Why Not Marry Them?
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Why not marry them? History, essentialism and the condition of slave descendants among the southern Betsileo (Madagascar) Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Denis A. P. Regnier January 2012 Department of Anthropology LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 97,457 words. 2 Abstract The thesis investigates the condition of slave descendants among the southern Betsileo of Madagascar. Unlike previous research, which has focused on the dependency of those slave descendants who stayed as share-croppers on their former masters’ land and on the discrimination against slave descent migrants, the present study focuses on a group of slave descendants, the Berosaiña, who own their land and have acquired autonomy and wealth. Based on fieldwork in a rural area south of Ambalavao, the thesis presents an ethnographic study of the ambivalent relations between the Berosaiña and their neighbours of free descent. It shows that the Berosaiña’s knowledge of local history and of their ancestor’s role in the region’s settlement is one of their key stakes in local politics, while the free descendants’ refusal to marry them is the most serious obstacle to their integration. A close study of slave descendants’ genealogies and of local marriage practices suggests that, although a few ‘unilateral’ marriages occurred, no ‘bilateral’ marriage between commoner descendants and the Berosaiña ever took place. After suggesting an explanation for the avoidance of marriage with the Berosaiña, the thesis proceeds by showing that the category ‘slaves’ is essentialized by commoner descendants. The essentialist construal of ‘slaves’, it is argued, is likely to have become entrenched only in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery, because the circumstances in which it occurred prevented a large number of freed slaves to be ritually cleansed and because a number of established cultural practices made it difficult for freed slaves to marry free people. Finally, the thesis analyses the peculiar predicament of the Berosaiña in light of the strict marriage avoidance observed by commoner descendants and of commoner descendants’ highly essentialized views about ‘slaves’. 3 Table of Contents Index of Figures............................................................................................................7 Index of Tables..............................................................................................................7 Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................8 Map of Madagascar....................................................................................................12 Introduction................................................................................................................13 Focus of the thesis 14 Methodological considerations 17 Ethical concerns 20 ‘Marriage’, ‘slavery’ and ‘caste’ 21 Outline of the thesis 24 Chapter 1: Post-slavery Madagascar and the early history of Beparasy..............26 The ‘trauma’ of slavery in late 18th- and 19th-century Madagascar 29 Comparing Malagasy post-slave societies 31 Three recent studies in Malagasy post-slavery 37 Slave descendants among the Betsileo 41 Southern Betsileo society in a nutshell 47 A brief historical sketch of Beparasy 51 Chapter 2: Stories of the Berosaiña..........................................................................58 Finding out about slave descendants 62 The indebted peasant (Raboba) 65 The careful bizinesy man (Ramarcel) 72 The wealthy fosterchild (Randrianja Albert) 75 The brave cook (Vohangy) 77 The gifted orator (Randriatsoa) 80 The Berosaiña as a local descent group 82 Conclusion 84 Chapter 3: People with a history...............................................................................87 A funeral in Mahasoa 89 4 Talking to the Berosaiña 91 A meeting with the historian 95 The ambivalent status of the Berosaiña 99 Conclusion 107 Chapter 4: Marriage................................................................................................109 Customary marriage in Beparasy 111 Customary marriage as process 121 Civil and Christian marriages 123 Unilateral and bilateral marriages 125 Blood bond as wedding 127 Chapter 5: Marriage avoidance and unilateral marriages...................................129 Learning who not to marry 134 Ramarcelline and Rasamuel 136 Raboba and Ravao 142 Fara and Mamy 145 Chapter 6: Marrying equals and keeping ‘clean’..................................................149 Why marry people with the same ancestry? 155 Tetihara and the memory of ancestry, origins and alliance 159 Vigilance about ancestry, origins and alliances 163 Sharing the dead 166 The uncleanliness of the ‘split wild boar’ 169 Conclusion 172 Chapter 7: Essentializing ‘slaves’...........................................................................174 Psychological essentialism 176 Evidence for an essentialist construal of the category ‘slaves’ 179 Was the category ‘slaves’ essentialized before abolition? 185 Reasons for an ideological shift 193 Learning to essentialize ‘slaves’ 198 Conclusion 204 Chapter 8: The predicament of the Berosaiña.......................................................206 A short re-examination of Evers 211 How marginal are the Berosaiña? 217 5 From essentialism and avoidance to stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination 220 Essentialism in comparative perspective (the Brown question) 224 Internalization and resistance 227 The Berosaiña in comparative perspective (the Bloch question) 231 Conclusion.................................................................................................................237 Directions for further research 239 A final note on researching slave descendants in Madagascar 242 Appendix...................................................................................................................244 Bibliography..............................................................................................................259 Glossary of Malagasy terms....................................................................................273 6 Index of Figures Figure 1: Schematic (and fictitious) map of Beparasy.................................................54 Figure 2: Kinship links between Redison and the Berosaiña mentioned in this chapter ......................................................................................................................................65 Figure 3: Raboba’s and Ravao’s offspring...................................................................67 Figure 4: Ramarcelline’s and Rasamuel’s offspring.....................................................78 Index of Tables Table 1: Spouses of the Berosaiña..............................................................................131 Table 2: Status of ‘mixed’ children according to a noble descendant........................171 Table 3: Status of ‘mixed’ children according to commoner descendants.................172 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In Beparasy my first thoughts are for all the villagers who let me live among them and who opened their homes to me. They are so numerous that I cannot cite them all. My research could not have been successful without the steady support and assistance of the people I have named here Redison, Naina, Ramose Martin and Monsieur le maire. Redison hosted me from my very first day in Beparasy. During my stay villagers considered me as a member of his family and he always introduced me as his brother (rahalahy). Redison, his wife Raely and the other inhabitants of Soatana always made me feel we were kinsmen, and I thank them for that. Naina accompanied me on many of my journeys and proved a humorous and reliable companion. Ramose Martin honoured me of his friendship and never tired of sharing his knowledge of local customs and family stories. Monsieur le maire’s benevolence and support through his extensive networks facilitated many encounters and interviews. Without the hospitality and kindness of the Berosaiña, the people who are at the centre of this thesis, it would have been impossible to carry out this research. My gratitude goes particularly to those who appear in several chapters of the thesis under the names of Ramarcel, Vohangy, Raboba and Randriatsoa. They accepted to answer questions which were sometimes difficult and in some cases clearly embarrassing. Ramarcel certainly got the greatest share of this – since we had become good friends it is to him that I turned whenever I had a difficult question to ask. However, neither Ramarcel nor the other Berosaiña nor the villagers of Beparasy ever took offence at my careful but nonetheless obstinate inquiries into sensitive issues. I deeply thank all of them for their tolerance. In Ambalavao, Rosette and her family provided a friendly