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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Chieftainships between Past and Present: From City to Suburb and Back in Colonial Conakry, 1890s-1950s
Author:Goerg, OdileISNI
Year:2006
Periodical:Africa Today
Volume:52
Issue:4
Period:Summer
Pages:3-27
Language:English
Geographic term:Guinea
Subjects:traditional rulers
legitimacy
colonial administration
local government
Urbanization and Migration
History and Exploration
colonialism
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Ethnic and Race Relations
External link:http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/africa_today/v052/52.4goerg.pdf
Abstract:Conakry was chosen as the capital of the future French Guinea in 1885 and became a Commune Mixte in 1904. The suburbs had received administrative status earlier, in 1901. This article examines how, within this geopolitical context, the French used references to the past to establish the authority of the chiefs, whose legitimacy rested primarily on their nomination by the colonial power, and how local chiefs adapted to this policy change. Two distinct moments appear during the period from the 1890s to the 1950s: initially, immediately after the French came to power, any allusion to the past was ignored, or even held in contempt, on account of certain chiefs' resistance and in accordance with the principles of indirect rule. Between the two World Wars, however, the past became the predominant criterion in the choice of chiefs, reference to ancestors became a necessity for the colonial authorities and the colonized alike. The article examines how this transition occurred in a demographic context that mingled populations with a longstanding presence (the Baga and the Susu) with recent migrants (the Fulani), how the French intervened in local politics, and to what extent they exploited the existence of internal rivalries. Finally, it analyses how the French imposed on diverse local contexts a common political strategy, based on stereotypical representations of a variety of African populations. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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