Book

Onions are my husband: survival and accumulation by West African market women

University of Chicago PressChicago • Published In 1994 • Pages:

By: Clark, Gracia.

Abstract
This is an excellent study of Ghana's largest open-air market and its regional trading networks. Asante women constitute the largest block of traders in the market. Clark examines the relationships among retailers, wholesalers, and traders within the different commodity groups. She analyzes the structure and power of the market, including the importance of informal commodity groups with regard to the distribution and pricing of commodities and dispute resolution. Clark shows how market relationships are based on gender, ethnic, and class identities. She also examines how familial and matrilineal ties influence access to labor and capital and determine a trader's level of participation in the market. Clark recounts the economic crisis instigated by the Rawlings socialist government, which bulldozed the market down and confiscated goods in a misguided attempt to control prices and availability of goods. Instead the flow of commodities dried up, creating dangerous food shortages in cities.
Subjects
Commercial facilities
Exchange and transfers
Retail marketing
Mutual aid
Gender status
Family
Informal in-group justice
Political movements
culture
Akan
HRAF PubDate
2000
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Western Africa
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnographer
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard ;1999
Field Date
1978-1990
Coverage Date
1910-1990
Coverage Place
Ashanti; Kumasi, Ghana
Notes
Gracia Clark
Includes bibliographical references (p. 431-453) and index
LCCN
94001907
LCSH
Akan (African people)