Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Économie, société et pouvoir chez les Duala anciens.

1975; Éditions de l'EHESS; Volume: 15; Issue: 59 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3406/cea.1975.2576

1777-5353

Georges Balandier,

African history and culture studies

G. Balandier — Economy, Power and Society among the Ancient Duala . The ancient Duala society was originally based on conquest followed by the establishment of a mono- poly of trade between the African hinterland and the out-side world. The social institutions were characterized by a complex balance between, on the one hand, a segmentary system based upon kinship and, on the other hand, a system of 'orders' or 'estates' closely linked to the economy and expressed through the organisation of ritual associations, the main ones— ngondo and jengu —acting for the ideological maintenance and cohesion of the whole Duala group. Despite the early and intense contacts with European traders, the goods— inyam —were considered as elements of human personality rather than merchandise, and, as such, their circulation and exchange had a political and ritual value as much as or rather more than an economie one. The system resulted into a double faced social dynamics—outside/inside—which, up to the recent colonial period, proved itself able to adapt rather well to social change.