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TALKING MANJO Linguistic Repertoires As Means of Negotiating Marginalization

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TALKING MANJO Linguistic Repertoires As Means of Negotiating Marginalization African Studies, Department of World Cultures Faculty of Arts University of Helsinki TALKING MANJO Linguistic repertoires as means of negotiating marginalization Kirsi Leikola ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be presented, with the permission of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Helsinki, for public examination in Auditorium XIV, University main building, on 9 May 2014, at 10.00 HELSINKI 2014 ISBN 978-952-10-9852-9 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-10-9853-6 (pdf) Unigrafia Helsinki 2014 ABSTRACT Manjo, a marginalized minority of former hunters among the Kafa in southwest Ethiopia, speak Kafi noono (Kafa) the same language as the majority population. Despite this, they claim that there is a communicative barrier and that they lack linguistic competence in the interaction with non-Manjo Kafa speakers. The claim is surprising in the African context where multilingualism and spontaneous acquisition of different linguistic codes is common. The boundary inside the Kafa society has also been a linguistic boundary and the emic interpretation states that not having cross-group communicative skills is a key component in marginalization, a subject that has not been studied among minorities that are considered “polluting” by the majority population. This thesis is a socio-ethnographic investigation of how members of this stigmatized group conceptualize and negotiate their marginalized status by means of language ideologies and linguistic behaviour. The local explanation forms the core of the research and even the topic has emerged empirically. The primary data consists of 50 speeches delivered when members of different Manjo communities asked to speak. All speeches dealt with the relation between the Manjo and the majority. When analyzing the speeches delivered in Kafa (Omotic) and partly Amharic (Semitic), an interactionist perspective was linked with ethnographic tools. When language use was seen as a central form of social action itself, it was possible to address the ways in which social processes unfold, and explain why they do so in this specific social and historical context of production and distribution of symbolic and material resources. The articulation of “being Manjo” highlighted the importance of social relationships and led to a search for the mechanisms of network formation. The ways in which the existing social networks and domains of practice promote the access to certain registers was reflected with reference to the findings of variationists (Milroy, Eckert), and the components of the repertoires the speakers have utilized were defined through the concept of ‘style’ (Coupland, Mendoza-Denton). The influence the access to different communities of practice has had for different individuals is described in a sample of case studies from among the primary data. Finally, the approach of Bucholtz and Hall, which brings together different research traditions within sociolinguistics anchoring identity in interaction, is used for synthesizing the findings. The research clearly shows the importance of networks in connecting marginalized minorities to repertoires that can be used for negotiating marginalization in predominantly oral culture. Connections providing access to new repertoires are actively sought for and the language ideologies they represent are productively used in the creation and representation of various social and cultural identities according to need. The repertoires gained are used for “talking the boundary”, either to demolish it in order to integrate into the majority or to strengthen it in order to gain recognition as a separate group. The linguistic boundary is thus far from being an externally created barrier coming “automatically” with the stigma imposed by the majority. Rather, it is also Manjo-enacted and contributes to identity construction tendencies inside the Manjo group. Acknowledgments The subject of my thesis has more or less been a considerable part of my life for the past twenty years and I take note now of the influence of several people on that long journey. I owe much to the people in Illubabor, especially to Rev Yadeta Kiritta, who accustomed me and my husband to the ways of life in the Ethiopian countryside, shared his cultural knowledge, and connected us with many different groups of people through his wide network connections. I want to thank Rev Yonas Yigezu, Rev Tariku Tolesa, Bekele Mulatu and Terfasa Mako, my superiors and friends, not only for always being ready to engage in discussions about the topic, but also allowing me to be a fully participating member in the communities of practice of Mekane Yesus Church. It has opened to me a gateway to gain the tacit information that otherwise would have been difficult to access. I also want to thank the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission for encouraging its employees to do postgraduate studies in work-related subjects and for the opportunity to concentrate fully on my studies for a three-month period. I joined the Department of World Cultures at the University of Helsinki because I felt that I needed more knowledge in order to do my job properly. My intuition was right and the connection and the interplay between work and studies have been a key component of progressing in the profession. I appreciate that this kind of long and flexible way of studying has been possible. This thesis would not have been started without the encouragement of Professor Emeritus Arvi Hurskainen, a long-term guide for my work in African Studies and it would have not been finished without the extensive supervision of Professor Axel Fleisch, who patiently led me step by step to understand the ways of the academic world. I appreciate his way of teaching me throughout the whole process. The constructive comments of the preliminary examiners of my dissertation, Professor Gerrit Dimmendaal and Dr Marja Tiilikainen helped me to improve my work decisively and I am very grateful to Dr Robert Whiting for all his advice. The cooperation of several teachers and students at the University of Addis Ababa, such as Dr Ronny Meyer and Mulugeta Teferi, has benefitted me greatly, as has the inspiring discussions I have had with Dr Yoshida Saiyuri, who was working on her PhD on the Manjo during the same time. Gezahegn Wodajo and the other members of the Kafa Bible translation team have provided material for my language learning and I truly appreciate the help I got from Aija Katriina Ahlberg (SIL) and Dr Marja-Leena Salin when I needed it. I want to thank the Manjo communities in Gesha and Sayilem for their overwhelming hospitality during the whole process of this study. I am also most grateful to all those monolingual elderly Manjo and Gomaro women and men, who were ready to participate in discussions in Kafi noono even in the beginning when it still was a real struggle for both me and them. In Addis Ababa, my Kafa language learning was throughout the nine years dependent on the assistance of my long-term friend Alemu Wodajo. His commitment and the opportunity to work and share thoughts on the daily basis have contributed not only to my language learning, but also to my understanding of language ideologies behind the different ways of using the Kafa language. In Finland I have relied on the assistance of Ilari Leikola for numerous technical matters as my presence near the offices and libraries has been limited due to my living abroad and I have also needed the help of Pirjo and Hannu Leikola and my brother, Kimmo Koskinen for getting this dissertation completed. My life of the past 35 years has been shared in all its components by my husband, Risto. He has been my co-worker and co-traveler throughout our years in Ethiopia in this lifelong adventure. Many issues in this thesis have been experienced, discussed and perceived with him. He has been both my academic critic and my coach and it is his constant mentoring that has helped me to finalize this process. Finally, I am grateful to my mother who opened the world of imagination to me and to my father who always encouraged me to follow my instinct and look for new approaches. As these two things also contribute to this thesis, I dedicate this work to my parents, Raija and Ilmari Koskinen. CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgements Abbreviations VII List of Tables, Figures and Maps VIII Transcription of Kafi noono IX Maps 1, 2, and 3 X 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Talk boundary 1 1.2. The voices of “polluters” 7 1.3. Discourses shaping the context in which “being Manjo” is articulated 12 1.4. Talking the boundary: to demolish or to strengthen 19 1.5. The outline of the study 22 2. THE TALK BOUNDARY IN THE DATA 25 2.1. Is there a group called Manjo? 25 2.2. Data collection 26 2.2.1. Learning not to ask 27 2.2.2. Gathering the speeches and the other data 28 2.3. The speech events where the data was collected 35 2.4. Necessary language skills for processing the texts 40 2.5. Analyzing the texts 43 2.6. My background and biases 45 3. BEING IN A GROUP CALLED THE MANJO -Emic categorization and cultural 48 distinctions 3.1. Where are the Manjo? 48 3.1.1. In-out 49 3.1.2. Near (the people) – far (in the forest) 61 3.1.3. Above-below 65 3.2. The group called Manjo –when and to whom? 68 3.2.1. Separation 68 3.2.2. “Being Manjo” under different rulers 69 3.3. How is it to be a Manjo? Interaction with others 74 3.3.1. Group esteem 74 3.3.2. Interaction and gaining knowledge 75 4. NETWORK STRUCTURES AMONG THE MANJO 84 4.1. Importance of social relations 85 4.2. Defining the local concept of network 88 4.2.1.
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