A discussion of the statement, ‘We follow our cow.,, and forget our home/ serves to clarify the issues and questions that are to be explored in this thesis.
‘WE’
. The Fulani are the ‘we5 in question. ‘We5 implies the existence of a larger collectivity of individuals, unified and, in some senses, the same. As Burnham notes, ‘many authors have remarked, the recognition of ethnic difference necessarily implies a “we/they55 dichotomy, which means that an ethnic group cannot exist on its own5 (1996; 5). The ‘they5 incorporates the whole of West Africa and beyond. One can find Fulani originating from all over West Africa and further afield in Ghana, Their ‘they5 are consequently many, depending on where they have lived etc.According to Riesman (1984: 180)19: ‘A Fulani has no feeling for the Fulani as an ethnic group.5 Is this the situation in Greater Accra? Can there be a
‘we5 category, as expressed by Mr. Toure and many others, but at the same time no ‘feeling5 for the ‘we5 as an ethnic category, let alone ethnic group? The first issue for consideration is therefore whether there is a ‘we5 to be spoken of, in view of the enormous differences that exist between different groups who call themselves (or are called by others), Fulani. In other words, ‘who are the Fulani in Greater Accra5?
This thesis is accordingly concerned with the senses and circumstances under which Fulani consider themselves to be the same or different. The markers of Fulani identity, as recognized by Fulani and non-Fulani alike, are examined as are the factors that allow them as a distinct ethnic category to maintain and perpetuate this identity in Greater Accra, not simply becoming absorbed into other Muslim groups or a mixed zongo identity.
Riesman's own fieldwork was in Northern Burkina Faso, among the Fulani and their former slaves, the RiimaayBe. He conducted his research in the 1970s,
The markers of Fulani (we) group identity, as portrayed in the literature and debated in Greater Accra, invariably include Islam20 (though of course not all Fulani are Muslim); the sense of a common origin (though there are many competing myths of origin); the Fulfulde language (not all Fulani speak Fulfiilde and many non-Fulani speak it) and pulaaku, (the Fulani moral and ethical code, not recognized or understood by all). However, these ‘core’ markers of Fulani ethnic group identity are not to be regarded as fixed and unchanging. As Zubko (1993: 201) remarks of the ‘Fulbe cultural type...divergent processes increasing heterogeneity...is one of the most essential Fulbe ethnic characteristics’.
Riesman’s provocative statement below provides a useful approach for thinking about co-operation and conflict between and among those who identify themselves as Fulani in Greater Accra,
Co-operation....does not exist in most Fulani societies. When we Westerners [sic!] use that word we have in mind a group of people working together for a common goal, a goal that will benefit whom they do not want to help and whom they might well wish to harm,
(Riesman 1984: 179, my emphasis)
Does a sense of community exist among certain, if not all, segments of Fulani society in Greater Accra? If so, in what ways is this expressed? Do Fulani in general co-operate with one another? The question is approached through examining the following issues: their patterns of residence within Greater Accra,
20 Riesman (1984: 199) states, 'being a Muslim is today part of the ethnic identity of being Fulani'.
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issues of friendship, alliances and kinship bonds and the ways in which important rites of passage - in particular marriages - are arranged, and the roles of Fulani ethnic group associations in Greater Accra.
The social identity of the Fulani in Greater Accra needs to be understood in the context of their position as ‘aliens’ and ‘strangers’ in the eyes of the state as well as popular perception. Given the individual, and sometimes isolated, nature of some of the migration events of those coming to Ghana (now and in the past), people often rely on bonds of friendships, mutual self-help groups and other forms of alliance with like-minded individuals. The bases on which these bonds of friendship are formed are numerous. They include country of origin, clan membership, sex, age, generation etc. The networks newcomers use to establish themselves socially in Greater Accra, among other Fulani, as well as other ethnic groups will be considered.
Fulani are settled in various parts of densely populated, urban Accra, the peri
urban fringe and outlying rural areas. The residential location of individuals within Greater Accra greatly affects their livelihoods and therefore their status and social identity among other Fulani. There is only one localized, settled Fulani community to speak of in Greater Accra - New Madina. Fifty years of co-operation, between the three large families living there, shows how friendships are cemented by self- help associations, and how these friendships are turned into kinship, through marriage alliances and perpetuated through bonds of fostering.
There are many Fulani ethnic associations (suudu-baabas) in Greater Accra (now and in the past). The criteria upon which membership of these different associations is based are diverse. They include country of origin, sex, age and length of residence in Ghana etc. The characteristics of those individuals who choose to collaborate and co-operate, as well as those who choose not to, are evidence of the types of communities being fostered.
FOLLOW.
Another part of the statement involves ‘following’. The cow led and‘we5 followed. By following cows, Fulani have travelled and moved into other lands and territories. Movement and migration characterize the history of the Fulani in West Africa in general. For centuries individuals and whole communities have been ‘following’. Following cows, in their quest for better pasture land and water, following their religious leaders and instigating jihads in order to spread Islam and, in the case of women and children, following spouses and kin.
Migration is not usually an arbitrary and/or haphazard event. Moving on is often tied to the search for livelihood and survival. Without the continuing search for good pastureland and water sources, animals will not survive. Young men move not only to shift herds to better grazing grounds, they also move to search for jobs to ensure survival, when they have no cows. In their quest for suitable marriage partners for their children and grandchildren, the older generation often send young brides, who may relocate long distances to join their new husbands. The distances involved can range from a shift to a neighbouring compound to migration to another state thousands of kilometres away.
Not all movements are voluntary, some are forced upon individuals and communities by ecological, political or domestic dictates. Some migration events are planned others are unplanned. Some are spontaneous responses to critical, sometimes life threatening, situations. Riesman (1984: 182) postulates that a basic response of both nomadic and semi-sedentary Fulani to stress in the environment is mobility. He goes on to say:
Perhaps because the basic adaptation [mobility] is so successful, it is applied to many other situations of stress, including serious famine, family conflicts, population pressure, political struggles, and war. From our Western perspective we might be tempted to think the Fulani are always ‘running away5 from their problems, rather than facing them. For the kinds of problems the Fulani face, however, leaving a place and striking out on one’s own can be a true solution.
(Riesman 1984: 182)
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What are ‘the kinds of problems the Fulani face’? (Riesman 1984: 182). In order to understand the reasons individuals have relocated throughout West Africa and beyond, as well as within Ghana, these problems are uncovered through retelling stories. The individuals themselves each have their own stories. They illustrate the numerous reasons why Fulani have come to Greater Accra, and the relative centrality of cows in these movements.
cow
In the statement, not only was there one group, ‘we’, there was also one‘cow5, common to all. The ‘cow5 is important if not fundamental to the Fulani. For some Fulani groups and individuals cattle rearing is an inherent part of their lives (materially/economically, socially and psychologically). For other Fulani, engaged in diverse kinds of economic activity, the ‘cow5 is a characteristic marker of Fulani difference, relevant only in a purely symbolic sense as a badge of group unity.
As Riesman (1984: 181) has observed, while actual economic dependence on cattle is greater among the nomadic Fulani than it is among the semi-sedentary ones, both groups perceive their dependence to be very great.
‘Where people reside5 affects the occupations in which they engage. The livelihoods of those living in the rural areas, the peri-urban fringe of Accra and the urban centres are therefore examined, in historical as well as contemporary perspective, with reference to the importance of cattle in people’s lives. The stories of many individuals were collected and these are used to illustrate the real and symbolic importance of cattle in their lives.
As well as mobility of people between various locations in Greater Accra and between pastoralism and other occupations, the movements of cattle within and beyond Greater Accra also have their own story. This is told through a detailed case study of one particular individual, Alhaji Diallo, his family and herds. This illustrates the necessarily flexible and adaptable nature of the lives of some of those who have remained cattle keepers. It also exemplifies the mobile strategies they have employed
in order to maintain their way of life (dependent upon continuous access to extensive grazing land and water).
The region of Greater Accra is rapidly urbanizing. Those who work with cattle (as hired herdsmen or cattle owners in their own right) and their families are increasingly having to find new areas to relocate, in order to guarantee good grazing land for their cattle. They are gradually moving outwards into other regions away from Accra, as the city and its suburbs expand. They are ‘drifting521 out from Accra.
FORGET OUR HOME.
The idea of home is an important theme in the context of Fulani identity in Greater Accra. Is there one home either in reality or in myth, recognized by all, despite their various nationalities and regions of origin? Do those who move ‘forget5 their homes and establish new ones in their new environments, or do their original homes continue to play a meaningful part in their lives (economically, socially, ideologically)? Given the often precarious political climate of West Africa, is Ghana, more specifically Greater Accra, a viable, secure‘home5 for those considered by many to be of foreign provenance? Clearly Greater Accra in particular, and Ghana in general, is a permanent and ‘relatively5 new site for settlement for Fulani.
The central problem of this thesis is therefore the extent and pertinence of,
‘We follow our cow and forget our home5, in analysing and portraying the condition of the Fulani in Greater Accra today. The question is not simply, why have individuals come (through having followed cows or for whatever other reason) but, once they are here, how do people, whose original experiences, nationalities, and customs differ (yet ultimately claiming the same ethnic affiliation) manage and negotiate these differences in Greater Accra? What cultural, social, economic or political channels exist or are created in Greater Accra, through which these individuals negotiate and express themselves and their ethnic and social identities or through which they establish new
21'Migratory drift' (Stenning 1957)
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homes? These issues are analysed by comparing and contrasting the experiences of a variety of different people, recently arrived immigrants, settled individuals and those
‘made-in-Ghana’ - men and women, young and old, slave bom and nobles.