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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | A Matter of Trust. Political Identities and Interpersonal Relationships along the River Gambia |
Author: | Bellagamba, Alice |
Year: | 2000 |
Periodical: | Paideuma |
Volume: | 46 |
Pages: | 37-61 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Gambia |
Subjects: | Manding oral traditions Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/40341782 |
Abstract: | Representing, forgetting and interpreting the past is a complex and meaningful action. Following this train of thought, the author explores some of the meanings assigned to the notion of 'karafoo', entrusting, among Mandinka groups, and the recurrence of this concept in historical narratives relating to the foundation and development of Bansang, a small town located on the south bank of the River Gambia, in the district of Fuladu West, Republic of the Gambia, where she carried out a year's fieldwork between 1992 and 1998. Discourses on 'karafoo' explain how people come to live together in a certain locality, negotiating their reciprocal positions and managing to create a feeling of trust among themselves as a guarantee against future uncertainties. Entrustment is one of the strategies enabling individuals and groups to recognize their belonging to wider forms of coalition. Bibliogr., notes, ref. |