5 The Ritual Arena
1. This does not at all imply that ritual only expresses the nature of the moral community. It is senseless to attempt to reduce the "meaning" of ritual to any single dimension. Any analysis, much less any exegesis, is consequently incomplete at best. However, whatever else ritual is "about," it is a social act and thus has social ramifications. The examination of these ramifications, to the exclusion of other possible "meanings,'' is methodologically justifiable. [BACK]
2. Although slavery was abolished in Côte d'Ivoire in 1908, and slaves were allowed to return to their home regions, many individuals remained with their former masters. As late as 1973 I knew a man who was a san jon , a slave who had been captured as a boy and
later was acquired by purchase. The status of worosso , a slave literally "born in the house," that is to say, descended on both sides from slave parents, remains very common. In this, quite special, sense, "slaves" still exist in Korhogo today; see Launay 1977a. [BACK]
3. "Senufo" masks were, in fact, either Tiembara, Fodonon, Fono, or Kule, and so forth. Before the colonial period, masks were unlikely to be conceived as "Senufo" per se, though the Dyula, as a minority, were much more conscious of their ethnic identity as such. [BACK]
4. This was even true of funerals, at least the funerals of elders. The funerals of younger individuals were more uniformly solemn, but they were also far less elaborate. [BACK]
5. Prouteaux 1925 describes the emergence of the lo masks in the old Dyula center of Kong. Lo masks would also dance at the funeral of important elders, mory as well as tun tigi. [BACK]
6. On the chiefdom of Kadioha, see Launay 1988a and 1988b. [BACK]
7. The word saraka has been borrowed by Senufo "unbelievers" to refer to certain sacrifices. However, such offerings would not be defined as saraka by Dyula. On the other hand, there are definitely occasions when "pagans" do offer saraka , notably when following the advice of a Muslim cleric about some personal problem. [BACK]
8. Even nowadays, Dyula may refer to Muslim Senufo as banmana , "pagans." [BACK]
9. Although much attention has been given to the issue of crossing or not crossing arms, it is most clearly the separatism of the Wahhabis that their detractors find most objectionable, and not the posture of prayer per se. One hajji , having observed that most Muslims in Mecca pray with arms crossed, chose on his return to adopt a mode of prayer that, at least superficially, resembled that of the Wahhabis. His behavior was tolerated as an idiosyncrasy. [BACK]