AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Ian B. Edwards for the degree of Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology presented on April 30. 2003. Title: The Fetish Market and Animal Parts Trade of Mali. West Africa: An Ethnographic Investigation into Cultural Use and Significance. Abstract approved: Redacted for Privacy David While much research has examined the intricate interactions associated with the harvesting of wild animals for human consumption, little work has been undertaken in attempting to understand the greater socio-cultural significance of such use. In addition, to properly understand such systems of interaction, an intimate knowledge is required with regard to the rationale or motivation of resource users. In present day Mali, West Africa, the population perceives and upholds wildlife as a resource not only of valuable animal protein, in a region of famine and drought, but a means of generating income. The animal parts trade is but one mechanism within the larger socio-cultural structure that exploits wildlife through a complex human-environmental system to the benefit of those who participate. Moreover, this informal, yet highly structured system serves both cultural and outsider demand through its goods and services. By using traditional ethnographic investigation techniques (participant observation and semi-structured interviews) in combination with thick narration and multidisciplinary analysis (socio- cultural and biological-environmental), it is possible to construct a better understanding of the functions, processes, and motivation of those who participate. In a world where there is butonlya limited supply of natural and wild resources, understanding human- environmental systems is of critical value. ©Copyright by Ian B. Edwards April 30, 2003 All Rights Reserved The Fetish Market and Animal Parts Trade of Mali, West Africa: An Ethnographic Investigation into Cultural Use and Significance By Ian B. Edwards A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Presented April 30, 2003 Commencement June 2003 Master of Arts thesis of Ian B. Edwards presented on April 30. 2003. APPROVED: Redacted for Privacy Major Professor, representing Applied Anthropology Redacted for Privacy Chair of the Detirtment of Redacted for Privacy Dean of the Giiduate I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. Redacted for Privacy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Conducting the research and writing this thesis has required the time, labor, direction and support of several individuals. First and foremost, I thank my future wife Stephanie, as well as my parents and brother, Stephen, Michele and Briece. Without their support, this work would have been impossible. I would also like to thank my undergraduate anthropology professors of Plymouth State College, Kate Donahue and Grace Fraser who helped instill in me the value of in- depth ethnographic research. Without their direct support and encouragement I would have most likely chosen a different profession. I am also indebted to many faculty members of Oregon State University who reviewed and commented on the design of my research project as well as my written thesis. My research has greatly benefited from their advice, insight, and constructive criticism. I would particularly like to thank the support and direction lent by my thesis committee, David McMurray, Courtland Smith, and Joseph Krause. Also, I would like to thank Deanna Kingston who helped prepare me for my research as well as the advocating role of Barbara Mason (graduate school representative). Finally, I would like to expresses my sincere appreciation for the International Union of the Conservation of Nature (IUCN, the World Conservation Union), particularly the West Africa regional office (IUCN Nigeria) and the country bureau of Mali. I would like to thank the invaluable aid of Abduli Faye (1UCN Mali coordinator) along with the rest of the staff of IUCN Mali in facilitating my internship and research. Moreover, I thank those vendors of the Bamako fetish market for their time and understanding in allowing someone like myselfaccess to personal and culturally sensitive information; particularly Professor Kara Dembele,his brother Sako, as wellas Omar, Diallo, Traure, and their associates. To all of thoseanimal parts vendors and their associates I send out a great big "Allah k'a marabagaka cy'a," (May Allah make the animals plentiful). TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter 1, An Introduction: Mali, Me and being a PCV ................................I Purpose of the Research Project ..................................................8 My Ethnographic Method ........................................................10 The Layout of this Thesis ........................................................14 Chapter 2, Welcome to the Fetish Market ...............................................22 Chapter 3, The Continuum of Associated Use .......................................... 32 Cultural Demand and Use: MedicinalRemedies and Cures ......................................... 43 Cultural Demand and Use: Somewhere between Medicine and Magic ............................... 49 Cultural Demand and Use: Magic and Sorcery .......................................................... 53 Fetishesand Grigris ...................................................... 55 An Example- Making My Fetish ............................................... 62 Curses, Spells and Potions .............................................. 73 Other Magical Uses and Sorcery ....................................... 81 The Magical Properties of Human Body Parts .............................................. 87 Outsider Demand .................................................................. 90 Trends in Wildlife Trade: Cultural versus Outsider Demand .................................... 100 Chapter 4, Maintaining and Serving Demand: The Systems of Supply .................................................................. 104 Opportunist Suppliers ........................................................... 107 Professional Suppliers .......................................................... 120 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Page The Unique Roles of Middlemen .130 Specialized Distributors ......................................................... 136 Chapter 5, Entering Dialogues in the Literature ........................................ 147 Competing Disciplinary Emphases ............................................ 148 A Review of Relevant Literature .............................................. 151 Reading #1: African Folk Medicine, Practices and Beliefs of the Bambara and Other Peoples ................................... 166 Reading #2: Wildlife and Food Security in Africa ................................. 175 Reading #3: Wildlife Utilization in Côte d'Ivore and West Africa, Potentials and Constraints for Development Cooperation .......................... 185 Chapter 6, Conclusion: A Better Way .................................................. 196 Bibliography ............................................................................... 203 Appendices ................................................................................ 206 Appendix I: Overview of Wildlife Species, and other Items for sale in the Bamako Fetish Market ................................. 207 Appendix II: Threatened, Protected and Endangered Wildlife Species .................................................................. 215 Appendix III: Identified Wildlife Species, CITES and IUCN Red List Status ............................................. 224 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1: Map of Bamako Fetish Market................................................................20 2: Continuum of Associated Use................................................................. 33 3: Well-being Through the Goods and Services of the Bamako Fetish Market.........................................37 4: Photo of Foreign Nationals Purchasing Civet Skins from an Animal Parts Vendor.................................... 93 5: Point of View of an Animal Parts Vendor.................................................. 105 6: System of Opportunist Supply............................................................... 119 7: System of Professional Supply............................................................... 126 8: Photo of a Marabout with an "Iron Caller"................................................. 138 9: Photo of Leather Containers.................................................................. 141 10: Systems of Supply............................................................................ 145 11: Disciplinary Spectrum....................................................................... 149 12: Current Research and where it lies on the Disciplinary Spectrum............................................ 151 13: Bushmeat Supply Chain, as related by Caspary (1999: 128)............................................ 191 14: A Melding of Two Systems- Bushmeat meets Animal Parts................................................. 195 The Fetish Market and Animal Parts Trade of Mali, West Africa: An Ethnographic Investigation into Cultural Use and Significance Chapter 1 An Introduction: Mali, Me and being a PCV In 1997, I arrived in Mali as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV), assigned to the Natural Resource Management Sector. As such, the