OSSREAOSSREA BULLETINBULLETIN
A Tri-annual Publication of the
ORGANISATION FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA
Volume IX No 1 February 2012 IN THIS ISSUE
NEWS OSSREA Listed among the 2011 African Think Tanks 1 1 OSSREA and Its Chapters Organise RESSESA Training Officials from the Swedish Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of 2 Sweden in Ethiopia Visit OSSREA OSSREA Takes part in the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum 3 OSSREA Exhibits at the “50 Years of African Liberation” 3 Conference
A Farewell for the Executive Director of OSSREA, Professor 4 Paschal Mihyo OSSREA Representatives Attend 13th CODESRIA General 6 Assembly
FEATURE ARTICLES Insight into Gender Equity, Equality, and Power Relations in sub Saharan Africa: A Comparative Study of Pro-poor Growth Gender Projects in Madagascar Andrianarivelo Harilala Miaratiana Haingomanana 7 The Changing Nature of State Immunity in the Framework of the International Criminal Court Kudzaishe Marecha 28 Marriage and Sex-based Language Variations in (Arsi) Oromo Italo Beriso 39 51 NEW PUBLICATIONS
Call for Articles (p 53)
Telephone: 251-11-1239484 Fax: 251-11-1223921 P.O. Box 31971 E-mail: [email protected] Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Website: http://www.ossrea.net OSSREA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President Professor Habtamu Wondimu, Ethiopia Vice President Professor Herman Musahara, Rwanda Vice President Professor Ruth Otanga, Kenya Vice President Professor Benigna Zimba, Mozambique Executive Director Professor Paschal B. Mihyo, Tanzania Member Professor Rodreck Mupedziswa, Botswana Member Dr. Donald Chimanikire, Zimbabwe Member Ms. Thandi Khumalo, Swaziland
OSSREA Liaison Officers Mr. Bernard Rutikanga, University of Rwanda, Rwanda Dr. Agostinho Cachapa, Universidade Mandume ya Ndemofayo, E:mail: [email protected] Angola Email: [email protected] Prof. Luckson Kaino, University South Africa (UNISA) E-mail: [email protected] Dr. Godisang Mookodi , University of Botswana, Botswana
E-mail: [email protected] Dr. Kimo A. Adiebo, Juba University, South Sudan Dr. Guday Emire, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Peter L. Barasa, Moi University, Kenya Mr. Hisham E. A. Bilal, University of Khartoum , Sudan Kenya E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Ms. Nokuthula Vilakati, University of Swaziland, Swaziland Prof. T. J. Makatjane, National University of Lesotho, Lesotho E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Zoly Rakotoniera Rakotondravelo, Madagascar Dr. Magdalena Kokubanza Ngaiza, University of Dar es Salaam E-mail: [email protected] Tanzania E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Jublie Tizifa, University of Malawi, Malawi Dr. Godfrey Asiimwe, Makerere University, Uganda E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Mr. Nicolas Ragodoo, University of Mauritius, Mauritius Dr. Chewe Chabatama, University of Zambia, Zambia E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Mr. Mario Cumbe, Mozambique Dr. Charity Manyeruke, Zimbabwe E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Mrs. Immacuate Sechogele, University of Namibia, Namibia E-mail: [email protected]
OSSREA Bulletin Vol. IX No. 1 (February 2012) Page 1
NEWS Rwanda.
The objectives of the trainings were to: OSSREA Listed among the 2011 Think Thanks and Civil Societies Pro- strengthen PhD students’ capacity gram Ranking in empirical and comparative re-
search; The Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) has been create a critical mass of PhD schol- listed among the 2011”Top African Think Thanks” ars with competence to undertake in the Think Thanks and Civil Societies Program research, package research findings Ranking, carried out annually by the International according to the needs of targeted Relations Program, University of Pennsylvania. stakeholders, and produce high OSSREA joined the rank under the categories of quality publications;
(1) Top Think Thanks by Special Achievements in enable PhD students to increase the the Area of Innovative Policy Ideas/Proposals; and contribution of their research to so- (2) Top Think Thanks with the Greatest Impact on cial science theories and to their Public Policy. disciplines;
OSSREA and Its Chapters Organise encourage PhD scholars to create RESSESA Trainings platforms for disseminating to or sharing their research findings with OSSREA and eight universities in Eastern and stakeholders; and Southern African countries, which are partners of the Research School in Eastern and Southern Af- supporting peer review of research rica (RESSESA)— an initiative of OSSREA, or- proposals and research outputs for ganised high level research methodology training PhD scholars. courses for about 30 PhD students each while the The courses covered research design; quan- Ethiopian Chapter had training for 60 PhD stu- titative research methods; and quantitative dents in two rounds. The Universities were: the data analysis, and application of different University Dar Es Salaam, University of Namibia, statistical packages in research. The train- University of Khartoum, Moi University (Kenya), ings were facilitated through staff ex- Eldoret University (Kenya), Addis Ababa Univer- change within the eight universities and the sity, University of Zimbabwe, and University of involvement of scholars from the Diaspora.
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The trainings were conducted in the months of difficult times OSSREA passed through. A October, November, and December 2011 and all brief history of OSSREA was then pre- in all about 300 PhD students were trained. sented by Professor Habtamu, the President
Similar trainings were conducted also in the Uni- of OSSEA, who also talked about the or- versity of Juba, South Sudan and South Africa. ganisational structure of OSSREA. The Directors of Research, Publications and
Dissemination, and Finance and Admini- Officials from the Swedish Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Sweden in stration briefed about the functions in the Ethiopia Visit OSSREA respective directorates, the problems they face, and the ways forward. The Director of Ms Annika Molin Hellgren, the Deputy Director Finance and Administration also talked of the Africa Department of the Sweden Ministry about OSSREA’s relation with donors, its of Foreign Affairs and Dr Kwame Gbesemete, funding and some of the obstacles that First Secretary: Regional Research Cooperation, OSSREA has to overcome in the near fu- from the Embassy of Sweden in Ethiopia, visited ture. OSSREA on November 9th 2011. After the presentation there was a discus- According to Abiye Daniel, Director of Publica- sion session where the Deputy Director of tions and Dissemination at OSSREA, the pur- the Africa Department of the Sweden Min- pose of their visit was to learn more about OSS- istry of Foreign Affairs explained that some REA, its research, publications and its operations of the obstacles that OSSREA faces are not in finance. At the same time the delegation also unique to the organisation and that account- discussed ways in which OSSREA and Sida can ability to the Swedish Parliament and peo- work together in the future. ple is a must.
Professor Paschal Mihyo, the Executive Director Abiye noted that the meeting ended with a of OSSREA, welcomed the delegation and promise from the delegation that they thanked the Swedish Government for all the sup- would follow up OSSREA, especially in port Sida and the Swedish people have given terms of its research and output and see OSSREA, as prominent donors and during the how OSSREA can contribute to areas in which Sida is involved.
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OSSREA Takes part in the China-Africa Security; Africa’s Finance and Investment Think Tanks Forum Environment and Sino-African Cooperation in Finance and Investment; and People to OSSREA Publications and Dissemination Director People and cultural exchanges between Dr Abiye Daniel who represented the Organisation China and Africa and the Role of Chinese at the event indicated that the First China-Africa and African Think Tanks. Think Tanks Forum (CATTF) was held 27–29th October 2011, in Hangzhou/Xinhua, China. Ac- The OSSREA representative also presented a cording to him, the aim of the Forum was to create paper entitled “The Role of OSSREA and a platform for exchanges and dialogue between Chinese Think Tanks in Addressing African African and Chinese think tanks so that a more Social Science Issues” active role can be played in promoting Sino- According to Abiye, around 300 officials, African cooperation. experts and scholars and business leaders
Abiye reported that CATTF takes as its tenets from Chinese government departments, Af- “civil facilitation, government participation, frank rica-related NGO’s, academic institutions dialogue and seeking a common ground”. The Fo- and corporations, as well as organisations rum was aimed at promoting African studies, and institutions from African countries took boosting mutual understanding between Africa and part in the event. Hosted by Zhejiang Normal China, expanding common ground, serving Chi- University, CATTF was guided by the Chi- nese and African businesses and presenting sug- nese Follow-up Committee of the Forum on gestions and policy recommendations for the de- Africa-China Cooperation and was jointly velopment of Sino-African relations in the new supported by the People’s Government of era. Abiye also indicated that CATTF had been Zhejiang Province, China Development Bank included in the framework of the Forum on China- (sponsor) and the Chinese People’s Institute Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and is to be built of Foreign Affairs. into a regular mechanism and platform for dia- logue between Chinese and African think tanks. OSSREA Exhibits at the “50 Years He stated that the theme of this First CATTF was of African Liberation” Conference “Sino-African Relations in the Second Decade of OSSREA exhibited its 2010 and 2011 publi- the New Century” and was divided into three sub cations at the African Studies Association themes: Africa’s Security Situation and Sino- (ASA) Conference entitled “50 Years of Lib- African Cooperation in the Fields of Peace and
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eration”, held November 17–20, 2011 in Washing- ton D.C., the U.S.A. The Director of Publications According to Abiye, the conference was benefi- and Dissemination Dr Abiye Daniel and the Direc- cial to OSSREA in terms of dissemination of its tor of Research Dr Paulos Chanie attended the publications and promotion of its image as it event and exhibited OSSREA’s publications. The availed the opportunity to link with those in the Publications Director also noted that all OSSREA research and publications business. publications were also being sold by African A Farewell for the Executive Director of Books Collective, James Currey, Ohio University OSSREA, Professor Paschal Mihyo Press and UNISA Press. OSSREA also acquired a few books for its library; and was also given a do- Professor Paschal Mihyo, the outgoing Executive nation by Tsehai Publishers, who have reprinted Director of OSSREA, was given a farewell cere- th previous publications about Ethiopia. OSSREA mony on Tuesday the 7 of February at the OSS- participants also discussed with the various pub- REA HQ. Professor Mihyo left OSSREA after lishers about old and future publications; and with serving for a period of almost four years. During Project Muse and James Currey regarding OSS- his time at OSSREA, along with the OSSREA REA’s Journal. staff members, he has realised a number of strate- gic achievements that have made OSSREA a ma- The participants indicated that the conference had jor player in the generation and dissemination of about 18 panels with more than 1500 delegates knowledge in the social sciences. from all over the world. The panels were as fol- lows: (1) contested memories of independence; (2) Present at the farewell ceremony were representa- the arts and cultural expression since independ- tives from donor agencies such as Sida, and ence; (3) unfinished liberation struggles: gender, NORAD, representatives from the African Union, ethnicity and class; (4) independence and sover- some ambassadors, OSSREA Executive Commit- eignty in a global economy; (5) agriculture and tee and OSSREA staff members, Liaison Officers food sovereignty; (6) culture; (7) economics; (8) and Committee members of OSSREA Ethiopia education; (9) environment; (10) gender and sexu- Chapter, and invited academics from the Addis ality; (11) health and healing; (12) history; (13) Ababa University, which hosts the OSSREA HQ. human rights and legal change; (14) peace and se- The OSSREA President, representatives of do- curity; (15) policy and politics; (16) religion and nors, the OSSREA Executive Committee, and the spirituality; (17) youth visions of the future; and staff made speeches about Prof. Mihyo; almost all (18) others. of them shared that Prof. Mihyo has made re-
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markable efforts with dedication, hardwork, strate- Southern Africa (RESSESA) Program; gic leadership and approachable character, which 4. Strengthening the Research Directorate in project development and supporting earned OSSREA significant achievements. During the Publications Directorate and the his speech, the OSSREA President Professor Hab- dissemination of OSSREA’s publica- tions and research; tamu Wondimu underlined that the following are 5. Strengthening the Executive Committee but some of the achievements OSSREA and its and National Chapters; staffs realised under his leadership: 6. Developing human resources, financial procedures and upholding accountabil- 1. Developing OSSREA’s Strategic Plan (2011 ity with clean accounts for the last three -2015); years; 2. Bringing back traditional donors and bringing 7. Raising the ranking of OSSREA in the in new donors (DANIDA and ADB); 2011 Global Think Tanks ratings. 3. Creating and spearheading the Research School on Social Sciences in Eastern and
Prof. Mihyo (middle), his wife Mrs. Paschal (right) and the OSSREA President Prof. Habtamu (left) joyfully show the portrait of Prof Mihyo, given to him as a gift.
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Professor Mihyo in his vote of thanks noted the Abiye indicated that more than 300 participants major challenges he faced and achievements attended the Assembly, which had general and earned during his time at OSSREA. He thanked plenary sessions. the donors, the OSSREA staff and all those who OSSREA exhibited its 2010 and 2011 publica- supported him in discharging his responsibilities, tions at the Books Exhibition stand, which gen- pointed out what should be done in future, and erated a lot of interest in terms of what OSS- promised to continue supporting OSSREA’s REA does. According to Abiye, the 8th of De- cause wherever he will be. cember 2011, OSSREA also had its session on Finally, token gifts were handed to him by the Higher Education. The session was chaired by OSSREA President. The speakers, the staff and Dr Paulos, and it explored the state of higher all the guests at the event wish him good health education in higher learning institutions and and success in his future endeavours. highlighted some of the challenges and opportu- OSSREA Representatives Attend 13th nities. The session generated a lot of discussion CODESRIA General Assembly Meeting and participants expressed the need for more methodology courses for the students in these Drs Paulos Chanie and Abiye Daniel, Directors of institutions. Research and Publications and Dissemination re- spectively, attended the 13th General Assembly of CODESRIA, held 5–9 of December 2011in
Rabat, Morocco.
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Feature Articles The concept of promoting genders’ eco- nomic empowerment has gained great at-
tention over the last decades. One of the Insight into Gender Equity, Equality, and Power Relations in Sub Saharan challenges and strategies of ‘Madagascar Africa: A Comparative Study of Pro- Action Plan’ in its eighth commitment is poor Growth Gender Projects in to “integrate gender issues in all the poli- Madagascar cies, plans and development programs and Andrianarivelo Harilala Miaratiana Haingo- support the access of women to economic manana growth” (MAP 2009–2012, 112). More- Abstract over, the presidential engagement in Dur- This comparative and contrastive analysis of field work observations and interviews helps reveal the ban— furthering five times the access to degree to which women and mixed group associa- protected areas (Intercooperation 2008, 7) tions achieve or not achieve gender equality and empowerment goals. Two environmental pro- — has been much of the focus on pro- grammes in two regions of Madagascar— the tapia forest management and reforestation policy in poor growth policies based on claims to Amoron’i Mania, and the Mulberry Tree Planta- reduce poverty. The strategy found its tions in Ambohidrabiby— were implemented on landy (silk) weavers’ associations. How responsive concretisation among two environmental then do women and men members of the focal programmes in two regions of Madagas- points consider themselves as part of the programs and as key factors for the implemented environ- car: the tapia forest management and re- mental projects? The argument is organized around the statements that loans traits and the provision of forestation policy in Ambositra, which is complementary services differ from their own the- the artisan capital of Madagascar, about ory and are tied with the representation of local socio-economic backgrounds. Cultural values and 250 kilometers south of Antananarivo, the weak access to direct gender perspectives are criti- cal factors for the failure of the two environmental capital city, and the mulberry tree nurser- projects and women’s ability to overcome assump- ies strategy in Ambohidrabiby— the origi- tions and convictions for change. nal place of landy (silk) weaving, a county 1. Introduction in the northern part of the town of Antana- Madagascar is an island in the east of the main narivo. land of Africa, bathed between the Mozam- These pro-poor growth policies are imple- bique Canal in the west and the Indian Ocean mented on women and men landy weav- in the east. It is 400 kilometers east of Mozam- ers’ associations and cooperatives whose bique. It covers an area of about 587,041 km2 economic activities depend on the sustain- and has a population of 19 million people. ability of natural resources or more pre-
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cisely on the cocoons of two silkworms spe- issues for ensuring women and men weavers’ cies: the indigenous wild silkworm Borocera empowerment which requires more than the in- madagascariensis living on tapia tree (Uapaca troduction of a few loan products or optional add bojeri)— endemic to Madagascar— and the -ons services.
domesticated silkworm Bombyx mori fed with Discovering just what is going on about these the leaves of cultivated mulberry trees. pro-poor projects would make sense of the situa- Although there has been recent focus on devel- tions. Specifically, the notion and expression of oping environmental issues in Madagascar, institutional program implementation and the much of the interests have been based on level of responsiveness given to and acknowl- growth-orientation and gender responsibilities. edged by the beneficiaries will help build the Consequently, addressing gender-specific bar- features and characteristics of the viability and riers to environmental responsibilities and fo- sustainability or the failure of the two projects in cusing on the full participation of both men concern. Have the implemented projects been and women in safeguarding its biodiversity essential to gender perspectives? Is it sure that represent a significant opportunity to unleash the structures have not been marginalized? Have Madagascar’s productive potential and not the projects just been considered as a part of strengthen economic growth. human resources? Have these projects been
The aim of this study is to reveal— through a planned as part of institutional decision making? comparative and contrastive analysis of field Have the members of the focal points been pre- work observations and interviews— the degree pared to be responsive to gender perspectives? to which women and women’s associations or Have women’s specific needs been taken into mixed cooperatives achieve or not achieve account through the projects? These issues will gender equality and empowerment goals. This be then based on the following statement: How depends on the strategy of gender approach responsive do men and women members of the addressed to the type of programs; comprising focal points consider themselves as part of the the Landy Hasina and the Hainga Landy weav- gender perspective pro-poor programs and as ers associations in the commune of Ambo- key characters/actors for the implemented envi- hidrabiby in Antananarivo, and the COBA ronmental projects planned by state institutions? (Community BAsed) in the commune of Am- The paper scrutinizes some questions, which bositra. The analysis focuses on finding key arise from inter-relationship of the aforemen-
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tioned concepts. In fact, gender equality of did not get support from donors, financial part- opportunity and women’s empowerment ners, or NGOs. Selection of the communes de- would hope integral and inseparable parts for pended on road transport and we were only able economic growth and pro-poor development to visit places in communes along the roads. So actions. However, the undertakings involved we were unable to reach more remote areas. in the above projects assess some levels of Thus our sample may neither be representative gender awareness, mainstreaming, and jus- of the overall tapia forest project and the impact tice. This would be sorted through a tough of the community-based management process design and control in order to find out the nor the expression of all the mulberry trees pro- degree to which women can or cannot bene- grams and the outputs. fit livelihood and dynamism in taking initia- 2. Literature Review tives and making decisions as an individual, Understanding the role of focal point members, and in the process of gender equity for “a their participation and responsiveness in the two long term financial and organisational sus- environmental programs— Tapia Trees Refores- tainability improvement” (Mayoux 2009; 2) tation and Management, and Mulberry Trees at the association level. Nurseries and Plantation— requires familiarity Fieldwork visits allowed the study of the in- with a relevant background on the Malagasy lan- tervention and their impact on the weavers’ dibe and landikely. This landy setting needs de- population in the two concerned areas. Inter- fining and describing: (1) the historical back- views were conducted with mulberry tree ground of Malagasy landy; (2) the traditional and planters and landy weavers in the communes cultural values around the landy; (3) the issues of Ambohidrabiby in June 2011. Another on natural resources documents in gray literature field visit included other interviews that were (annual and progress report publications); and conducted with landy weavers, members of (4) the landy business. the COBA, and communal authorities in Am- 2.1 Traditional and Cultural Values around bositra areas, 20 to 25 July 2011. the Landy The Malagasy distinguish the silk – known gen- The study is undertaken and organized erally as landy – by the type of tree on which the around four communes—three in Amoron’i worm feeds. There are two types of silk worm on Mania and one in Ambohidrabiby. This limi- studies here: the landikely and the landibe. tation does not mean that other communes “Landikely” refers to the variety of domesticated
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silk worm known as Bombyx mori (Norali menting with raising, dyeing, spinning, and 2003). It is the silk produced by worms raised weaving varieties of mulberry silk. Although indoors and fed with mulberry leaves. labor intensive, the raising of mulberry silk “Landibe” is the indigenous silk produced by was enthusiastically taken up by the wider worms known as Borocera madagascariensis Merina population. The worms had to be (Norali 2003) living in the nature on trees called raised indoors on specially constructed racks “tapia” endemic to Madagascar and scientifi- and fed three times a day with finely cally known as Uapaca bojeri. “Landikely” and chopped mulberry leaves (ibid). “landibe” can at the same time refer to the natu- Silk cloth in Madagascar is “a primary maker ral fiber that is produced by the worm cocoons of identity, defining the person and the social and the textile woven from it. world” (Kreamer and Fee 2002, 57). Cloth Living at the crossroads of all the ecological covers a person throughout the stages of life, zones, Betsileo women had easy access to the from an infant held in the folds of its fibers, and they became master weavers. To the mother’s lamba, a shoulder wrap cloth of north, the Merina people faced a different prob- landibe or landikely to an old person’s final lem: a paucity of fibers. From at least the seven- journey to the grave. A much-repeated Mala- teenth century onward, sovereigns made it part gasy proverb likens the cloth of humans to of their “political strategy to develop artisanal the feathers of a bird, inseparable from the trades and weaving prime among them, to com- weaver: “Living, you wear it around the bat this disadvantage” (Kreamer and Fee 2002, shoulders; dead you are wrapped in 46). To promote weaving, sovereigns also intro- it” (Kreamer and Fee 2002, 57). duced and imposed new cultivars and mulberry On the one hand, there are two main reasons silk (ibid). Until the mid-nineteenth century, why gender participation and responsiveness weaving was, probably the single most impor- matter as regards to the function of tradi- tant income-generating activity for highland tional and cultural values given to the landy. households (ibid). Early Merina sovereign First, the functions of landy are the keys to placed newly hatched mulberry silkworms in the understanding the significance of the landy bushes, and dug ingenious trenches around the in the Malagasy society. Landy is considered strands to prevent their escape (ibid). The as a second skin, a social skin, and “a sign of French man Jean Laborde, worked with a guild adherence to ancestral ways” (Kreamer and of male Malagasy weavers to continue experi-
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Fee 2002, 61). Then landy hand-woven items 2002, 63), therefore a reburial ceremony are characterized by two typical cloths: the should take place to wrap the ancestors with lamba fitafy and the lambamena. new shrouds. Because of the current strong
The lamba fitafy is this rectangular, hand- belief in Madagascar that wild silk and lam- woven, traditional shoulder wrap draped by the bamena can be only the shrouds for wrap- living. It is worn primarily by the “Merina and ping the dead, it is worth stressing that Betsileo peoples of central highlands and are “historically the lambamena was also worn traditionally made of handwoven … silk by the living.” (Kreamer and Fee 2002, 51). draped respectfully” (Green 2003, 3). More- The cloth made of lambamena material was over, the cloth has always been a vehicle for also the required dress in many ceremonies, certain messages: “a symbol of authority, and for people who were coming into contact power, an expression of personality, a maker with sacred forces. The Merina New Year’s of historical epochs or even political doc- festival, wedding, and circumcision cere- trines” (Kreamer and Fee 2002, 6). Landy ex- monies all required the “central participants emplifies the crossroads of cultural preserva- to wear lambamena” (Kreamer and Fee tion, “Malagasy’s giving of cloth, both to each 2002, 51). other and to foreigners are dear to Malagasy Moreover, the tapia forest and the mulberry people …transformed into valued symbols of plantations where landy collectors live relationships forged between individuals nearby, the resources where the collectors among families and communities” (Kreamer and the weavers live from and the tools they 2002, 18). employ are “reservoirs of meaning and
Lambamena, literally “red cloth” denote any identity” (Susan Hanna and Swein Jentoft kind of burial or reburial shroud. The lam- 1996, 36). To some native people from the bamena are “essential components of highland Ambositra area, the human-animal relation- Malagasy reburial practices, which themselves ship is a complex partnership, in which all are significant elements in highland perform- species have an important role to play. ances of identity” (Green 2003, 5). Traditional “Animal have intelligence, power, and spirit belief still remains that “neglected ancestors as do humans, and the partnership functions appear to their descendants in dreams, com- smoothly as long as all parties perform their plaining that they are cold” (Kreamer and Fee roles properly” (Hanna, Folke, and Maler 1996, 37).
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According to our informant1, “nature is given a Mahitsy in the commune of Ambohidratrimo, status superior to property through a religious in the north-west part of Antananarivo for sanction called “joro2” or the ceremony for planting the mulberry trees and breeding the prayer and sheep or an ox immolation3 in order landikely worm. to call the chrysalides to come and have a good 2.2 Environmental Degradation and Landy cocoon harvesting. The view of nature as a Business partner or as sacred gives a way to the tapia Drivers of deforestation: Tapia trees are forest and the mulberry fields as property. The “being cut down to grow substance food crops human-nature relationship embodies various and graze cattle.” (World Bank 2005, 5). The ideas about the meaning of ownership and tapia woods had been used for fuel and were 4 property. Human exploitation was justified be- destroyed by bush fires. Our informant told cause “nature’s value was primarily mechani- that “the tapia forest had also been damaged cal, lying in its contribution to human well- by pesticides against crickets poured by state being” (Ponting 1993). People see nature as helicopters on the tapia trees in July 1999 and both partner and property. because of bush fire”. In August, the landibe worms are still in the stage of grains or eggs The treatment of the landikely is different from far from becoming full chrysalides able to the landibe as breeding needs more care and build cocoons. The loss of the tapia forest and attention. Thus in earlier time, during King and tapia products is a serious blow to landy weav- Queen’s time, it “became a custom that those ers since they rely on seasonal diversity and who cultivate the mulberry silk would breed variation to ensure family income. When mak- the landikely worms” (CITE/BOSS Corpora- ing ways for commercial enterprises with lim- tion 2009, 15). Separately, another group is ited local tapia, women are particularly disem- responsible for the transformation. Thus this powered since “their sphere of Borocera co- sociogeopraphic organization of the landikely coon harvesting is usually lim- divided the inhabitants in the commune of Am- ited” (Andrianarivelo 2009, 6). bohidrabiby. It was decided that some part of the population, the Zanadoria will stay in this Moreover, tapia trees, locally known for edible north-east part of Antananarivo, in Ambo- fruit and as the habitat of the wild Malagasy hidrabiby and given the responsibilities to silkworm, serve as the primary protector transform the landikely cocoons into materials. against erosion in the area. Weaving crafts- Another group had been asked to emigrate in manship—organized as different dimensions in which people are organized as individuals,
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communities, and cooperatives— uses the eco- Moreover, Simon Peers informs us that by logical systems of the landibe by an excessive the mid-nineteenth century, “the Malagasy harvesting of the landy cocoons. In making this had already lost three-quarters of their previ- transformation, Malagasy craftsmen’s behavior ous, rather diverse, textile produc- reflects the dual influences of individual and tion” (Chapurukha et al. 2006). He describes social objectives. The tension and interplay the remains as the “survival of pockets of between these organizational dimensions have techniques and styles” (Andrianarivelo an important influence on the landy environ- 2009, 7). mental outcomes. The tapia forest where landy The frequent representation of landy dealers collectors/harvesters live nearby, the resources in their use of the nature as silk provider il- where the collectors and the weavers live from lustrates a potential issue on human’s short- and the tools they employ are “reservoirs of sightedness and greed. The landibe and meaning and identity” (Hanna, Folke, and tapia forest overexploitations have been Maler 1996, 36). called “the tragedy of the com- Natural resources are increasingly difficult to mons” (Hanna, Folke, and Maler 1996, 38) acquire due to climatic and environmental which is a caricature of individual human changes. Moreover, craft process itself may be behavior responding to the incentives of environmentally harmful, particularly when the open-access resources. Left to the “devices consumption is intensified. The Malagasy of unregulated individuals” (Hughes 1994), weavers’ pride around the culture of “landy”, the landy natural wealth tends to become their aim for extensive production and income overused and degraded even in cases where generating, as well as informing people at large they have been conferred sacred status. scale of the value of Malagasy “landy” crafts, The Amoron’i Mania region is divided into require a heavy consumption of the wild Boro- four districts. Ambositra and Manandri- cera silk, leading to endangerment of species ana— the study districts— are among them. endemic to Madagascar. As the process of Deforestation is critical in these districts. As early silk harvesting of the silk from the co- presented in Table 1, Ambositra has a sig- coons kills the larvae, “sericiculture has been nificant difference of 18,448 ha within eight criticized in the early 21st century by animal years; the highest in the region of Amoron’i rights activists, especially since artificial silk Mania, and an annual deforestation rate of are available” (Top Ten Cocoons 2005).
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Table 1. Deforestation in the Amoron’i Mania region (surface area in ha) Districts in Amo- Forest Forest Deforestation % deforestation Annual de- ron’i Mania 1993 (T0) 2001 (T1) (T0 – T1) (1993–2001) forestation rate (%)
Ambositra 135, 083 116, 635 18, 448 13.66 1.71 Fandriana 70, 179 60, 070 10, 109 14.40 1.80 Ambatofinandra- 5, 626 5, 470 156 2.77 0.35 hana Manandriana 2, 179 1, 963 217 9.94 1.80 Total 213, 067 184, 138 28, 929 10.19 1.27 SOURCE: Adapted from ONE (traitement d’image landsat 7:1993–2001) – 2006, in «Tableau de Bord Environnemental: Région Amoron’i Mania». (Madagascar: Office National pour l’Environne- ment, 2007, 75)
1.71%, ranked second after Manandriana (see for the landibe. The landikely costs from Table 1). 25,000 to Ar 200,000. For items made of the mixture of landibe and landikely, the price The landibe and landikely infuse a material that varies between 25,000 and Ar 70,000. The supports the livelihood of many Malagasy weav- price is proposed and is negotiable. ers. The landy products come from a variety of items, coming from the leaves of mulberry trees,
the cocoons to the finished products. Even if the twentieth century predicted “the demise and de- The difference in price (see Tables 3 and 4) cline of the Malagasy handweaving” (Kreamer depends on the quality and authenticity of and Fee 2002, 69), the current demand of lan- the materials, the originality of the motifs, dibe and landikely handwoven cloth prescribes the dyeing materials used, and the charge of the comeback trend associated with gender, an- weaving process. cestral, and national identity. These prices show that the charge the sellers As presented in Table 2, the shrouds of six pans practice is between 10% and 50%. The limi- are proposed between Ar 70,000 and Ar 200,000 tation of the goods into three arti- Table 2. Prices of landy shrouds (in Ar) cles does mean that they are the
Lower price (Ar) Highest price (Ar) Goods Purchase Sale Purchase Sale Shroud Landibe 60,000 70,000 100,000 200,000 Landikely 20,000 30,000 10,000 200,000 Mixture 20,000 25,000 50,000 70,000
SOURCE: Adapted from Etude Nationale de la Filière Soie: Régions Analamanga, Ambalavao, Amoron’i Mania, Vakinankaratra, Itasy, 64.
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only kinds of finished goods. Some weavers got design training and could make other items like dress, shoes, shirts, hat, curtains and bed sheets.
Tables 3. Prices of landy cocoons and finished good (in Ar)
Lower price Highest price Goods Boutiques Open market Boutiques Open market Landibe 11,000 15,000 50,000 70,000 Scarf Landikely 6,000 10,000 80,000 100,000
Lamba (shoulder wrap) Mixture 5,000 10,000 20,000 30,000
SOURCE: Adapted from MADACRAFT. ARTISANAT: Etude de la demande en France des Potentialités de l’offre à Madagascar, Septembre 2008
Table 4. Prices of finished goods (in Ar) 3. Data Presentation
Goods Lower price (Ar) Highest price (Ar) Women suit 190,000 400,000 Ties 15,000 20,000 Handbags 45,000 100,000
SOURCE: Adapted from Etude Nation ale de la Filière Soie: Régions Analamanga, Ambalavao, Amo- ron’i Mania, Vakinankaratra, Itasy, 70.
3.1 The tapia Trees Reforestation and Man- agement
This world bank-funded program— the World
Bank’s 2005 Development Marketplace Com-
petition— was operational in two communes in
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the district of Ambositra, including Ambohi- same rules and disciplines called dinam- manjaka and Ilaka Centre; and the commune of panorenana, and the same responsibili- Anjoman’Ankona in Manandriana. Awareness ties, andraikitra (VOI Maitsovolo 2005, -raising meeting convinced the inhabitants to 1). The adhesion is accepted to any eight- intervene in a direct control and management een year-old volunteer, regardless of sex, of the tapia forest in the surroundings of their religion, origin, or political trend. But communes. The program was a collaborative every couple of weavers is voluntary to effort between a local institution program the adhere. A committee, Komitin’ny Ala PSDR (Program Social de Development Ru- (CITE/BOSS Corporation 2009, 58) terms ral), and the NGO Ny Tanintsika (literally ‘our the association for three years through land’). The intervention is based on all levels election. All the members agree on the of the landy sector, from tapia tree conserva- amount of annual contribution each mem- tion, tapia products transformation to the out- ber should give. The financial resources lets. of the COBA is also based on the fines
As mentioned earlier, the tapia trees and the taken from noticeable infractions like indigenous landibe worms are endemic to bush fires in the tapia forest, tapia tree Madagascar. Because of this critical situation, logging used for fuel, and 5% transition direct development actors are needed. The im- charge from the sales of silk products dur- plementation was given to direct actors within ing trade fairs. The whole amount is the communes themselves. Landy weavers are cashed down in the association’s account the most and first concerned. The Malagasy in the nearest bank or microfinance insti- counterparts are the rural community associa- tutions. tions. They are gathered in community-base- Role of the Local Officials: The mayor structured associations called in the Malagasy and his staff would summon the popula- language Vondron’Olona Ifotony (VOI), liter- tion for awareness rising. They also facili- ally COmmunity BAsed (COBA). The mem- tate between the local tapia planters and bers share the same objective of conserving the partners; ensure the coordination of ac- region’s tapia forest and reviving its wild silk- tivities with the tree planters. worms, landibe. The COBAs are legal and for- Role of the Partners: The first task is to mal associations based on freedom to adher- raise the population’s awareness by con- ence and whose members are equal under the vincing them that the establishment of the
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association is “neither for the interest of do- Cases within the COBAs: The security of the nors nor [that of] the partners’ but would tapia forests was given to few local men called work for the sake of each member’s concern fantsika— literally nails— who are security in the tapia matter and business”. (CITE/ staffs, metaphorically nailed down and stuck to BOSS Corporation 2009, 57). Apart from the land for the control of the tapia forest. that, they are responsible for the reinforce- Their responsibilities were to prevent local and ment of technical, organizational, and mana- external intruders from erupting in the tapia gerial skills of the COBA’s members as far forest without the agreement of the association, as the tapia forest management and its re- avoid illegal landibe cocoon harvesting before sources are concerned. the harvest season, control illicit sales of the Role of Planters: They have to choose the cocoons, and hinder some pyromaniac evil location of tree nurseries with technicians acts. Actually they did not bring too much and trainers, establish nurseries, plant trees, change; the situation became worsen as “they ensure and undertake the upkeep of planted became themselves somehow ultimate and il- tapia trees. Both women and men equally licit actors” 5 violating these measures, like share the roles and responsibilities in the ac- poachers. During the 2008 harvest season, only tivities. Growing trees will improve people’s about 40 tons of harvested landibe cocoons independent living standards. That will favor were officially reported compared to 2.900 communities and individuals who are dedi- tons in 2007 in the whole Amoron’i Mania re- cated participants and leaders in the project. gion (CITE/BOSS Corporation 2009, 20).
Re-planting tapia trees in some spots where COBA in Ambohimanjaka tapia forests do not exist any longer or in During the legislative campaign in 2007, a can- places where too much logging has occurred didate influenced and involved craftspeople is the effort to rehabilitate the tapia forest. included landy weavers — regardless of sex— The NGO Ny Tanintsika supplied the CO- based in Ambohitsoa Antalavina, in the com- BAS with young plants. A total of 12, 063 mune of Ambohimanjaka to gather in associa- tapia trees were planted in 2003, this is an tions. As our informant, mentioned earlier, in- achievement of 45% compared to the objec- formed us, the association Taratra has got a tive of DM 2005 which would be up to 10, legal and formal statute since 2007;, but it has 000 hectares of tapia forest. faded since 2008 because of the lack of even-
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forest longing the national road at 204 kilometers tual financial support, which they thought, from the Capital city, in Ambohimanjaka com- could drive them to progress. Some of them mune have been victim of bush fire. said that support came not for the association but for the local institution in general from COBA in Ilaka Centre which they did not get any profit. Anyway, According to our informant in Ilaka Centre, there private landy entrepreneurships exist in Am- is a proliferation of pine trees formerly planted bohimanjaka and are more productive than inside the tapia forest. A current solution for the the ones within associations. management of the tapia forest is the logging procedure of these pine trees. These trees are Women and men members of the COBA in warmly ordered to be logged as they are one of Ambohimanjaka complained about the Fant- the biggest reasons for the extermination of the sika’s wrong doings and the committee’s tapia trees. The Ministry of Environment, Water lack of assertiveness to control the tapia for- and Forest issued logging permits. Every mem- est production. As the tapia forest cannot ber of the COBA is free and allowed to log afford them enough landibe resources as in whatever the surface area of pine trees they the past few years, some of them got in- would like to log. The timbers are gathered along volved in another innovative, profitable, and the NR7, as we have seen and noticed, then sold more lucrative environmental program, the to a textile factory called COTONA in Antsir- ravintsara project which deals with growing abe, based about eighty kilometers from Am- young ravintsara trees (Ravinsara ovalifolia bositra region. The money then remains the and Ravinsara acumimata), whose leaves are property of each individual who has logged the sold to essential oil private companies. gum trees. There was no transition payment cov- Rakotonirina Sambatra Martin6 informed us ering the transaction costs. about the fulfillment of the tapia forest man- The timber became a profitable commodity as agement document transfer for Ambohiman- there is no technical barrier to trade in the sector. jaka commune in 2009, which the COBA It solves the short-time lack of indigenous landy members would have hoped the arrival and income-generating issues regardless of environ- support a long time ago, and whose “services mental ethical standards. The COBA’s challenge and help had not been supplied to them yet”. and schemes based on voluntary participation On our way to the visit, large spots of tapia and cooperation in logging the pine trees come
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paradoxically with their recognition that there surface areas occupied by pine trees have de- are limits to what can be achieved by cutting creased of 1, 816 ha; whereas more than threefold these trees which are part of their rainforest ascending spaces have been planted for tapia re- and forest carbone sources. This access to for- forestation (6, 728 ha). It is worth noticing that it mal and legal logging procedure can be ex- was also mentioned earlier that while the DM 2005 pensive for the loss of long-existent pine target was to plant pine on 10, 000 hectares, it trees. This attention to the tapia forest’s mar- achieved 10, 213 (see Table 6).
ginal and fragile landy eco-system is to ensure that their biological diversity, and the landy
production base used by rural women and men, are maintained and used within the aim The project also built and implemented modern of sustainability. Such strategies include landibe worm breeding houses. Modern small measures for more secure tenure through buildings were built in order to prevent the silk- community participatory forest management, worms from escape and for breeding experimenta- and the recognition of local priorities to tapia forests, tapia forest products, and the Table 5. Evolution of the pine trees surface and the tapia trees reforestation in the Amoron’i Mania Re- rights to shared benefits. However, the shift Differ- to logging the pine trees requires compen- Trees 1993 2003 ences sation for new tapia tree plantations. Pine tree surface evolution 10, 094 8, 278 1, 816 after logging (in ha) Data in Table 5 shows the contrastive in- Tapia trees reforestation 3, 485 10, 213 6, 728 evolution (in ha) terface of the surface areas of pine trees left after logging and the extended sur- SOURCE: Adapted from Tableau de Bord Environnemental: Ré- gion Amoron’i Mania (Madagascar: Office National face of the tapia forest after reforestation pour l’Environnement 2007, 57–59) in the whole Amoron’i Mania region, but also tion. A lot of money was spent for this action, but it mirrors the ones of Ambositra case. The at the time of our visit, the
Table 6. Change in forest surface areas in the Amoron’i Mania Region worm breeding houses Forest surface areas Natural forest (ha) Tapia forest (ha) Reforestation (ha) Total initial surface 149, 477 6, 211 9, 544 Total surface in 1995 86, 880 3, 485 10, 956 Total in 2003 78, 898 10, 213 6, 056
SOURCE: Adapted from PCDR, SPRSE DRDR Amoron’i Mania in « Tableau de Bord Environnemental: Ré- gion Amoron’i Mania». (Madagascar: Office National pour l’Environnement, 2007), 75.
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were closed and unused for a considerable period smokes emitted constantly by the small and of time. As the aforementioned informant said, the heavy cars pollute the environment; and numbers of trials succeeded in order to keep the therefore not only damage the tapia tree but moths safe from natural disaster and men’s over also cause its population depletion on the consumption without any success. The landibe long run. The effective utilisation of the Table 7. Major road traffics tapia forest resources is essential to indige- Number of vehicles (per day) Small cars Heavy cars
Ambositra – Ambatofinandrahana 118 12 Ambositra – Ambohimahasoa (NR7) 431 132 Ambositra- Fandriana 30 10 (per week) Ambositra-Manandriana 16 6 (per week)
SOURCE: Direction Régionale des Travaux Publics Fianarantsoa : Analyse Diagnostic Région Amoron’i Mania, Comité Technique TBER Amoron’i Mania in «Tableau de Bord Environnemental: Région Amoron’i Ma- nia». (Madagascar: Office National pour l’Environnement, 2007), 127. being used to living in the nature cannot survive nous weavers in the areas. These natural re- in limited spaces and inappropriate conditions. source-based activities also have to deal with
This difficulty of the landy larvae to adapt to new particular challenge with regard to environ- technology is also linked to other factors, such as mental ethical standards and gender equity. the excessive phenomena of increase of ‘gas COBA in Anjoman’Ankona emission’ from bush fire, charcoaling, and road The issue of gender equality in these rural transportation. The tapia forests are mostly long- areas would be schemed through the change ing major road traffics (see Table 7), bush fire in cultural values related to conservation and and coal industry fogs, and car smokes are dan- the consideration of the poor involvement of gerous and offensive for the landibe larva. Bush- local people to take account of the rights and fire are encountered during dry season, the period equity of local people. Women and men are when the landibe are still eggs or young larvae. both engaged in the tapia forest management Charcoaling is practiced all along the year and project, but women’s participation is far from non-stop transportation is very risky for the being effective. chrysalis vulnerability to come to term. The three COBAs under study— Ambohi- The four major road traffics above are built across manjaka, Ilaka Centre, and Anjoman’Ankona and along the tapia forests. The impact of the both share the same gender issues. The avail-
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ability of current information on An- than the provision of complementary ser- joman’Ankona case helps better deal with the vices —training, small loans, young plants issue. The COBA has a total of sixty members and fertilizer supply and differ from their comprising mostly landy weavers. Every couple own theory. The main responsibilities — in the commune is member of the COBA which chair, treasurer, and councilor— are given means that the number of women members to men, drives to the notion that there is a equals that of men. However, among the twelve degree of efficiency where “… one person people, members of the board of committee in could be made better off and no one worse the COBA, participation the female in executive off” (Oakerson 1986).Women weavers, functions is very mean—women are represented members of the COBA cannot have the by a single woman, while eleven are men (Table ability and the opportunity to control deci- 8). She got a second place secretary, the first is a sion affecting their lives and activities. men. The COBA is chaired by a man; the treas- They are also tied up with the representa- urer is a man, too. tion of local socio-cultural backgrounds:
being a woman within a male-centered group where men are decision-makers in- The question of gender equity depends on the side and outside the house. In Madagascar, COBA members’ performance in the manage- all the weaving is mostly done by women ment of tapia forest resources and the distribu- (Picton and Mack 2002, 19). Here tion of each individual’s responsibilities. The women’s lack of awareness and assertive- project have the advantage of being “both hu- ness to dare ask their rights for secure live- man-centric and resource-centric and not exclu- lihood and the ability to maintain their own sively one or the other” (Feeny et al 1990). The means of living, the landy weaving, lies on supposed cases of ‘success’ of the project ask the fact that they accept and endure the Table 8. Responsibilities within the COBA more
Responsibility Women Men Chair 1 Chair assistant 1 Treasurer 1 Controller 1 First Secretary 1 Assistant secretary 1 Counselors 6
SOURCE: Adapted from Fitantanana an-tsoratra ny Fivoriampanorenan-pikambanana VOI Anjoman’Ankona, Anjoman’Ankona 2005, 1–2.
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Malagasy traditional assessment of women’s uted in the program, but, focused on value as fragile furniture. sericiculture (moriculture and breeding) practice as financial prerequisites. There- 3.2 The Mulberry Tree Nurseries and Planta- fore, the county was chosen to be the suit- tion able place for revival of silk plantation. The mulberry green program focuses on safe- The green program on mulberry tree nurs- guarding biodiversity and people’s livelihoods. eries and plantations were implemented for This depends on the strategy of gender approach the Landy Hasina and the Hainga Landy addressed to the type of programs, comprising weavers associations based in Ambo- weavers associations in the commune of Ambo- hidrabiby in 2003. Both got legal and for- hidrabiby in Antananarivo. As seen in an earlier mal status and were composed of women paragraph, the Zanadoria in Ambohidrabiby are and men weavers. A rich entrepreneur in transformers but not planters and breeders. tourism coming from the locality afforded This northern part of the Capital faces the prob- the associations two big parcels of land lem of silk fibers. It weaves silk but does not cul- for the tivate any mulberry trees. This commune was known as — and still is —the first weaving craft mulberry tree plantation7. These two par- area in the Capital of Madagascar as Léon said: cels (half hectare each) were based in the “Ambohitrabiby (sic) is renowned for its silk. fokontany (locality) of Ambohidava. A Madagascar kings and queens’ silk garments third parcel - a public property - is based in used to be made in this locality” (The times of Andemaka and was planted by civil ser- Madagascar 2009). vants as actions and participation in the green program. Therefore, the authorities in the province of An- tananarivo launched and supported the landy The association had the opportunity to sector in the commune of Ambohidrabiby. The build a large silk breeding house made of bank BNI-CA, the SAF FJKM, and the CNRE- bricks, and afford themselves appropriate Maevalandy took part in and supported the pro- weaving utensils for the community gram with 20,000 mulberry young plants in 2003 (buckets, big pots), furniture (table, chairs) (CITE/BOSS Corporation 2009, 15), and enough and technical materials (shelves for breed- fertilizers. The Program Social pour le Develop- ing, reeling and weaving machines). The ment Rural (PSDR) and its partners also contrib- associations are composed of about 18–20
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weavers regardless of sex. They were both out any trees. The very few and short stems of headed by men; women’s position was sec- mulberry tree left have been used to knot the retary, treasurer or simple members. noose of oxen’s ropes. The sericiculture pro-
According to our informant, the associations grams stopped and turned back to the traditional worked well the first year and got consider- organisation of landikely activities and the cus- able landikely cocoons harvesting, enough tom that those who cultivate the mulberry silk for the weavers’ needs. Then, they reached a would breed the landikely worms and another disastrous level during the development of group will be the transformers. landy activities in the next few years driving There is evidence, especially at the micro level, to the failure of the programs and the inevi- to indicate that gender disparities— like the cul- table dissolution of the associations. tural notion that men have more skills and natu-
Rasoamalala, informed us that the excess of rally fit for managerial matters not only some members’ imposition, the lack of trust disadvantage women but also reduce the between the members, and mostly the mem- growth potential of the commune as a whole. bers’ carelessness/negligence towards the The existence of gender related barriers can pre- landy activities were drivers to the failure of vent the economic potential of women from be- the program. Trials on the collectivisation of ing effective entrepreneurs/weavers; and such the sericiculture and the implementation of barriers have an adverse impact on landy enter- collective landikely breeding houses failed prise development, productivity, and competi- because of the weavers’ “excess on indi- tiveness in the landy producing of the commune vidualism where the thirst for individual of Ambohidrabiby.
freedom has not been accommodated to the The “tragedy of the commons” means every- situation and the project yet”. (CITE/BOSS body’s, and therefore nobody’s property. But, in Corporation 2009, 9). fact, resources managed as common property are After the decline of the association, the not everyone’s property but are “property in worm breeding house has closed; all the col- common,” in which property rights are assigned lective belongings were sold or shared be- to a community or a social group rather than to tween the members. During our visit (June private individuals or to the state (Hanna, Folke, 2011), we observed that the three parcels of and Maler 1996, 39). mulberry trees were but barren lands with-
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Management of common resources within the are called property-rights regimes, and include Landy Hasina and the Hainga Landy associa- two components: property rights, the bundles tions took place through self–regulated systems of entitlements expectations defining rights but lacked an effective “comanagement” ar- and duties in the use of natural resources, and rangement in which a group of users shares au- property rules, the rules under which those thority” (Pomeroy 1994). Rules are developed rights and duties are exercised rules (Bromley among the members of the group with the ten- 1991). dency to demonstrate that, views of nature come 4. Conclusion and Recommendations into conflict when different people interact.
The association’s long-term actions need to The following factors are critical hindrances maintain the productivity of the natural environ- for the success of the two environmental pro- ment, and this collective goal may lead to coor- jects. dinated long-term actions which place the asso- Limited managerial skills for long-term ciation’s necessity above individual desires. activities, Both as individuals and as members of social Weak access to direct gender perspec- groups, the weavers’ human behavior is a re- tives and financial resources, sponse to particular institutional incentives. “When people act in self-centered ways, it is be- Limited access to women’s specific cause the social groups, economic, or regulatory needs and gender equity,
environment promote[s] such behavior” (Hanna, Destructive style of political and eco- Folke, and Maler 1996, 35). nomic leadership,
People interact with nature through the technol- Weak business organisation, and ogy they use, the labor they perform, and, in par- Limited enabling environment. ticular, their institutions – the rules and conven- tions for coordinating behavior. In the context of The approach of some Malagasy cultural val- interaction between the weavers and the ues reveals women’s inability to overcome as- landikely sericiculture, “institutions represent the sumptions and convictions to which changes arrangements which people devise to control and growth are explained by means of internal their use of the natural environment (Hanna, rather than external conditions. Folke, and Maler 1996, 35). These arrangements When people value nature’s goods and ser-
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vices, they transform nature into a resource. The moths), Ampijoroana (place where “joro” take parts of nature that are valued as resources are rela- place), and Antananondry (place of a sheep’s tive to a particular culture or period of time. Goals arms). and values indirectly shape the stock of natural as- 3 The main religions in Madagascar by number of sets and the flow of goods and services through the their followers are as follows: traditional belief preferences of living generations for their own con- = 52%, Christianism = 41 %, Islam = 7%. Tra- sumption and for bequest to future generations. De- ditional belief is mostly encountered in rural areas, which includes up to 73% of the whole cisions take place in an environment of uncertainty. population. Plants and animals have been described as natural 4 Randrianjatovo Roger Emile, 50, is the Second capital resources that embody value in the stock of Mayor Deputy in Ilaka Centre. He was inter- natural assets and the flow of goods and services viewed on 22 June 2011 at Ilaka Centre Town produced by those assets. The failure of these envi- Hall. ronmental projects to protect the productive capaci- 5 Ravololonarisoa Honorine, 56, was interviewed ties of the environment has, in many cases, eroded on 22 June 2011 in Ambohitsoa Antalavina. She its ability to function effectively as an asset for the is member of the COBA Ambohimanjaka and of weavers’ empowerment and livelihood. the craft association Tambatra as well.
The Malagasy landibe and landikely is a cultural 6 The current chief representative of the Associa- heritage. This may have undermined local organisa- tion Haonasoa, a service provider working for a tional systems and resulted in a high dependency on new agreement on tapia forest management in external support, which is very fragile under the Ambohimanjaka commune. He was interviewed priorities of needs and safeguarding. on 23 June 2011 in Anjoman’Ankona. 7 Our informant, Rasoamalala Martine, 55, is a
skillful weaver, member of Hainga Landy; was
interviewed on 18 May 2011in Ambohidava, Ambohidrabiby. Notes Bibliography 1 Ramilison Richard Donné, 52, is a native from the area and is the Mayor Deputy in Ilaka Centre com- Andrianarivelo Harilala H. M. 2009. Journey of the mune. He was interviewed on 22 June 2011 at Ilaka Malagasy ‘Lamba Landy’ towards Globalisa- Centre Town Hall. tion. Colloque International — ORACLE et le CRLHOI: Gender and Intercultural Dynamics: 2 “Joro” were practiced in three places in the com- The Transmission. La Réunion, 9–12 Décembre mune of Ilaka Centre— in Besamoina (full of
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2009. Green L. Rebecca, 2009. Conceptions of Identity and Tradition in Highland Malagasy Cloth- Broomley, D. W. 1991. Environment and economy: ing. USA. Property rights and public policy. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Hanna S. Susan, Folke Carl, and Maler Karl- Goran. 1996. Rights to Nature: Ecological, Chapurukha M. Kusimba, J. Claire Odland, and Economic, Cultural, and Political Principles Bennet Bronson (eds). 2006. Unwrapping the of Institutions for the Environment. Wash- textile traditions of Madagascar. Los Angeles: ington: Island Press. the Fowler, University of California. Hanna Susan and Jentoft Svein. 1996. Human CITE/BOSS Corporation, 2009. Etude Nationale de Use of Natural Environment: An Overview la Filière Soie: Régions Analamanga, Ambala- of Social and Economic Dimensions, in vao, Amoron’i Mania, Vakinankaratra, Itasy. Rights to Nature: Ecological, Economic, Madagascar : SAHA. Cultural, and Political Principles of Institu- CITE/BOSS Corporation, 2009. MADACRAFT, tions for the Environment. Washington: Is- ARTISANAT: Etude de la Demande en Fran- land Press. ce des Potentialités de l’offre à Madagascar, Hughes J. D. 1994. Pan’s Travail: Environmental Septembre 2008. In Etude Nationale de la problems of Ancient Greeks and Romans. Filière Soie: Régions Analamanga, Ambala- Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University vao, Amoron’i Mania, Vakinankaratra, Itasy. Press. Madagascar : SAHA. Intercooperation. 2008. Rapport Annuel 2007. Direction Régionale des Travaux Publics Fiana- Association Intercooperation Madagascar, rantsoa: Analyse Diagnostic Région Amoron’i Groupe IC Madagascar, Antananarivo. Mania, Comité Technique TBER Amoron’i Mania. In Tableau de Bord Environnemental: Kreamer Christine Mullen and Fee, Sarah. 2002. Région Amoron’i Mania. Madagascar: Office Objects as Envoys. Washington D.C.: Nationale pour l’Environnement (ONE). Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African Art. Feeny, D., F. Berkes, B.J. McCay, and J.M. Acheson. 1990. The Tragedy of the Com- Lalatiana/CCSEGS Fanoitra Itasy. 2010. Fiana- mons: Twenty-two years later. Human Ecol- ran’asa: Ho an’ny Tanora eo Anivon’ireo ogy 18 (I): 1-19. Orinasa Madinika in Mioitra, 2010. N◦ 002- Aout-Septembre 2010, Antananarivo Green L. Rebecca. 2003. Lamba Hoany. Vol. 36. Issue 2. P. 30–95. USA: African Arts. MADACRAFT Artisanat, 2008. Etude de la De-
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mande en France Potentialités de l’Offre à Piction John and Mack, John. 2002. African Textiles: Madagascar. Looms, Weaving, and Design. England: British Madagascar Action Plan (MAP). 2009–2012. A Museum Publications.
Bold and Exciting Plan for Rapid Develop- Pomeroy, R. S., ed. 1994. Community Management ment. and Common Property of Coastal Fisheries in Mayoux, Linda. 2009. Taking gender seriously: Asia and the Pacific: Concepts, Methods, and Towards a Gender Justice Protocol for Finan- Experiences. Manila: International Center for cial Services. Microfinance Handbook. Brus- Living Aquatic Resources.
sels: CERMI. Ponting, C. 1993. A |Green History of the World. Ny Tanintsika (our land). Tapia forests and Water New York: Penguin Books.
Supply Projects. 2005. The Times of Madagascar. 2009. Silk fabric protects Norali Oakerson, R. J. 1986. A Model for the from diseases.
Analysis of Common Property Problems. In VOI Maitsovolo. 2005. Statut na Dinampanorenan’- Proceeding of the Conference on Common ny Fikambanana - VOI Maitsovolo. Andaobato- Property Resources Management. Washing- manara. Anjoman’Ankona: Firaisam-pokontany ton, D.C.: National Academy Press, Anjoman’Ankona.
Ministère de l’Environnement, des Eaux et Forets, Vondron’olona Ifotony (VOI) Anjoman’Ankona, 2007. Comité Technique TBER Amoron’i 2005. Fitantanana an-tsoratra ny Fivoriampano- Mania ONE Enquête Communale 2005. In renan-pikambanana VOI Anjoman’Ankona. An- Tableau de Bord Environnemental: Région joman’Ankona: Firaisam-pokontany Anjoman- Amoron’i Mania. Madagascar: Office Natio- ’Ankona. nale pour l’Environnement (ONE). World Bank. 2005. DM 2005 Project Implementa- Ministère de l’Environnement, des Eaux et Forets, tion: +Progress Report. Madagascar 2007. PCDR, SPRSE DRDR Amoron’i Ma- < siteresources.worldbank.org/ nia, 2007. In Tableau de Bord Environnemen- DEVMARKETPLACE/.../DM2005-4726-01.pdf> tal: Région Amoron’i Mania. Madagascar: The Changing Nature of State Immu- Office Nationale pour l’Environnement nity in the Framework of the Interna- (ONE). tional Criminal Court
ONE (Traitement d’Image Landsat 7 : 1993-2001), Kudzaishe Marecha* 2006. In Tableau de Bord Environnemental: Abstract Région Amoron’i Mania. Madagascar: Office Head of State immunity has never been a static sec- tion of international law. It has been changed to suit Nationale pour l’Environnement (ONE).
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the changes in international relations. While relations. The concept is rooted in customary many areas of the world were governed by dif- ferent sovereigns, Head of State immunity was international law and can be traced back to the a ‘sovereign good’, a reciprocal respect for an- interactions of heads of state and their envoys other leader and accepting their legal equality. However, with the changes in the world espe- in the Greek city states, Persia and in the In- cially at the end of the First World War (WW I), Head of State immunity also went through dian sub-continent. In the Gaddafi case before transformations. The creation of international the French Supreme Court, the Court held that organizations like the League of Nations and the establishment by the preliminary Peace “International customary law prohibits the ex- Conference in 1919 of a commission to look ercise of criminal jurisdiction over foreign into issues of war crimes and the birth of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Commission im- Heads of State in office” (Zappala 2001, 596) pacted on international law, especially on is- sues pertaining to humanitarian law and human in local courts of other states. rights law. The International Criminal Court (ICC) was created to facilitate the prosecution In the medieval period, the respect of head of of perpetrators of international humanitarian law, something not within the jurisdiction of state immunity was not complicated by issues the International Court of Justice. As an inter- of terrorism, genocide and civil wars which national court, it was not restricted by head of state or diplomatic immunity. This ability to have become the most dangers to contempo- indict a head of state in office raised debates rary human rights issues. Due to the changes in and animosity between the court and African leaders as well as Arab leaders after it indicted the international arena, the concept of immu- Hassan Omar Al-Bashir, the Sudanese head of state. This paper explores and discusses the nity, particularly Head of State immunity, has changing nature of Head of State immunity and been changing. One of the major changes oc- how the ICC has impacted on State immunity. curred in the R V. Bow Street Metropolitan Sti- Keywords: State Immunity, jurisdiction, pendiary Magistrate, ex parte Pinochet No. 3) international law, international 1999 case in which for the first time, the Brit- criminal court. ish House of Lords, after lengthy deliberations, The Traditional Concept of Head of held that a former Head of state could not be State Immunity tried for crimes committed while executing his The concept of Head of State immunity has duties. However, acts of murdering civilians been one of the transforming concepts that were ruled to be a criminal act that is not in the have been controversial in international mandate of a Head of State. In such a case, a *Lecturer in Political Science, in the Department of History and Development Studies, Midlands former Head of State could be indicted and State University, Private Bag 9055,Gweru, Republic of Zimbabwe, E-mail: chigo- tried for such cases. (Shaw at http:// [email protected], [email protected] www.opendemocracy.net/article/sudan-the-icc-
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and-genocide-a-fateful-decision). The House both the Americans and the Japanese took the of Lords ruled that immunity enjoyed in the position that international law did not authorize form of ratione personae and ratione materie the trial of heads of state by an international will cease to exist if the crimes committed con- court. Nevertheless, the 1919 Preliminary stituted international crimes and the head of Peace Conference at Versailles established a state had vacated office. (Sonkenfun 2008). commission of 15 leading international law
Malcolm Shaw notes that Head of State immu- scholars to find legal ways to deal with the al- nity derives from the concept of sovereign im- leged perpetrators of the war. The Commis- munity. (Shaw 1997, 491–492) Quoting from sion’s report contained a recommendation for A D Watts, Shaw points out that, “Sovereignty the bringing of charges against the Head of until comparatively recently was regarded as State. (Levie 1992, 434) The argument is that appertaining to a particular individual in a state there has been some willingness to have an in- and not as an abstract manifestation of the ex- ternational court and to give it powers, but istence and power of the state.” (loc cit). “The states could not, soon after WW I, agree on the sovereign was a definable person, to whom composition and the jurisdiction of such an allegiance was due… Accordingly, it was only international court. Be that as it may, as time fitting that he could not be sued in foreign moved on and many states failed to cooperate courts.” (ibid). with international tribunals like the Interna- tional Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugo- The transformation from the complete immu- slavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal nity to changes in the concept of immunity Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) (Apreotesei 2008, came at the end of World War I. The 1919 Pre- 25), states moved to come up with the Rome liminary Peace Conference at Versailles noted Statute which gave life to the ICC. This re- that war crimes and crimes against humanity search therefore assesses whether the ICC will cannot be justified as acts undertaken while succeed in breaking the barriers of immunities serving a national duty which is conferred by and holding perpetrators of international rank or office, for instance being a Head of crimes accountable. State when the case has been brought before a properly constituted international tribunal. The United States Manual Law and Land War- (Mugemangango 2004, 24). fare states that, “The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a war Howard S. Levie notes that, after World War I,
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crime acted as the Head of State or as a responsi- leaked diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks shows ble government official does not relieve him that the USA and the Liberian government from responsibility for his act.” (Ibid). want to put away Taylor for a long time, if not
The rise of the International Criminal Court forever. The US Ambassador to Monrovia (ICC) brought in a new concept. The Rome Stat- Linda Thomas-Greenfield, on 10 March 2009, ute, which constituted the ICC, has a clause was alleged to have cabled Washington noting which notes that the court will not be restrained that: “… However, the best we can do for Liberia is by the fact that the alleged perpetrator is a Head to see to it that Taylor is put away for a long of State in office. (Ibid). The clause was a major time and we cannot delay for the results of the present trial to consider [the] next steps. All change from the traditional concept of Head of legal options should be studied to ensure that State immunity. It was a change from the cus- Taylor cannot return to destabilize Liberia. Building a case in the United States against tomary international law position. Taylor for financial crimes such as wire fraud would probably be the best route. … A free Scholars like Baffour Ankomah and Alina Ioana Taylor could tip the balance in the wrong di- rection.” (Thomas-Greenfield, quoted in Apreotesei have accused the ICC of being selec- Boateng “Drama at Taylor’s Trial”; in New tive in its application of international law and in African; March 2011). its issuance of warrants of arrest and against Af- The fact that the ICC has issued an interna- rican leaders. This has been due to the fact that tional warrant of arrest for an African Head of most of the cases at the ICC have been from Af- State in office, Omar Al Bashir, and has not rica while calls to arrest other world leaders like taken heed of calls by Arabs and Africans to Sharon of Israel, G. W. Bush have not been re- issue arrest warrants for the Israeli leadership ferred to the ICC by the U.N. Security Council. for the maiming of Gazans, as well as using the In an exclusive interview with the New African internationally prohibited white phosphorous magazine editor, Baffour Ankomah, Charles bombs in the Gaza bombings (McGreal ac- Taylor pointed out that some big nations were cessed from: www.guardian.co.uk on 24 July behind his hunting down for defying them, (New 2010), has resulted in it being viewed with sus- African, December 1997) and the ICC may picion by some Africans even after having therefore be abused as an instrument of venge- signed the Rome Statute of the ICC. ance against those who may speak against influ- The concept of head of state immunity was de- ential powers. While there was no evidence to rived from the concept of sovereign immunity. justify Taylor’s claims at the time, the recent
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States recognized that they were equal in their After the Central Bank of Nigeria had refused sovereignty and therefore no other state would to pay Trendtex Trading Corp which it had take another to its local courts. Sovereign im- contracted to freight its cement from Britain munity was justified by the Latin maxim: “par because the cement had been corrupted when inparem non habet imperium.” (One equal can- the Nigerian harbours failed to contain the ship not exercise authority over another). in the sea, the House of Lords ruled that the (Sonkenfun 2008, 71) In the English courts, it Bank could not invoke sovereign immunity as was a rule that a sovereign could not “be im- the act was purely commercial. (Ibid, 74). Re- pleaded.” (ibid). Given that, in Medieval times, strictive immunity, therefore, sought to strike a the sovereign of the state was attached to its balance between respect for sovereign inde- rulers, mostly the European kings and princes, pendence and protection against its abuse by sovereign immunity was attached to the per- the same sovereigns when they dealt with the sonal representative of the state who became public. the living sovereign. While sovereign immunity was derived mostly While this concept of sovereign immunity was from customary international law, the codifica- absolute, changes in international politics made tion of law and treaties meant that head of state it imperative to revise this concept especially immunity got new legality from the diplomatic when states became involved more and more immunity because a head of state can be ar- into commercial ventures. The absolute nature gued, according to Salvatore Zappala, to be the of sovereign immunity transformed to restric- chief diplomat of his country. Diplomatic im- tive immunity. Sovereign immunity was bro- munity gives diplomatic agents and diplomatic ken into two classes, namely, Acta jure imperii staff restrictive immunity which is justified by and acta jure gestionis. The former were acts the functional theory. (Zappala 2001, 598). of public office to which immunity remained Functional immunity is accorded to ensure the justiciable while the later were acts of commer- smooth functioning of the foreign mission. It is cial and private nature not covered by immu- immunity for official acts (ratione materiae). nity. (Caplan 2003, 73) This became the judg- According to the Vienna Convention on Diplo- ment of the British House of Lords in the case matic and Consular Immunity, a diplomat is of Trendtex Trading Corp v Central Bank of inviolable and cannot be arrested. (Vienna Con- Nigeria (1977). (Sonkenfun 2008, 71). vention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, United Nations
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Treaty Series, Vol. 500, Article 29) A diplomatic agent The end of WW II saw some changes being is immune from criminal prosecution and for introduced in the nature of head of state immu- civil prosecution except for private/personal nity. The Nuremburg Trials brought some cases. (ibid Article 31) Salvatore Zappala notes changes to the notion of rationea materie. A that “Diplomatic immunity safeguards the unin- new principle of Command Responsibility was terrupted deployment of state representation by introduced. It was a principle which claimed diplomatic agents (on the basis of the principle that a leader cannot claim fulfilling the duties of ne impediatur legatio) banning almost any of his/her office by committing international kind of intrusion into the agent’s life by the au- crimes. (Guenael Mettraux, accessed from: thorities of the receiving state.” (Zappala 2001, http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/ 599). product/9780199559329.do on 5 January 2011). Head of state immunity harmonized the func- tions of both sovereign immunity and diplomatic Current Status on Head of State Immunity immunity. A head of state can be seen as the The events of the WW II made many interna- chief diplomat of his state and therefore accord- tional lawyers, politicians and activists revise ingly head of state immunity made it easy to the concept of head of state immunity. Gross conduct diplomacy, especially in the era of war crimes that were committed by the Hitler High profile closer international interaction. regime in Germany and Europe led scholars to meetings and summits like the United Nations move a step further from the Nuremburg judg- General Assembly, African Union Summits, ments. The principle of Universal jurisdiction Commonwealth summits (CHOGAM), and re- was put into effect to bring to book those who gional bodies meetings like Southern Africa De- committed war crimes in the name of the state, velopment Community (SADC) and Economic a case in point being the Eichmann case. commission for West African States (ECOWAS) (Sonkenfun 2008, 64). are traditionally attended and graced by heads of However, the jurisdiction ended with only state state. On the other hand, according immunity to officials and did not challenge the immunity of a head of state means according due sovereign the head of state. While there has been an at- respect to that state for which the head of state is tempt to indict a head of state in the case of the still seen as the personification of that state. Kaiser of Germany after WW I, the real change (Ibid). was introduced by the British highest court, the
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House of Lords in the Pinochet Case. Jake enforcement remained a thorny issue as the Hirsh-Allen notes that “In Pinochet I, the ma- respect of sovereignty as a reciprocal gesture jority of the House of Lords held that a Head continued to weigh heavily on the shoulders of of State who had committed torture could not states. For normal diplomatic relations to be have been acting as Head of State when he did conducted, states could not easily arrest heads so as such actions are crimes under interna- of state accused of war crimes. The Interna- tional law.” (Hirsh-Allen 2010, 11) The House tional Court of Justice (ICJ) also acted as a of Lords held that: stumbling block, especially in the Case of Bel- “…the development of international law since gium V. Congo (2000). When the DRC took the Second World War justifies the conclu- sion that by the time of [Pinochet’s] 1973 Belgium to the ICJ challenging a Belgian coup d’état, and certainly ever since, interna- court’s decision to charge its incumbent for- tional law condemned genocide, torture, hos- tage taking and crimes against humanity… as eign minister, Abdulaye Yerodia Ndombasi, international crimes deserving of punishment. Given this state of international law, it seems the ICJ ruled that Yerodia was entitled to full to me difficult to maintain that the commis- personal immunity as a state agent from both sion of such high crimes may amount to acts performed in the exercise of the functions of a customary and treaty laws. (Dworkin and Ilio- Head of State.” (Hirsh-Allen 2010, 11). poulos, Accessed from: http:// While there have been some arguments on the www.crimesofwar.org/index.html on 5 January status of Head of State immunity in the current 2011). To deal with this complication, the age, one can safely argue that the international creation of international courts, beginning with system has moved forward to try and balance different tribunals like the International Crimi- the need to respect state sovereignty and nal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia against the need to protect persons from tyr- (ICTY), Special Court for Sierra Leone anny at the hands of the same sovereignty. It (SCSL) and the International Criminal Tribu- seems that the current age has moved from nal for Rwanda (ICTR), became the only solu- viewing sovereignty as impunity to a culture of tion. They have no horizontal relations with sovereignty as national and international ac- states that would burden them with the respon- countability. (Ibid) Jake Hirsh-Allen argues sibility of observing head of state immunity. that, “In such an environment, sovereign im- Birth and Implications of the ICC for Head munity must be withdrawn in the face of of State Immunity claims based on the ‘egregious violation of hu- The creation of the International Criminal man rights’.” (Ibid) However, the question of
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Court (ICC) was a culmination of a long process. to, the “Yamashita Standard” (ibid), no state Since the end of WW II, world leaders have official, including military generals can claim grappled with state officials including heads of plead innocent because they were acting in ac- state committing crimes against humanity and cordance with their duties when they commit- war crimes. Before the creation of international ted international crimes. (ibid) The Yamashita courts, states justified their jurisdiction over per- Standard was derived from the Case of the petrators of international crimes using the con- Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita in the cept of universal jurisdiction. The concept notes US Supreme Court in 1945. The General was that perpetrators of international crimes can be convicted of atrocities committed by troops arrested and tried in any national court because under his command in the Philippines. (Ibid). every state has a duty to protect human rights and to bring to book those who violate the law. The Tribunal, which is one of the predecessors A case in point is the case of Attorney General of of the ICC argued that: Israel V. Eichmann (1961). As one of the highest “The following acts, or any of them, are ranking officials of the German Third Reich, crimes coming within the jurisdiction of the Adolf Eichmann was convicted of war crimes Tribunal for which there shall be individual responsibility: [...] (b) 'War crimes:' namely, and crimes against humanity by an Israeli court. violations of the laws or customs of war. Such violations shall include, but be limited Eichmann argued that he could not be tried in a to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to court of a state that did not exist at the time when slave labour or for any other purpose of civil- ian population of or in occupied territory, the alleged crimes were committed. The Attor- murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plun- ney General of Israel argued that Eichmann had der of public or private property, wanton de- committed crimes against humanity as recog- struction of cities, towns or villages, or dev- astation not justified by military necessity; (c) nised by international customary law therefore 'Crimes against humanity:' namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and he could be tried anywhere by any court in the other inhumane acts committed against any world. (Sonkenfun 2008, 65). civilian population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political, racial or religious The International Military Tribunal at Nurem- grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribu- burg had already set a precedent that no defense nal, whether or not in violation of the domes- tic law of the country where perpe- of one serving a certain regime or government trated.” (ibid, 48–49). could be used to justify war crimes or crimes against humanity. Under the principle of Com- Lessons from the International Military Tribu- mand Responsibility or, as sometimes referred
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nal at Nuremburg were also applied at the set- 1. This Statute shall apply equally to all per- sons without any distinction based on ting up of the International Tribunal for the official capacity. … 2. Immunities or spe- former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the Interna- cial procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether tional Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The crea- under national or international law, shall not bar the Court from exercising its ju- tion of International Courts to deal with war risdiction over such a person. (Rome crimes and crimes against humanity was after Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998). the understanding that it was not easy for an- Member states to the ICC have a duty to en- other country to prosecute another state’s offi- force arrest warrants which are issued by the cial due to sovereign and diplomatic immuni- Prosecutor of the Court. According to the ties. Even though the ICTY managed to indict European Parliament Resolution of 9 Sep- an incumbent head of State, Serbian President, tember 2010 on Kenya’s failure to arrest Slobodan Milosevic, international tribunals President Al-Bashir, countries that are part to were not permanent and were meant to deal the ICC have “…an obligation to arrest any with specific cases and crimes that would have person who is wanted by the ICC and to de- been committed at a certain time. Due to the liver them to the Court or deny that person grossness of crimes against humanity and war admission to their territory.” (European Parlia- crimes, world leaders found it noble to create a ment Resolution 2010) The European Parliament permanent international court that would deal further notes that “…countries which have with international crimes. This culminated in ratified the UN Genocide Convention of the creation of the International Criminal Court 1948 have an obligation to cooperate with through the adoption of the Rome Statute of the ICC, even if they are not signatories to 1998. (Sadat 2007, 491). the Rome Statute.” (ibid, 1–2).
The greatest transformation which was While there had been real changes in the obser- brought by the ICC is the total disregard of vation of head of state immunity through dec- the concept of head of state immunity in ades, the birth of the ICC was unique in the front of international courts through the ne- sense that it became the first international court gation of the diplomatic and sovereign im- to be mandated to indict and prosecute a head munity concepts. A head of state in office of state in office. Article 27 of the Rome Stat- has ceased to be the sacred sovereign who ute stipulates that: represents the rest of the nation at home and
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therefore, as long as a warrant of arrest has hold this principle until when, at the end of been issued, such a leader can be arrested the WW I, there was great agitation in anywhere. Europe to “hang the Kaiser” of Germany for
Be that as it may, these changes lay heavy having been solely responsible for the war. burdens on the conduct of international di- While this did not succeed because Holland plomacy. The invitation of Al-Bashir by granted the Kaiser asylum, it became the first Kenya on 27 August 2010 to grace the occa- fault-line in the foundation of the principle sion of the launching of the new Kenyan upon which European and USA leaders man- constitution is one case in point. Given that aged to build on after the end of the WW II Al-Bashir is needed to stand trial in the ICC, when they managed to try those accused of and that Kenya is part to both the Rome Stat- war crime among the vanquished axis pow- ute and the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, ers. It is important to highlight that in recent it was supposed to arrest him and submit him years, we have witnessed a dramatic shift to the Court or at least not to invite him into from this customary international law princi- Kenyan territory. ple, where some jurisdictions have been ar- resting or threatening to arrest former and Conclusion sitting heads of state in order to institute The topic of head of state immunity had al- criminal prosecutions against them. The ways been viewed, prior to the creation of Rome Statute of the ICC makes it clear that international tribunals, as a sacrosanct issue. the court is not restricted by official immu- Customary international law stipulated that nity or whether a person is a head of state in heads of state enjoyed immunity from prose- office. Given that the court is not a national cution in national courts of foreign states. court of any state; the court is also not re- Immunity was derived from the fact that in stricted by the Geneva Convention on Diplo- international relations, states are legally matic and Consular Immunity or by bi-lateral equal. They were sovereign in their right and diplomatic treaties. In such a case, the court no sovereign could bring another sovereign can arrest and try Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan under its local jurisdiction. The sovereignty for war crimes and crimes against humanity. of the state as an entity was passed to the There is, however, no uniformity in the ap- monarchs who personified the state in medie- plication of this action. On the other hand, val Europe. European states continued to up-
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existing jurisprudence on this subject is not law of war crimes. Newport: Oceana Publica- firm in its application. This problem there- tions, Inc., p. 434. fore calls for the harmonization of the appli- Jake Hirsh-Allen. [nd]. Bashir’s immunity: Argu- cation of the principle of immunity of heads ments in support of the prosecution of an in- of state in order to make international law cumbent head of a non-state party by the In- reflect the real consent of states. ternational Criminal Court. Accessed from: jake.contemporaryfuture.com/docs/
transystemiclaw/BashirImmunity.pdf on 7 References November 2010, p. 11. Alina Ioana Apreotesei. 2008. Genocide and Justus A. Sonkenfun. 2008. Public international other minority related issues in cases before law 1. Lagos: National Open University of the International Criminal Court. In Miskolc Nigeria, p. 77. Journal of International Law, Vol. 5, No. 2, p.25. Laila Nadya Sadat. 2007. Judgement at Nurem- burg: Foreword to the Symposium. In Wash- Anthony Dworkin and Katherine Iliopoulos. [nd]. ington University Global Studies Law Review, The ICC, Bashir, and the immunity of heads Vol. 6, No. 491, p. 491. of state. Accessed from: http:// www.crimesofwar.org/index.html on 5 Lee M. Caplan. 2003. State immunity, human January 2011. rights and the Jus Cogens: A critique of the normative hierarchy theory. In The American Chris McGreal. [nd]. UN Panel accusses Isreal of Journal of International Law, Vol. 97, No. war crimes for unlawful assault on Gaza 741, p. 73. Flotilla. accessed from: www.guardian.co.uk on 24 July 2010. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, quoted in Osei Boateng. 2011. Drama at Taylor’s Trial. In New Afri- European Parliament Resolution P7_TA-PROV can, March 2011. (2010)0315, 9 September 2010, p. 1. Malcolm N. Shaw. 1997. International law. Cam- Guenael Mettraux. [nd]. The law of command bridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 491–2. responsibility. Accessed from: http:// ukcatalogue.oup.com/ Martin Shaw [nd] Sudan, the ICC and genocide: A product/9780199559329.do on 5 January fateful decision. Accessed from http:// 2011. www.opendemocracy.net/article/sudan-the-icc -and-genocide-a-fateful-decision on 26 July Howard S. Levie. 1992. Terrorism in war: The OSSREA Bulletin Vol. IX No. 1 (February 2012) Page 38
2010.
New African. [nd]. Charles Taylor’s interview with
Baffour Ankomah. New African, December 1997.
Paul Mugemangango. 2004. Immunity from prosecu-
tion for genocide, crimes against humanity and
war crimes: The case of heads of state. LLM the-
sis, Faculty of Law; Makerere University, Kam-
pala; October 2004, p. 24.
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,
1998, Article 27 (1) and (2).
Salvatore Zappala. 2001. Do heads of state in office enjoy immunity from jurisdiction for international
crimes? The Ghaddafi case before the French Cour de Cassation. In European Journal of Inter-
national Law (EJIL), Vol.12, No. 3, p. 596.
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. 1961. United Nations Treaty Series, Vol. 500, Article
29.
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Marriage and Sex-Based 1. Introduction Language Variation in (Arsi) Oromo 1.1 Introduction to the problem area
Italo Beriso Linguistic research and everyday experience reveal to us that there is a difference between men's and Abstract women's speech in most societies, if not all. The The object of lagu or taboo is reverence. It is be- lieved that taboo or avoidance started with male differences are sometimes quite small and are not dominance and monogamous marriage. It is basi- generally noticed or probably taken for granted in cally a linguistic restriction in which women are the same way as different gestures of facial expres- not allowed to say certain sounds or words. This sions. In many accents of American English, for restriction greatly influences women’s speech and in a way hampers communication between a example, women's vowels are found to be more woman who is practicing taboo or avoidance and peripheral (more front, more back, higher or a person who is not familiar with the practice and lesser) than men's. Furthermore, adjectives like the possible substitutes for the sounds and words to be avoided. Taboo is widely practiced among dreadful, precious, and darling are more apt to be some tribes in Africa, America, Central Asia and encountered in women's speech than in men's. India although the practice differs from place to place. Some set apart certain objects as sacred or Still in other societies, as Trudgill (1976) notes, unclean and harmful. It is widely believed that sex-based linguistic differences may be quite large, the violation of taboos could lead to severe pun- overtly noted, and perhaps even actively taught to ishments. In Arsi society lagu is mainly avoid- ance of names pertaining to in-laws and their young children. clans. Some common names of males and fe- How much small or big the differences might be, males have been identified and their possible substitutes indicated. The practice of lagu has however, the burden lies on sociolinguistics to dig been there for so long and believed to have begun out not only the differences but also the factors with monogamous marriage. However, the situa- that cause them. tion seems to be changing—the practice is sharply declining due to the fact that women In light of this Trudgill (1976) gives two factors as have now access to modern education and the possible causes: advent of democracy and urbanization have also played a significant role. Thus, in a foreseeable 1. War: In the explanation given to the differ- future lagu may cease to be a practice as women ence of men and women's language of become more conscious of their rights and re- sponsibilities in their communities. Caribs, it was stated that the men were exter- minated by invaders who married the women so that they could populate the country. But
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both the men and women continued using Language, like other forms of social activity, their original tongues which became a has to be appropriate to the speaker using it. norm for the following generations. This is why, in many communities, men and women's speech is different. In certain socie- 2. Taboo: Taboo may perhaps have a pow- erful influence on the growth of separate ties, a man might be laughed to scorn if he sex vocabularies generally. If taboos be- used language inappropriate to his sex - just come associated with particular objects or as he would be if he were to wear a skirt activities such that say, women are not (although it may depend on which society permitted to use the original name, then you live in). new words or phrases are likely to be These varieties reveal themselves in phe- used instead and sex differentiation of nomenon social construct known as taboo. vocabulary items will result (Trudgill Taboo can be characterized as being con- 1976:87). cerned with behaviour which is believed to
Linguistic sex varieties arise because language be supernaturally forbidden or regarded as as a social phenomenon is closely related to immoral or improper; it deals with behaviour social attitudes. Men and women are socially which is prohibited or inhibited in an appar- different in that society lays down different ently irrational manner. In language, taboo is social roles from them and expects different associated with things which are not said, behaviour patterns from them. Language sim- and in particular with words and expressions ply reflects this social fact. Men and women's which are not used. In practice, of course, speech is not only different: Women's speech this simply means that there are inhibitions is also (socially) 'better' than men's speech. about the normal use of items of this kind— This is a reflection of the fact that, generally if they were not said at all, they could hardly speaking, more 'correct' social behaviour is ex- remain in the language. pected of women. Men have a great many expressions peculiar
It seems that the larger and more inflexible the to them, which the women understand but difference between the social roles of men and never pronounce themselves. On the other women in a particular community, the larger hand, women have words and phrases which and more rigid the linguistic differences tend men never use, or they would be laughed to to be. scorn. Thus it happens that in their conversa-
OSSREA Bulletin Vol. IX No. 1 (February 2012) Page 41
tions it often seems as if the women had an- deteriorated with the advent of class soci- other language than the men. ety' (Engels 1972:30). In the traditional Arsi soci-
Since the situation in Arsi society is similar ety a married woman starts 'lagu', avoidance of to what has been discussed afore, it is reason- certain names, four days after the wedding cere- able to choose taboo as the cause for the lin- mony. On this day four elderly women of the guistic sex varieties in Arsi. Taboo in bridegroom's clan come to the bedroom of the Oromo is called 'lagu' - 'avoidance'. It is bride and tell her a list of names of persons she connected with avoidance of names of in- shouldn't mention and possible substitutes for the laws, husbands, husbands' clans. The restric- names she is to avoid. tion mostly applies to women, i.e. women are The main object of lagu is reverence. However, not allowed to mention names of their fathers this linguistic restriction on married women had its -in-law, mothers-in-law, husbands, clans of own impact on the day-to-day communication of their husbands, brothers and sisters-in-law, women in Arsi society. etc. 1.2 Statement of the Problem
'Lagu' is believed to have started with a mo- 'Taboo', in Arsi society, reveals itself in lagu- nogamous marriage. The significant charac- avoidance of a married woman, names of her fa- teristic of monogamous marriage was its ther-in-law, mother-in-law, husband, her husband's transformation of the nuclear family into the clan, brothers and sisters-in-law, etc. This in a way basic economic unit of society within which influences the speech of a woman as she tends to a woman and her children became dependent avoid mentioning words which start with same or upon an individual man. Arising in conjunc- similar sounds with names of persons she avoids in tion with exploitative class relations, this accordance with lagu practice. Hence, this article transformation resulted in the oppression of attempts to show linguistic sex varieties and their women that has persisted to the present day. social and linguistic effects in the society under As corollary to, or symptomatic of this trans- study. formation, the reckoning of descent was
changed from 'mother right' to 'father right'.
There is sufficient evidence at hand to sup- port in its broad outlines Engels' argument that 'the position of women relative to men
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1.3 Significance of the Study that are used in particular situations and that There is disappointedly little work ad- mark the various social relationships among dressed to the description of socially marked varieties in Ethiopia. It has often the participants and the significant elements been claimed that there are no linguistic of the situation. Influences on the choice of differences in social rank for native speak- ers of Amharic, but this claim needs to be sounds, grammatical elements and vocabu- empirically verified. In general, there has been little work addressed to discovering lary items may include such factors as age, and describing linguistic differences associ- sex, education, occupation, race, and peer- ated with variables such as social rank, eth- nicity, age, sex within Ethiopian speech group identification among others. communities (Bender 1976:565). On the other hand, Strevens (1977:120) ob- The study of Sex and language variation in Arsi serves, Oromo may, as no research has been conducted in The study of diversity of language is the this field so far, show the extent of linguistic sex study of the reasons why people say and write precisely what they do say and write, varieties with the possible cause (s) and effects of instead of using or saying the same thing these varieties in the society under study, and and it turns out that the reasons are highly complex and therefore require a complex moreover serves as a preliminary work for further framework of categories to explain them. investigation in the area. In every situation, what one says and how 1.4 Scope of the Study one says it depends upon the nature of that This study mainly reflects the linguistic sex varie- situation, the social role being played at the ties in Kofale woreda in western Arsi zone which time, one's status vis-à-vis that of the person the writer of this article knows very well. There- addressed, one's attitude toward him or her, fore, if there happens to be differences with regard and so on. Language interacts with nonverbal to lagu practice in other areas of Arsi, it is beyond behaviour in social situations and serves to the scope of this work. clarify and reinforce the various roles and relationships important in a particular cul- 1.5 Theoretical Framework ture. Sociolinguistics is far from having satis- "Sociolinguistics is the study of the sociological factorily analyzed or even identified all the aspects of language."(The New Encyclopedia Bri- factors involved in the selection of one lan- tannica, Vol. 10, 1986, p. 928) The discipline con- guage feature rather than another in particu- cerns itself with the part language plays in main- lar situations. Among those that have been taining the social roles in community. Sociolin- discussed in relation to various languages guists attempt to isolate those linguistic features
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are: the formality or informality of the situa- part in religion, and certain words regarded as tion; power and solidarity relationships be- powerful will be used in spells and incantations. tween participants; differences of sex, age, In different parts of the world taboo words include occupation, socioeconomic class and educa- those for the left hand, for female relations, or for tional background; and personal or transac- certain game animals. Some words, too, are much tional situations. more severely tabooed than others. In the English speaking world, for example, the most severe ta- Variety and change are intricately con- boos are now associated with words connected nected— representing the two most signifi- with sex, closely followed by those connected with cant and diagnostic expressions of the lan- excretion and the Christian religion. This is a re- guage and society relationship. Without in- flection of the great emphasis traditionally placed corporating linguistic change and diversifica- on sexual morality in English culture. tion into the main body of its subject matter and methodology any theory of language 2. Review of Related Literature
claiming to be a reflection of the reality of Generally speaking, we cannot explain differences language would be unjustified. It would be of this kind in terms of social distance. In most doomed to failure because it would be unable societies men and women communicate freely to make its effective contribution to a solu- with one another, and there appear to be few social tion of the practical problems posed by lan- barriers likely to influence the density of commu- guage in society. "Thus sociolinguistic con- nication between the sexes. siderations help to stress the role of linguis- According to a study conducted in the U.S.A., due tics in society." (Language and Society: The to the strong reluctance of speakers to utter taboo- Topic of Sociolinguistics, 12th International words, or words which are phonetically similar to Congress of Linguists, Vienna 29.8–2.9, taboo-words, a number of words have been lost 1977). from the language. For example, rabbit replaced When it comes to the role of taboo, gener- the older word coney in English for this reason. A ally, the type of word that is tabooed in a par- similar explanation is advanced for the widespread ticular language will be a good reflection of American use of rooster rather than cock. at least part of the system of values and be- Examples of taboo as an explanatory factor also liefs of the society in question. In some come from other parts of the world. In Zulu, for communities, word magic plays an important
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example, it has been reported that a wife was not the people concerned may themselves feel allowed to mention the name of her father-in-law uncomfortable, like the West Indian boys, or his brothers, and she might be put to death if she and compensate for this through jokes and broke this taboo. In Zulu, it appears that this proc- mimicking. ess could go as far as to include particular sounds Very little work has been done regarding lin- of the language. Say, for example, that the ta- guistic sex varieties in Ethiopia. One piece of booed name contained the sound /z/. This might work relevant to this study is Sex and Lan- mean, apparently, that the woman in question guage Variation in Sidama by Anbessa Te- would not be able to use a word like amanzi 'water' ferra (1987). In this study, Anbessa has indi- without converting it to a form without the tabooed cated the role of taboo in Sidama zone. Ac- sound amandabi. If this kind of process became cording to his study, Sidama women are not generalized to all the women in the community, allowed to mention names of their fathers-in- then it can be seen that distinct sex dialects might law, mothers-in-law, husbands and clans of result. their husbands. This situation is very similar Trudgill (1976:95) explains, "Geographical, ethnic to the lagu practice in Arsi, the focus of this group, and social class varieties are, at least partly, study. the result of social distance, while sex varieties are 3. Research Design and Procedures the result of social difference." As indicated earlier the main object of this Sex varieties, then, are the result of different social study is to show the extent of linguistic sex attitudes towards the behaviour of men and variety in Arsi society. Hence, all the infor- women, and of the attitudes men and women mation and data necessary for the study came themselves consequently have to language as a from this very society. social symbol. Men and women speak as they do Two methods were employed in this work. because they feel a particular kind of language to First, the researcher of this study consulted a be appropriate to their sex. This kind of appropri- number of elderly (both males and females) ateness is reinforced by various social pressures: members of the society under study for iden- people using inappropriate linguistic behaviour tification of areas subject to lagu and for pos- may be rewarded by being 'laughed to scorn' as sible substitutes for proper names to be with Caribs, or perhaps even by being put to avoided by a married woman in accordance death, as, reportedly with the Zulus. In other cases
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with lagu practice. Secondly, the researcher These personal pronouns are put here because has made his own observations. they are used to refer to persons whose names
Based on the information gathered from are avoided as a result of lagu or avoidance. these elderly members of the society and the 4.1 A Woman vis-à-vis Her Father-in-law researcher's own observation, areas liable to In Arsi society, a woman has to show great re- taboo have been divided into parts for discus- spect for her father-in-law. This is to such an sion and analysis. These identified areas have extent that a woman will not have eye contact been verified with practical examples with her father-in-law, till she gives birth to (common proper names). her first child. It is for this reason that a Furthermore, the technique used for forming woman hides herself at the slightest hearing of substitutes for proper names has been identi- his voce. fied and illustrated with examples. The respect does not stop at the evasion of On the other hand, 'lagu' practice in other one's father-in-law. It extends to language use. Oromo speaking areas has been considered The speech of a woman is affected and is de- in this study. Lagu practice in Illu-abbabor is termined by the phonological structure of her briefly treated for comparison with lagu father-in-law's name, especially by the initial practice in Arsi. sound of his name.
4. Topic Analysis A woman (wife of one's son) does not mention
It is appropriate to present the independent the name of her father-in-law. Instead she uses nd personal pronouns of Oromo because of their the two polite forms of pronoun - 2 person rd person singular po- relevance and importance in this study. singular polite (isn) or 3 lite (isan), the former when talking with her
father-in-law and the latter form when talking about her father-in-law. She can alternatively person Singular Form Plural Form Polite Form 1st Anna I Nuu we 2nd sing. pol. Isn 2nd sii you isn you 3rd sing. pol. isan 3rd masc. isa he isan they
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use Abba, 'father' to talk to or about her father-in- marital life. As a consequence intimacy de- law. velops between the mother-in-law and the
However, if conditions call for such a use she can daughter-in-law. It might be because of this mention same names or similar names of persons, intimacy that a daughter-in-law shows less animals or objects by substituting the first syllable respect for her mother-in-law. (in most cases) of names related to the name of her However, a daughter-in-law does not men- father-in-law. But, the new substitution should not tion the name of mother-in-law. She may sound odd or be obscene. either use formal pronouns (isn or isan) or e.g. address her as Ayya, 'mother'. Most daugh-
Name of father-in-law Substitution ters-in-law address their mother-in-law as Gamachu somachu 'Ayya'. This is the common form of address
Ganamo Sanamo children use to address their mothers in Arsi Buli suli society.
However, substitution sometimes can hamper On the other hand, if a daughter-in-law wants communication between an Arsi woman and a per- to mention names of persons, animals or ob- son who is not a member of that community. This jects having the same or similar names she is because the outsider may not know the in-laws has to substitute the first sound or syllable of of the woman and will wonder why on earth the the word she mentions. woman speaks such a funny language. On the e.g. other hand, a person who is from that woman's community can easily deduce the meaning of each Name of mother-in law Substitution substituted word as he/she knows the individuals Bontu Sontu whose names the woman avoids to mention. Ayane somane Hawwi Sawwi 4.2 A Woman vis-à-vis Her Mother-in-law
The degree of respect for a mother-in-law is lower 4.3 A woman vis-à-vis Her Husband than that for a father-in-law. This is merely be- A wife normally does not call her husband cause it is the mother-in-law who takes care for the by name. This is because a wife is expected daughter-in-law during the first few months of her to respect her husband. If a woman calls her
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husband by name, she could be considered the name of her husband's clan. If she wants to 'ill-mannered.' mention name of the clan, she has to substitute the first sound or syllable of the clan's name. However, she can address her husband sii (you), (familiar 2nd per. sing.) or she can re- e.g. fer to him using isa, 'he' in his absence if the Name of a clan Substitution age-gap is not big. Using personal pronouns Alkaso Salkaso to address her husband continues till she Wondo somdo gives birth to her first child. After the first child is born and given a name, she will com- 4.5 A Woman vis-à-vis Her Husband's Brothers bine the child's name with the word abba, and Sisters 'father' and use the compound form for ad- A woman is not allowed to call brothers and sisters dressing her husband. of her husband by name, especially if they are e.g. older than her husband. Age plays a significant role in this particular case. She is expected to use Child's name Compound Glos. form obbola, 'brother' for brothers of her husband and obbole, 'sister' for sisters of her husband in ad- Bonna + abba Abbabonna 'Bonna's father' dressing. To identify one person from another, she Galgalu + abba Abbagalgalu 'Galgalu's father' can add the proper name of the brother or sister
she is addressing to obbola or obbole accordingly. 4.4 A Woman vis-à-vis Clan of Her Husband e.g.
Clans were once names of living persons. obbola Bonna 'brother Bonna'
Descendants of a certain clan have high re- obbole Hawwi 'sister Hawwi'
gard for the elderly members of their clan. In most cases, clan leaders were considered sav- 4.6 A man vis-à-vis His in-laws
iours of the community. By the same token a We have seen in the preceding explanations that a woman who has joined a clan through mar- married woman has to show respect for her in- riage is expected to give due respect to the laws. One can imagine how substitution of names clan and its leaders. affects her speech: from change of syllables up to There are a lot of clans in Arsi society. A the use of different lexical items. woman, however, avoids mentioning only
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This situation, however, is not true in the case of Hence, events and natural phenomena play sig- men. Of course a son-in-law has to honour his nificant role in naming daughters-in-law in Arsi father-in-law and mother-in-law. He shows his society. respect either by using the polite forms of pro- The writer of this paper has tried to see what nouns (isn or isan) or by calling his father-in-law lagu looks like in other areas where Oromo is abba, 'father' and his mother-in-law ayya, spoken. The researcher has discovered that lagu 'mother'. A son-in-law does not mention the is common among Oromo-speaking people al- name of his father-in-law and the name of his though it needs to be investigated to know the mother-in-law, at least, in their presence, but can diversity and similarity of lagu in different ar- mention names of persons having similar or eas where Oromo speakers live. identical names while a daughter-in-law can't. As it is difficult to include the different lagu 4.7 Father and Mother-in-law vis-à-vis Their practices in the whole region, the writer of this Son and Daughter-in-law article has considered only lagu practice in Illu- A father-in-law does not call his son-in-law by abbabor for the sake of comparison with lagu name. He calls his son-in-law gurba, 'son'. A practice in Arsi. mother-in-law calls her son-in-law detti, 'my Accordingly, it has been found out that in Illu- son'. abbabor a married woman, regardless of her re- Similarly a daughter-in-law is not called by ligion, completely avoids names of her-in-laws name. She is given a new meaningful name by and names related to names of her-in-laws. She both the father-in-law add mother-in-law. For uses synonyms for names she has to avoid in example, if she is the first wife of their eldest her speech. Lagu in Illu-abbabor is different son, she would be generally named soretti, 'first from lagu in Arsi. As pointed out earlier, in comer'. If the same son marries another woman, Arsi, a married woman changes or avoids the the name she is to be given by her father-in-law first sound or syllable of the names she has to and mother-in-law is usually associated with avoid whereas in Illu-abbabor, a married events. For example, if that season's harvest is woman completely avoids the name she is ex- found to be satisfactory, she may be named pected not to mention. kuftu, 'plenty'. Furthemore, if it rains heavily on the wedding day, the bride may be named
Robdu, 'rainy'.
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e.g.
Name of person Substitution Name of person In Illu- Substitution in Arsi abbabor
Gudata Sudata Gudata Bikilla Bonna Sonna Marga Sardo Ganamo Sanamo Ganamo Barissa
6. Conclusion
5. Technique of Substitution "Taboo is widely practiced … in the Although there is no one signal technique world" (Brown 1965: 133). This custom exists involved in the substitution of names to be among tribes in America, Africa, Central Asia avoided, changing the first sound to [S] or and India although the practice of taboo differs ‘sh’ is the most common phenomenon. from place to place. The Polynesians and There are exceptions and irregulars which other people set apart certain objects as espe- take different sounds or syllables or even dif- cially sacred, or as unclean and harmful. Some ferent forms. people looked upon tabooed things as sacred. e.g. Lagu as a linguistic restriction in Arsi society Name Substitution has greatly influenced the speech of women Regulars: Ware Sare and this in a way hampers communication be-
Bonna Sonna tween an Arsi woman and a person who is not Hawwi Sawwi familiar with the lagu practice and the possible Ayane Somane Exceptions & Buli Suli substitutes for words to be avoided. irregulars: Dureti Soreti However, the victories that have been scored in Eleme Gadisse the course of the struggle to build a new order have laid a strong and solid foundation for fu- ture progress. In the past women were not pre-
pared to discharge their share of duty due to
various cultural and social pressures resulting from decadent traditions and customs as well
as administrative restrictions and obstacles.
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As one of the main achievements of democ- Brown, A.R. 1965. Structure and Function in racy is the materialization of equality between Primitive Society. London: Cohen and West Ltd.
sexes, democracy has bestowed upon women Engels, F. 1972. The Origin of the Family, Private such equal rights as were denied to them under Property and the State. London: Lawrence and the old order. The practice of lagu is increas- Wishert.
ingly declining. Thus, it may cease to be a Language and Society: The Topic of Sociolinguis- practice as women in general and Arsi women tics XIIth International Congress of Linguists - in particular become more conscious and Vienna, 1977.
aware of their rights and duties in their respec- Sociolinguistics, The New Encyclopedia Britan- tive communities. nica, Vol. 10, 1986.
References Strevens, P. 1977. New Orientations in the Teach-
Anbessa Teferra. 1987. Sex and Language Varia- ing of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. tion in Sidama. (Term Paper) Trudgill, P. 1976. Sociolinguistics: An Introduc-
Bender, M.L. 1976. The Non-Semitic Language of tion to Language and Society. London: Penguin. Ethiopia. London: Oxford University Press.
OSSREA Bulletin Vol. IX No. 1 (February 2012) Page 51
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Language Maintenance and Ethnic Identity in a Migrant Context: The Case of Citumbuka in Dowa District of Central Malawi Edrinnie Lora-Kayambazinthu
An examination of minority language rights and survival requires an understanding of how the socio-psychological, sociological and human interaction work in societies to produce and re- produce home language users. How communities and individuals best use their linguistic re- sources and promote language maintenance to prevent and mitigate loss are therefore of crucial importance. This book explores factors behind the survival of Citumbuka in Dowa District of Central Malawi and how the migrant Tumbuka have maintained their heritage language, Citumbuka and their response to the dominance of Cicewa in their settlement area. Separate chapters address the ethnolinguistic history of the Tumbuka in Dowa; their settlement patterns and highlights factors that lead to maintenance or displacement of the language. Using an inte- grated theoretical approach to sociolinguistic theories to inform the study’s empirical data, the book analyses the nature and dynamics of the language situation and uncovers the emerging issues of identity and language maintenance due to induced socio-psychological attitudes. The book offers valuable insights into theory, identity and language maintenance in a migrant situa- tion that will be of interest to scholars and students in sociolinguistics.
Tradition, Archaeological Heritage Protection and Communities in the Limpopo Prov- ince of South Africa
Innocent Pikirayi This book captures community voices in matters relating to their relationship with specific archaeo- logical heritage sites and landscapes in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Focusing on the stone-
walled archaeological heritage associated with Venda speakers and the reburial in 2008 of human re- mains excavated by the University of Pretoria from the cultural landscape of Mapungubwe, the book attempts to establish why archaeology and cultural heritage conservation struggle for relevance in South Africa today. In articulating the relevance of archaeology in South Africa in particular and southern Africa in gen- eral and in the context of public or community-based archaeology, the book explores how communi- ties and the public interact, use and negotiate with their pasts. The research critiques the notion of archaeological heritage conservation and attempts to understand cultural heritage conservation from
the perspectives of descendant communities. The book further exposes the conflict between cultural heritage protection efforts and mode rn development and questions the role of such efforts, given the challenges of unemployment, social inequality and poverty in democratic South Africa. The book is also about community engagement in archaeology, specifically in matters relating to access to cultural heritage resources. This study suggests that there is scope for community archaeology to take centre- stage and drive future directions in archaeology if archaeologists change their approach in dealing with communities.
Researchers are challenged in this study to rethink the notion of heritage, to debate the objectives be- hind cultural heritage conservation and to critically re-examine the relevance of archaeology today. This study suggests that the conflicting positions between heritage managers, archaeologists and de- scendant communities may be resolved through sharing of ‘tradition’ with the ‘present’.
OSSREA Bulletin Vol. IX No. 1 (February 2012) Page 52
Setting of New Social Science Research Agendas for Africa in the 21st Century
Editors
Lily Mafela and Herman Musahara
This book presents outputs of the OSSREA 9th Congress, which deliberated on the theme, st “Setting of New Social Science Research Agendas for Africa in the 21 Century”. It con- tains a general introduction and ten chapters authored by scholars from different countries in the region. The chapters deal about: Africa’s poverty eclipse and whether NEPAD will dis- sipate it; attracting FDIs in to Africa and the rationales, approaches and impacts; Africa and globalization: The case of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between EU and Af- rica; the impact of China on the economies of Sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities, chal- lenges and prospects; institutional reforms for sustainable agricultural and rural develop- ment in Africa: the case of Rwanda; electoral authoritarianism and democratic governance in Ethiopia; HIV/AIDS and agrarian processes in Kenya. A case study of the Luo of Kom- bewa Division, 1983–2003; the cultural construction of sex and condom use in Eritrea; cul-
tural and gender dimensions in business negotiations; and investing in Africa’s high-level human resource: the challenges and paradoxes of implementing cost– sharing in higher edu- cation policy in Tanzania.
The Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review is an internationally refereed interdisciplinary journal that serves as a regional forum for critical reflection and
discourse on the economic, political, and social aspects as well as development concerns of the countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. It is the major African social science journal with a region-wide coverage that publishes scholarly arti- cles, book reviews, research notes, and communications.
OSSREA Bulletin Vol. IX No. 1 (February 2012) Page 53
CALL FOR ARTICLES, REVIEWS AND COMMENTARIES
Since the February 2003 issue of its Newsletter, OSSREA has been publishing short articles on topical issues concerning the transformation process in Africa. The
African Union and NEPAD have been among such topics dealt with from various angles. Our aim is to provide members of the academic and research institutes with a lively forum for debate and reflection on matters of critical concern for the people of the continent.
In the October 2011 issue of the OSSREA Bulletin, we plan to publish a few articles
on issues of interest to the continent. Accordingly, OSSREA members and other interested scholars are invited to contribute articles. Articles should be 6-8 pages in length, including a brief abstract. Authors are advised to include their full address and send their contributions by e-mail before 30th April 2012 to:
The Editor OSSREA Bulletin OSSREA, P.O. Box 31971 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
E-mail: [email protected]
Readers wishing to respond to or comment on the articles in this Bulletin should also send their papers to
The Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review (EASSRR)
OSSREA invites contributions to its journal. The EASSRR publishes articles, book reviews, research notes and other short communications pertaining to the social sciences. The Editorial Policy and Authors' Guidelines are available on the website http://www.ossrea.net
ASTERN FRICA E A
OCIAL CIENCE S S
ESEARCH EVIEW R R
Volume XXVIII No. 2 June 2012
A publication of the Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa
Indexed in INTERNATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE ISSN 1027-1775
SOCIAL SCIENCES E-ISSN:1684-4173 TOC and abstracts available on the AJOL and OSSREA websites
ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COMMUNITY OF EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA? JOIN NOW!
OSSREA is an international organisation dedicated to the encouragement and promotion of study and research in the Social Sciences. Its sources of support are international donors and membership fees. Membership is open to individuals and institutions engaged in research in the Social Sciences and related fields in Eastern and Southern Africa. The current annual membership fees are as follows:
Full Membership Assoc. Membership
Individuals US$ 10.00 US$ 5.00 Institutions US$100.00 US$50.00 Payments can be made in local currency in the country of registration where OSSREA has Liaison Officers. For addresses of OSSREA Liaison Officers please see the front inside cover page.