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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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There are native illiterate people working on a solution in Guinea-Bissau
| Panel |
54. Guinea-Bissau: there must be a solution - djitu ten ke ten
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| Paper ID | 485 |
| Author(s) |
Callewaert, Inger
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | The paper presents a case study on how a local autochthonous movement can contribute to rehabilitation and reconciliation that follow periods of ethnic, social and political conflict, or even armed conflict.
The paper explores in that perspective some of the activities of a Balanta women’s movement in Guinea-Bissau directed by a prophetess, Ntombikte, from 1985 to date.
The following traces some items of the movement’s concern that is relevant in this context:
The ritual re-enactment of the war of liberation as a learning process. There is a heavy focus on the non-reconciliation ever since, expressed in notions as “the land soiled with blood, never cleaned”.
The contribution of the movement’s long-time dealing with health care (evidently conceptualized in a holistic manner).
The contribution of the movement’s own conception of literacy as a means of higher level communication not restricted to reading and writing.
The opening of the Balanta ethnic culture emphasizing a way through the ancestors towards a more universalistic view concerning gender, marriage, economy and religion.
This dynamic Balanta movement’s evident means is to use ritual as a manner of conceiving and expressing the lack of reconciliation between Guineans since the liberation war as hindering progress. It is of great importance to listen to these expressions from these non-literate people. They are present and they are fighting with the problem out from an experienced and inner understanding far from international to-day concepts. That is to say, firstly there should be no hindrance for them to express themselves, and secondly some sort of communication is to become visible between these “autochthonous” and these international organisations.
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