Birds of the Bush: Wodaabe Distinctions of Society and Nature

Abstract

WoDaaBe Fulani pastoral nomads in the Sahel base their ethnic identity and economic livelihood largely on cattle herding. This discussion, based upon fieldwork conducted in Niger from August 1996 to June 1998, sees nature - human relationship as an issue of a general identity formation, maintaining that the issue of context is crucial to understand WoDaaBe Fulani in Niger’s conceptualization of their relationship with nature. The discussion also emphasizes that not only can it be useful to use theories of identity construction to understand conceptualizations of environment, but looking at people's connection with their environment indicates ethnicity not only being instrumental but involving embodied experiences.