Metadata language
The cosmic and social dimensions of the process of settling within a space. Example of the acephalous Konkomba people from Ghana and Togo ; Journal of Urban Ethnology 17 (2019)
Creator: Publisher:Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii PAN
Place of publishing: Date issued/created: Description: Type of object: Subject and Keywords:social space ; Konkomba ; Togo ; ritual ; cult of the earth ; ethnographic approach
Abstract:The process of settling within a space in traditional agricultural societies takes place at the cosmic and social level. Its aim is to unite the invisible forces that govern the earth and to set up a framework for procreation in accordance with the accepted principles of marriage. The article is based on research conducted among the Konkomba people from North Togo, who settled in the vast area of the Oti Valley about 200 years ago. It is a typically acephalous society, characterized by a large dispersion of settlements and political independence of families. The occupation of new areas was related to the creation of a symbolic reference to the land and by the construction of homesteads and housing estates as spaces of life, with the confirmation of ties between family members as well as between the living and dead relatives. The intimacy of the house, the rituals regulating human relationships and fertility provided by the ancestors and the spirits governing the earth, enable the Konkombas to feel safe in everyday life
Relation: Volume: Start page: End page: Resource type: Detailed Resource Type: Format: Resource Identifier: Source:IAiE PAN, call no. P 714 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P 1505 ; click here to follow the link
Language: Rights: Terms of use:Copyright-protected material. May be used within the limits of statutory user freedoms
Digitizing institution:Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Original in:Library of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
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