Arid ways : cultural understandings of insecurity in Fulbe society, Central Mali

This thesis deals with the ways in which the agropastoral Fulbe in the Sahel deal with ecological, social and political insecurities. It is based on field research carried out in the Hayre dryland region of central Mali, notably in the villages of Dalla and Serma, from March 1990 until February 1992. The first part of the study examines the history of natural resource management and ideologies in the Hayre (1400-1985). The second part is about the role of the past in the present. It analyses the spatial organization, ecological environment, economic organization, and division of labour in the area, as well as the normative complexes typical of Fulbe society. Part three focuses on the use and management of natural resources, paying attention to farming and herding practices, agricultural and pastoral production, the circulation of property, and land tenure. Part four is concerned with the way in which people who have been pushed out of agricultural production survive. It focuses in particular on how people manage social and cultural resources. Part five deals with the interactions of the Fulbe pastoralists with the State and the outside world in a situation of drought