article

Gleaming like the sun: aesthetic values in Wodaabe material culture

Africa78 (4)Published In 2008 • Pages: 582-602

By: Boesen, Elisabeth.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article considers Wodaabe consumer attitudes and consumption practices, including the use of modern commodities like wristwatches, radios, and discarded washing machine drums, as well as clothing and household items borrowed from the neighboring Tuareg. The author argues that some items are valued not for their functional utility or economic worth but for their aesthetic appeal; a few for their shininess in particular.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Acculturation and culture contact
Utensils
Property in movables
Buying and selling
Income and demand
Exchange transactions
External trade
Travel
Visual arts
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Fulani
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Western Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Ian Skoggard; 2020
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
2003-2005
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1950-2005
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
central Niger
NotesAdditional notes
Elisabeth Boesen
Includes bibliographical references (p. 600-602)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
29010790
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Fula (African people)