Friendship, Descent and Alliance in Africa

Martine Guichard is a Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle/Saale. She has conducted research in Benin and Cameroon on local political cultures, ethnicity, friendship and kinship.

“By illustrating the variety of ways in which kinship and friendship interrelate, this collection’s essays make a convincing case for a joint analysis of kinship and friendship; highlighting issues of power, generation, the plural character of friendship; and political, economic, and social transformations as new directions for future research. I recommend the volume to anyone interested in African studies, anthropology, and the sociology of friendship.” · Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute“The volume captures the complex nature of friendship among various ethnic groups in Africa in different social contexts and situations. On the basis of rich ethnography, the volume manages to offer a comparative perspective on an often neglected form of relationship and proves that the study of friendship sheds light on important societal issues… The edited volume contributes not only to the establishment of the study of a neglected field in anthropology but also to one of the core questions in social theory.” · African Spectrum“All in all this volume is a good read for those interested in friendship and other social relations beyond mere kinship. Guichard’s thorough review of the literature is important in itself and combined with the other chapters the book gives us a not just broad but also deep, as well as rare, contribution to the study of African friendship.” · ARAS“…a well-crafted project that proves the importance of friendship and other purportedly non-kinship relationships, while clearly illustrating the porous boundaries between friend and kin. A few other anthropologists have looked at friendship of late, and we can hope that this book inspires more examination of more cultural areas where relationships are also undoubtedly being invented and contested in terms of and in contrast to family bonds.” · Anthropology Review Database

• ForewordGünther SchleeAcknowledgementsIntroductionMartine GuichardPart I. Friendship, Kinship and AgeChapter 1. Where Are Other People’s Friends Hiding? Reflections on Anthropological Studies of FriendshipMartine GuichardChapter 2. Comradeship and the Transformation of Alliance Theory among the Maasai: Shifting the Focus from Descent to Peer-Group LoyaltyPaul SpencerPart II. Friendship and EthnicityChapter 3. Friendship Networks in Southwestern EthiopiaWolde Gossa Tadesse and Martine GuichardChapter 4. Friendship and Spiritual Parenthood among the Moose and the Fulbe in Burkina FasoMark BreusersChapter 5. Labour Migration and Moral Dimensions of Interethnic Friendships: The Case of Young Gold Miners in Benin (West Africa)Tilo GrätzPart III. Friendship, Politics and UrbanityChapter 6. Friendship and Kinship among Merchants and Veterans in MaliRichard L. WarmsChapter 7. ‘Down-to-Earth’: Friendship and a National Elite Circle in BotswanaRichard WerbnerChapter 8. Negotiating Friendship and Kinship in a Context of Violence: The Case of the Tuareg during the Upheaval in Mali from 1990 to 1996Georg KluteAfterword: Friendship in a World of Force and PowerStephen P. ReynaBibliographyNotes on ContributorsIndex