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    Visible and Invisible Violence in an Acephalous Society - Mkako of Cameroon

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    Visible and Invisible Violence in an Acephalous Society - Mkako of Cameroon

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    16 views10 pages

    Copet-Rougier La Mal Court Mkako

    Uploaded by

    atum_
    Visible and Invisible Violence in an Acephalous Society - Mkako of Cameroon

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    3 ‘Le Mal Court’: Visible and Invisible Violence in an Acephalous Society — Mkako of Cameroon Elisabeth Copet-Rougior Alarce Avant tot, ce qu fut cst que core le mal Le mal ‘court. Vous le oyer? Come i court bin! Fare! Cest tn plaisi. Le crime Cétestince Quel vine? Quoi encore? Alurce eerie serait de prtenre Fate, Celestine Darnter qui? lures Lema Dsrrter lem es ce cing, sb que no cys Avert le Ml Court jenn our. fe ne commer When we compare the wort violence’ ia English and French, we immediately sce that is conceptually ambiguous and relative. The primary English sense isof physical oggresion of physically iaited wrong which sia some way lg Ta French thee are rw basic mennngs. One rates the English, spd he other has the ie of exerting pressure on someone in certo make them comply. In the lter meaning we are speaking of indirect, moral violence. The deaity in the diferent perspectives is repealed on two levels eaV ila, psc indice. "The sgifcance of expessng the two levels as dichotomies is that each of the crm in given pir iaisically ils the other. In a ein of nudes Rater Sevotl the problem of vilence (1984, the kg legal Aichotooy encompasses the oypcston of Weberian aml Darkman ‘Le Mol Court: Mato of Cameroon st oitions, which rest lene as an instrument, respectively, of sci ender fl der, While one plein the dichotomy (al viene) do with the way socal order may be st up an mtinaied at che ame me Simple the other pega vlece), which refers to breaches of social law an is concerned with the notre of events accents, al “cise” [964 p. 11)" Here, through the one extreme we say Se sce being founded un violence, while though the other we may perceive the deveop- rent of an sett Before I clarify my own interests rating to ths dichotomy, le me sy inpdlacely tha 1d dtc eo accept R. Girard’ view (1972 tha the possiblity of socal ore i based on some erga act of Volnce, which ‘hereafter must constantly be expelled through rial. M. Auge eighty tities this genetic vew 1979 pT. leis moreover somatic one, For Why shoud socal ender be brad in his way? Ae we to suppose rie ‘tate thou lene? Sach view asumes a Raussen lines the analy lence an ofthe fact hat fis expressed and wc ferent Alifereesociees. My apreach close that of J. Basia and E. Teray (1982), whe distinguish ofemart wa pans others) ad statis dpe, vi war, slticlence,disopeie wiolnce), Thewe wets fater counerpse olence i the context of sate society, and violence inthe context of “egmentary eciies of which an example isthe acehalou Soy 50 ‘ured becase is cnstsuent clans and lneageslck coordination thro ‘ome permanent instatonaliel authority. Wii state society. the ea mera wlence allowed is that of repression; the only ees eal acenabie forme of violence whichis members can prptete ust be Cited oot yond state Baur, Inthe stateless solves, by contrat, hi separation ‘enot clear. Some sich societies allow the feud 1o develop ater homicide etneen members of diferent cans, while others have precise rules of operation alter sich 2 lings sometimes, both arangemens coexist. ‘mong the Noet othe Mass Hower, Pemicide rong members ofthe Tame lan ie secs that may el ther a revenge aor compensation, ts contamination that as 10 be purified. This a ruc fact for rulanquentdicossion im thie cpt. Speaking of societies in general 1 Tetiwe thatthe inate social uns in which members are Kentified one ‘eth another by both iasiders and outsiders (Totes), and within which “ence orb inthis way, may range rm the nalear fait the lan (0 clster of clas) and even some cases tthe level ofthe sate Yet, would noe that even within he narrow confine of he mace aly 32 saber Cope Romper heres certai lay beeneen ations of inside sed outside, ad legal nd ‘egal ats. (cold fl no easy English andatin lor ‘enire vo s0 shall ‘etn tin what flows) Tn human sci cf violence within the entre sare ually regarded 1 the mst unacceptable instances of violence. For example, in my soe there can be sthiag mare horrible chan sach murders ay the price commited by Pierre Rie an dicused by M, Foucault (1973), knee, ia many stateless setts enireso! violence cannot be represied by force ‘nana rom sources exter tthe unit, fort concerns mich more than the law. Typically, only purication can above i Such silence infact fined as the wtimate in ant-scial actin that it involves a confsion of Categories whereby these is aken or he ‘cher i hie sro ieee, ‘ones fellow is treated xan ouside, ‘Sofar, have taken the dt of vielence ia she cascal Anglo Sazon sene, enusing pyseal hurt to somone (te Riches's chapter this bok) I we tow examine the second of the French senses, we touch on the ies of wast, oF Vader olence. This idea hae prodaced the broest of Jmecprectons ofthe notion of violence. Bouedeu ths datingushes two ‘gps det voence, on the oe and open’ violence impli by economic ligation) and onthe other hand symbolic vslence plied by nel ad fcively sed obligations: ying primitive sce this last viene is ‘ensured and eophermisti and as tobe made iocomehensible in de 0 te recognized (1980: pa 217) According eo this anaes, inet violence, though mill and veiled, plays a pit in perpetuating the socal eder aad therefore fs the Weberian perspective (sce above Apparently, there i nothing ‘ileal about rater the contrary. Indeed, ci thee be such ‘thing a eg 'symbolic’ violence? We sal se shortly. In this chapter, which faces onthe Mlako, a West African sity of ‘astern Chmeroon, [shall concentrate on the contrast between notions of ysl (vile) wnence andi volece (eto), which wll be ‘how, apply respectively outside ad inde the lca community. shall emonstrite that this contrac inked tthe opposition beeen eal ad epi to which Ihave just allude. ‘The Miako are an scephloar society for whom the notion of entre comprises a clster of loli’ clans. These makeup a terval group, ce ‘more peecisly abe’. According. this group is defined plays 2 ‘conglomerate within which wars febiddn and wheal pial lence Tunshed ~ even violence of repressive kin, in contrast to wha eval in state systems For the Miaka the expulsion of ysl violence lrg the fentrsoi stems trom the view that shared social Went is based ‘on contain. As T shall explain, this image of consanguinity an senity ‘Le Mal Court: Maho of Cameroon 8

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