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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The praça of Geba: marginalisation past and present as resource
Author:Kohl, Christoph
Year:2009
Periodical:Mande Studies
Volume:11
Pages:73-90
Language:English
Geographic term:Guinea-Bissau
Subjects:centre and periphery
ethnic relations
oral traditions
social history
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/44035619
Abstract:This article is about the former trading post of Geba, located in present-day Guinea-Bissau. Formerly Portugal's easternmost, biggest trading post and principal centre for the Afro-Atlantic encounter for almost four centuries in West Africa, it used to link the Empire of Kaabú with both the Americas and Europe. Following the Fula wars in the second half of the 19th century, Geba sank into decline and oblivion, now merely resembling an 'ordinary', isolated village like so many others in the region. However, a closer examination of contemporary Geba, its inhabitants, and migrants, reveals how this marginality in various spheres (political, economic, cultural) is narratively transformed. As a spiritual and historical location, Geba is transformed into a powerful resource that facilitates interethnic and interreligious integration at the grass-roots level, creating and enhancing the self-respect of people linked to it. Notes, ref., sum. in English and French. [Journal abstract]
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