Power, Prayer And Production: The Jola Of Casamance, Senegal

The Jola (Diola) are intensive wet-rice cultivators in the Lower Casamance region of Senegal. In this study, the author examines the reasons behind startling contrasts in the organization of agricultural tasks among three Jola communities located within a 45 kilometer radius from Ziguinchor. In Sambujat, situated in the non-Islamisized region south of the river, wet rice is a monocrop cultivated by both men and women. In Jipalom, in the Kajamutay region north of the River, Islam and cash cropping have been adopted; and in Fatiya, in the so-called "Mandingized" region of the Kalunay, social relations have become hierarchical and this has had profound effects on the cropping system and on the division of labor. The author examines the shift of power relations over time, and their effects on the way in which production has been organized by age and gender, kin and class. Larger issues dealt with are Islamization, women's labor, and the introduction of cash cropping. A concluding section places the history of Jola labor relations within the context of the political economy of Senegal. Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology Editors: Ernest Gellner, Jack Goody, Stephen Gudeman, Michael Herzfeld, Jonathan Parry 82 Power, Prayer and Production A list of books in the series will be found at the end of the volume POWER, PRAYER AND PRODUCTION The Jola ofCasamance, Senegal OLGA F. LINARES Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute The right of the University of Cambridge to print and sell all manner of books was granted by Henry VIII in 1534. The University has printed and published continuously since 1584. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge New York Port Chester Melbourne Sydney CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521401326 © Cambridge University Press 1992 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1992 This digitally printed version 2007 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Linares, Olga F. Power, prayer, and production: the Jola of Casamance, Senegal / Olga F. Linares. p. cm. - (Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology; 82) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0 521