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 Periodical article |
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| Title: | They never finished their journey: the territorial limits of Fang ethnicity in Equatorial Guinea, 1930-1963 |
| Author: | Okenve, Enrique N. |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Periodical: | International Journal of African Historical Studies (ISSN 0361-7882) |
| Volume: | 47 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Pages: | 259-285 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic terms: | Equatorial Guinea Cameroon Gabon |
| Subjects: | Fang ethnicity ethnic identity colonial territories boundaries nationalism |
| Abstract: | Territorial borders represented one of the most conspicuous symbols of colonial domination in Africa. They introduced a new concept, territoriality, which transformed Africans' self-perception, their sense of identity, in ways that few other European ideas managed to achieve. The paper analyses how in Equatorial Guinea, the peoples known today as Fang or Beti, a highly segmentary society prior to colonialism, were impacted by colonial rule and how their social identities developed. A group of mission-educated Fang from southern Cameroon reacted to colonial rule by reinforcing the role of their clan and restoring ties between split clans. In the process, they ignored the colonial territorial borders, marching and spreading their 'affirmation movement' (Elat-Ayong) into northern Gabon and northern Rio Mundi. By the 1950s, the movement contributed to the development of a cohesive Fang ethnicity. The paper further discusses the contribution of ethnicity to the development of Fang identity and its relationship with Equatoguinean nationalism to demonstrate that territoriality became a dominant feature. The Fang were able to transcend the territorial borders that set them apart, and develop a trans-border ethnic identity, and some Fang even contemplated the possibility of political union across the existing colonial borders. The author concludes by showing the development of modern Fang ethnicity and how it played a significant role in the radicalization of sectors of Equatoguinean nationalism by providing an alternative 'African' ideology. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |
