Mende / Jude C. U. Aguwa [and six others].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Aguwa, Jude C. U., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mende (African people).

Civilization.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

New Haven, Conn. : Human Relations Area Files, 2010.

Summary:

This collection of 8 documents, all in English, covers Mende cultural, economic and environmental information circa 1890s to 1990s. The most comprehensive source is by Kenneth Little, a British social anthropologist who did fieldwork among the Mende in 1945-1946. Topics include kinship and political organization, family life and organization of farming, puberty, initiation and secret societies. Also included is a 1936 Ph. D. dissertation by Jules Staub which describes Mende material culture. Melissa Leach discusses gender relations in Mende communities living around a state forest reserve. She focuses on differences between women's and men's experiences around the forest. Barry Isaac documents the gradual shift from subsistence rice cultivation to commercial cocoa, coffee and palm trees growing. The works of Caroline Bledsoe focus on dynamics of gender among polygamous Mende households. Murphy provides an analysis of lineage meetings and in-group struggles to explore salient features of Mende political culture.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.