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Kinship and gendered economic conduct in matrilineal Offinso, Ghana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2020

Jovia Salifu
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Abstract

For many decades, anthropologists have debated the question of matriliny, with some expressing concerns about its prospects of survival in a modern economy of private property and greater economic differentiation. In continuing this debate, this article provides new and contemporary evidence of the continued relevance of matriliny as a kinship practice that shapes the daily conduct of women. Using ethnographic evidence from the Asante town of Offinso in Ghana, the article demonstrates the crucial role of matrilineal kinship through the economic experiences of two market women living with their respective husbands. The evidence shows that the persistence of economic values that encourage female enterprise, norms of kinship that privilege maternal relations over paternal ones and marriage conventions that allow spouses to maintain separate economic resources create a social and economic environment in which women actively assert their independence from husbands. Women's strong allegiance to their matrilineage is mirrored in their economic conduct, further accentuating the antithesis between conjugal and lineage bonds. Put together, these factors point to greater social and economic autonomy for Asante women.

Résumé

Résumé

Les anthropologues débattent depuis des décennies de la question du matrilignage et certains, parmi eux, s'inquiètent de ses perspectives de survie dans une économie moderne de propriété privée et face à une différenciation économique accrue. S'inscrivant dans ce débat, cet article apporte de nouveaux éléments de preuve contemporains de la pertinence continue du matrilignage en tant que pratique de parenté qui façonne le comportement quotidien des femmes. S'appuyant sur des données ethnographiques recueillies dans la ville ashanti d'Offinso au Ghana, l'article démontre le rôle essentiel de la parenté matrilinéaire à travers les expériences économiques de deux femmes qui travaillent sur les marchés et vivent chacune avec leur époux. Les données montrent que la persistance de valeurs économiques qui encouragent l'entrepreneuriat des femmes, les normes de parenté qui privilégient davantage les relations maternelles que les relations paternelles et les conventions du mariage qui autorisent les époux à disposer de ressources économiques distinctes créent un environnement socioéconomique dans lequel les femmes affirment activement leur indépendance de leur époux. La forte allégeance des femmes à leur matrilignage se reflète dans leur comportement économique, accentuant davantage l'antithèse entre liens conjugaux et liens de lignage. La réunion de ces facteurs suggère que les femmes ashanti jouissent d'une plus grande autonomie socioéconomique.

Type
Kinship in Ghana and Sierra Leone
Information
Africa , Volume 90 , Issue 4 , August 2020 , pp. 683 - 700
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2020

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