The Rise and Fall of an African Utopia

Stanley Barrett

Description

In 1947 a group of Yoruba-speaking fishermen who had been persecuted because of their religious beliefs founded their own community in order to worship in peace. Although located in an impoverished part of Nigeria, within a few years the village enjoyed remarkable economic success. This was partly because the fishermen held all goods in common, pooled the profits in the community treasury, and attempted to reduce the importance of the family and marriage. After about a generation the utopia began to fall apart. The early religious zeal faded, private enterprise replaced communalism, and the family became strong once more. In an attempt to explain the initial success and eventual decline of the utopia, the author compares it with neighbouring villages that embraced similar religious beliefs but did not enjoy the same economic success. He sets the problem firmly in a broad comparative framework and draws the implications for theories of development, especially Weber’s Protestant ethic thesis.

Sujets

• Religión
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Date de parution: 30 octobre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780889204911
• Langue: English

Extrait

Development Perspectives
THE RISE AND FALL OF AN AFRICAN UTOPIA
Development Perspectives is edited from the Centre for Developing-Area Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Canada and sponsored by the Canadian Interuniversity Consortium for Publication on International Development (Association Interuniversitaire Canadienne: Publication sur le D veloppement Internationale). The purpose of the series is to publish without regard for disciplinary boundaries research work, conducted in Canadian universities or by Canadians in other organizations, on the problems of development in third world countries. The primary focus will be on works that contribute to our general understanding of the process of development. Books in the series will be published in either French or English.
Consortium Members
Institut de la Coop ration Internationale, Universit d Ottawa
Third World Studies Co-ordinating Committee, International Studies Programme, University of Toronto
Centre for Developing-Area Studies, McGill University
University of Western Ontario
Co-ordinating Editor: Rosalind E. Boyd
1 Stanley R. Barrett, The Rise and Fall of an African Utopia: A Wealthy Theocracy in Comparative Perspective
The Rise and Fall of an African Utopia:
A Wealthy Theocracy in Comparative Perspective
Stanley R. Barrett
DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 1
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Barrett, Stanley R., 1938- The rise and fall of an African utopia
(Development perspectives)
Bibliography: p. Includes index. ISBN 0-88920-054-8 bd. ISBN 0-88920-053-X pa.
1. Nigeria - Economic conditions - Case studies. 2. Collective settlements - Nigeria - Case studies. I. Title. II. Series.
HC517.N48B35 330.9 669 C77-001440-2
Copyright 1977
Wilfrid Laurier University Press Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5
No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche, or any other means, without written permission from the publishers.
Cover Design: R. B. MacDonald
To My Brothers
Contents
List of Tables and Charts
List of Maps and Photographs
Preface
Glossary of Yoruba and Arabic Words
Introduction
Part I Early Development
1. History and Economy
2. Religion in Olowo
3. Religion in Talika
4. The Communal System
5. Political Organization
6. Discussion
Part II Recent Decline
7. Private Enterprise
8. Consequences for Innovation
9. Olowo: A Model for Other Villages?
10. Discussion
Part III Development and Decline in Comparative Perspective
11. Development
12. Decline
Appendices
A. Methodology
B. Circular Welcoming Olowo People to Talika in 1970
Bibliography
List of Tables and Charts
Tables
1 Natal Village of Olowo Members
2 Natal Village of Talika Members
3 Year of Membership for Olowo
4 Year of Membership for Talika
5 Location of Work of Talika and Olowo Members
6 Education Profile of Olowo and Talika Members
7 Physical Structure of Olowo and Talika
8 Occupations in Olowo
9 Occupations of Talika Men
10 Occupations of Talika Women
11 Characteristics of 17 Innovations
12 Status of 12 Pond Owners
Charts
1 Three Scales of Leadership in Olowo
2 Three Scales of Leadership in Talika
List of Maps and Photographs
Maps
1. Olowo and Talika in Nigeria
2. Olowo and Talika in Ilaje
Photographs
1. A house on stilts en route to Olowo
2. Dug-out canoes: typical mode of transportation in Ilaje
3. Oba s palace in Olowo
4. Carpentry workshed in Olowo
5. Oba s car on main boardwalk in Olowo
6. One of several side boardwalks in Olowo
7. Old way of fishing in Olowo
8. New way of fishing in Olowo
Preface
This study is about a rare social phenomenon: a utopian community that was a magnificent success. Located in an isolated part of Nigeria, Olowo, as I call the village, was founded in 1947 by a group of fishermen who gathered together to live and worship in a manner that they believed to be ideal. For 20 years their achievements were astounding: with virtually no help from outsiders they established several industries and became perhaps the wealthiest small community in West Africa. After this period, however, there was a sudden decline: the community bond became frayed, the economy faltered, and people became lured by the outside world.
In order to understand Olowo s initial success and eventual decline, I have undertaken two types of comparison. One is with another village situated near Olowo, which I call Talika. This village shares many of Olowo s characteristics, but it has not been an economic success. The other comparison is drawn from existing studies of similar social movements in Africa, Melanesia, and North America. The merits of comparative studies have been debated ever since anthropology became a scientific discipline. My view is that in order to explain a particular case such as Olowo, and to develop anthropological theory, systematic comparison is essential. This study, thus, tries to go beyond the scope of the normal anthropological monograph, and I shall be pleased if it is received as an exercise in comparative sociology.
It is normal for the researcher to thank the people among whom he lives and studies. In my case my debt is much greater, for without the vision, will power, and dedication of the people of Olowo who sculptured a masterpiece out of a setting of poverty, the village itself would not have existed. By bringing the story of their success to a wider audience, I hope I have repaid them in some small way. Many individuals in both Olowo and Talika-natural anthropologists most of them-spent countless hours explaining the complexities (at least to me) of their communities. To them I owe a special thanks. I also wish to pay tribute to the warm-hearted man in whose house my wife and I lived, and to the leader of the village who granted me permission to conduct my study.
In preparing this manuscript I received conflicting advice from numerous anthropologists and sociologists about whether to write the data up in comparative perspective or to present a general ethnography. Part of the reason that I followed those who argued for comparison is my belief that the distinction between field workers and theoreticians is a harmful one; nobody is in a better position to interpret the data than the person who collected them, and nowhere does theory make more sense than when presented along with the material. Nevertheless, I am sympathetic with writers such as D. Cruise O Brien who argue for general ethnographies in anthropology. One of the liabilities of placing a case study into a wider comparative framework is that in order to mount a consistent argument, there must be a sharp problem focus. This means limiting the number of themes, and excluding those data that do not directly advance the argument. In this manuscript I present only a fraction of my data on conflict and social control, although hopefully enough for the specific problems dealt with here. The only comfort I can offer to those readers who would have preferred a general ethnography is that I hope to publish the remainder of my data at a later date.
Ken Menzies, Frans Schryer and David Parkin read and commented wisely upon the first draft of this manuscript. My wife Kaye made valuable observations about Olowo and Talika women, and played a major role in establishing the rapport we needed with the people to carry out this research. I am also grateful to Peter Sinclair for many useful observations on my material, to my teachers Peter Lloyd, Peter Carstens and Ralph Beals, and especially to F. G. Bailey who has been a constant source of encouragement. Although J. D. Y. Peel has not read this manuscript, I am deeply indebted to him for the repeated use I have made of his excellent study of the Aladuras, a prophetic movement in Nigeria out of which Olowo grew. Peel has remarked that religion is possibly the most difficult subject for a sociologist to write about. 1 I certainly endorse his view, for my Western, scientific-oriented background, and agnostic personal position, made it treacherous to enter the cognitive world of Olowo people, and to think in the same terms of causality as they did. To the extent that I have managed to do this, my success in large part is due to Peel s insights and judgement, although neither he nor others who helped me, of course, is responsible for errors that I may have made.
Many years ago Warner wrote that social researchers have often failed to state the assumptions they started with, the techniques used, and the changes in ideas and methods as the research proceeded. 2 In recent years a number of books of anthropological methods have begun to appear, but it still is the exception rather than the rule to find a satisfactory account of methods in a monograph. Before I began this study, I not only decided to focus upon Olowo s economic success and eventual decline, but I also took explicit theoretical positions about these problems. It is somewhat of an embarrassment to me now to admit that I was wrong, but what is important is that the reader is aware of the assumptions that guided my inquiry. These are set out briefly in Appendix A , where I also describe the techniques that were used to collect the data; here too I explain how the conflict and elaborate social control in Olowo prevented me from gathering some data that are very important for my argument, especially concerning the economy. It was because of the widespread conflict in Olowo that I decided to use a fictitious name for th