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 Periodical article |
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| Title: | Living the Legacy of Slavery: Between Discourse and Reality |
| Author: | McDougall, E. Ann |
| Year: | 2005 |
| Periodical: | Cahiers d'études africaines |
| Volume: | 45 |
| Issue: | 179-180 |
| Pages: | 957-986 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Mauritania |
| Subjects: | slavery abolition of slavery History and Exploration Labor and Employment Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) |
| External link: | https://doi.org/10.4000/etudesafricaines.5572 |
| Abstract: | Slavery was officially abolished in Mauritania in July 1980; what is significant about this legal abolition is that it was argued completely in terms of Islam and coincided with the imposition of sharia law. This article acknowledges that 'slavery in Mauritania' is still both a social and a political issue, with resonance in historical as well as contemporary terms. By exploring the various discourses that have given shape to discussions of slavery over time, during and after the French colonial era, the author seeks to explain why contemporary slavery is such a difficult concept to address both within and outside of the country. In the course of the political aftermath of abolition and the 'racializing' of slavery, various slave identities were created; to the extent that we can see them, they represent the multi-faceted nature of today's slavery. By drawing on the case history of a former-slave family, 'Hamody of Atar', the author attempts to find a way to understand its complexities from the perspective of personal experience. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French. [Journal abstract, edited] |
