In the chiefdom of Paga (Upper East Region of Ghana), the local word for rainwater (doa) is taboo for the members of the chief’s lineage. This article aims to provide the ethnographic scenario and the conceptual tools for understanding such a taboo. Drawing on an understanding of life processes as co-constructed by humans and non-humans, it will be argued that the taboo of rainwater is related to the idea, inscribed in local practices and discourses, according to which human beings cannot claim a leading role in shaping the world. The case of Paga casts light on how human institutions can be willing to get non-humans involved in the never-ending process through which the world is constructed and inhabited.
The clouds of the paramount chief. Interpreting the taboo of rainwater among the Kasena of North-Eastern Ghana
MANGIAMELI, GAETANO
2013
Abstract
In the chiefdom of Paga (Upper East Region of Ghana), the local word for rainwater (doa) is taboo for the members of the chief’s lineage. This article aims to provide the ethnographic scenario and the conceptual tools for understanding such a taboo. Drawing on an understanding of life processes as co-constructed by humans and non-humans, it will be argued that the taboo of rainwater is related to the idea, inscribed in local practices and discourses, according to which human beings cannot claim a leading role in shaping the world. The case of Paga casts light on how human institutions can be willing to get non-humans involved in the never-ending process through which the world is constructed and inhabited.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
