m p o u ~ dwith , the exception of compounds 12 and 76 have separate toilet facilities for adult members of the family and often a latrine for the children. Presumably childrcn sharc their mother's facilities. Cumpounds 12 and 76 each have a single latrine area for the entirc family. There are no instances where elderly individuals were kept by their childrm or other younger related or unrelated adults. Older couples such as in compound 7 and his nonrcsidcnt wife and compound 76 look after each other longer thar, in thc Mura and Urza community. However, both of these couples are childless. Adolescent and older unmarried children are resident in compounds 8, 12, 15, 121, 110 and 148. Houses for adolescents are found in compounds 8, 15, 121, 110 and 148 and in addition n tcn year old boy has a house in compound 18. He is the youngest child in the study with his own house. All of these structures are for male children even though there are female adolcscc!nt siblings in compounds 110 m d 15. The only child in compound 12 is fcmalc- and she sharei a room with her mother- The boys are located near the entry in compounds 15, 110 and 148. In compounds 8 and 121 their houses are at the back. The available information indicates that normlly only adolescent boys and not g r l s receive separate houscs. This is surely due to thc fact 189 that girls tend to marry younger than boys and leave the family home sooner. The pur?ose of children's houses is to separate male and fexxale chldren before puberty. T h ~ sconsideration is achleved by removing the boys from their mother's room. There is one instance of a divorced son who has returned with his young son to his father's compound 110. They are both housed in the boys' room by the entry. Although informants suggested that married sons are housed inside the father's compound, there is only one example in compound 18 of a ccusln and his wife being housed in this manner. In fact there are no examples of related households regularly living side-by-side in the Wandala sample, unlike in the Mura and Urza community. Six of ten Wandala compounds surveyed have anirnai houses or keeps. Ideally animal houses arc located near the entry. However, the animals are only kept in this location in compound 110, in compound 15, and in one of the animal houses in compound 76. In the other thrn. instances, the animal houses are at the back of the compound. The houses located at the back arc not reused buildings. The Wandala place little importance on the location of grain storage. Grain can be stored either in sacks or granaries. The latter are located in the courtyard or at the back near the women's houses. Half of the Wandala households studied had a single granary in the compound. In compounds 18 and 53 the granary is located to the side of the man's bedroom and in compounds 15 and 76 the granary is located inside the animal house. In compound 110 the granary was initially located between the two wives and later beside the man's bedroom. In all other caws gr&n is stored in sacks in the man's bedroom or in his children's bedroom. In no instances were granaries located in the central area and only in compound 110 are they near women, as informants suggested should be the case. It is suggested here that grain is of greater significance to men than indicated by informant descriptions of grain storage. Rather than being stored in lower status areas such as the back of the ccmpound, grain is stored in the man's and his male children's bedrooms and f o r animal houses. These individuals and animals are part of I00 the male household head's resources. The location of the grain in the man's area is also a means of controlling grain which only men have the right to distribute to their wives. Only ten women's bedrooms were open for examination. In all of thew btdrooms thc women had enamelware pots displayed against the wall opposite the h i r o o m door. Most women displayed their pots on purchased cupboards made by a carpenter. The two displays in compound 8 are on low gravel mounds as was described for the traditional practicc by onc informant as discussed in chapter six. Dowry displays conformed to informant ideals of placement. Howevei, as a casuzl obsen~ation,the dowries of young brides are more elaborate and larger than the displays of older women. This observation does not support the description of dowry augmentation for senior wives on their husband's succcssivc marriage as suggcstcd by informants in chapter four. The richness of younger women's dowries may be a factor of inflation. However, it is likely that the lesser displays of older women may be the result of the =lling dowry for cash for business ventures or other purchases. Women's water storage pots are also regularly located in Wandala compounds m d arc embedded in the ground. In all ~nstances,water pots arc located either inside or just outside of a woman's verandah or kitchen. Women are located on the east side in compounds 7, 8, 12 and 15. In compound 53, women are located in the east and west sides of the compound. This is because thcrc. arc four wives and there is not enough space to house all of them in the east. Rather, the first wife 1s located in the east and the other three are ordered around hcr. There is no perceptible slope 111 any of the compounds visited. Consequently the problem of s l a p and the placement of men's and women's structures was not ascertained. There is no evidence that houses of dead family i l i e m k s are left to collapse naturally. The stress in Wand& hameholds on individual bedrooms and storage facihes is in keeping with the sense of competitiveness and individualism of Wandala society as a whole. Individualism is alw expressed in the orientation of doors around the inner courtyard. Most structures are oriented so that their doors do not directly face the duor of another structure in the compound. 'This may partly be an attempt to ensure privacy, as their are no granaries to block views across the central courtyard. However, enclosed verandas are common and provide the necessary privacy. In summary. it a p p a r s as though the relative ordering of structures in Wandala compounds is morc important than the orientation of structures to cardinal directions. For instance, the location of wctxm's rooms in the east is the only consistently located building category in Wandala ho.~seholdsin the majority of cases whereas children's and men's bedrooms arc less SO. In fact, thcrc apptars to be two configurations for the ordering of entries and men and women's bcdrooms. Compounds 7,8, 12 and 15 are ordered with the entry separated from the internal buildings by an open space with the man's bedroom at the back left side and the women's rooms on the right side. Compounds 18, 53 and possibly 148 are ordered with the entry and man's bedroom at the front and the women's rooms opposite the entry at the back. Thc standardized placement of women's bedrooms and the emphasis on entries agrees with informant descriptions of compound construction. These rooms are the foci of men's and women's wealth in Mrandala housc.holds. These rooms are also the location of women's activity areas in the compound. It is suggested here that the concern to order women's areas in Wandala compounds is part of the strategy to control the presentation of women in Wandala households as women of leisure and dependents. This is possible by keeping their actual work out of sight. The lack of consensus on the placement of other structures can partly be attributed to the fact that the Wandala are not a homogeneous group. Consequently, different household owners may present different interpretations of Wandala ideology. Several of the households studied are men who h a w converted to Islam and con-quently became Wandala. According to information prt-ntd in chapter four, this is representative of the Wandala as a whole. This would suggest that a certain variabilitv in the prewntation of ideology in Wandala households is to be expected. f)ne tactor which constrains the orientation of compounds to cardinal directions is the way 192 community street plan. Sections of the Wandala quarter are built like other lsfamic towns, with narrowr passageways, and compounds built next to each other so that they share compour?d walls. The recency of Islamic conversion does not appear to play a significant role on the internal order of Wandala compounds, with the exception of compound 76. The latter shows blenditkg of Wandala and Mafa stylistic elements. However, recently convert& Wandala househiM hcads tend to locate their compounds on the periphery of the Wandala quarter. Household head's age also creates some of the variability obscwed in Wandala compounds. I did not observe a 'starter compound' separate from an established one. Standard compounds of men between 30/35 and 60 years of age again have the greatest variety d room types including bedrooms, kitchens and animal houses. What varies from the Mura and Urza compounds is the compound of e!dcrly couples. Minimal units appcarcd to exist in the community for elderly women, but not for men. Elderly men, such as the head of compound 7, continue to maintain their compound as long as possible. In compound 76, an elderly couple continued to live together longer than was observed for elders in the Mura community. Shuwa compounds Shuwa compounds differ markedly from other compounds in the study. One difference is that there is no designated entry into a Shuwa compound as structures are not cncloscd or attached with walls. However, it is suggested in this study that these households arc still compounds in that there is a closely related group of agnatic kin who construct their houses around a central area in which the common resources of the group are usually kept. These buildings, while housing individual families, are ordered around the circle by their seniority relative to a senior male household head. It is this individual's house which is considered as the point of reference for the other structures which comprise the compound. Shuwa compounds arc described in sequential order as no household heads were related. Compound 19 CWandala/Shuwa) Shuwa quarfer. Compound 19 is occupied by a man in his sixties. He moved to this location from Kirza a few kilometres to the northeast a few years ago although he has lived in the repon for 20 years IS19A 10:66). The compoul~dis occupied by the houschold head, his two wives, their four unmarried children, one married son and his wife, and occasionally by a hircd herder. The houschold head's bedroom is located on the south side of the central area. He teaches the Koran on the verandah and stores his bicycle in the bedroom. To his left are the bedrooms and verandas of his two wives. Each wife has a kitchen located to the side of her respective bedroom. The first wife's water storage pot is embedded in the ground outside her kitchen in a sanded area bordered with logs. She also has a dry season hearth in this area and a dalke. A dalke is a pIatforrn of post and beams on which a woman keeps her pots and firewood. To the front of the first wife's bedroom is a bordered, sand filled area which is probably a prayer platform as it is oriented towards the east. The second wife has a water storage pot embedded in the floor of her verandah and a dalke to the side of the bedroom. Directly across the central area from the man's bedroom is a room for his fifteen and seven year old sons. The room is shared with a horse. To the left side of the compound beside the boys room is an abandoned traditional Shuwa house which once served as a bedroom, kitchen and animal kccp. The structure was abandoned by previous occupants. It is currently used for storage. To thc right of the boys' room is a similar structure currently used as a cattle keep. It was also abandoned by previous occupants. The resident married son is located on the right side of the compound. His own houschold consists of a two-room structure and an enclosed area to the back. One room is a which he shares with his wife and the other room is her rainy season kitchen. The woman's enamelware dowry is displayed in a cupboard against the wall opposite the door. She also has a four-poster metal bed to the right of the door. Her water storage pot is located on the verandah as is the son's motorcycle. In the enclosed area to the back of the building is a dry season hearth and at the very back is a latrine. Between the son's compound and the father's bedroom is an abandoned traditional woman's house now used as a cattle keep. behind this structure and off of the central area is another abandoned traditional house which is used as a bedroom by the hired herder. The herder has a bed on the right side of the room and posts for tying livestock on the left side. Both ot these rooms were again abandoned by previous occupants of the location. The cattle paddock is located behind the household head's bedroom. The man has an enclosed latrine behind his bedroom and the women share a latrine behind their building. 'There are three granaries located on the left side of the man's bedroom. Compound 19 does not conform to the ideal cardinal orientation of Shuwa househnlds. However, it does conform to the ideal relative orientation of people and structures. The sons arc arranged to the right of the household head in order of descending age. There is a complete abandonment of the Shuwa style houses where women conducted much of their traditional work. In this compound, Wandala rectangular and sometimes multi-roomed structures are used, The household head stated that other Shuwa in the quarter continued to build the Shuwa-style structures because they cannot afford the rectangular Wandala style houses (S19A 2:183). Compound 25 (Shuwa) Shuwa quarter. The occupants of compound 25 all claim to be Shuwa and it is this household head who provided the information on the ideal ordering of Shuwa compounds. This compound is occupied by the household head, his wife, the oldest married son, his wife and three young children, the second oldest son, his wife and their infant, and the youngest unmarried son who is nineteen years old. The family came from Kirza and have lived in this location for 17 years (S25A 3:37). The household head's and his wife's house is located on the sou!hcas! side of !he compound. The interior of the house is separated into two halves. The right side is used as a cattle ke?p and the left side is comprised of the woman's bedroom and kitchen. The objects are ordered along the wall from the doorway beginning with the water p t embcddcd in thc floor, the 195 hearth, enamelware pots and a rack for storing milk gourds. The woman's bed is located at the back of the left side and a small granary stands beside the bed. The oldest son's wife's house is located to the right and is shared with her young children. The woman was away and access to the house was not obtained. Her dalke is located beside the house. Continuing around the circle, the next room is the bedroom of the oldest son. The room is furnished with a bed on the left side. The next bedroom is that of the second oldest son and his wife and children. A separate kitchen is located to the left of this building. This room is also used to tie up young calves when their mother's are taken out to graze. The woman's dowry of enamelware pots is located against thc wall opposite the door of the bedroom. The woman also has a metal four-poster bed on the left side of the room and a water pot embedded in the floor to the left of the door. The husband has a bed on the right side. The kitchen is fumished with a hearth and two water-pots set into the floor. The ruins of the oldest son's former bedroom are located next to the kitchen. This room was abandoned seven years prior to the study. Although termite infestation was given as the reason for its abandonment, it occurs at the same time that this son married and constructed structures to the right of his father, according to the Shuwa ideal. The last structure facing into the central space is the bedroom of the youngest son. This room is furnished with a bed on the left side of the room. A thorn enclosure for cattle is located in the central space. Beside this enclosure is a pit which was used to store grain ( S E A 336). Recently the family constructed two granaries which arc located on the west side of the central area. To the front of the second son's and his wife's house is a tic-can bordered sanded area which survcs as her prayer platform. The location of this platform adjacent to the second son's building correlates to its position on the west side of the compound. The platform is not oriented due east or northeast toward Mecca but instead towards the father's house to the southeast. 196 This compound accords with the Shuwa ideal cardinal and compound orientation with thc exception of the former bedroom of the oldest son. However, following marriage, this son relocated to a position in accordance with the ideal. Men are ordered by seniority from right to left around the circle with the father's house on the east side. The interior of the second son's house is not traditional. For instance, the dowry display is consistent with that of a Wandala woman. However, the woman's material g o d s are on the left and the man's on the right which follows the ideal arrangement inside Shuwa houses. Compound 167 (Shuwa) Shuwa quarfer. The household head of compound 187 n w v d here from Kirza four years prior to the study (S187A 3:43). The compound is occupied by the household head, his wife, three of their children and his widowed mother. Two of the children are adolescent boys and the other is a nine year old boy. The household head's house is on the north side of the compound. Along the left interior wall in order starting at the entry are the wife's hearth, enamelware pots and rack for storing milk gourds. Her metal four poster bed is located to the back left side of the room. The husband has a cot on the back right side and the space at the front right is used as a cattle keep. To the right of this building around the circle is her dry season kitchen. Outside the kitchen is a water pot embedded in the ground and to the side of the kitchen stands her dalkc. The household head's mother's house is the next structure in the circle. On the left side of the door is a hearth, at the back of the room to the left side is her bed, and a water storage pot is set into the ground on the right side of the door. The boy's house is in the last in the circle. 'I'hc house has a bed at the back left side and cattle are kept in the front right side. A thorn enclosed paddock is situated on the east side of the compound. Tnere is an enclosed latrine behind the older woman's house and a small prayer platform of sand burdered with tin cans in the front. The granary is iocatcd in front of the household head's house. The compound does not conform to the Shuwa ideal cardinal orientation of structures and 197 pmpIs as. the fathcf s building is located to the north. It is difficult to determine if the compound conforms to the relative orientation as there are so few structures. If the order is being followed, then deference is paid to the mother as of more senior rank than the grandson, for she is placed to the right of the household head. Compound 206 (Shuwa) Shuwa quarter. The occupants of compound 206 stated that they moved here from Kjrza one year prior to the study (S206A 3:150). The household is made up of two brothers and their wives. The oldest brother has two married sons with families who live clox by. He herds cattle with them. However, their buildings are too far away to be part of the same compound circle. The other couple have no children. A third brother lives inside the Wandala quarter in L)ela. His 16 year old son eats at his father's compound but lives the rest of the time with his eldest uncle in compound 206. The oldest brother and his wife share a room on the southeast side of the open area. The interior of the house is divided into two halves. The right sidc is used as a cattle keep and is furnished with the husband's cot. The left side comprises the wonwn's area. Her objects are ordered beginning at the left of the door and moving clockwise with the water storage pot set into the floor, the hearth and enamelware pots. Her bed is located at thc back, left side of the house. The younger brother and his wife are located to his right around the circle. During 1986 this brother constructed a new house beside his old one which is now used as a cattle keep. The hnusc that the couple occupied last is divided into right and left sides. The right side is used as a cattle keep and the left is the woman's side. Her objects are ordered beginning at the left of the entry and moving clockwise with the water storage pot, her hearth, enamelware pots and a rack for storing milk gourds. Her bed is placed at the back, left side of the room. The woman's dalke is located to the side of the house. The last structure in the circle is reserved for a hired herder, but was coilapsing in 1986. Directly across from the entry of the oldest brother's building is a large granary. Although there am very few structures and individuals in this compound, the relative 198 orientation of brothers according to age appears to be followed. However, the eldest brokhcr is located In the southeast and not the east side of the compound which does not conform to thc suggested cardinal orientation. Summary of Shuwa Compounds Shuwa households are ordered as a community of related male kin and their families. In ail households, the relative ordering of males follows the ideal ordering starting with the senior male and moving from right to ieft around the circle from oldest to youngest which agrccs with the ideal Shuwa plan. However, there are also women located around the central open space. I n compound 187 the senior male's mother is located in the circle immediately to his right. it is suggested that this position recognizes the seniority of his father. In compound 19, the first and second wife of the senior household head are located in the circle immcdiatcly to his left. This is partly explained by the fact that the household head has converted to the Wandala style of rectangular multi-roomed structures which locate women side-by-side. In both instances the women also have separate kitchens as in the Wandala households studied. In the traditional round houses, women's activity areas and storage area arc Ictcated on the left side of the house, while men's beds are located on the right sides of houses as in compounds 25, 187 and 206. The man's side is shared with cattle in four of five such houses. In the fifth house the right side is used by the man but never by cattle. There are also round houses in compounds 19, 25 and 187 occupied by men and not women. The pattern of keeping male resources on the right or senior side appears to be adhered to in men's separate bedrooms. In these structures, the bed is located on the left side in three of four instances, with the cattle on the right. Women's dalkes are always located on the outside of the woman's side of the house. The women's side of round houses is ordered following a rigid layout for water pots, hearth, enamelware, milk gourds and the bed. The only exception is in compound 25 whew onc houw has no hearth and the dowry is placed like a W a ~ d a l adowry against the wall oppsite the All adolescent male children have separate structures located in the circle with the exception of thc nephew staying in compound 206. His sleeping arrangement is not known. Adolcsccnt g r l s living in compound 19 do nct have separate houses. Livestock arc housed in abandoned traditional houses, inside occupied houses, and in paddocks in the centre, to the side and the back of the compounds. There is no evidence that animals arc systematically located in any particular area of the compound except when inside an occupied house where they are placed on the right side. All four households have granaries. These are located next to the man's bedroo~nin compounds 19 and 187 and in the central area in compounds 25 and 206. The sing1.b woman's granary in compound 25 is that of a woman in her 50s. Reeves found that older women had their own small granaries inside their houses in Shuwa households in other communities in the q i o n (M. Rccvcs 1992, personal communication) There is no apparent affect on the interior of households according to the age of the household head or of the wife. Elderly women without husbands construct miniature round houses with featurcs found on the left side of the larger houses. However, no young men were ohservcd heading a large extended family circle. In this chapter, the link between gender ideology and domestic spatial configuration which was cxamincd in chapter six is compared to actual compounds. This comparison demonstrates that standardiztd spatial order does indeed exist in the four sets of households and that order follows (to varying degrees), the ideals expressed by informants. The fit between the ideal description and the actual spatial order is greatest amongst the Mura and Urza and less so amongst the Wandah This is to be expected part-ticuiarly in ierms of the orientation of the entry as the Waitdala quarter has a more structured street plan than the montagnard sector. However, this does not explzin why the relative order or men and women's buildings within Mrandala compounds vary from the ideal. The Shuwa households demonstrate a n~ixturcof Shuwa and Wandala ideals which rather precisely parallels their changing cthnicity. The question is why is the ordering of specified men's and women's areas so important to the Mura and Urza? It is sgggested here that among the montagnards patrilineal prosperity requires women's participation in the fields and the home. Women's value as nurturers and producers of children is expressed in the emphasis on kitchens. At the same time women's status as followers of men and dependents of male resources is expressed in the back and downhill location of the kitchen. The control of women in Mura and Urza spaces is one strategy to maintain an order which requires cooperation of women to produce and reproduce wealth while denying them ownership of that wealth. This is not the situation in Wandala households where men and women's ownership of resources is parallel but unequal. Consequently, there is less control of women's structures relative to men's. Nonetheless the placement of almost all Wandala wives' buildings is at the back of the compound which conforms with the Islamic ideal of men representing their women to the world. In Shuwa households men own the principle resources. The rigid order of traditional houses indicates a need to control the presentation of women within the family. This appears to be in a state of flux, as some women are now arranging internal space like the Wandala. I t is suggested that this situation is associated with the shift towards grain agriculture. Women arc losing their dairy resources and their role in the family of providing wild and purchased grain. These women must gravitate closer to the lifestyle of Wandala women in the markctplacc. This may be resulting in a faster assimilation of Shuwa women into Wandala culture than men, Thcrc is no evidence to support the suggestion that the senior household is locatcd in the cast except in compound 25. In summary, although Shuwa households in this sample are influenced by Wandala architccitiial order, the ovei-all organization of an extended Shuwa farniiy foilows the traditional ideal. This ideal orders male kin with male kin at a community level. The greatest impact of Wandala traditions is in the ordering men relative to women. This factor is likely indicative of the shift from corporate herding to corporate farming. The agnatic group continues to work as the more important economic unit and while the work changes, the relationships between men do not necessarily change. However, the shift to farming cuts women off from their economic base of milk products. This changc in gender roles and relationships in Shuwa households may result in the shift to Wandala style houses and the emphasis on Wandala style dowry. CHAPTER EIGHT: OTHER SPATIAL CnNSIDERATiONS introduction To fully understand the configuration of domestic floor plans in Dela, compounds must Dc considered both as contexts where men and women interact and as integral components of the community. Men in all groups tend to be associated through time with a community of other men, a situation resulting in part from practices of marriage, inheritance, and ritual. Women move through and between these communities during their adult lives. A principlc tenet of this dissertation is that individuals act through their allocative and authoritative resources in the negotiation of group- and self-interests. In all four communities, compound structures arc materially and socially controlled by men. Although women may construct certain features within the compound, these features are not visible withn the community domain. This is not to suggest a public/domestic dichotomy of men's and women's social roles, Rather, the allocativc and authoritative capacity of men to control the external as well as internal design of the domestic structure allow men to use domestic buildings in the negotiation of both their domcstic and community interests. This chapter examines the choices involved in the construction and design of structures and features. Compound Structures and Features Building construction and maintenance for all groups is performed in the early part of the dry season (Xovemher-February). At this time water is still available for wall construction, earth is soft enough to excavate for wall materials, and rains have stopped so that wall and roof work will not be ruined before completion. Most building materials, in particular thatching and millct 203 and sorghum stalks, are harvested at the end of the rains when they are tall and skit! p e n . Agricultural demands are light at this time, leaving men free to work on their compound or to be hired to work on someone else's buildings. All four study groups reported that large scale compound construction is performed cooperatively by friends and relatives of the owner. The chief's compound is constructed and maintained with hired and voluntary male labour (W59A 3:168). The Mura and Urza pay their labaur force in beer (M4A 2:41; U5A 237) and occasionally in cash (M14B 2:109; M6A 2:165). The Wandala conduct work with a hired mason assisted by the employer's friends, neighbours and childrcn (W15 2:118;W18A 2:175; W76A 3:89; W121k 3:159). The owner must first assemble the necessary raw materials for the roof and walls (W15 2:118) except for the earth to be used for daub walls. This is excavated from the area beside the structure. When the work force and/or mason arrive, children bring water and the team prepares the earth and assists the mason (see Figure 30). Smaller construction projects of single buildings in Mura and Urza compounds are often undertaken by a man working alone or with his children. The Shuwa either pay someone to construct daub buildings in the Wandala style or construct traditional buildings with the help of friends they pay with a feast ( 9 8 7 3:142; 5206 10:116; S19A 2193). The control of building construction allows individuals to manipulate the design of these constructs for their own purposes. in all four groups men construct and maintain the externally visible walls, roofs and granaries. One Urza man stated that women only assist in wall construction if there are not enough men available, and in roof construction only when absolutely necessary (U5A 2571. Wandala women were not involved in any level of construction nor were women from any ethnic group observcd assisting in house or granary construction during 1986. Women in all four g o u p s are involved in the construction and maintenance of features only kisible inside the compound. Such features include floors, hearths, and the placement of water storage pots. Mura and Urza women also construct grinding tables and beer brewing apparatus. Women's control of the construction of these features varies between ethnic groups. In 211.1 many cases women are assisted by their children or husband. The following discussion focuses upon the choices of men and women in the construction of these structures and features. ExtemaIiy Visible Design An obvious difference in the floor plan of domestic buildings presented in Appendix R i s that some buildings are round while others are rectangular or square. The introduction of rectilinear shaped buildings south of the Sahara is generally attributed to the influence of Islam. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly the rectangular shape is associated with Islamic ideological concepts. In Islam, the square is associated with the Ka'ba and is the prcscrihcj shapc for all mosques (Prussin 1986:66,86). The shape itself is believed to have magical and sacred properties (Prussin 1986:86). Secondly, the Sudanese style of architecture in the western and h flat mud roofs, and central Sudan is characterized by rectangular buildings ~ l t courtyards, parapets pierced with gutters or channels. This style coincides close!y with areas of Islam (Dcnycr 197855) ieading many to suggest that the Sudanese style itself came from Islamic North Afr~ca, Egypt, Morocco or Kairouan by means of the transSahara trade (Prussin 1986:1031. Recently, the traditional interpretation has been challenged. Current evidence indicdtes that flat mud roofed houses and rectangular buildings predate Islam in West Africa (Denyer 1978) and are the traditions of non-Islamic people in the Chad Basin (Dfnyer 1978:35,141; Forkl 1585: 7.5- 79). This does not rule out Islamic influences from North Africa. The Sudanic states made conscious attempts to incorporate aspects of North African Islamic architecture into public bsifdings. Architects invited to design bui!dings for thx states are credited by %)me with introducing new materials such as the use of baked brick into the region (Fork1 1985:851. Denyer (1978:35,141) suggests that the development of the Sudanestj style in the Chad Basin may have been an urban response for controlling fire in areas of 1c.w r-dinfill. Forkl !I 985:85! disagrees stating that there is no clear link between urbanism, low rainfall and full-mud archittrture in the Chad Basin. Instead, Forkl suggests that rectangular mud buildings were used differently by Islamic and non-Islamic peoples. For instance, Islamic groups like the Kanuri, rewrved Sudan style architecture and the use of special materials for specific people and public buildings while non-Islamic groups like the Kotoko used the style for vernacular and public buildings (Fork1 1985:83;425). This interpretation leads one to conclude that the spread of, or at least the use of, this style was part of the ideology of centralized, Islamized states in the Central Sudan. Some Central Sudan states also reserved certain materials for public buildings, but the choice of these materials was not standardized. The Bornuan emirate had the greatest infhence upon the development of the Wandala state, yet the Wandala did not copy the Kanuri practice of constructing administrative buildings with burnt red brick. Instead, Wandala informants told Forkl that stone was reserved for the construction of Wandala royal residences, official buildings, and town walls (Forkl 1984). There is however, no evidence of the use of stone in the ruins of the royal residences and walls in &la, nor is stone us& in Wandala public buildings today. Neither Denham (Denham et al. 1826) nor Rohlfs (1875) remarked on differences between public and domestic architecture in their travels. Denham's drawing of Mora entitled "Amval at Mora the capital of Mandara" (Denham et al. 1826) portrays a town wall enclosing a dense cluster of round huts with thatched roofs. Toward the back of the town, possibly situated on a mound or more likelv on slightly higher ground near the base of the mountain, are at least two large, apparently rt~tanplar-shapedstructures with flat roofs. These large buildings must represent the tlikse*~p l a c e and /or administrative buildings- Although differences in building materials cannot be i l i ~ e r n t dthere , is clear evidence of the use oi a Sudanese style of architecture for special buildings by the Wandala in the early nineteenth century. The S u d a n e style emploved in Dela buildings in 1986 included the entrance building to thc chiefs compound (see Figure 311, the bedroom of a wealthy man, and the entry to the highest ranked Islamic scholar in the village. Although the evidence indicates that rectangular buildings are ar, overt representation of traditional state authority, in modem Dela domestic architecture a h makes u s of rectangular buildings. Most of these buildings do not have the Sudanese style flat roofs, but have thatched or metal roofing. Some Wandala men stated that until the 1970s their houses were round with conical thatched roofs (W15A 2:118,12O;W7A 2:154). A similar description is given by Hallaire and suggests that square buildings were not the norm in plains villages in the early 1960s (Wallaire 196553). In 1986, a few round daub structures are still in use in Wandala compounds in 1986 (see floor plans of compounds 7 and 15). The Wandala began to build rectangular domestic structures in the early 1970s in an attempt to be "modem" (W151, to better accommodate furniture purchased in the market (W78), and to enable the use of corrugated metal roofing (M3A 228; W78 6:5). The use of rectangular buildings in vernacular architecture is spreading rapidly, particularly amongst the Wandala and the Mura. The above reasons given by informants for adopting rectangular structures are not supported by observations made in 1986. Most furniture found in Wandala households includes women's metal four-poster beds, cupboards for displaying enamelware, men's cots and folding chairs. This furniture is found in rectangular bedrooms but rarely in other Wandala rectangular structures such as entries, verandas, and kitchens. Furthermore, such furniture is virtually absent in all Mura and Urza compounds with rectangular houses. Nor does roof material correlate with house shape. Although metal roofs can only be used on rectangular buildings, not all rectangular buildings have metal roofs. Table 9 demonstrates that while most Wandala buildings are rectangular only a b u t one quarter of thew structures have metal roofs. The evidence indicates that furniture and roofing arc not the criteria determining the use of rectangu!ar structwes. However, the explanation of building rectangular domestic structures to be "modern", although elusive, may better relate to the context in which rapid change in house shape took placc, Several events occurred in Defa during the late 1960s and early 1970s which immediately precedcd 207 the adoption of rectangular domestic buildings by the Wandala and subsequently by other groups. These events include the construction of a government built rectangular public school, the construction of a paved highway through the Wazdala quarter which forced many Wandala families to rebuild their compounds to :he east, the mass immigration of montagnards to the Doufo-Gane agricultural reserve, and the enforced move of the local montagnard population from Wa-Dela t o its foot. The Iatter three factors placed the montagnard communities in closer physical proximity to the Wandala. I would suggest that this situation encouraged the Wandala to adopt the rectangular floor plan as a strategy to serve male household head self-interests. In the Wandala community individual interests focus upon individual wealth and status. Rectangular domestic buildings are one personal strategy men can use to visually associate themselves with both the traditional and new political authorities who use rectangular shaped buildings, while visually disassociating themselves from the montagnard immigrants who use round buildings and to whom they perceive themselves to be both socially and morally superior. Highway expropriation sped up the process as entire compounds were replaced rather than the normal practice of a room at a time. Table 10 summarizes men's comments on construction costs, advantages and disadvantages of wall t,vpes. It cannot be argued that rectangular daub structures are costeffective in comparison with round ones. All household heads stated that rectangular coursed mud buildings are the most expensive to construct as they require the expertise of a skilled mason (M3A 2:28;M4A 240; S19A 2:183;W148A 3:113). Furthermore, experimental studies demonstrate that rectangular daub structures are less durable than circular ones. This is due to the fact that daub walls arc best under compression while circular walls are optimal in transmitting the horizontai and verticai stress of their weight (Mdntosh 1974:159). Nevertheless, 61% of all Wandala domestic btildings sumeyed are rectangular coursed daub structures (see Table 11). The expense of rectangular structures is one expression of conspicuous consumption in the Dela comrnuni ty . Rectangular buildings are also being constructed by the hlura, Urza and Shuwa. In fact, the few Muni play houses constructed by children all had rectangular floor plans (see tTioor platis of compouncls 3 and 14). This suggests that young children are adjusting to the present by reenacting in play the common replacement of round structures with rectangular ones they observe in their community. Figure 12 presents the percentage of round and rectangular buildings in cach of thc ethnic groups surveyed. The figures show that neither round nor rectangular shapes are built exclusively by any group. The prevalence of rectangular domestic buildings is greatest in Wandala compounds, and next in importance in Mura compounds where they comprise approximately half of domestic structures, and are only slightly less important in Urza compounds. Rectangular buildings make up only a quarter of Shuwa domestic structures. This gadation corrclatcs with the physicd proximity of the montagnard and Shuwa compounds to thc Wandala quarter and with the highway. The closer the proximity, the greater the frequency of rectangular buildings (see Figure 32). There is also a tendency for the montagnards to become increasingly Wandalaizcd over time. -4 similar but more recent tendency is found amongst thc Shuwa. Table 13 presents the relationship between room function and shapc in each g o u p . In Mura and Urza compounds men's rooms and entries associated with men in tablc 13, arc almost all rectangular, bedrooms are an even mix, kitchens are mainly round and about two thirds of animals houses are round. Amongst the Wandala, most entries are rectangular, as are bedrooms and verandas. Kitchens and animal houses are evenly divided between rectangular and round buildings and children's rooms are mainly square. Rectangular structures in thc Shuwa households surveyed are all new types of structures which separate men's and womcn's activity areas. These activities are or were formerly housed together in thc traditional round houses. I suggest that Mura, Urza and Shuwa men use the visibility of rectangular buildings as a personal political strategy to both counteract the Wanda1afsactive use of rectangular structures and to legitimate themselves as "modern" in the eyes of the federal authorities. I t must bc. kept in 209 mind that oihciais visiting the town come by car along the highway and confine most stops in the town to the chief's residence. The location of the chief's current residence is non-coincidentally located adjacent to the highway as is the mosque and the school. In a very real sense, the official perception of Dela is from the highway. Both the Wa-Dela and Sela-Poaokwo quarter bhmas are located ncxt to the highway, the latter directly across from the chief's residence. The Wandala and the federal government place a low value on the montagnard way of life and the Wandala look upon the Shuwa with suspicion (see chapters three and four). Rectangular buildings are a material strategy for montagnards and Shuwa to suppress visible differences between themselves and the Wandala and at the same time make them appear more like the Wandala in the sense of 'bcing modcrn'. This interpretation is supported by the greater frequency of rectangular buildings in households closer to the highway and the Wandala quarter (see Figure 32). Highway front property has greater prestige value than other areas of town because of its visibility to outside authorities. Land value downtown was never cited as of any significance in the location of con3pounds. In fact, ethnic membership is probably a more critical factor as immigrants are located in their affiliated ethnic quarter. Individuals can also build on an non-cultivated piece of property with the owners permission, and were said to pay no rent as long as they did not begin to grow crops other than women's garden vegetables. The construction of rectangular buildings as a male strategy to increase personal prestige amongst the Mura and Urza is supported by the distribution of rectangular buildings by gender prcsentcd in Table 13. In comparing the distribution of house shapes between gender within a group it should be kept in mind that women's structures outnumber men's structures by approximately 2:1 in all groups. In Mura households rectangular houses are occupied more frequently- by- men than women. This is especially true of the entry structure. Moreover, rectangular houses are exclusively used by men in the Urza households examined. The Urza sample is small and should be used with caution. However, thpse figures indicate that Mura and Urza men build rectangular structures primarily for themselves. Since men's structures are at the front of the compound, these structures are the first to be presentid to approaching visitors and in some cases to officials driving by on the highway. Neither the Wandala nor the Shuwa appear to use the rectangular struchlres differently on the basis of gender. In the case of the Wandala, this is probably because most of their structures are rectangular and in many of the Shuwa compounds men and women share a common house. Wall materials. Four categories of wall rnaterials were identified in households studied: daub, stone, termite mound soil and vegetal materials. Thew four categories are brokcn down into 18 types of wall construction. These are briefly described below. In the literature mud wall construction is variably called daub, pisc, tauf and banco. Denyer (1978) states that the term 'mud' for African wall construction is pejorative. Howevcr she offers no alternative terminology. The real problem with the term mud is that it is inaccurate. Walls are made of earth, water and additives which are intentionally or unintcntionally added to the mixture. For example, one villager stated that old pots are often saved and intentionally broken to mix in walls in order to make the wall stronger and water repellent (MklOA/B 558). Small hand grinders used on top of grinding tables arc also added to walls for the samc purposc (M9A 2166). In some cases, informants said that there is such a concentration of pottery sherds around their houses that there is no need to add pots at building time (M14A). Daub is used here to refer to this mixture of earth and other additives. There are ecological reasons for the widespread use of daub wall construction in the savannah. Most African soils have a low silt content and are in fact mixtures of sand and clay which makes a strong and flexible building material (Denycr 1978; Prussin Y986:3l). Wilson (1942 personal communication) believes that geomorphologkal processes on the Mora plain by Dela, would create appropriate sandy clays. Mud for daub is not only the most readily available material on the savannah, it is e x c e l h i insulation. Six iypes of daub construction wcrc observed. These variations include simple coursed daub, coursed daub with cement plaster, courscd daub with daub plaster, daub block, daub block base with coursed daub upper wall, and daub block with cement plaster. Earth for simple coursed (or coiled) daub construction is excavated from a pit beside the outer wall or from the future floor of the building under construction. The soil and additives are mixed with water and the walls are constructed in thick courses like coiled pottery (see Figure 30). An opening to serve as the door is left above the bottom course and below the top course or courses, Occasionally detached pot necks are placed in upper walls for light and ventilation (as observed in compounds M9 and W74). The base of compound exterior daub walls are often protected from water erosion by pot- or stone-lined drains located at topographic low points (observed in compounds M2, M9, M6, M81, W110, W148). Daub walls are sometimes protected with pIaster. Plaster is made of daub (W121A 3:154) or daub mixed with either cement or tar (M6A 2:131; W89A 3:162; S19D 2:181; W18A 2:170). Plastering is usually applied to the north and east walls facing the direction of prevailing winds and rain. Rectangular blocks are formed by shaping a mixture of earth and water in a wooden mold. The blocks dry in the sun and are mortared together with daub. There is a single instance both of mortared mud block forming the base for an upper coursed mud wall and of a mud block wall with a cement protective plaster. Three types of uncut stone wall construction were observed: simple stone, stone and daub bascs with daub upper walls, and stone with termite mound soil mortar. Simple stone walls without mortar were only observed in abandoned compounds on Wa-Dela and Wa-Talake, and at the base of Wa-Dela. It is possible that these walls once had mortar which has since eroded. The source of stone in Dela is from Wa-Dela. The use of stone or stone with termite soil mortar for walls is restricted to the compounds located near the foot of Wa-Dela. Informants (M6A 2:134; M20A 3 6 ) stated that it is too much work to haul stones for compounds any farther from the source. Dcla informants KJl3A/B 2:98; M6D 2:138; M9A 2:164) stated that termite soil is durable 211, and easily worked. This type of soil is worked in courses like daub, but as the walls do not have to be as thick construction is faster (USA 256). Termite mound soil is u d in the construction of two types of walls. The first type consists of walls with stone and tem~itesoil mortar bases supporting coursed termite mound soil upper walls. The second wall type consists of simple coursed termite mound soil with a base row of stones to prevent damage from water run-off and termites (M4A 2:40; U13A 2:102). Vegetal material is less durable than mud but better suited for the Shuwa who move every few years to new pasturage. The Shuwa also have better access to grasscs for building material than d o the other groups. Their houses are large ranging from five to nine mcters in diameter. Vegetal material is best under tension meaning that it is a good matcrial in wind and for spanning space (Prussin 1980:29). It is eminently suitable for the construction of large traditional Shuwa houses on the open plains. Vegetal materials used in walls are either cereal stalks or woven grass matting lashed to wooden posts. Eight different types of vegetal material walls are recorded. These arc low daub bases supporting sorghum stalk and post walls, low daub bases with sckko mat upper walls, low daub bases with mixed cereal stalk and post, sorghilm and post, millet stalk and post, mixed cereal stalk and post, sekko mat and post, and post only. The latter category relates to structures that once had either mat or grass walls between the posts. White and yellow sorghum stalks as well as millet stalk arc considered the preferred cereal stalks for wall and roof construction as they arc somewhat resistant to insects, especially termites (S187A 2:146; M26 10:145). These types of cereals grow stalks two to three mcters in length, an ideal size for building construction. Red millet stalks are too short and dry season sorghum r i p s too late in bye year, liixiting their usefulness (M26A 10:136-i471, Stalks are cut green and left to dr)l harden in the fields fM26A 10:146). Wa!! p s t s are ,made of local termite resistant hard woods. Thorn scrub is cut and set around walls of mat or stalk in order to protect them from goats. ! Table 14 presents the percentage of wall material types represented in each group studied. I I The figure shows that each ethnic group uses three of the four categories of wall materials in different relative proportions. The Mura and Urza are the only groups presented in this study who use stone or termite soil as a building material. The use of these latter two materials follows a tradition based upon ecological constraints of mountain farming. Soil is a precious resource on the mountains and considerable effort is spent in terrace construction to retain soils for growing crops. Water is also a scarce resource on the mountains, and large amounts are necessary for daub construction. Accordingly, although clayey soil is used a s mortar, montagnard houses were not routinely constructed of daub. Instead walls were constructed of the readily available granite rocks, usually with daub mortar, and/or termit? soil which can be made into thinner walls. These materials are not commonly used by Mura and Urza on the plains although the tradition continues in a few compounds close to M'a-Dela and the stone source (Compounds 14, 5 and 4). The one exception is that of compound 9 which has one large stone building and is located closer to downtown. The Mura use daub for wall construction in 83% of structures observed, the largest percentage of such use in all groups in the study. More than half of Mura daub wall buildings are in expensive coursed daub structures, although cheaper 3lock construction is also important. Men make the blocks themselves using a wooden mold. The Urza construct half of tneir houses in daub and tend to use more of the less costly block types than the Mura. 71% of Wandala buildings studied are constructed in daub types. Almost all of these structures are expensive daub constructions. The Shuwa's rarer uses of daub are entirely of tl-c coursed variety. Vegetal material for wall construction is the only cost-effective and structurally sound means of construciing traditional Shuwa houses. 8ilo of Snuwa houses are built with vegetal material. Although Wandala infomants ecjuat2d vegetal material walls with the poor, the study demonstrates that the Wandala use vegetal materials as much as the Urza. However, the Wandala use this material for verandas and women's kitchens and not for structures to which informants 214 allocated status such as bedrooms and entries (see discussion of ideal compounds chapter six). The Mura use almost no vegetal material for wall construction. Table 15 presents the relative frequency of wall types in different types of structures in each group. Regardless of ethnic group, entry houses are always made of daub. The Wandala and Mura respectively use daub exclusively or principally for the construction of htxirooms. Urza bedrooms are almost evenly divided between daub and vegetal materials. Daub is an cxcellcnt insulator, and provides both a cool environment during the heat of the day when guests sit in the entry and warmth at during the cold nights of the rainy season individuals sleep either in the entry or in bedrooms. It unfortunately radiates heat at night during the dry season, but individuals can sleep outside of their rooms on these nights. Mura and Urza kitchens have primarily daub or stone walls, while the many Wandala and Shuwa kitchens arc built with vcgctal walls. The choice of wall material for the Shuwa kitchen is possibly correlated with the elaboration of hearths designed to contain flames and cinders. Hearths arc discussed in more detail below. For the most part, the Mura and Urza construct animal houses in daub or in stone types. Stone walls or at least walls with a lower stone section are particularly advantagcous for the construction of goat and sheep houses as these animals tend to rub against the lower walls of their houses. In daub structures, this action erodes snd weakens the lower part of the wall which can result in wall collapse during rains. Stone walls are not weakened by goats and sheep in this way (M4A 2:40;M9A 2:164). Verandas constructed mainly by the Wandala are primarily places for eating or visiting. Most are made of vegetal materials which provide good ventilation and are inexpensive to construct. Shuwa traditional structures arc made of stalk, the only cost-cffectivc material suited structurally for the size of these dwellings. Tzbk I6 presents the prcentage of wall material types represented in each occupant category. The table shows that Mura men's and childtcn's houses are ma& rxclusivcly of daub types while women's buildings are constructed with material from all four catcgories. This bias is not apparent in the other three groups. In all groups, daub walls with plaster arc almost 215 exclusively associated with women's structures. This is consistent with the placement of women's structures on the east side of the compound where the force of wind and rain hits hardest. Stone and termite mound soil categories found only in Mura and Urza households are never used for men's houses. Stone is used for animal houses in 75% of cases while termite mound soil is used for women's rooms and children's bedrooms. This appears to confirm informants statements that stone is cool and enduring for animal houses and termite soil is a good insulator for women's and children's sleeping areas (see Table 10). This material is also cheaper but less enduring than daub and it may be selected for women and children's rooms as these categories of individuals tend to be less permanent residents in the compound than men. The selection of the other three wall materials is influenced by economic, functional and social factors. Daub wall construction is the most prestigious and expensive wall type according to all household heads interviewed (see Table 10). The Wandala proportionally use this type of wall material more than the other groups studied. Both the Mura and the Urza utilize cheaper daub block in addition to coursed daub walls. It is suggested here that, as everyone in the community knows the cost, the selection of coursed daub walls is a form of conspicuous consumption. The Wandala's emphasis on the use of such walls is a visual medium through which the owner expresses his wealth to the community, not only in the product of the wall itself but in the owner's ability to hire someone else to do physical work for him. It is suggested here that Mura male household heads select daub structures as a strategy of negotiating their status relative to Wandala households. This is supported by the exclusive construction of Mura men's buildings in either daub or the cheaper mud brick. As men's structures tend to be located at the front of the compound (see chapter seven), members of the community approaching Mura households are visually presented with wall materials which are understood within the community as eqxnsivc. Although mud brick is not expensive, these walls can appear similar to coursed daub walls from a distance and may represent an economical alternative as Mura households d o not have the surplus cash of Wandala household. 21b Mura lineage heads (compounds 2,6,9, 20) are located nest to the Wandala quarter. Both blamas (compounds 2, 20) are located next to the highway as is the village chief's c o n p u n d . All of the lineage heads have constructed a wall or at least a partial wall around the garden area in front of their entries. It is suggested here that male lineage heads are expressing their status within their own group to the Wandala in a visual medium which the latter understand and valuc. The gerda lay express their status within their own group, but these pots are not visible to the Wandala. Thc blamas, who have no traditional montagnard status, appear to be expressing their solidarity with the Wandala authority structure. The manipulation of Wandala symbols by montagnard lineage heads is particularly apparent in the wall entry into the garden area of the compound 20. This individual is thc senior male (makaji)of the senior patrilineage of Dela. In traditional terms, hc is the highest ranked Mura man in town. The wall by the entry is exceptionally high and is decorated with appliqued clay spikes. There is a marked resemblance between this entry and that of the village chief's. Thc use of the Wandala style may also be a visual strategy to suppress differences between the Mura makaji and wandala chief from government officials who enter Dela along the highway. This process is also correlated to the choice of building shape discussed above. Thc compound of the blama of Sela-Podokwo is located beside and facing the highway. Although he is Mura, the front garden is partly enclosed by a low daub wall. It is suggested that this wall is also constructcd a s a means of emulating Wandala styles and the values given to the Wandala lifeway by outsiders. The use of daub structures occurs less frequently in Urza and especially in Shuwa households. These households are located some distance from the Wandala community. In the Shuwa community, almost all daub structures are located in the household of an older and scholarly household head (compound 191 and virtuaiiy ail of these arc women's houses. 'IS.terc does not appear to be a gender bias in the allocation of daub structures in the Urza households studied. 217 Roof maferizls. There are hve categories of roofing used on houses in the study groups. These are thatch, mat, cereal stalk, daub, and corrugated metal. In addition to roofing on houses, Mura and Urza households cover all, or a significant part of their courtyards with a flat roof made of cereal stalks on a post and beam frame. Shade in Wandala courtyards is provided by verandas attached to an individual's bedroom. Thatched roofing is attached to a wooden frame resting on top of the house wall. If termitc problems are excessive the frame may be supported independently on a post frame set around the exterior of the hut wall (M3A/26A 2:28). This holds the roofing away from walls and is said to prevent the termites from attacking the roof from the walls. Another and probably more significant factor is that the frame holds the weight of the roof off the walls which are at risk of infestation and collapse. A layer of sorghum stalks and sometimes matting are attached to the frame to form a firm base for the thatch and to make the roof more waterproof. If the roof is large or heavy i t is also supported by a single central post set into the floor There are three types of thatching: layered, batted, and mat. Layered roofs are made of consccutivc overlapping layers of thatch built in overlapping rows from the bottom of the frame to the top. The sections of thatch are bound tightly together with a braided cord of vegetal material. The top tuft is bound with a braided grass cord and may or may not be covered over with a pot rim or a pierced enamelware vessel. Only certain t y p s of grass are appropriate for this type of roof. The preferred grasses for layered thatching are said to last up to 20 or 30 years. However, they are no longer available in the region due to declining rainfall (W15A 2:116). Instead, several local grasses arc used which need to be replaced every five to ten years. Layered thatched roofs last longer and bum slower than other thatched roofs (W15A 2:116; M26 2:14; M20A 3:8) presumably because the tied grass bundles form a denser mass than the loose batted thatch roofs. '5atted thatch consists of loose grass bundles placed over a wood frame. The grasses are held in place near the base of the roof by an outer ring of tied tree bark to which the p a s s is loosely lashed with vegetal cord. Additional cords either lash the grass to other parts of the frame or form a netting over top of the grass. These roofs are made of a readily available ilocal g a s which is too weak to be bound in the manner of layered thatch bundles W15.4 2116). Such roofs are replaced every hvo to three years. Mat covered roofs are made of various types of woven grass mats placed flat over wood poles lying horizontally across building ivalis. This is usually a temporary roofing material. Cereal stalk roofs are comprised of stalk placed onto the roof frame in the same nianrwr as batted straw. Shuwa rocfs are usually made with millet stalks rather than straw due to the amount of material required. The stalks are secured from the wind by a net called a tamtam made of millet stalks tied with vegetal cord. These large roofs are supported inside the housc by thc wood post wall frame and two to four large posts of hard wood. Oniy three flat mud roofs were recorded in Dela households in 1986, only one of which is in ;he study group presented here. These roofs are constructed of wooden poles lying across the top of the walls. Smaller poles are placed in the opposite direction over top of the first m w . A finely woven mat is placed over these poles and a thick layer of daub is set on top of the mat. In one case corrugated metal sections are set at the corners of the roof to channel run-off away from the walls. The mud roof on the chiefs entrance house is supported by six interior posts. Corrugated metal has been used in Dela since the early 1980s and is purchased in thcb market at Mora or Banki. These roofs require thicker daub walls to support the additional wight and the end walls are h i l t up to form gables. Thicker walls are also a SIP of status within tho Sudanese style (Denyer 1978). For instance, structures in the chiefs compound arc built thicker and taller than in other compounds as a sign of his status. Metal roofs are always bmlt ontv a frame of purchased lumber. Corrugated metal is perceived as prestigious, maintenancr. free, fireproof, and more durable than straw or stalk roofs although the initial cost is prohibit~vcto many families. Many new rectangular houses have thatch roofs, but are built tn the gable style in anticipation sf metal rmfingTable 17 presents the percentage of roof types represented in each of the groups itudwd. 219 Trad~honalroofing materiafs predominate over modem metal roofing in Dela. Two-thirds of Mura roofs are thatched. Two-thirds of Urza roofs are in the layered thatch category alone. The Mrandala use metal on less than one quarter of their buildings and cheaper batted and stalk roofs on thc rest. The Urza show a marked preference for the expensive traditional layered roofing. There a r t no metal roofs in the households studied. The Mura also use traditional forms of roofing and only l l f i ; o f thew build~ngshave metal roofs. The Wandala show no marked preference for any r m f t-, although the traditional layered roof is least preferred. The single occurrence in the hsuseholds studied of clitc flat mud roofs is in a Wandala household 04753). The Shuwa predominantly use traditional stalk rcmfs. The distribution of the relative frequency of roof types correlates with the distribution of rectangular buildings and daub walls. Metal roofing is most common in Wandala households and bccomcs less frequent in households which are increasingly farther away from the Wandala quarter. hlura household heads who emulate Wandala room and wall types also use the roof t'c'pes that Wandala value as high status. In fact, the houses of the blama of Wa-Dela all have rrictal roofs. Most Mura cannot afford such roofs. The Urza use traditional highstatus roofing. The Urza have Mura and other montagnards as immediate neighbours who know the value of layered thatch roofs. Therefore, thew roofs are all that is required for an Urza man to maintain or improve his status within his community. The same is true of the Shuwa. Metal roofing is only found in the oldest household head's compound (S19). Tables 18 and 19 presents the relationship between room function and roof type in the four groups. The Mura, Wandala, and Shuwa use metal roofing mainly on bedrooms. Layered straw iwfs are piima~ijfound oft Mum and 'rj'i-za kitchens. This is especially m e of Vrza kitchens. Thew mek are trzdihona!!y expensive and the correlation betwen this roof type kitchens support informants statements that such roofs have more fire retardant properties. Verandas are roofed with inexpensive materials that can be removed or replaced depending on the 220 season. Shuwa traditional h o u w near Dela are roofed with millet stalk as the amount of straw required is expensive and time consuming to gather. The production of construction material is a convenient by-product of the increasing trend toward agriculture by this g o u p of Shuwa. Table 20 presents the percentage of roof types represented in each occupant category. Layered straw.roofs are more frequently used on women's buildings in the Mura and most notably in the Urza samples. This again supports informants claims that layered rctofs arc uscd in kitchens as a fire retardant. Flat mud roofs are restricted to a single example on thc house of a Wandala male household head. In the Mura sample, metal roofing is morc common on mcn's than on women's houses. The opposite is the case amongst the Wandala and the Shuwa. Wandala women proportionately have almost twice as many metal roofs as do men and all the metal roofs in the Shuwa sample are on women's houses. The use of metal roofing on Mura men's buildings is consistent with the argument presented above for the use of rectangular buildings and wall-types. Metal roofing on mcn's houses is a male strategy of household heads to present themselves to the community as wealthy and modem. Metal roofing is found on men's structures located at the front of the compound, thc view presented to visitors approaching the entry. Metal roofing is also corre!ated to rectangular structures and coursed mud walls. Although not all rectangular structurcs have mctal roofs, informants often stated that they intend to put a metal roof on in the future. Even though mctal roofing is not yet or even may never be purchased, there is some status associated with structurcs which have the potential capacity to support such roofs. A different strategy is used in the N7andala and Shuwa compounds. Metal roofing ib located on women's structures more frequently than on men's. These structures are all bedrooms and verandas attached to bedrooms. Male household heads invest money in the wife's prsonal rmm but not the kitchen which is associated wjth physical work. As roof tops can be secn over compound walls, the appearance of metal roofs to outsiders particularly at the back of the campound is a stratqg izrhich improves the male compound head's prestige. The mctal roof 221 states to the community that he has the wealth to care for his wives as Islamic law requires. This practice in itself advances individual male prestige. Granaries. Mura and Urza granaries are identical in structure and style. These granaries arc consnucted on a circular ring of large stones which support a base of flat stones 25-35 cm above the ground (see Figure 33)+ The base provides aeration, discourages termites, and keeps the g a i n off of thc ground during the rainy season. On top of this base a cylinder is constructed from coils of termite mound soil mixed with straw or grasses. This is reinforced with tied sections of bark or barbed wire (M2,4 2:15,21; U5A 2:61;U13A 2:102). The cylinder or granary is bottle shaped with a body, shoulders and short neck. Over 40 measured granaries give an average body height of 1.8 m, with an additional meter being added by the shoulders and neck. The opening at the tap is covered with a pot. The shoulders and neck of the granary protrude above the courtyard roof and arc protected by means of a skirt of fine straw around the neck and a woven, removable roof. Contents are accessed by climbing a notched wooden post leaning against the granary side, removing the roof and the pot, and then descending into the granary itself. Mura and Urza granaries also have design elements which are only visible inside the compound. For instance, women's granaries are internally divided into two or three chambers to accommodate her various crops (see Figure 33). Men's granaries are not divided and only hold grain. Thirty-four of 40 granaries studied are decorated with rows of finger-tip impressed dots and lines around the cylinder at eye-level. Since neither the Wandala nor the Shuwa roof their courtyards they must wrap a tarp, mat, or plastic covering over the top and sides of the granary to protect it from water. The Wandala granaries are undecorated and neither group's granaries are internally partitioned. It was not determined whether or not the Wandala used pottery stoppers to close the top of the granary. Two Shuwa families built above ground granaries. In compounds 19 and 25 the granaries are exceptionally large and are rectangular rather than circular. The surfaces of granaries in cornpun0 19 are treated in tar fS18A 2183). These granaries are covered with Murai'Urza ssiyic granary roofing and are decorated with finger tip impressions and applique daub designs. In compound 25 the family had constructed two g~anarieswith short wide necks covered with flat clay lids. These are decorated with an appliqued three pronged object on the shoulder (sty Figpre The important factor here is that virtually every household produces some p i n and most produce enough grain to require storage. However, grain production mcans different things to different groups, a meaning expressed in the number of granaries in the compound, the location of the granaries and the elaboration of design. To the Mura and Urza, sorghum is sacred and the basis of their economy. It is not surprising to find that granaries dominate the interior of their compounds and are a focus of daily activity and ritual. Mura and Urza informants stated that a man's prosperity and wealth arc apparent in the number of his p n a r i e s . As granary roofs are clearly visible above the walls of Mura and Urza compounds, the number is readdy assessed by neighbours. Additionally, the uniformity of external granary design for men's and women's granaries can g v c the impression that a man is wealthier than he really is. Even women's granaries can be differentiated from men's granaries from the exterior, the number of wives also expresses a man's wealth and succcss. On the other hand, even though most Wandala household heads grew most or all of thelr family's food requirements, the Wandala do not emphasize sorghum. The Wandala think of themselves as merchants, and consequently grain is not commonly stored in granaries. When a granary is present, it does not dominate the inner cmrtyard nor is it clearly visible from outside household walls. Cereal cultivation, while important in terms of subsistence, is not a Wandala strategy for increasing a man's wealth and status even though the improved quality of grain storage is beneficial in the market place. Consequently, the visible display of granaries to the community is not an important consideration for the Wandala. In fact, the visual association with montagnard households could be construed as counterproductive to Wandala community prestige. Despite this, sorghum has some domestic importance as earlier jllustrated in chapter seven, as the granaries and storage sacks are kept near the man's room or with his children and not near the women as informants suggested. Pits may have been used to store grain in times past, as grain was more secure in the ground from attacks by the b m u a n s and other states. However, it is unlikely that grain so stored would be less visible than that in above ground granaries once a compound was taken. Similar pits are used by the Shuwa living at Mehe Kjimatari and such pits arc clearly visible at the surface. However, it is possible that such pits were previously disguised. A different situation is occurring with the Shuwa. Droughts in recent years have severely reduced cattle herds. Sorghum and millet cultivation have recently gained in importance in the economies of Shuwa households studied. The recognition of the shift in male allocative resources is obvious in the construction not only of granaries but the development of a unique style of granary and its elaboration. In compounds 25 and 206, granaries are infringing on the central area which traditionally is the domain of cattle. Compound buildings in ali groups are arranged around a central area. One of the obvious differences between the floorplans of these groups is variation in the compactness of compound groupings. For example, there is a great deal of space between Shuwa houses but little between Mura and Urza houses. The degree of compactness can be described in terms of ar, index which compares the total area of open spce to the total area of built space in each compound. Calculations of compound area and the index of compactness are found in Tables 21. The area of enclosed open space is determined by subtracting the total area of built space from the total area contained inside compound walls. In the case of the Shuwa, who do not have compound walls, a minimum amount of utilized open space is calculated. This calmlation is derived by determining a minimum total compound area through the connection of buildings and ieaiurcs conslrucied about a central open space and then measuring the area so enclosed. 'Rie area of built space is subtracted from this to obtain the amount of open space. All calculations were made using the Autwzd computer graphics package. 223 The areas of each compound In the study and the rmulting ir?dices and the family composition are presented in Table 21. Low indices indicate that the compound is compact as the ratio of open space to built space is low. Higher indices indicate that the compcmnd is less compact and that there are larger areas of open space relative to built space, The results show that the Mura and Urza compounds are the most :ompact, Wandala arc intermediate and the Shuwa are the least compact. Compound compactness is tied to practical requirements. For instance, the allotment of land for construction is partly determined by the productior requirements of men's material resources. Shuwa herds rt-quirc large amounts of open space within the compound where they are kept at night. Large spaces between buildings arc necessary to move herds in and out of the compound itself. Tiaditionally, Mura and Urza grew their crops on the mountains where land was a scarce resource. Intensive agricultural practices would limit the amount of space allocated for buildings and open space inside the compound would therefore be minimized. Urban living and agricultural considerations arc also a constraining factor on Wandala domestic space. Yet, as Moslems, male compound owners provide cncloscd garden spacc where their wives can work in privacy. This would explain the slightly larger amount of open space in Wandala compounds than in Mura and Urza compounds. Family size does not appear to have a direct correlation with the amount of open space. The Urza have an average household size of 7.6 individuals and the smallest group index. The Shuwa whose average household clustcr is 8 haw the largest group index. Other considerations influence the amount of open domestic space. Male personal prestige and status are also implicated in the case of the Mura, Urza and Wandala. The blamus in each of these groups have the largest compound indices for established compounds in thcir respective groups, Compounds M6H and M26 have larger indices than the blamu in compound M2. This is because these compounds are not complete and not all buildings have been constructed. In thc Wandala sample compound 76 has a slightly larger index than that of the chief but this is because the occupants have an unusually large number of sheep mc! goats. Gender is also a factor in the distribution of floor space within compounds. Table 22 prewnts the amount of built space for each occupant category in the households studied. Built space includes the floor area of all buildings primarily occupied or used for activities by men or by women. In most compounds in all groups, women have more rooms and more space than do men. At this point a question arises: is this a result of each woman being allocated more space than men, or is this a function of polygyny? In orde: to clarify this problem, it is necessary to determine the amount of space allocated to each woman resident in compounds in 1986. First, the total areas of each occupant category within each group is calculated. The amount of abandoned space attributed to each category by compound informants is subtracted from this total to determine the total space occupied in each occupant category during the survey. Finally, the number of men, women and children in each group is divided into the total occupied space for each occupant category. This results in a ratio of space occupied by men relative to women and by adults relative to children for each group. These calculations are presented in Table 22. In all groups women occupy more space per capita than do men. Children's built space relative to adults in all groups is insignificant. The amount of space allocated to animals is comparable to the amount of space allocated to women in the Urza and Shuwa compounds. Animal space relative to men's and women's spaces are less important in Mura and particularly in Wandala households. The amount of animal space relates to the importance of herding in each of these groups. It could be argued that women have more space in households because they perform more tasks within the compound than do men and that tasks such as cooking require kitchens and greater storage area for cooking utensils. This functional argument cannot be denied. But it should always be kept in mind that the activities women perform within the household are still part of gender ideology. The division of labour in ail four groups is a cultural construct. There is no inherent reason why women cook, grind grain, make pots, dry vegetables, or perform any other household task in any particular place. These tasks are determined by the construction of gender and the division of labour in these groups (we chapter five). The significant factors to be examined are which activities or resources are selectively housed within the compound, where they are located, and the visual emphasis placed on these areas or objects by both men and women. In this respect, the ratio of men's to women's domestic space is partly determined by gender ideology. Internally Visible Design The design of certain features and activity areas are generally only visible to household members. Certain furnishings, in particular dowries, have already been discussed. However, other features are less mobile and are permanent or semi-permanent features in household design. These features are discussed below. Floors. The construction and maintenance of floors is the task of Wandala and Shuwa women. It is the work of both men and women amongst the Mura and Urza. In all groups, sweeping floors is done by women and girls. Floors in Wandala courtyards, bedrooms, verandas and sometimes kitchens arc covered in a thick layer of sand ccllected from the Dela river bed (W15A 2:119; W7B 2:157; W7A 11:11). The sand is replaced every year or so when it begins to look dirty. Both sand collection and removal are the work of women and children (personal observation). Floors in animal houses are not covered in sand. Dung is removed during the dry season and dumped in nearby fields by men and women. Shuwa women deposit sand on ihe patios and on the floor on the iefi side of tradiiionai houses (S25A 3 : 3 7 ) ( ~chapter seven). The floor on the right side of the house, which is used as a cattle byre, are repaired and cleaned every morning by women (S19A 2:182;S25A/B 334;. This involves removing the dung and depositing it in the fields or cattle pen, filling in the holes in the 227 floor and covering the floor with fresh soil to keep it dry in order to prevent cattle disease. This work is particularly arduous during the rainy seasen when the cattle are kept inside at night. At this time of the year women excavate pits short distances from their houses to obtain the soil necessary for floor maintenance (S25D 3:144; S206D 3:150). It is suggested that sand floor co~eringin Mura and Urza courtyards is a practice borrowed from the Wandala. However, the layer of sand tends to be much thinner than in Wandala compounds and is replaced only every five years or so. The sand is particularly useful during rainstorms when the soil on the plains turns to thick mud. This is more of a problem in open Wandala compounds than in enclosed Mura and Urza courtyards and partly explains why the Wandala spread a thicker layer of sand on their floors. All groups embed soft drink cans and bottles to form borders that define and reduce erosion of sanded areas. Only children were observed in this occupation. Not all Mura and Urza structures have sand covered floors; some floors are simple earth floors. Occasionally in kitchens whcrc termites are said to be a problem, floors are sealed with pottery clay (M9A 2:163; M26A 342). Clay floors were constructed by men. The construction of such floors was not observed and they arc in fact rare. My assistant and other informants stated that sacrifices of roosters and other materials which are believed to protect and augment the prosperity of the compound owner are buried in the floor of the compound in the entry and front area of the courtyard (M26A 13:119,11:154,9:28). Wandala and Mura inforn~antsclaimed that a protective bundle of objects purchased from specialists is buried in the threshold of the house to protect the man and his family from harm W89A 3:IM; M26A 13:119;W99). Grinding tables. Grinding tables are only found in Mura and Urza households. Wandala informants indicated that thev used to have tables identical to those of the Mura but abandoned the practice of hand grinding with the installation of the village diesel powered mill (W148A 3:115; W 1 1 K 3103; W121B 31,591. The village mill has been in operation for approximately 12 years (W53A 10:105) and the Wandala only grind grain when the mill is broken. Whm this occurs thc formerly Mafa woman living in compound 76 uses a grinding table while most women use loose grinding stones stored in their kitchens or in the garden. Shuwa women use the mi!l. Loose grinding stones were not observed in their kitchens. Mura and Urza grinding tables are usually made and maintained by women (M2B 2:18;U13B 2:98;M14B 2:llO;M6D,E,F 2:138; M9B 2:167; M20B 3:10) although men hequentlv clain~ed to either assist or construct the table for their wives (M3A 2:31;M4A 2:46;U5A 2:59;Ml1 2:86; M9A 2:166). The rectangular or oval shaped table is made of a box of pottery clay or termite mound soil built to waist height, into which is set one or two grinding stones. The base of the table is either built upon a hard-wood post frame or is set on a solid pedestal of sand or stones plastered over with daub. The choice of latter base depends upon the degree of termite infestation in thc kitchen (U194B 377). Grind stones are obtained from Wa-Dela and are plano-convex in crosssection with the flat side facing u p in the table. These are either made by the man, or the shape is roughed out by the man and finished by the woman (see Figure 35). Grain is ground using small hand sized grinders which are roughly the same shape as the grinding stone. The sides of the clay box may or may not be decorated with finger tip impressions identical to those found on the sides of the granaries. Table 23 presents information on women and their grinding tables in Mura and Urza households. There is no correlation betwc.cn thc number of grinding stones and the number of children of women surveyed. However, in six of eight instances, women with two stones are first wives. The correlation between the number of stones and the rank of the wife may in part be functional as first wives are expected to grind additional sorghum for the preparation of beer and food on ritual occasions. Yet within the functional arguiment there exists the social or authoritative resource of the first wife. 'The capacity to do certain activities in specific spaces at certain times is culturally determined and in ritual contexts the grinding of sorghum is an expression of a woman's rank within the household Although only five grinding tables are decorated, four of thew arc said to have b c w made by men for their wives. The decoration of grinding tables when made by men has at least two implications. The decoration of food and beverage preparation and storage containers may be part of preventative practices against witchcraft and sorcery as i~dividualsare particularly vulnerable when ingesting food touched by others (see also David et a1 1988; Hodder 1982; Lyons 1989). Decoration around fond preparation pots such as beer jars, beer brewing pots, water pots as well as on granaries and grinding tables fonns a protective barrier from dangerous substances and the contents. This is particularly important to men, as wives in all groups prepare food and provision the water pots. The second implication in men's decoration of women's grinding tables is that in doing so men visually emphasize a woman's activity which is valued within the dominant gender ideology. I t is suggested here that this is a conscious strategy of men table builders, as it is not an activity womcn table builders routinely select to decorate. Cooking hearths. Family cooking hearths are almost always constructed by the woman who uses the hearth. In a sample of 55 hearths, only two Mura hearths were constructed by men. One of these hearths was used exclusively by the male househoid head to prepare food not eaten by womcn ( M A ) . The other is discussed below. There are three morphological types of cooking hearths in the four study groups. These are tripod hearths, bordered tripod hearths, and floored, segmented hearths with fire-guards. The three hearth types are illustrated in Figure 36). Tripod hearths are comprised of three stones or inverted pots which are used to support a cooking pot over a shallow fire pit. The pit is created by the regular removal of ash. The size of the hcarth is a function of the size of cooking pots supported by the stones or inverted pots. Women often have a hearth inside the kitchen for cooking in the rainy season and one in the courtyard area for the dry season when a kitchen becomes too hot. Bordered tripod hearths have borders around the fire pit which are made with either a low clay berm or with mud bricks. Bordered tripod hearths are also used as dry season hearths in the courtyard. Floored, segmented hearths with fire-guards are lens.shaped in plan view, with the back edge of the hearth built up as a fireguard to a height ranging from 0.2 to 1 meter. The fireguard is used as a shelf for pots and protects stalk or mat walls from catching fire. The floor of these hearths is lined in clay with a low berm of a few centimetres bordering thc open side of -- the skructure. !ne floor cf the hearth usually slopes sjightly downward toward the berm fireguard. Again the construction of the hearth floor prevents cinders and flames from igniting flammable walls. The pot holders consist of three to five inverted pots, stones or clay cones arranged similar to tripod hearths. Shuwa hearths are slightly larger than Mura and Wandala hearths of this type. Wandala hearths are rarely decorated while Shuwa women emhellish their hearths with both finger tip impressions and p,inted designs. The use of materials for construction of these hearths also Ziffers by ethnic group. Wandala women build their hearths in pottery clay (W18B/E 2:174), while Shuwa women use both termite mcrund soil and pottery clay for hearth construction (S206B/D 3:151; S187C 3:145). Floored, segmented hearths with fireguards are never found in the open courtyard for dry season cooking. Table 24 presents the distribution of hearth types, decoration and maker of hearths in the households suweyed. Mura women mainly construct tripod hearths. There is only one cxamplc of a Mura floored, segmented hearth with fireguard. This hearth was decorated and constructed by a man whose wife had left him for several months in fear of witchcraft attacks by her husband's stepmother. On the hearth the word "nourrissent" meaning to nourish was written with a fingertip into the wet clay. Urza women also construct tripod hearths although a third of their hearths are bordered, undecorated tripod hearths. Tripod hearths dominate the Wandala sample fonning over half of the hearths. A further third of Wandala hearths are floored, segmented hearths with fireguard and decoration. Most Shuwa women's hearths are segmented, floored hearths with fireguard. Almost half of these are decorated. There arc no instances of tripod hearths in the Shuwa households suweyed. Beyond the functional requirements of hearths and fire prevention, thcrc is an apparent progression in the elaboration of hearths from least elaborate by the Mura and Urza, to increasing elaboration amongst the Wandala, to considersble elaboration amongst the Shuwa. This emphasis on hearths amongst the Wandala and Shuwa and deemphasis amongst the Mura and Urza cx~tradictsthe ideal perception of men and women's roles and relations elicited from male informants and presented in chapter five. Mura and Urza ideally associated women with the hcarth and meal preparation. The Wandala down played kitchens and suggested that separate kitchens for women is only necessary if women are jealous. In other words Wandala men gave negative or at best neutral values to the kitchen. Meal preparation is also a menial task which is dcvalucd by the Wandala. To a certain extent the same is true of the Shuwa. Male Shuwa household heads referred to women's work in relation to keeping cattle, and not in meal prepa ra ti on. The interpretation presented here is that Wandala and Shuwa women use elaboration of hearths to present and draw attention to their contributions as nurturers within their households. For instance, men value women's food preparation in Mura and Urza households by constructing kitchens for each woman. Consequently, there is no need for women to draw attention to this role through elaborate hearth construction. Instead, they choose other objects for elaboration (see bi~lnw).The exception is the hearth made by a n u n as part of the process of reconciling with his wife. The elaboration of this hearth is analogous to men decorating grinding tables as a strategy to emphasize women's valued roles within the dominant gender ideology as nurtiirers. Water storage and beer fenventing pots. In all four groups women embed water storage pots into the floor either by their kitchen or bedroom. Most Mura and Urza women make their own pots but the Wandala no longer make pots themselves. Pottery is not part of the Shuwa tradition. These women purchase water pots and receive one or two such pots as part of their dowry as they arc relatively expensive. In the households surveyed, most Wandala and Shuwa women pnrchascd water pots made by Kanuri or Mafa women, as they preferred the quality and style of these nots (W7B 5:41;iV8C 5:45; W12B 5:71;M115:81 W76B 5:121; WIlOB/C 5323; W148A 5:127; W%B,C,D,E 5 131-135;S19B,C,E 5:9?;S206B 5:139). Although style and decorative elements vary, ?37* +b Mura, L'rza, Kanuri and Mafa pots all have high collar-like necks which arc usually Oworated with a highly burnished red slip (see Figures 37 and 38). The body of thr pt is always dtlcoratcxi regardless of the ethnic style. Water storage pots are also large pots with a diameter of 50 to SO cm. They arc embeddc.il into the ground to depths of approximately 20 to 30 cm. This keeps the water in thc pots cool The placement of pots beside the kitchen is partly functional as i t allows I\-ater to bc readily available for cooking. It is suggested here that women's placement of pots bcside these rooms hds other significance. Although redistribution of water is not controlled like grain, as anyonc can help themselves to water in a water pot, men and children still must go to the woman's area for this resource. The elaborate style draws attention to the pot and to the woman who redistributes water to the household members. Collecting water is an arduous and essential task, but onc which is not presented by men in discussions of compound order. It is suggested here that women have selected the water storage pot as a visual medium to emphasize the importance of this contribution to the househola. Beer fermenting pots are madc by Mura and Urza women. These pots are always decorated but the decoration is identical to that of other cooking pots. What is remarkable about these pots is their size (see Figures 37 and 39). It is not urmiia: for such a pot to bc 60 cm across the mouth and 80 or 90 cm in height. Such pots are often ordered in pairs and arc embcddcd into the ground to a depth of approximately 50 cm. Beer produdion is time consuming. it takes about ten days for a woman to prepare a batch (M2B/M3B 13:99-705). The placement of these pots has been discussed in chapter seven and is correlated with the rank of each woman in the houschald. This may explain why such pots are not as elaborately decorated as water pots as thew location expresses meaning in itself. As well, beer production is valued by the patrilineage for ritual, social, and economic reasons and Mura beer pots I ~ k ehearths do not need elaborat~on. Summary Clearly other factors besides relationships between men and women are implicated in floor plan configurations. For instance, evidence is presented in this chapter indicates that men choose certain house materials and shapes as strategies to negotiate their status within the community. Consequently materials and shapes are located in highly visible areas of the household to present an intended set of meanings and values understood by other members of the community and subsequently benefiting the household head's standing in that community. Mura men try to improve their personal standing by choosing materials and shapes which are understood by the Wandala to represent persona1 wealth and group power, such as rectangular structures, daub walls and metal roofing. However, the Mura incorporate these values into design differently than the Wandala. In the Mura community, male values are tied to the patrilineage and a man's property. A man's personal prestige is not tied to his ability to remove his wives from physical labour. Quite the opposite. Women are expected to work. Consequently, Mura men do not place highly valued materials at the back of the compound in the woman's area. Instead, these materials and shapes tend to be "up-front" in the man's area where the community will see them and associate the space with the man himself. A similar strategy has been suggested in the lack of external distinction Detwixn women's and men's granaries. The man associates the visible mediums of wealth in the household with himself. However, in the MTandaIacommunity male prestige is partly based on women remaining within the home. Aithough this does not describe true Wandala domestic relations, the distgbution of shape; =d materials in ihese Wandala households iiidicaies that men locate more costly and prestigious materials in the women's area, especially metal roofing, where it can be wen atrow the compound walls. Consequently, while the Mura and Wandala are using the same 2% prestigious materials, they do so in ways which are compatible with the gender id~wlo-qof their own culture. The importance of negotiating status with Wandala and extra-community mthoritics decreases with distance from the Wandala quarter, the highway and with social tension of relations between groups. The Wandala and Mura have lived side by side in Dela for several hundred years, the Wandala holding political power over the Mura both before and after European intervention. The Wandala choose room shapes and construction techniques to distinguish themselves from the Mura. The Mura recognize this and consequcndy appropriate thc new style in order to counteract its effects. To conclude, compound configuration is influenced by environmental factors such as available materials and climatic conditions. The choice of materials is further affected by a family's wealth and location in the village. This location is in turn contingent upon ethnic affiliation and religious practices. Along the boundaries of these communities, men may compctc with other men for status via the outwardly visible design of their households. However, the overall size of structures and compounds is correlated with economic considerations and environmental constraints. Inside the compound other design elements are related to gender roles and domestic relations. Features and activity areas are designed by men and women. Features designed by men stress women's valued roles within the dominant gender ideology. This reprcscntation is not a false representation of social relations, but it is a carefully edited one from a male standpoint. Women in a sense make modifications to this edited version of relations by emphasizing their work and contribution to the family by elaborating upon features associated with their activitics. CHAPTER NINE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Summary of Obiecfivcs The purpose of this study has been to examine the relationship between household design and the perception of gender roles and relationships in four groups in &la. The study shows that in all four goups, the interior style of households is n;eaningfully produced and in turn reproduces cultural perceptions of gender roles and relationships from the perspective of the individuals who control its design. In all four groups, household design is controlled by men. This supports Giddens' assertion that the control of time-space contexts is a strategic element in the generation of power (Giddens 1981,1985). ' f i e capacity of one group, in this case male economic and political interest groups, to present cultural perceptions of social relations in a critical cultural medium such as the household is a means of legitimating power structures on a daily, ritual and inter-generational basis. Giddens' definition of power as the capacity of individuals to act through their resources is a useful tool in examining the relationship of social groups and gender relationships within groups. in this respect, 'individuals' in Giddens' definition can refer to a collective group of individuals such as social or ethnic groups, or to men and women as separate classes of individuals within such groups. These relationships are not independent. Gender based power structures within groups, are nested within larger local and regional power structures. Gender roles and relationships within the constraints of a group's resources are structured in two ways. The first is through the distribution of allocative and authoritative resources within each sociocultural group. The second is through values placed on these resources by dominant 23b interests within each group. In a11 groups the dominant ideology is male-orientm1. howcvcr the structuring of male interest groups varies. For example, the dommant intcrcst group of the Mura and Urza is the patrilineage, while in the Shuwa community it 1s a smaller group oi r t l a t d n~alc kin. Wandala male interests are structured not through the family, but through the individual. Men's resources are more valued than women's rrsources in all groups. This valuc is measured not only in the nature of resources controlled by men or women, but in thc quantity and quality of those resources. For example, although Wandala mcn and womcn h a w access to the ~ m c resources, the quantity of resources women control is severely restricted by Islamic rules ot inheritance in comparison to men. Power structures of groups living in Dela arc asymmetric. For at least the last thrcc centuries, social relations have been constructed as follows: the Wandala h a w had morc social and economic power than the Mura both locally and regionally. The Urza and the Shuwd, relatively recent immigrants to Dela, are accordingly treated as outsiders living on the periphery of tho community. However, the Urza are part of the Mura's traditional system of political and social alliances. While they are ranked below the Mura patrilineages in Dela, they arc ticd to the community through marriage. This is not true of the Shuwa who have no traditional claim to resources in the community and are looked on with suspicion by all. 'I'hcre is clearly a hierarchy of strangers: those who are related and those who arc not. One would expect that, as Moslems, the Shuwa would be afforded a higher position in the hierarchy than the montapards who have been historically persccutnl by both Moslem slavcrs, including the Wandala, and by colonlal and Camcroonian administrative policies. This is not thtl case. Aside from an inability to claim ancestral rights to land and political or social authority, the S'nuwa have never endeared themselves to the Wandala either as political allics or a s neighburs, Alihougtt the historical relationship 'wiween the Wandala and Mura is not onc of equais, they have occasionally had to rely upon each other for protection -- sometimes against a common enemy allied with the Shuwa. Darninanf ideulogy and the Meaning of Household Siyles One of the conclusions which can be drawn from this study is that household style in Dela is used to ncgotiate men's interzsts in two separate ideological contexts simultaneously. There is a dominant ideology which structures the relationships between men and women and another which structures relations between individuals within the community. The former is partly negotiated through internal household design, and the latter partly through external household design. Thc relationship between household style and dominant ideologies in Dela are briefly summarized below. I n f e r ~household l design. The distribution of resources on the basis of gender amongst the Mura and Urza results in a power structure which favours male members of the patrilineage. This structure is produced and reproduced through social practices which present men as continuous occupants of ancestral property and therefore the legitimate heirs to these resources. In contrast, women are prcscnted as impermanent and discontinuously associated with patrilineal resources and consequently without legitimate claim to their ownership. In addition, men are presented by the dominant ideology as superior to women, and as providers and spiritual protectors of both women and children. Women are presented as inferior, with the potential of being spiritually dangerous, and dependent on male resources. Yet within this ideology women are also positively prcscnted as mothers and nurturers of the family and the patrilineage. These dominant perceptions of gender roles and relationships do not mirror daily life, especially the contibution women make to wrghum production, field maintenance, and the sharing of market profits with husband and children, Certain spaces are given symbolic meaning by the Mura and Urza. These values are implicitly reproduced in different contexts of social interaction and in the spatial ordering of the village and thc cemetery. For example, the front or being first, the east and the rising sun, uphill or a h v c are associated with seniority, strength, the ancestors, the sorghum fields, and men. In contrast, behind or back, the west and the setting sun, downhill or below are associated with being junior, weakness, inferiority, outsiders, and women. The dominant gender ideology is recreated in informants of the 'proper' interior design of Mura and Urza households. Ideally, residents are ordered around an axis with the male household head at one end and his first wife at the other. The examination of actual households demonstrates that this ideal is a prime consideration in the construction of compounds. Other wives and their buildings are placed on either side of the first wife, with children and animal houses placed between the women and the man. The values associated with the relative placement of men's and women's spaces in the compound reproduce thc relativo values of men's and women's roles and relationships in the dominant gender idcoloby. Men arc located in spaces given superior value uphill, at the froni and generally to the west facing east while women are located in spaces given inferior value to the back, downhill, facing west. Dominant perceptions of gender roles and relationships in Mura and Urza household design subsequently orders contexts of daily, biological and ritual activities. In so doing, the dominant ideology is presented as natural and right, As a result, households are actively involvcd in the production and reproduction of the Mura and Urza perception of gcndcr roles and relationships. Women's daily household activities take place ai the back and men's activities at the front, uphill and above women. In the course of a man's biological life-cycle, he moves between female and male spaces. Canception occurs in the man's area at the front of the compound, birth in the woman's area at the back. Through childhood a bay is moved toward thc front of the compound until ultimately he occupies the front of his own household. In old age a man is moved out of his compound to the side, in death his soul is chased away at the back of thc compound only to reenter the compound embodied in the ancestor pot in the back central area under the senior granary. The location of ancestor pots in front of the first wife's kitchen evokes the sense of ancestor rebirth and women's role as nurturers of patrilineage resources. 'The* same meanings are associated in the living world with women and their kitchens. Women do not move full-cirde t-hrougf?compound spaces. T!~ey are born in the back, they live in the back with their mothers until marriage when they are located at the back of their husband's home. When women die their spirits are chased away at the back of the compound and possibly return embodied in an ancestor pot in the back central area under the senior granary. Women's spatial continuity inside household space over a lifetime and beyond is in sharp contrast to the spatial discontinuity of omen in adult life. The movement and location of women relative to men in ritual and biological time-space substantiates the dominant perception of women as impermanent members of patdineages and presents women as literally outsiders, nonparticipants, and even anti-social. The Mura and Urza share a common internal household design for practical and ideological reasons. These two groups, along with other groups i i ~the northern Mandara Mountains, have exchanged marriage partners for perhaps hundreds of years. It is not surprising that Mura/ Urza internal design is so structured. Women move through men's compounds in the course of their reproductive lives. Each husband may belong to a different ethnic group but typically one of a limited number of groups who are part of the Mura marriage network. The reproduction of the same gender ideology in interior household design enables the frequent movement of women between ethnic groups with the least disruption of the household. In so doing, gender rclations do not have to be renegotiated with divorce as household design essentially reproduces the same gender relationships across ethnic boundaries. This action is essential as the economic 3nd social success of these men depends upon women's work and cooperation. 1 suspect that other households in the marriage network have similar interior styles. Wandala society as a whole is marked by strong individualism and competition. Individual prestige is measured in personal wealth particularly through commercial activities. Both Wandala men and women strive to improve their personal status through parallel but unequally distributed social and economic resources. Men's economic and social advantage is assured through Islamic law and perhaps by the traditional prescription of land ownership. 240 According to Islamic beliefs, men should strive to remove their wives from physical labour and provide for their material needs within the compound. While such a practice is beneficial to male status, it conflicts with a woman's personal strategy of augmenting wealth through the market place. Men perceive themselves to be superior to women, protectors and providers for their wives and children, economically independent and self-made. Women are perceived by men as inferior, jealous of co-wives, non-participants in physical labour, and are economically dependent upon their husbands and parents. The dominant perception of men's and women's contributions to the household docs not represent daily life. Women do participate in physical labour particularly if their husband is poor and many women are successful in the market place. Nevertheless, men control household design which they manipulate for their own self-interests. These interests are cultivated by presenting women as spatially inferior to men, removed from economic tasks, and sheltered in the home. At the same time women benefit in terms of the quality of their housing and economic comfort. The interior design of Wandala compounds presents dominant perceptions of gender as well as the competitive nature of Wandala social relations. Wandala household heads suggest that the most important structures in the internal ordering of Wandala households are the entry and the first wife's bedroom. Ideally men's bedrooms are also loca ted near the entry. Not surprisingly, these two structures are associated with wealth. The entry is associated with the household head's wealth, and the first wife's bedroom theoretically holds the largest repository of female wealth in the compound. Informants stated that the women are located at the back, possibly toward the east, and men and the entry at the front and possibly toward the south. In other social contexts, the Wandala associated particular values with certain spatial positions and orientations. Superior vaiues are given to positions at the front, above and to the easi and the south, and inferior vaiues with positions to the back and below. In social interaction, men are routineiy associated with these superior-valued spaces and women with inferior valued spaces. In situations where women 24 1 are excluded, Iow ranking men are ordered in the inferior spaces and higher ranking men in supcrior spaces. In an examination of actual compound interior design, the location of women's rooms follow the ideal more closely than the placement of men's rooms. In the households studied women's spaces are usually at the back of the compound. The entry in many compounds involved an outer courtyard which afforded privacy to the inner courtyard bedrooms. This style of entry provides women with greater privacy in keeping with Islamic ideals. While high compound wails provide women with privacy, they also creates the impression thar women do no physical labour as household activities from the street. In addition each woman has her own washing area and enclosed verandah for eating, visiting with friends and making market products. These features also effectively conceal women working inside the compound. Contrary to informant suggestions, men's rooms are not routinely located near the entry. Instead, their bedrooms are frequently at the back of the compound albeit on opposite sides from women's rooms. It is suggested that the location of men's rooms at the back is intentional. Expensive roofing materials and structures are associated with women's bedrooms which are at the back of the compound. Placing wealth at the back of the compound also separates the Wandala visually from the practices of the Mura and Urza whose wealth is "up front". The perception of individual wealth and status is created through the separation and placement of men's and women's personal wealth inside their o m bedrooms. Most buildings inside a compound are oriented so that entries do not directly face each other. Although this agdin provides privacy to family members in the absence of granaries, it also isolates and separa tcs them. The spatial ordering of Wandala men and women in domestic space also orders daily, biological and ritual activities. Women cook, eat, garden, wash, sleep and visit with friends at the back of the compound. Men eat, sleep, and visit at the front of the compound. When men do commercial tasks inside the home these are conducted at the front or just outside the entry. All children are conceived in their fatheis rooms and are born in the back in their mother's rooms. During their life-cycle boys gradually move from the back toward the front of the compound. Girls remain at the back during childhood and are located at the back of their husband's compound when they marry. Ritual focus is at the mosque or the praycr field and not inside the compound. The focus on the community is part of the ideology of Islam. As womcn are discouraged from entering the mosque during their reproductive years, they are excluded from ritual authority and have a junior position to that of men in all religious rites. The Wandala do not need to structure relationships of production betweim men and women within their households. Family economics are based more on individual contributions pursued outside of the home, and the production of wealth and subsistence is not based upon family cooperation and shared work. As a result, men design the household primarily to promote their interests in the community through a facade of controlling women spatially. The ambibwity of gender roles and relationships results in a less structured interior design than that of the other three groups studied. The distribution of allocative and authoritative resources in Shuwa houscholds in Dcla is based on the communal management of cattle and, of late, agricultural land by an extended family of male kin. Women's resources are derived from or are complementary to male resources. This is similar in structure to that of the Mura and Urza. This power structure is legitimated by Islamic rules of inheritance which ensure that women's wealth never exceeds that of their male kin. Although Islamic practice encourages men to remove their wives from physical labour, this is not stressed by Shuwa informants. Explicitly valued work performed by women was expressed in terms of their contribution to cattle care and the processing of milk products. Bnct again, thc dominant gender ideology does not reflect the true range of activities of women in the home and the market place. The male-oriented ideology is represented in Shuwa compound design. Mcn described the organization of the extended family as encompassing a central area. The senior mate's houw 243 is loca!ed to the east whik other male kin are ordered around the circle in a counterdockw-k direction from oldest to youngest. In other words senior individuals are placed to the right. Increasingly junior positions are placed towards the left. This configuration IS realised in all compounds examined. However, it is the internal arrangement of the large traditional house itself which is ordered on the basis of gender. Women and women's activity areas are located on the left half of the house, and men and cattle are located on the right half as viewed from the door looking into the room. This arrangement appears to represent the dominant perception of gender roles and relationships with men on the senior (right) side and women on the junior (left) side of the house. The location of men and women and their resources in Shuwa compounds is repeated in daily, biological and ritual activities. Women are associated with activities inside the house of the left half. This is where women eat, sleep, cook meals, store water, and give birth. Men visit outside the house and spend most of the day either in the fields or herding. In a man's biological life he moves from his mother's area to his own building within the circle of male kin. Girls are located on the left side of the house throughout life, their position in the circle being determined by the seniority of their husband amongst his male kin. Although the Shuwa are Moslems, the central area of the compound is a focus of daily ritual activity. Thc Shuwa compound draws on stylistic elements of Wandala households, but the structuring of domestic space is in some ways parallel to that of the Mura and Urza. Like the Mura and Urza, the focus of Shuwa life is on resources held by a group of related men. Also like the Mura and Urza, women are essential to the production of these resources, but their ownership is restricted. Relationships are tightly controlled within compound space, first at the relationship between men who form a compound circle, and then within each house between men and women. The same principle applies in the circle and within the house: junior members to the left, senior mernbrs to the right. However, the traditional structure of gender roles and relationships is changing in the Dela Shuwa households. Rectangular buildings are being constructed to house 244 women separately from men, but the ordering within the overall circle of extended family relationships has not changed. Material culture change in this instance is more profound for women than for men. External household design. Internal design considerations are often affected and even compromised by external design. Materials and external design of building arc used to negotiate men's political status within the community. In most cases this involves materials and house shapes recognized by other men a s 'modern' and expensive. Competition between the Mura and the Wandala has resulted in the emergence of new stylistic choices. The important factor here is that the competition between these two groups is not even. The Wandala have grcatcr material and social authority in the community and the region. Consequently, new choices such as the change from round to rectilinear houses,, are selected by the Wandala. Rectilinear building shape is understood both by local groups as a traditional shape of authoritative buildings, and by the federal authorities as progressive. For Mura to gain and maintain credibility with government officials they must make similar stylistic choices. In a sense, the Wandala have forced their hand, However, the Mura place these structures in spaces valued within their own dominant ideology. These are at the front and in men's buildings. In this respect the Mura/Wandala relationship is similar to that of lower/upper classes in which the lower class copy the style of the upper class. The use of external household style by the Mura and Wandala contrasts with the conclusicms of stylishc differentiation between competing groups proposed by Hodder (19791. Hodder (1979) suggests that in conditions of social and economic stress, competing groups stvlistically differentiate themselves as a means of establishing intra-group cohcsion and betwcvrn group boundaries. Yet in this study, the Mura, who compete socially and tconomically with the Wandala, choose to copy the Wandala's exterior building style. 1 suggest that in community power strwtures where one group has a significant economic and social edge over another, there is no advantage for the latter group to differentiate thernselvcs stylistically. In &la, stylistic differentiation only benefits the Wandala 35 it would an upper class. Instead, it is to the Mura's benefit that they look like the Wandala at least from the outside of their houscs Although it is anticipated that the Wandala will eventually choose a new household style to maintain a stylistic distance from those of the Mura, economic and social factors create a lag between the old and the new styles. The financially poorer Mura can use this to their advantage. Most Mura only construct one or two rectangular buildings at the front of the compound. This keeps stylistic competition within their financial means and allows for greater flexibility for change in the future. Copying building styles of Wandala is after all not intended to fool the Wandala as evcryone in Dela knows the status of everyone else -- a situation common to small communities. The blurring of styles along ethnic boundaries in Dela is targeted to impress visiting administrators. The situation in Dela modifies but does not negate the explanation of style offered by Hodder (1979). The copying of style by the Mura is restricted to the external level of design. The internal design of Mura and Wandala households is clearly different. This is a consideration which archaeologists must address in the study of households. This study shows that external household design is used as a d-ynamic medium for conveying information to the community and, from the vantage of certain locations, to outsiders. The consumers of these messages will differ significantly in the centre of an ethnic community than along the spatial boundaries between competing groups. Internal design addresses family members and, while the actual membership of the family will change, these individuals will most likely come from the same social group or related groups. The internal style of Mura domestic spatial order continues to present Mura ideologies and produce a sense of Mura identity while the external design changes with communiF dynamics -- even to the extent of being Wandala-ized. This is not to say that internal design is not d>namjc, but Mura gender roles and relationships are being carefullgr structured by men in order to maintain and legitimate their social and economic position while coincidentally attempting to kecp up with rapidly changing community relations. Consequently internal and external compound design considerations do not necessarily operate in concert as the stylistic Negotiation and A l t m a b Femak Ideology In all four p u p , there is an ambipib- between thc duminan: pt.rce~tictnof wonwn as represented in househald design and women's actual contributictn to thc household. In all caws, men's status is d e p n d c n i to %me extent on the cooperation of wornen and on rtmmcn's disenfranchisement from major rwurces through ritual and law. Vct in all groups, womt.n perform roles which are essential to the production of male rcuburcs and nurturing of the fanrily. important resources and those who da not. Hodder suggests that the negotiation c.rf individrml interests occurs through .he prentaticm of their own ideology in contrast with that of others CHdder 19%:67). fs there evidence that rmmm prestnt a separate idcalngv ia the houwhoid which corsrasts with that of the dominant male-oricnted ideology? Certainty the dominant gender idealogy presented by men in internat hovschclld design is one-sided, but it is not nactssa+- false or successful at masking rmlity. -Men's and wonwn's Iivcs are given d u e and organized according to the dominant i d d o g ) . In daily and rittial practice. Men d o contToI what are culturally perceived as the most i m p r b n t material and sclcial rcswrccs. fn other words, the male-domimnt idtology is a fivcd reality. But are ;qornen's contributions and The only camparable study to the one pwwntcd here is that af Mmrt*f 19SUji. Mmrc, in 249 I+-*-.s+ ~??mre 1!996:162). The E ~ ~ o spatid 's ~f-fliation~hin~ Y of hattws, rnfiwe and bur& w a s orbered I\ by a % ~ 'oft v a l u ~ ba& s a n the prccption of what is considered male or female (Moore '1986:162). Male yualitics arc given positive values and female qualities, even when positive, retain a degree of negativity Moore lSi.Sb:lh2). Moore states that women attempt tcr identify and give value to ihemxd;.cs as women rathin thc cultural structures which confront them but do not present an a!tc.rndtc fcrnalc world view -- contrary to other anthropologists claims 1986:16?,183f. Mime suggesfi .that women d o not have a separate ideology because women and men are cnrneshed within the same system of meaning even though they take up different social positions in that system fMoarc 14%:lt%i. Males grow-up learning that their p!ace in the Endo world is assrxratd with positive values which parallel their perception of their ovln contributions to the hntiwkold and thc comrnuni& 1Sloore 191341831. On the other hand, females sucialized to asgmatc thcmselvcs with negative vaTues are in conflict with their own experience of the positive cctntributions they make to Endo society @dmrc1986:183). Lven though women recognize the contradiction presented in Endo gender ideofcugy and tr). to identify themselves as valuable, they art. socializtd to accept thcrur. values and accordingly assert their value a s social individuals within the jdnw ~ t m c t u r ethat ~ are available to men iMoore 19&:1815). Moore states that for the dominant male-orientixi idWft7gv m predominater it must appear natural an3 inevitable. This For instance, in Mura and Frza aomestic space, women arc asmciatcd with kitchens and the pre~arafionof meals. H~wetilr,the features constructed within the kitchen arc functional and not ekiborate. Hearths rrtade by women are simple in design. The only truly elahratc hearth in the sampk was made by a man for his wife. fn addition, grinding tablcs are always d i ~ o r a t ~ d when constructed by men and rarely by women. Both of these features arc lociitd insidc thC kitchen and hearths are con~kmctcdqxxificailv to k hidden from other family rncrntxrs ApparentI~,Mura and Lrza w\.itmend o not clabrate activities and rates which men specifically identify as valuable. perwsnnal area to draw attenkinn to their h o u x d d contributions of watcr prwisiirn and bmr r arc c ~ x n t i a to i the houwhold, thcy production. Although water provisioning and k ~ prductiun alw confront patrilineage r-slue mi;male prerogatives. k r is a sacred offering to the ancestors and bonds neighburs in r i m 1 and xlciaf events. t't"fiifeb t ~ production r lies at thc heart of M r m and Lrra social, ~ o n o m i c and ritual life, women prcducc beer for thcir c3wn proht. The s l c of beer is in a sense a profane use sf sorghum which m n consider thcir p r o p r y and sacred. Seer mklng equipment dominats the area around a woman's kitchen a s a constant w u a l assxiation of women and beer prdurtit-tn. This can be interprettid as a srriaf rrr ants-sfxtaf act. i"1'0mn also provide i k family with watcr stored in elaborate pots rrmbc.ddcd In thc floor Although many Wandala husband's were relatively successful in removing their wives from field labour and visibly shielded women's work inside the compound from community view, all women perform certain phys~caltasks. One of these activities is cooking. Contrary to the male ideal of a shared kitchen inside the house, most women had their own kitchen. If a separate kitchen ii; not built by the husband, women often constructed elaborate hearths inside their bedrooms or anterooms. nese hearths require considerable physical labour both in the acquisition of c!ay and in she comtruction of tho hearth. Each married woman also had a separate water storage pot. In all cases, this pot is a highly decctratcd, specialized and expensive pot. These pots are embedded in the ground in front of the dottr leading into their bedrooms. These objects, along with the objects each woman is given as part of her dowry, are what women spatially manipulate and construct within their area of the compound. The selection of water pots and hearths fur stylistic efaboration is interpreted as a strategy selected at a conscious or practical f eve1 by women to emphasize their contribution as nurturers of the family. In fact, the mother-child bond appears to be the only consistent relationship of trust within Wandala society as a wholr.. This strategy transfom dominant idwlogical perceptions which present women as dcpcndcnts and removed from phvsical labour. The Shuwa sample is small and conclusions should be considered with caution. The Shuwa gxtwr structure favours a p t i c kin and work associated with the herding of cattle or famtmg- \tromn*scontribution to household economics and w i a l relations is de-emphasized et.m thc~ugh\ w m n almost as much arduous physical labour as d o their Mura and Erza contradiction is again confronted by Shuwa women in a striking visual ccruntc~parts; Th~s manner, In stark contrast to the ife en empty men's half of the housr?, the women's half is strictly wdcrcd a d dnmmatcxl by a ittat@ pat, a large elahrate hearth and a bed. Milk gourds are 250 The location of the milk gourds is reminiscent of the de-emphasis of hearth construction by Mura and Urza women. Shuwa men recognize women's contribution in processing milk, just as Mura and Urza men recognize women's role in sorghum processing. However, women in both groups appear to select, either consciously or subconsciously, object!: which visually draw attention to other contributions they make to the household. Like the Mura and Urza, the selection of objects featured by Shuwa women confronts gender ideology. Shuwa and Wandala men as Moslems attempt to remove or at least hide women's physical labour as a strategy to p i n male prestige within the male community. Shuwa and Wandala women emphasize features and objects which are associated with labour both inside and outside of the home. Water must bc brought from the well (if done by women or by Lheir children) and I'md must be cooked for the family. This study supports Moore's conclusions that there is no alternate women's ideology comparable to that presented by men. Women confront the dominant interpretation of gcnder ideology by stressing other aspects d their roles within that ideological structure, Howwcr, women materially and stylistically make explicit, roles which they v;tluc. Thew same roles arc only implicitly recognized by men. Because women d o not p r s e n t a separate ideology through matcrial styles in Endo households, Moore concfudes that archaeologically, women are ini4siblc. In contrast, David t19711, in his ethnoarchaecrlogical study of Fulani compounds, stated that men tend to bc azcbeologically invisible as most structures in compounds are those constructed for the occupation by and activities of women. These conclusions do not contradict one another. What t h y d o point out to the arcbedogist is the different levels of information on gender roles and ri9a~ofishipthat are ptentiaii_vaecovera'tic h r n househoibs. Smcturcs and activity areas p m d e M=fand emmrnfc ii"domation an what women arc doing in the doriiiisiic contat, Howewr, it is the spatial ordering of umnen's and men's activities r..latiw to each c1thc.r which This study has demonstrated that cultural perceptions of gender roles and relationships are strongly implicated in the internal design of domestic space. Although archaeologists can not rtconstrlict the detail of gender relationships that is observable to the ethnoarchaeologist, the nature of these relationships can potentially be recovered. This requires the acceptance that households are designed to act in two contexts: internal design which creates a domestic context addresses gender roles and relationships and external design which is a part of community interaction. It is the internal ordering of activity areas, resources and objects as well as their functional roles which are part of the production and reproduction of gender. This does not mean that the study of gender should be confined to the interior of households. In the four Dela groups studied, the cultural perception of gender structured the spatial contexts of Interaction of men and women consistently both inside and outside of the household. In some cases, these contexts are materially represented. For instance, the Mura and the Urza spatially order men and women in the grave in the same spatial relationships as inside the household. Relationships between grave and household have not generally been compared in archaeological study. This is an avenue of study which may assist in the interpretation of gender ideologies in prehistor).. In this study, 1-5 variability in the ordering of men and women in the household was crbsen-ed in groups in which indiridual and group prosperity depended upon reciprocal obligations between spouses. Such conditions are found in the Mura, Urza and Shuwa households. hlen require wt.amen ta help produce and maintain their own economic base, and rvomm's ~ t ~ u r c tare l s d q w d e n t upan ilreir husbands. The spatial separation of men and worntm r ~ a rna6zted s in a d d floor plans in these groups and in the graves. Although the Shuwa h u e men and womn in t k same position inside the grave, some informants mentioned that pies are placed above the $raw initially to indicate the gender of the deceased. However, in Wandafa households there is less economic and social reciprocity between husbands and wives. Men and women have separate personal resources, many of which arc pursued in the market place. The internal ordering of Wandala compounds is less structured than in the other three groups. It is suggested here that the obligations of husbands and wives as a social and economic unit are less comprehensive in Wandala families than in the other thrw groups. For this reason, the manipulation of the internal order of Wandala household's is relatively less important as individual goals in the community arc more significant to the Wandala than relationships between men and women in the family. What this suggests is that when roles in the production of men's resources is critical for a men's intcrcsts, then mcn carefillly structure women's spaces and activities within the compound. Internal household design becomes a medium for men to control women's access to men's resources and to make a clear and explicit statement of gender roles and legitimate resource ownership. It appears thcn that the more structured and interdependent the social and economic relationships are betwcen co-resident mer, and women, the more structured interior household becomes as men constantly negotiate and renegotiate dominant perceptions of gender roles and relationships on a daily and on-going basil;. Condusions One factor common to Mura, Urza, wandala and Shuwa houwholds is that stxial and economic resources are dominated by men. Even though compounds arc owned and built by menflfie spaces are primarily built fur, and occupied by, women. This study has s h a m that gender r a k s and relationships arc. implicated in thc mcaningftd cans~mctionof internal hausehold design. It cannot be coincidcncc that mr?n in a male-orimtcd society cconiroi the design of this important material medium. it is through thc spatial and temporal scheduling of activities that individuals articulate ideology with daily practice. This is not a static process. Rathers horu&dd style is in a continual state of production and rcprc~dueticm APPENDIX A Informant references in the text are listed by ethnic group, compound number, and individual followed by field book number and page number. Ethnic groups are labelled as follows: M Mura U Urza W Wandala S Shuwa Mk Muktele Md Mada Kn Kanuri Compound numbers are not sequential but reflect numbers for households given in the fieid survey of @la. These numbers are retained for ease of ruturc cross-referencing with the field notes and maps. Individuals interviewed who are not members of households presented in this study are labelled by ethnic group and the first two letters of their nnrnc. Individuals are labelled by a capital letter in the text. The same letter is found on thc compound kinship charts at the bottom of each compound floor plan in Appendix: B. male, 55 years, bhma, household head, farmer, basketmaker, Kovra lineage head, %la-Podokwo female, 50 years, first wife of lineage head, farmer, pottcr, bcer maker, % < a p eMura patrilineage, %la-Podokwo male, 33 years, household head, farmer, field-hand, Kovra patrif ineage, Sela-Podokwa female, 15 )-ears, potter, beer maker, farmer, Kovra patrilineaage, %la-Podokwo male, 40 years, household head, farmer, iron-tool repairs, Lugone pa trilineage*Wa-Dela male, 30 years, household head, farmer, Mura lineage head, %laPmiokwo female, 35 years, first wife of lineage head, farmer, sommcreiai potters beer maker, tiam, Sela-Podokwo female, 3? years#second wife, farmer, commercial potter, Dome, Sefa-Podokfs-o female, 25 years, third wife, farmer, potter, \%am, %la-1'rrdokm.o male, 18 years, f a m r , Mum patrilineage, ScbI'cdokwo mie, 45 years" hustlhdd h a d , farmer, herdcr, Logow lineage head, 9Ia-Padakwo fernlie, 40 years1first wife of lineage head, farmer, patter, beer maker, D u r n patrilineagr, %la-Podokwo female, f 3 wears., first wife fanner, beer maker, Grza Kadaksc p~ljhagea ~ e l a - p ~ d ~ h ~ 12 _yearsfsecond w-ifq farmer, 'beer micq Crza Ndavafowa ptrilineage, %la-Podakwo f m l e , 6Q yeaas, farmer, %•÷urn patrilineag~~ M."a-hh male, 40 years, household head, farmer, patrilineage drum keeper, Logone patrilineage, Wa-Dela female, 35 years, farmer, potter, Mura patrilineage, Wa-Dela male, 55 years, blama, household head, farmer, patrilineage head of Logone (Makaji), Wa-Dela female, 50 years, first wife of patrilineage head, farmer, beer maker, potter, Dume patrilineage, Wa-Dela male, 25 years, household head, farmer, interpreter and project field assistant, Kovra patrilineage, Sela-Podokwo female, 23 years, farmer, potter, beer maker, Urza Mada Tzinga patrilineage, Sela-Podokwo male, 15 years, farmer, student, Mura patrilineage, %la-Podokwo male, 50 years, farmer, household head, gow, mbebe maker, Urza Mada Tzinga lineage head, Wa-Dela male, 35 years, farmer, household head, tool handle maker, Urza Kurdangala patrilineage, Wa-Dela female, 30 years, farmer, potter, Dume, Wa-Dela male, 70 years, farmer, blama, Urza Gulidje lineage head, Widive male, 50 years, household head, farmer, herder, Urza Gulidje patrilineage, Widivc female, 40 years, first wife, farmer, beer maker, potter, Urza Kingkingye patrilineage, Widive female, 35 years, second wife, farmer, beer maker, potter, tlu mura (daughter of head of Mura patrician), Widive female , 17 years, farmer, Urza Gulidje patrilineage, Widive female, 14 years, famrer, Urza Gulidje patrilineage, Widive female, 35 years, farmer, specialist in facial scarification, Logone patrilineage, Widive Wandala lnfomants W8B WSC male, 80 years, household head, weaver, farmer, dyer, Wandala Centre female, 55 years, cotton spinner, farmer, merchant, Wandala Centre male 35 years, household hezd, blacksmith, farmer, mason, Wandala Centre female, 30 years, farmer, homemaker, Wandzla Centre female, 20 years, farmer, homemaker, blacksmith assistant, Wandala Centre male, 53 years, blama, household head, leather worker, mat maker, Wandala Centre female, 35 years, gardening, homemaker, Wandala Centre male, 53 years, household head, malum, tailor, farmer, Wandala Centre female, 35 years, gardener, homemaker, Wandala Centre male, 50 years, household head, farmer, diviner, malum, Wandala Centre female, 45 years, first wife, peanut oil merchant, homemaker, Wandala Centre female, 25 years, second wife, peanut oil merchant, small craft sales, homemaker, Wandala Centre W139 WKa WHa female, 16 years, newlywed, Wandala Centre male, 70 years, household head, farmer, tailor, Wandala Centre female, 56 years, cotton spinner, farmer, herder, Wmdala Centre male, 55 years, household head, farmer, herder, entrepreneur, Wandala Centre female, 45 years, homemaker, gardener, Wandala Centre female, 50 years, household head, farmer, merchant, Wandala Centre male, 20 years, farmer, merchant, Wandala Centre male, 55 years, household head, farmer, scholar, owner of village mill, Wandala Centre female, 35 years, first wife, homemaker, Wandala Centre female, 35 years, third wife, homemaker, merchant, Wandala Centre female, 20 years, fourth wife, homemaker, Wandala Centre male, 30 years, household head, farmer, barber, Wandala Centre female, 25 years, gardener, confection seller, Wandala Centre male, 31 years, village chief, merchant, farmer, Wandala Centre female, 16 years, chief's first wife, homemaker, Wandala Centre female, 19 years, homemaker, basketmaker, sister-in-law of chief, Wandala Centre male, 35 years, household head, farmer, scholar, Wandala Centre male, 40 years, household head, Koranic school teacher, farmer, Wandala Centre male, 35 years, policeman, Wandala Centre male, 50 years, household head, farmer, gow, Wandala Centre male, 35 years, household head, farmer, amulet maker, Wandala Centre male, 60 years, household head, Wazeel, Wandala Centre female, 50 years, confections merchant, Wandala Centre female, 45 years, confections merchant, Wandala Centre Shuwa Infomants S16 S19k S19B S19C S19D S19E S25A S25B S25F S187B S187C S187D S206A S206B female, 75 years, taken as slave in child-hood and recovcred and now kept by younger brother and his family, Mada quarter male, 50 years, household head, farmer, rnalum, Shuwa quarter female, 40 years, homemaker, dairy merchant, Shuwa quarter female, 35 years, homemaker, dairy merchant, Shuwa quarter male, 19 years, herder, farmer, Shuwa quarter female, 16 years, homemaker, Shuwa quarter male, 55 years, household head, herder, farmer, mat maker, Shuwa quarter female, 19 years, herder, farmer, mat maker, Shuwa quarter female, 20 years, mat maker, Shuwa quarter male, 50 years, household head, herder, compound head, farmer, Shuwa quarter female, 45 years, homemaker, dairy merchant, Shuwa quarter male, 16 years, herder, farmer, Shu wa quarter male, 65 years, household head, blama, herder, farmer, Shuwa quarter female, 60 years, gardener, Shuwa quarter S206C S206D S20tiE male, 60 years, herder, farmer, Shuwa quarter female, 50 years, gardener, homemaker, Shuwa quarter male, 20 years, farmer, Shuwa quarter Additional Informants male, 40 years, farmer, gow, Mada quarter, Dela Md 16% male, 50 years, farmer, blama, Mada quarter MklO male, 65 years, household head, Chirna for Gane, Wandala Centre Kn 143 male, 35 years, Civil Servant, son of Wandala tlikse, Mora WEt male, 40 years, Chief of the blacksmiths, Manawachie WDMH male, 45 years, blacksmith, Mora market WAB APPENDlX B COMPOUND FLOOR P L k W KEY TO COMPOUND FLOOR PLANS ARCHITECTURAL KEY - o~ua/rmMlnMWND ---- DAUB WALL STUMPS -- M E T A L WAU - - SOIL/STDNE WW FOOD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT: fnlrqarl v B W RLER &) B W BREWINGPITS DRAIN IN BASE OF W U DWWE CRiNDlNG SrONE TABLE RUED IN DOOR POST MILK OWRD STAND SINGLE GRINDING SMlNE T (03 LOOSE CRINGING STONE FOR MGETABLES @ LOOSE GRlNMNG STONE FOR M W Q N E n N CAN BNDER a MORTAR POrnY: TREES AND PLANTS WATER STORAGE POT 0 B W COWING POT n BEER FERMENTING POT 0 sFMNG BOW LARGE POT BASE 0 J. % THORN ---- PATH HOUSEHOLD FEATURES 0 GRANARIES: MAN'S PIERCED I N K R E D POTS CHICKEN COOP MEDICINAL PLANT +s W @ PLACENTA POTS C) GERDA LAY nnN - 4 WE FLIRNINRE: LENGTH OF wcm MAT GABAKA WAN'S BASE ONLY BROKEN SACK OTHER: & 8 BlCYaf 10 GALLON D W M D M Y DISPLAY b fFH L4TWNE M DRUM 0 STONES PQMPOUND NO. 14 (MURA-LOGONE) V \ 262 COMPOUND N 0 . 4 (MURA-LOGONE) --. \ BEDROOM I 0 1 A Infant aEDRWM 3 *a COMPOUND NO. 1 1 (MURA-LOGONE) 263 / / / / / / / / / WA-DM / I I I I \ \ I \ I \ \ i \ I \ I I / / WD 1ST NOW IN (MMA) (DUME) NIGERIA 2.3 24 2+ I COMPOUND NO. 3 (MURA- 6 INFANT COMPOUND NO. 6 (MURA-MORA MASSIF) KITCHEN ABANDONED COblPOUND NO. 81 (MURA-MORA MASS 270 COMPOUND NO. 5 (URZA-WADELA) \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 5 i -C f' " \ \ \ # 3 ' \ \ # / ? ', \ - \ \ \ \ \ & ' / -' i ' J _.-.I--\ \ \ /--. - 4 c-- /@+ -/& -/.-/ \ \ \ \ / / \ i \ / /- , ' / (-)=A=@ I S 1 MORA dsE:TA 1 WD (VAUE) ~ = O A A ~ @ @ CWPOUND 26 16 10 \ / D B 3 10 IRON TOOL REPtJR AREA 8 REFUSE COMPOUND NO. 193 (URZA-WIDEWE) A M E R L Y MAN a0 \i -, COMPOUND NO. 194 (URZA-WIDEWE) - (3 C MfflA MASSIF !2ND (TWMURA) 35 I I 1 B @ & , @ A 1 20 17 9 7 8 COMPOUND NO, 12 coMPOUND NO. 15 (WANDALA) 278 CoMPoUND NO. 148 (WANDALA) &@ A (WMDM) 50 i I I 1 I i A A A O = A A = O O = A A = O 30 30 27 24 23 n UORA DEU UORA DM MORA MORA 20 e 279 0-A-0' C IN KOURU A BD B IN DEU COMPOUND NO. 18 (WANDALA) 28 I COMPOUND NO. 8 (WANDALA) 1Sr (WANDALA) 2ND (WANDALA) 282 COMPOUND NO. 76 ( M A F A NOW W/INDALA) COMPOUND NO. 19 (wANDALA-SHUWA) 284 CUMPOUND NU, 25 C3--KJWA> ,GRAIN HEARTH 0 REFUSE STORAGE PIT 2% COMP9UPiD NO. 187 (SHUWA) SPRAYER P L A W M BEDROOM/mcHEN / / 0 0 , 286 COMPOUND NO. 206 (SHUWA) CHAD NIGERIA Figure 1 . The location of the study area Figure 2. Tne physical geography of the region + Gudola ODi* Giidje ~ a - ~ r z a Mara Massif (Mura-ha) NIGERIA Figure 3. The distribution of ethnic groups in the region. I Phylum I Family SEMITIC CHADIC Branches Western Central Southern Eastern Sub-branches Maf a Wandala Su b-groups Language Dialect Eastern Arabic Shuwa Wandala Wandala Mura Gamergu Glavda Western Northeast Ndrerne Vame Mbreme Vame Dume Urza Northwest Matal South vVuz1,m Uldcmc Mada Mada Podokwo Ma fa Mafa west Mafa centre Mafa cast Figure 4, The linguistic relationships of the four study groups (after Barreteau ct al. 1984: 1 6 167). kilometres 0 Figure 5. The maximum extent of M1andalatemtory in the eighteenth century. 10 20 I - - - - - - - - - - - -,A,- - - _ - - - - - _ _ / I I \ a Dye works I I I I I I I I LEGEND 1. Knura/Lo ane Cemetery 2. ~ e m e t w yFor ~ r z and a Strangers 3. Mura Cemetcrv 4. ~uktelc/~ciokwo/ti~cit:n~t Cemetcrv 5. Shuwa Cemetery 6. Wa~dalaCemctcrics I11111,,1 /" Welcoma (Barama) Lade Welcoma Mura /":. ,/ ; i Figure 6. The location of physical and historical features and quarters in Dda. I Figure 7. A view of Dela from Dela Mountain looking to the northwest. Figurn 8. Mura ancestor pots (approximately 20 cm in height). Figure 9. A young Wandala woman's dowry. Note the enamelware pots against thc far wall and the metal bed to the right. Figure 10. A young Shuwa bride's dowry display. Fig~ireI I. An oldcr Shuwa woman's dowry and household objects. Milk gour low rack in the same fashion as the enamelware pots but behind the bed. stored RESOURCE MEN 1. Material land /sorghum compound building materials goats/sheep/cattle wild animals 2. Technology agricultural knowledge agricultural tools hunting equipment building technology right to garden plots raw materials tor fwd processing quipment goaas/sheep dung for ash wild plants portion of sorghum harvest 0 agricultural knowledge food and beer processing equipment gathering knowledge pottery making knowledge CONSUMPTION OF PRODUCTS 3. Products of material and technology compound ancestors -- pttrry cotton weal tn (through marketing) ---..------ -----vcgctablc surplus taxes to local and federal govcrnmcnts Figure 12. Distribution of Mura and Urza allocative resources. RESOURCES 1. Labour 2. Reproduction MEN personal wives and children cooperative labour of neighbours / relatives / sons-in-law right to raise children right to bridewealth of daughters care of youngest son's family in old age WOMEN personal children * right to leave marriage * care of a son's family in old age 3. Inheritance compound to youngest son ritual knowledge to oldest son land mobile wealth of parents mobile wealth of parents 4 . Ancestral / lineage head manipulated ancestor pots spiritual protection of male resources (sorghum/land / compound /children) GOWS 1st wife lineage head prepares food /beer for ancestors/family in ritual Earth spirits 5. Witchcraft practiced by men protective amulets Figure 13. Distribution of Mura and Urza authoritative resources. * practiced by women protective amulets Life Time PATRILINEAL VILLAGE HUSBAND'S PATRILINEAL VILLAGE --- Male time-space trajectory Female time-space trajectory Birth Marriage Ritual Celebrations Burial Ritual Time Ancestral Pots representing two time systems Generations of male ancestors (same patrilineage) Figure 14. Mura and Urza time systems Generations of female ancestors who were mothers of oldest sons (different patdineage) MEN REWURCE I. 2. Material 6 WOMEN land/sorghum compound building materials goa ts/sheep/cattle raw materials for market land * sorghum stalks for ash goats/sheep/cattle raw materials for market * agricultural knowledge Technology agricultural knowledge food processingequipment informal trade training agricultural tools formal trade training (apprenticeship) informal trade training building technology CONSUMPTION OF PRODUCTS 3. Products of material and technology f---------\ sorghum -i family prepared foods salt substitute 1 / L. 1 cotton market profits 1 - /' personal wealth (through marketing) / meat "/,I I i Figure 15. Distribution of Wandala allocative resources. taxes to local and federal governments 1 vegetable surplus market surplus RESOURCES 1. L a h u r 2. persmal. wives and children hired labourers Reproduction a 3. Inheritance 4. Ritual 5. Witchcraft / Sorcery status from children right to raise childrcn right to bridewealth of daughters responsible for pa,vment of sons' bridewealth payments for first wives status irom bndcwealth sum and tmm childrcn right t o Icaw rnnrnagr. compound to oldest son major portion of land to sons major portion of mobile wealth to malc children and kin minor p r t l o n of land to daughters mlnor portion ot mobile wealth from parents to daughkrs dowry Koranic scholars meat sacrifice for rain practiced by mcn Figure 16. Distribution of Wandala authoritative resources RESOURCE WOMEN catik/goais/sheep compound building materials * land wild animals + herding knowledge agricultural tools agricultural knowledge building technology CONSUMPTION OF PRODUCTS 3. Products of material and technology Figure 17. Distribution of Shuwa aiiocative resources cattle/goais/skp * clay for hearth building 0 right to milk dung for ash wild animals herding knowledge gourds for milk processing * twhnoIogy for other food production/processing RESOURCES MEN WOMEN 1. Labour personal wives and children hired labour and cooperative labour of neighbours/relativcs personal children 2. Reproduction right to raise children right to bridewealth of daughters right to Icavc marriagc 3. Inheritance major portion cattle and land major portion of mobile wealth of parents minor portion cattle and land minor portion of nmbilc wealth dowry Ritual knowledge of Koran sholars, imams Gows 5. Witchcraft practiced by men protective amulets 4. Figure 18. Distribution of Shuwa authoritative resources. practiced by women protective amulets Fibarc- 19. An Urza compound. A sorghum drying rack is visible to the left of the compound. Note the tight clustering of the buildings, Figure 20. A Wandala compound. Note the metal roof tops and the high surrounding compoun Figure 21. A Shuwa compound of large circular buildings and upcn central arca. MURA HOUSEHOLD HEAD RELATIONSHIPS LOGONE PATRlLlNEAGE KOVRA PATRlLlNEAGE I M3 = , DAUGHTER OF 0193 MURA PATRILINEAGE I I -Y14A EMIGRATED d Ma1 Figure 23. Relationships of Mura household heads. b.0 U26 DAUGHTER OF U5 306 URZA HOUSEHOLD HEAD RELATIONSHIPS 307 WA-DELA URZA MADA SZINCA URZA K U D A H W U R U WUDX u193 (SISTER OF M20) U194 WDlK RESIDENTS Figure 23. Relationships of Urza household heads. - WANDALA HOUSEHOLD HEAD RELATIONSHIPS WANDALA I.. =Q FIRST GENERATION WANDALA A WANDALA W8 RECENTLY CONVERTED WANDALA A MMA wm =o MMA Figure 24. Relationships of Wandala household heads. 308 L)y(,@ Other Wivess e&----- WEST Bedroom Granaries 1st Wife's Granary Gabaka / Gerdu le' 1st Wife's Kitchen Uphill Downhill Figure 25. Ideal Mura and Urza compound compared to burial position. 310 ' i 1st Wife's 1 WEST 1 Shared Kitchen Children / Shared Kitchen i EAST I Man's Bed room Children / Animals 1 Man's I Uphill Downhill Figure 26. ideal Wandala compound compared to burial position. Oldest son wifc t first Oldest ma!e of kin group (father) + first wifc A = wifchcarth B = husband /ca t tlc Youngest son + first wife Figure 27. Ideal Shuwa compound compared to burial position. Figure 28 A placenta pot embedded in the floor of a Mura compound is just visible in the centre foreground. Figure 29. Granaries dominate the central courtyard of the Mura dnd Urza compound. Ihc view shown is from the entry. A woman's beer pots can be seen on the other side of the compound. Figurc 30. Wandala wall construction involving a mason working on top of the wall and the assistance of the owner, his children and neighbours. Figure 31. The entry to the Dela chief's compound. The walls of this building arc higher than other buildings, it has a flat daub roof, and 3 triangular elements on the roof top, onc o f whlch 1s visible in the photograph. This is a modest example of the Sudanese style. Figure 32. The distribution of rectangular buildings in Dela. Percentages represent the proportion of lofa1 buildings in each ethnic group which arc rectangular. Figure 33. A Mura woman's granary which has broken exposing the three internal divisions. Men's granaries have no divisions. Figurc 34. A Shuwa granary with a three pronged applique design. Figurc 35. A Mura one stone grinding table. Figure 36a. A tripod hearth of three stones supporting the cooking pot. Figure 36b. A bordered hearth with a clay berm surrounding a fire pit. Rgurc 36c. A s e p c n t c d hearth with fire p a r d . This hearth is not decorated. Agurc 37. A Mura potter preparing pots for firing. The pot she is working on is a water storage pot which is dislinct in shape and decoration from the other pots. There is a large beer fermenting pot at the left. Figure 38. A Wandala woman's water storage pots embedded in hcr verandah floor. Thc pot dt the back is a Mafa pot and the one in the centre is a Kanuri pot. Figure 39. A Mura woman's beer fermenting pots embedded in the courtyard floor. Only first wives of lineage heads place their pots in the inner courtyard. Table 1. Population Estimates for Dela Since European Contact. Sources: 1 2 3 4 4 4 5 Wandaia 1,500 600 250 635 Montagnard Fulani ,Shuw Other 256 . . Total 10,000 30,000 800 13@0 6W 480 1,635 I . Denham el al. (1826) 2. R o h h ( l R K : 6 1 ) 3. Fork1 (19 8 9 : H j ) 1. Boutrais (1973:134) 5. f fallaire ( 1965:44-45) 6. Esrirnares.fiom I986 field season. N.R. The 1986 population estimate for the Shuwa quarter outside the wall is about 50 and for the Urn quarter at Widive is about 60. I 6 284 7 500 564 1,@J@ 40 Table 3,. The Distribution of Household Heads by Patrilineal Affiliation. QUARTER . Logone Wa-Dela Sela-Podokwo Wandaia Centre jWidive Kovra Vame Mura 1 2 3 1 2 2 10 1 ETHNIC CROUPS Urza Podokwo Ulderne Mura Dume Mineo 8 9 12 7 4 Table 3. Land Farmed by Household Heads. Ethnic Group Jumber o Adults Mura Urza Wandaia Shuwa Information was provided by household heads listed in Appendix A. Qumbero Children Table 4. Patrilineai Affiliations of Marriage Partners in Muraha and Urza Households. MEN Dume I Kovra Logone I Magye Mura WOMEN Mura Urza Urza Mada Kurdangala Tzirwa Urza Vame 0 t h Gulidje Urza Kovra M2 1 1 M3 M26 1 1 Logone 1 M4 M9 MI4 h120 1 I 2 1 1 Mura M6 2 1 Urza U5 U13 U 193 U191 1 1 1 I 1 1 Table 5. Ritual cycle of the Mura Mouchet Forkl (1947: 133-134; 1948) 0988: 73-74) C u m n t Study Informants October September November Festivals: URAKSE slaughter bull kept in house for 3 vears * EDZA SADAKE sacrifice a goat New Year November sorghum harvest MOKWAZA M U R A February sorghum put into granaries purification of compound man sends food to in-laws kill chicken SADAKE April * hunt divination with chicken before planting crops December February dancing, singing, feasting "chasing shadows of the dead" April man scnds bccr to in-laws purification of compound May kill hen and sheep occurs before planting crops BAKASHIDG WE "chicken festival" occurs before planting crops February * no information no information 0 HMIALHWALDA Y Every 3 years "chasing shadows of the dead" constcra te anccstor pots Every 3 y e a s * sacrifice bull by men only honours Mura patrician ancestors * No cattle were kept in Dela households visited in 1986. It is possiblc that Forkl confuscd Urza Gudi ceremonies in Widive with practices of the Mura of Wa-Dela. See Table 6: Ritual Cycle of the U n a , Table 6. Ritual cycle of the Urza. Festivals: GUDI September - October to celebrate sorghum harvest coincides with Mura festival Urakse B URSINYOK April / May "chasing shadows of the dead" coincides sith Mura festival Bakashidgwe May / June before planting crops coincides with Mura festival Sadake Table 7. M7andalaranking and caste. I I Royal Farnily ' tlikse, his wives and children Galipaha (nobles)* vassal chiefs, their wives and children state bureaucrats their wives and children * title holders I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 1 1 ! 1 I I I Ta lagaha (commoners) 0 merchants artisans fanners I I I I I SLAVE tlihe tlikse's legal wives some concubines tlihe's children I I I I I I I I some concubines freeborn I I 1 I 1 I 1 slave titleholders positions granted by tlikse or cour~cil titles inherited or purchased * I I I I I CASTE freeborn individuals without titles or posi tion in court bureaucracy I I I I I some palacc slaves 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I butchers blacksmiths I 1I I I slaves of frce and slave Calipaha and slaves of bcttcr-off Talapha I I * Titles could be purchased by merchants, which permitted upward mobility from the Tulqaha. Morrissey (1984) and Mohamrnadou (1982) suggest that the practicc of creating titles for sale increased in the late nineteenth century in order to produce revenue for the state. This practice created greater political and economic opportunities fo: successful merchants. In some caws, frw men are said t 3 have taken slave stahis in order to purchase slave titles (Merrisscry, 1954). 1. Mohamrnadou (1982: 105-108; 113) 2. Fork1 (1984: 11,1986: 8) Mohammadou (1982: 113,115,120-122,163-168,170) I able 5. LUlnlC AiltltallOn of Wandala and Shuwa 'Marriage Partners. Women Wandala Shuwa Men I Table 10. Construction costs and life expectancy of wall types. WALL MATERIAL DAYS OF LABOUR FOR CONSTRUCTION - USE LIFE EXPECTAhTCY DAUB Coursed Block STONE 28 - 40 days (4 men working 7-10 days together) * 2-3days (1 man working alone) = 33days @ rectangular: 5 - 22 years if roof and plaster maintained round: 25 years most expensive rectangular walls require specialist 5 years (longer if stones and pot sherds added to blocks, M4A 2: 40) inexpensive cannot be repaired forever expensive best for livestock cool, quiet bad for man's room (cannot hear thieves at night) well insulated good for women and children (1 man working alone) TERMITE MOUhTD SOIL 1 - 2 days f walls are thin) (1 man working alone) 10 years VEGETABLE MATERIAL Mura / Urza structures - I day (1 man working alone) 2 - 5 years * millet stalk is termite resistant Shuwa structures 20 - 40 days (20 men working 1-2 days) " Information provided by: hi2A 2: 28; M4A 2: 40; M6C 2: 134; M9A 2: 164; M20A 3: 6; GS.4 2: 56; U13A 2: 102; MT7A;W18A 2: 172; W53A 3: 124; S25A; 987-4 3:142. Table 1 1. Relative Frequency of Room Shape in each Group. Table 12. The Relative Frequency of Room Shapes and Room Types. RediAn 5% (Other % % 2 2 4 3 3 3 3 5 74 54 3 1 1 Entry Bedroom Kitchen Animals Verandah BedKit'An 70 5% % % 96 lo 6 30 19 22 16 18 10 9 4 4 41 22 10 23 23 45.. . 6 27 [A![ Mura n= round rectangular - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 Tcltal - - - ' 7 8 100 Urza round 5.. . . . .. . . . . , . ., .27 5 14 9 , .. .. . , .23 22 64 36 , . , , , , , . , , ..,,I?@, Wandala 7 33 14 6 2 4 4 6 40 13 4 round B 40 17 7 9 16 13 28 6 13 6 I 3 4 19 3 - 19 - 23 23 I - 1 1 82 II 89 1tX, Shuwa n= round rectangular I'~t,tal 13 13 10 31 2 3 3 31 6 2 3 3 6 32 66 34 100 Table 13. Relative Frequency of Room Shape by Occupant. Ethnic Group Mura n= I Animals I 0 6 Children Men 12 Women 32 Unknown 51 Round 96 70 67 17 69 50 Rectangular 96 30 33 83 60 33 90 40 67 100 10 33 67 31 50 Urza Animals Children Men Women 5 3 3 101 I Wandala Animals Children Men Women Unknown 6 6 17 31 31 jhuwa Animals Children Men Women Women/Animals 2 3 6 13 4 Table 14. Relative Frequency of Wall Material Types. Wall Material: Walt type: E F STONE G H % % % % 54 % 27 1 5 3 17 30 4 13 4 51 5 B DAUB D 1 (2 n = q l % % Mura A 74 7 Shuwa Key tc ~ 1 1 types: 1 4. Coursed daublcemeni 3. Coursed daubldaub plaster Z. Simple coursed daub 3. Daub block 6 E. F. G. H. I. TERMITE I J % % 4 1 I K E % % 4 VEGETAL MATERIALS M N 0 P % 3 2 % 1 8 % R 5% ?h 3 lm 4 #80 8 1QO 9 9 4 3 % 1 Row Total Q 3 1 1 59 6 13 % 100 Daub block base, coursed daub upper J. Coursed termite mound soil N. Sorghum stalk and post K. Coursed daub base, post c& sorghum stalk uppc 0. Millet smlk and post Daub block/cement p1a.ter C. Coursed daub base, sekko mat uppcr P. Mixed sulk and post Undressed stone base, coursed daub uppcr M. Coursed daub base, post & mixed stalk upper Q. Sekko mat and post Undressed stoneltermite mound soil morm R. Post only Undressed stoneltermite mound soil mortar base, coursed lcrmite soil upper Table 15. Relative Frequency of Wall Materials and Room Type. Wandalu Mud Stone Termi te Vegetal Total Shuwa Mud Stone Termite Vegetal Total Wandala Mud Stone Term i tc Vcgetal Shuwa Mud S tanc Tennitc Vegetal Total Iable I 7. Helatrve krequency ot ~ o o Itypes. I Roof Type: (n=) Layered* Batted* OO / Oo / Mat O/o Stalk OO / Daub % Metal OO / None OO / Mura Animals Children Men Women Unknown Total 10 6 18 38 21 74 3 1 18 7 4 11 16 22 38 1 3 1 4 4 5 3 5 11 3 4 4 8 3 22 - -? - Afandala Animals Children Men Women Unknown Total Shuwa Animals Children Men Women WomIAnim WomIMen T-I Tota 7 8 21 47 3 5 2 3 2 7 10 3 6 17 1 2 3 17 9 24 n I 23 5 6 3 15 tO 10 71 13 6, 31 86 1 - 2 3 6 13 4 31 31 v Thatched roofs are either layered or batted. layered thatch are tight rows of overlapping bundles )f thatch. Batted thatch are loose bundles tied to the frame. L Table 19. Rclativc: Frequency o f Roof Type and Room Type in Wandala and Shuwa Households. Wandala Layered Balled Mat Stalk Mud Metal None * * Tub1 Shuwa Layered Batted Mat Stalk Mud Metal None Total 1' * * Thatched roofs are either layered or batted. Layered thatch are tight rows of overlapping bundles of thatch. Batted thatch are loose lbundles tied to the frame. Tablc 21, Comparison of Encloswi Space lo Actual Built Space. Ethnic Compound Told Total Group No, Enclosed Built Area Area Mur a 2 218 83 194 mean Wmdala 7 407 205. 423 129 77 110 Index (Enclosed: Built Area) 2.6 3.2 2.4 3.8 Number Number Number of Men of Women of Children 1 I i Family Sixe 1 2 10 13 7.6 1 1 0 2 3 REFEREWCES CITED Abu-Lughod, Liia 1985 A community of secrets: the separate ivorld of Bedouin w m m . S i p s 10(3):637-657. Allen, 1V. m d J.B. Richardwn III 1971 The reconstruction ni kinship from archamlogical data: the concepts, the n~cthodsand the feasibi'lit).. htlicm An:iquifv 3643-53. Amadiume, lii 1987 ,Male daughters, fmafe hw&ands. Zed Books, London. Ardener, Shirlev 1981 Ground rules and x d a l maps for women: an introduction. In tlromc.nand Spilic Ground Rdej and S o d M a p 5 edited by Shirley Ardencr, pp. 11-34. Croom I-Ielm, London. Barreteau , Daniel, Roland Breton and Michel Oicu 19% t e s Langues. 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