Customary Law

Akouele Abbey Rosalie

Description

The African meaning of slavery was different in its nature and purpose from that which emerged with the Slave Trades. The native institution is at the heart of a cluster of institutions, which marked the end of the last recorded "Reorganization" process. Those among the Africans, who opted for the preservation of their environment, won the debate. Thus, they labeled the losers "insurgents", ordered many of these ancient master smiths, masons and scientists to be put to death. The victors also invented this peculiar form of slavery to contain the ancient technicians and scientists who survived the massacres. Thus, Africa self-disarmed. The descendants of communities thus marginalized, are what are often called, today, "castes" or "traditional professional communities"; or still "craftsmen". Not just African slavery, but Reorganization''s institutions were flawed enough to suffer debasements. Human failings as well, helped a self-disarmed continent embrace the new notion of slavery brought on by Africa''s immediate neighbors in the wee years of the last millennium. Amid confusions generated by this upheaval, communities ordered to live apart mingled, as wars raged on to feed the Slave Trades. By the end of the 18th century onwards, Africa was in chaos and taken over by European powers. With the 1960''s theoretical regaining of freedom, Africans unleashed upon themselves wars, disrespect towards each other resulting in gross infringement of human rights to settle issues left unresolved. In the name of development, the new African states made their own every piece of liberally-inspired legal machinery available; turning their back at their past. Yet, therein lie some of the answers African states have been searching for about sixty years now.

Sujets

• Histoire
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Waldorf Publishing
• Date de parution: 07 juillet 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781649214775
• Langue: English

Extrait

CUSTOMARY LAW:
SLAVERY AND THE SLAVE TRADE
Rosalie Akouele Abbey



Published by Waldorf Publishing
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www.WaldorfPublishing.com
Customary Law: Slavery and the Slave Trade
ISBN: 978-1-64921-477-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020940332
Copyright © 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Please refer all pertinent questions to the publisher. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper without permission in writing from the publisher.
Design by Baris Celik
To my paternal grandparents, my grandfather, Anaté Mitchihum Abbey, legendary man of honor, and slave holder as well, to my grandmother, Nadou Lawson- Koudahin, fierce guardian of her traditions. To my father, Victor A. Abbey, gone too soon and dearly missed; in honor of his generosity, in recognition of his World War II military service, of his choice to help in the advancement of his country, and in memory of his immense curiosity about the rest of the world. To my brothers and sisters. To Nadjib Adebola Assani.


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work would not have seen the light of day had it not been for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill libraries’ willingness to help me in getting the rare documents I requested, and the library’s own marvelous holdings of works on West Africa.
All my thanks go to that institution, especially to the microfilms department staffed by Maureen St-John. To the staff of the interlibrary loans department, which members were all, and always, graciously available to help me get the books and articles I needed.
The libraries remained a valuable resource as I was able to get in touch with their staff through e-mail and chat rooms, even in these later stages of my putting the finishing touches to this work.
Roberta Ann Dunbar, formerly Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, reviewed the first and French version of this work, and encouraged me to translate it. She also recommended that I go deeper into some aspects of my work, notably about the traditional professional classes.
I also owe a debt of gratitude to Jean Mazel. As, I started, in 1991-1992, looking for materials to help me document this work, I came upon a book of his Présence du monde noir , in which he invited his readers to consult sources such as the “Affiches Américaines” and the “South Carolina Gazette” when working on Africa’s past.
My gratitude to Richenel Ansano, who helped me by providing some of the documentation I was missing.
To the Phoenix, Arizona’s public library system, which provides me assistance in retrieving some of the books. This helped me write the endnotes of this work when documents I assembled for this project were no longer available to me.
Richard Martinez from Arizona State University pitched in and delivered me a new copy of the crucial article by J. D. Clarke, as well as two other much-needed articles.
Under the circumstances alluded to above, California Digital Library, Google e-books, and Wikipedia have been the other sources I turned to in order to complete this endeavor.
To recheck some of my sources, I also turned to resources abroad like the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) and its website, Gallica.bnf.fr My thanks go to its staff; to Madame Fabienne Leclère, especially for her help in providing me with some of the documents. Of great help too, still abroad, was Persee.fr. This website made it possible for me to check other documents. Mr. Jonathan Wakefield of Elsevier pointed out to me that Dr. Ruelle, instead of H. Labouret, was the author of an article on some West African communities, the “Absolute Orthodoxies,” as characterized in this work.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Maître Ayité M. Sitti who read drafts of the back cover and with the keen sense of the jurist he is, grabbed the topic at the core of this work.
To the Trafford staff, especially Kathleen Penafort and Dennis Chan, for never giving up on me; dogging, nudging me to get the work published. To Trafford itself, who stayed with me from 2003- 2004, when I first contacted them.
My thoughts go to Tony and Tom; to S. Kodjo Welbeck for troubleshooting whenever the unavoidable vexing computer and peripherals’ hiccups occurred. Ed Hutton’s, of Adobe Systems Inc., advice proved valuable as I got lost in “files conversion.”
On a more personal level, may this work be also seen as an expression of my gratitude towards all the people who stood up to help us as my father passed away, refusing to allow his dreams to die with him.
Some have now passed away, such as his dearest cousin, Martin Laté Adodo Lawson-Body; two of his dearest friends as well, André Atiba and Hélène Koukpaki née Saucet.
My gratitude also goes to Jérémie Sitti, a standing member of our community who saw a wrong and tried to make it right.
I would like to express my deepest thanks and appreciation to my father’s other faithful cousin, Elias Têvi Abbey (Tonton Elias). To all of my father’s maternal cousins, the Lawson-Koudahins, particularly Tassi Emilienne Latré, Florentine Anoko, Julienne Kayi, Jeanne “Bounay,” who recently passed away; to Atavi S. Kodjo Diogo, Atavi Alex “Dollar,” Atavi Paul Dovi Djollé, and Atavi Jean. They never wavered in their affection to him and always stand ready to provide support and comfort. My gratitude goes to the Lawson family as a whole.
Thanks also to my father’s brothers and sisters for their support. And to my maternal family in Senegal as well, to my uncle Lamine Diédhiou who got Abbé Diamacoune Senghor to answer some of my questions. To “Vivi” Badiane, and to her mother for their willingness to listen to our concerns and help resolve them whenever possible.
My deepest gratitude and affection go also to Tata Mi-Jo (Marie- Josèphe Quashie née Montanary) for her support. The comfort she, together with Tonton Elias, provided to me during those difficult years in the Law School of the University of Dakar (Senegal).
To all of my father’s friends and simple acquaintances, particularly those in Senegal, who also remembered his profound humanity and professional integrity, and never let us down. Their efforts had not been in vain.
To my cousin, Ayélé Jeannine Sitti, who very unexpectedly left us a few months ago, for her assistance which helped me write the dedication for this work; for her enthusiasm and encouragement to see this project through.
I like to thank Astou and Seynabou Bodian, my aunts, who brought specificity as to the possible identities of some of the runaway slaves I encountered in researching this work.
To the memory of Guy Adjété Kouassigan (G.A. Kouassigan). To Mamadou Niang, with the profound wish that this endeavor honors his quest for an understanding of customary law and with the hope that this study would help ignite the urgent and much needed awareness of the face-off between Modern Law and African life and contribute to reconciling Africans with the Rule of Law.
Last but not the least, all my gratitude to Dr. Robert Potter, instructor of Business Law at Durham Technical College in North Carolina. He has proved a valuable support. To my concerns and agonies, he lent a caring and helpful ear during those harrowing years. From the beginning, he believed in this project I embarked on.


PREFACE
This work was born out of influences and events which altered the course of my life.
I believe I have inherited from my father a healthy curiosity, and a passion for Africa. Later on, as a Law student in Dakar, Senegal, I was fortunate enough to have two great jurists as instructors, G.A. Kouassigan and Mamadou Niang. They instilled in me a sustained interest in Customary Law. Dissident voices amidst the chorus of faculty and students alike who saw written Modern Law as the miraculous potion to eradicate West Africa’s many and severe troubles. Both of these teachers made it their duty to reveal aspects of Customary Law, as they encouraged us, students, not to turn our backs to it. Intrigued by this recommendation, I kept it in the back of my mind for years.
All the while, I was observing around me, in Togo and in Senegal, major severe contradictions in societies caught up between Modern and Customary Law. The latter mostly molded them. So unsettling was the situation to me that I backed out of the career path of “notaire” I had chosen. I was unable to find within me the necessary resources to live with the flagrant, surreal contradictions in West Africa and the implementation, or more often “un-implementation”, of the law by its bureaucracies.
As personal circumstances brought me to the United States, I set myself up to research Customary Law, which leads to this discovery of the concept of slavery as understood traditionally in West Africa. As I advanced in my endeavor, it became clear to me that I must not neglect the narratives about the region. Termed “myths,” they truly revealed themselves as the theoretical foundations of Customary Law and they “tell” about the past, in symbols, in templates, in off-topic, digressions, and even silences; all, to be scrutinized, unveiled, and matched with customary rules and archaeology.
This combined approach provides for a more accurate reading of the past without which no sustainable, serious progress could be obtained for the sake of the