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Revisiting “Mandingization” in Coastal Gambia and Casamance (Senegal): Four Approaches to Ethnic Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2013

Steven Thomson
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Abstract:

“Mandingization,” the gradual process of cultural change whereby Jola peoples of the Casamance region of southern Senegal are becoming more like their Mandinka neighbors, is analyzed in this article as comprising four distinguishable processes: ethnogenesis, ethnocultural drift, ethnic osmosis, and ethnic strategizing. By distinguishing among these four processes and analyzing their interaction, we can understand the dynamics of Mandingization more clearly and also derive insights for understanding ethnic change generally. The current moment of ethnic change in The Gambia includes a resurgence in Karon Jola ethnic identity, but we need to view this process as contingent, not yet accomplished, and a challenge to the pattern of Mandinka dominance in a time of broader social change.

Résumé:

Résumé:

La “mandingisation” est le processus graduel de changement culturel par lequel le peuple Jola de la région du Casamance dans le sud du Sénégal devient de plus en plus similaire à ses voisins les Mandinka. Ce processus est analysé dans cet article dans l'ensemble de ses quatre formes: ethnogenèse, courant ethnoculturel, osmose ethnique, et élaboration de stratégies ethniques. En distinguant ces quatre processus et en analysant leur interaction, on peut mieux comprendre les dynamiques de la “mandingisation” et aussi en tirer des conclusions applicables au changement ethnique en général. L'évolution ethnique présente en Gambie inclut une résurgence de l'identité ethnique Karon Jola, mais il est nécessaire de considérer ce processus comme une contingence pas encore aboutie, ainsi qu'un obstacle à la tendance dominante de l'ethnie Mandinka dans un contexte plus large de changement social.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 54 , Issue 2 , September 2011 , pp. 95 - 121
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2011

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