The memory of ordinary, everyday intercultural or interreligious relationships, in brief
For a century, this remote village has drawn together a community largely made up of the Islamic Nalu and spiritist Balanta – like many other such villages in the region, there are also a small number of Beafada and Fula merchants and their families. Brandon Lundy has given an account of how hospitality, economic and social cooperation are important for making a living here. Although the two main ethnic groups live in homogenous neighbourhoods in which intermarriage is not accepted, they are deliberate about engaging on a communal and an individual level, ensuring cooperation is not overcome when interpersonal conflicts arise. The community shares land, food, schooling, a common Kriol language – in addition to their distinct mother tongues – and other resources. Individuals cooperate in addressing a wide range of economic needs, and practices of hospitality, shared widely in West Africa, encourage residents to visit each others’ social occasions, sacred sites and religious specialists.
The context in which these relationships made a difference at the time
Anthropologist Brandon D. Lundy has given careful attention to the social and economic rationales for the strength of cooperative practices in Kassumba over time, emphasising how much ethnic identities are the product of current needs and relationships, and their meaning therefore is conditioned by change and strategies designed for adaptation. He describes interestingly
three factors that help to explain interethnic cooperation here: hospitality; nationalist sentiment; and strategies to address the community’s economic and security needs.
The context also matters very much for the choice to foster cooperation and mutual respect. Villagers are fairly
Isolated from the political centre in Guinea-Buissau, they share limited resources, and understand themselves to have parallel migration histories (though the Nalu arrived first, which also shapes their attitudes to relations with Balanta residents). The practice of hospitality is not just altruistic, nor is it limited to reciprocal economic interests – to be a provider in a locality such as Kassumba also reflects a social power and authority which is common to local societies and networks in many parts of Africa.
The Balanta have been migrating into the region for more than 80 years, seeking food, land, better rice fields and freedom from the colonial forced labour regime (previously, the Balanta had embarked on a history as a marginal migrant group in order to evade slavery, also engaging in slave raids themselves). Kassumba is marginal geographically, but lies within a fertile region in which various forms of agricultural, forestry and fisheries thrive. Balanta are the largest minority in the state of Guinea-Bissau, and though they are often seen as socially less developed, they are also often among the wealthiest in the community. Interviewees told Lundy that the Balanta settlers were accepted from 1939 through a dialogue between councils of elders, which continued to adjudicate when further issues arose, thanks in part to the recognition among the Nalu minority that a cooperative approach to sharing out land and other resources made sense given their own small numbers. The councils of elders continue to play a strong role in village solidarity, as too do the strong ties among age groups with shared needs and experience. The two ethnic communities have different economic specialisms – Balanta have historically specialized in mangrove rice production and Nalu in fishing – and the two groups share expertise and their broader ecological understanding, a cooperative approach which is shared in other Balanta-Nalu communities in the region. The economic rationale for this cultural pluralism extends to the Fula merchants who purchase and sell rice, a role which Lundy notes depends on having both an insider and an outsider position which is established over time in the community.
Cooperation here also makes sense because of the weakness of government efforts at involvement in economic development – the Nalu and Balanta together sustain livelihoods and ensure the infrastructure they need and which the national government does not provide. The practice of keeping a distance from politics continues to mark Balanta communities today – and political changes have brought parties into power which deliberately block them from power. The Nalu minority is so small that they are also not engaged in state-level politics. At the same time, Lundy notes that strong inter-ethnic cooperation also resulted from strong shared nationalist sentiments, forged as a result of Amilcar Cabral’s (1924–1973) independence movement and through common narratives of cooperation in the armed struggle that time.
Recognition of each other’s religious life also plays a visible part in the nurturing of valued relationships. While the Nala are Muslim, they also retain a traditional religion. As the earlier inhabitants, they have established a reputation locally and in the region for the effect of their relationships with powerful spirits, drawing Balanta and others to their sacred sites. Both the Nalu and Balanta frequent each other’s religious specialists and make requests at their sacred sites, for a variety of reasons which can touch on livelihood – requesting success for a fishing expedition, for instance – or other concerns. An interesting account is given by Lundy of the ways in which religious difference is recognised and accommodated in pursuit of common economic interest. The Nalu own cashew orchards, and they employ Balanta women to harvest the nuts and give them the fruit in exchange for their labour. For the Balanta, the fruit will be distilled into wine or rum – for the Muslim orchard owners, they have not compromised their own religion but rather provided goods for exchange with their closest neighbours.
What has happened since, which makes the memory valuable
While Kassumba’s cooperative culture endures, it has always done so under pressure, from outside political and religious ideologies, and from competitive pressures within the village. The importance of the remembered common history of the Kassumba communities is evident from their interviews, and for both communities it is situated within a history which includes memories of a wide range of traumatic challenges. Lundy notes that the community adapts through shared memories, and points in particular to the veneration of the legacy of Amilcar Cabral.
How might the memory be used in bringing people together in practice now?
The Memory Bank team are keen to hear from partners who have an interest in comparable forms of cooperation in localities elsewhere, particularly where intercultural and interreligious cooperation plays a part in giving locals an edge in economic and ecological resilience and prosperity.
Additional context/Some additional reading
Brandon D. Lundy, ‘Ethnic Encounters and Everyday Economics in Kassumba, Guinea-Bissau’, Ethnopolitics, 11:3 (2012), 235-254. DOI: 10.1080/17449057.2011.632959