The politics of house shape: round versus rectilinear domestic structures in Dela compounds, northern Cameroon.

The politics of house shape: round versus rectilinear domestic structures in Dela compounds, northern Cameroon. IntroductionThe transition from round-shaped buildings to rectilinear rec��ti��lin��e��ar?adj.Moving in, consisting of, bounded by, or characterized by a straight line or lines: following a rectilinear path; rectilinear patterns in wallpaper. forms is ofinterest to archaeologists as an indicator of culture change. In someareas of West and Central Africa, scholars attribute the introduction ofrectilinear-shaped buildings to either Islamic or European contact(Denver 1978; Forkl 1985: 85; Prussin 1969; 1986). Anethnoarchaeological study of households in Dela(1) in northern Cameroonindicates that the adoption of rectilinear buildings into domesticcontexts is a more complex process than this explanation allows. Dela isa multi-ethnic community of approximately 1100 people located at thefoot of an inselberg in��sel��berg?n.See monadnock.[German : Insel, island (from Middle High German insule, from alteration of Old High German isila, probably from Vulgar Latin on the Mora MORA, In civil law. This term, in mora, is used to denote that a party to a contract, who is obliged to do anything, has neglected to perform it, and is in default. Story on Bailm. Sec. 123, 259; Jones on Bailm. 70; Poth. Pret a Usage, c. 2, Sec. 2, art. 2, n. Plain, about 10 km northeast of theMandara Mountains The Mandara mountains (Monts Mandara) are a volcanic range extending about 200 km (about 125 mi) (along the northern part of the Cameroon-Nigerian border, from the Benue River in the south ([ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]. While the use ofrectilinear public buildings in Dela is associated with both Islamic andEuropean influences, the recent incorporation of the form in domesticarchitecture is one material strategy which local ethnic groups use tonegotiate political self-interests in a period of intense social change.This study examines the processes involved in the shift torectilinear domestic buildings in Mura,(2) Urza, Wandala and Shuwacompounds in Dela. Relationships between these, the four largest ethnicgroups represented in the town, are complex but can be characterized aseconomically and socially stressful. Hodder (1979; 1982; 1985) suggeststhat the degree of material-culture distinctiveness at the borders ofsocial groups depends upon the degree of economic and social competitionbetween them and on differences in their internal social strategies.Hodder's study is based on interaction within and betweenacephalous acephalous/aceph��a��lous/ (a-sef��ah-lus) headless. acephalousheadless. , lineage-based groups. In the Dela example, kin- andstate-based polities interact and the choice of individuals or groups todifferentiate themselves stylistically through domestic building shapedepends upon their perspective within a local, national andinternational hierarchy.The study groups: social and economic interrelationsThe recent popularity of rectilinear domestic structures in Dela mustbe understood in the context of historical relationships between ethnicgroups in the region, relations that have resulted in a social andeconomic hierarchy. Tensions between these groups were aggravated ag��gra��vate?tr.v. ag��gra��vat��ed, ag��gra��vat��ing, ag��gra��vates1. To make worse or more troublesome.2. To rouse to exasperation or anger; provoke. See Synonyms at annoy. bypolitical decisions affecting the region since the 1960s. Only relevantaspects of this history are provided here. More detailed ethnographic eth��nog��ra��phy?n.The branch of anthropology that deals with the scientific description of specific human cultures.eth��nog and historic information is available in Boutrais (1973), Forkl (1985;1988), Hagen-bucher-Sacripanti (1977), Lyons (1992), MacEachern (1990),Mohammadou (1982), Morrissey (1984) and Mouchet (1947). Data on Delahouseholds were collected as part of the Mandara Archaeological Projectunder the direction of Dr Nicholas David (see David & MacEachern1988; David & Sterner 1987; 1989).The Mura are descendants DESCENDANTS. Those who have issued from an individual, and include his children, grandchildren, and their children to the remotest degree. Ambl. 327 2 Bro. C. C. 30; Id. 230 3 Bro. C. C. 367; 1 Rop. Leg. 115; 2 Bouv. n. 1956. 2. of montagnards whose home territory is MoraMassif mas��sif?n.1. A large mountain mass or compact group of connected mountains forming an independent portion of a range.2. , on the northeastern tip of the Mandara Mountains. Thisacephalous society Anthropologists use the term Acephalous (Greek for "headless") society to refer to societies which lack political leaders or hierarchies. These groups are also known as egalitarian or non-stratified societies. is organized into descent groups who practisesubsistence sorghum sorghum,tall, coarse annual (Sorghum vulgare) of the family Gramineae (grass family), somewhat similar in appearance to corn (but having the grain in a panicle rather than an ear) and used for much the same purposes. farming. In the first half of the 17th century, Muraimmigrants settled the inselberg of Wa-Dela (Lyons 1992: 39) - a smallmountain immediately northeast of the modern town [ILLUSTRATION FORFIGURE 2 OMITTED]. The Mura are the longest-established ethnic group inthe local population. This is important in structuring localhierarchies, as both montagnards and Wandala recognize rights in landownership through a group's seniority and continuity of occupationand in ancestral alliance with local earth spirits.The Wandala first settled at the foot of the inselberg in the late17th century (Forkl 1988: 64; 1989: 543). They share a common languageand a history closely inter-related with the Mura. The Wandala aredescendants of the Wandala state which controlled the plains to thenorth and east of the Mandara Mountains during the 18th and 19thcenturies, with Dela one of their royal capitals. In the early 18thcentury the Wandala converted to Islam (Forkl 1986), which allowed themto participate in the trans-Saharan trade as a vassal vassal:see feudalism. to the state ofBorno to the northwest. Annual tribute was paid to Borno in slavesprocured by the Wandala from their non-Moslem montagnard neighbours.Forkl (1988: 64, 67) suggests that the Mura of Wa-Dela had certainprivileges within the Wandala state: they did not pay taxes, were freeof conscription conscription,compulsory enrollment of personnel for service in the armed forces. Obligatory service in the armed forces has existed since ancient times in many cultures, including the samurai in Japan, warriors in the Aztec Empire, citizen militiamen in ancient in the army and were not taken as slaves. Theseconcessions were needed to secure refuge with the Mura when attacked byother plains groups (see Forkl 1988: 65; Mohammadou 1982: 33; Vossart1953). In anticipation of such an attack on Dela, the Mura built arefuge for the 19th-century Wandala tlikse (ruler) Anarbana on theirinselberg [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 2 OMITTED]. Yet Wandala-Murarelations cannot be considered friendly as long-term hostilities arereported between them during the 19th century (see Mohammadou 1982:28-9).Against Forkl's claim that the Mura were treated preferentiallyin the Wandala state, the Mura hold a different impression. Mura stillrecount stories of relatives taken from their fields and sold intoslavery by the Wandala as well as other acts of brutality andintimidation. For instance, the tlikse is said to have reclined re��cline?v. re��clined, re��clin��ing, re��clinesv.tr.To cause to assume a leaning or prone position.v.intr.To lie back or down. in hisresidence on a skin of a man, presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. a montagnard. Religiousdifferences further enhanced inter-group tensions. As Moslems, theWandala consider themselves to be morally superior to the Mura and Urza.While Wandala hegemony on the plains came to an end in the 1890s,subsequent European administration of the region reinforced thehierarchical relationship between Wandala and montagnards. Germancolonial and French protectorate protectorate, in international lawprotectorate,in international law, a relationship in which one state surrenders part of its sovereignty to another. The subordinate state is called a protectorate. administrations governed through theexisting power structures, collecting taxes in Wandala territory throughthe Wandala themselves. Europeans perceived the Wandala as politicallyand socially organized, erroneously viewing the montagnard socialstructure as one of anarchy (Boutrais 1973: 60-63). The same attitudewas followed by the Cameroon government after independence in 1962, asit attempted to unify the nation with policies aimed at eliminatingethnic differences and 'modernizing' their internationalimage. This directly effected the Mura and other montagnards whosecultural practices, ancestor rituals, beer-drinking, feasts andsacrifices were frowned upon (Boutrais 1973: 69). As part of the newgovernment's policy of modernization, montagnards including theMura of Wa-Dela inselberg were forced down on to the plains to live sideby side with the Wandala who less than a century earlier had terrorizedthem.In Dela today, Wandala political influence is guaranteed locally andregionally: the position of village chief must be filled by a member ofthe Wandala royal family. The chief collects taxes for the government,judges community disputes and liaises with the Wandala tlikse and withCameroon government officials based in Mora IN MORA. In default. Vide mora, in. . Each village quarter isrepresented by a blama, a man elected from the founding or seniorpatrilineage pat��ri��lin��e��age?n.Line of descent as traced through men on the paternal side of a family.Noun 1. patrilineage - line of descent traced through the paternal side of the familyagnation of that quarter. Although blamas collect taxes for thechief and settle minor disputes in their quarter, ultimately they answerto the village chief. They and the people they represent are structuredinto a political system in which they are and will remain subordinate tothe Wandala's political interests.The Urza and Shuwa are both newcomers to Dela but their relationshipswith the founding communities are different. The Urza's hometerritory is Wa-Urza, an inselberg on the Mora plain to the northeast ofthe Mandara Mountains [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]. Although theMura and Urza share similar economic, social and ritual practices, andparticipate in a common marriage network, they are considered bythemselves and by other groups to be ethnically distinct. The two speakdifferent languages (see Barreteau et al. 1984) and have separatehistories of origin (Lyons 1992; Mouchet 1947). Urza men did not foundhouseholds in Dela until this century and most of the local Urzapopulation are descendants of Talake who immigrated to Dela viaWa-Talake c. the 1950s.The Urza may have an earlier claim to Dela. Ethnohistorical accountsof the region refer to a people called the Maya who lived in a walledtown at the foot of Wa-Dela prior to the arrival of the Mura. The fateof the Maya is confusing (see Forkl 1989; Lyons 1992; Mohammadou 1982;Mouchet 1947). Mouchet (1947: 112-13) claims that the Maya fled fromDela to Wa-Urza and are the ancestors of six of the seven Urza lineages.In any case the Urza are not considered as newcomers on the same footingas the Shuwa. Nor do the Urza have the Mura's status as a foundinggroup to buffer their relations with the Wandala. A confrontationbetween Urza and Wandala women over the use of the town well resulted inthe movement of Talake's lineage from the foot of Wa-Dela inselbergto Widive c. the 1960s.Despite the tense relationship between the Wandala and the Mura andUrza, the three share a common distrust of the Shuwa. The Shuwa, nomadic See nomadic computing. cattle-herders not indigenous to the region, are first reported raidingthe Wandala's northern borders in the early 19th century (Denham etal. 1826: 116). At other times in the same century the Shuwa formedmilitary alliances with the Wandala; unreliable as allies, theysometimes retreated or joined enemy ranks during battle (Morrissey 1984:4). Shuwa households currently located on Dela's outskirts wereestablished in the early 1970s. The Shuwa's shared Islamic faithwith the Wandala has not raised their position within the localhierarchy. Wandala claim that the Shuwa commit serious sins againstIslam, including cattle theft and drinking, and do not consider theShuwa as their social or moral equals. There are also tensions betweentownspeople, who are all farmers, and the Shuwa. The most commoncomplaint before Dela's chief is that of farmers seekingcompensation for Shuwa cattle ruining their crops.Recent economic change has increased inter-group tension. One tensionremaining from government-imposed policies surrounds the cotton economy.Initially the government required that each man grow cotton in order topay federal taxes; now families grow cotton for cash. Access to cottonwealth is not equal. Of the two main agricultural soils in this regionof the plains, the alluvium al��lu��vi��um?n. pl. al��lu��vi��ums or al��lu��vi��aSediment deposited by flowing water, as in a riverbed, flood plain, or delta. Also called alluvion. is a rich friable friable/fri��a��ble/ (fri��ah-b'l) easily pulverized or crumbled. fri��a��bleadj.1. Readily crumbled; brittle.2. Relating to a dry, brittle growth of bacteria. soil that can becultivated during the rainy season and the vertisols or karal arefertile black clays that retain moisture and can be cultivated duringthe dry season. Control of alluvium and vertisol allows the farmer topractise an intensive form of agriculture with a rainy- and a dry-seasonharvest. Because the Wandala have lived continuously on the plains belowthe mountain, they claim ancestral prerogative to the karal and much ofthe alluvium. Wandala men who control karal will not sell or rent it toother local groups. By controlling the karal, Wandala households have aneconomic advantage, growing cotton on the alluvium during the rainyseason and sorghum for their families on the karal in the early dry.Shortages in the sorghum crop can be made up by market purchases withcotton profits which far exceed those of montagnard households. Theeffect of Wandala control of the karal decreases with increasingdistance from the town. The Shuwa and members of the Widive Urzacommunity have much higher cotton profits than Mura and Urza livingwithin the town walls. However, only the Shuwa cotton wealth iscomparable to that of the Wandala.In addition to farming, most Wandala household heads practise someform of cash-generating commerce, either specialized crafts such asamulet-making, barbering, weaving, tailoring and embroidery-work, orsmall commercial ventures selling foodstuffs foodstuffsnpl → comestibles mplfoodstuffsnpl → denr��es fpl alimentairesfoodstuffsfood npl → or manufactured goods manufactured goodsnpl → manufacturas fpl; bienes mpl manufacturadosmanufactured goodsnpl → produits manufactur��s.Specialized market skills are not practised by heads of Mura, Urza orShuwa households. The Wandala use cash to employ montagnards includingthe Mura and Urza for house construction and field work. Manual labouris considered low-status employment by the Wandala. By employinglabourers, the Wandala increase their personal prestige as patrons freedfrom manual work. The practice also re-creates in a modern sense thetraditional hierarchical structure See hierarchical. of Wandala masters and montagnardslaves. A similar situation exists between the Wandala and the Shuwa.The Wandala purchase cattle with their profits and hire the Shuwa toherd them. While much of the Wandala's earned cash may actually bespent in paying wages, they achieve the effect of social and apparenteconomic difference between themselves and the other groups.Following a severe drought in the mid 1980s, the local Shuwa lostmost of their cattle, and turned to sorghum and cotton farming. Althoughthe Shuwa also hire montagnards to assist in farm labour, they do notachieve the same social effect as do the Wandala. As the Shuwa areperceived as outsiders by montagnards and Wandala alike, their lack ofhistoric ties to other groups and particularly to the land over-ridestheir status as patrons in the local hierarchy. Even as patrons theShuwa are not equal to the Wandala. While Wandala hire Shuwa, there wereno instances in Dela of Shuwa or any montagnard group hiring Wandala.In sum, the history of interaction between the four groups hasresulted in a hierarchy which favours the Wandala socially, economicallyand politically. The Mura's status as a founding community is onlyrecognized locally by other montagnards and, when deemed necessary, bythe Wandala.(3) The local Urza have a lower status than the Mura, buttheir historic ties to the region and social ties to the Mura preventtheir marginalization mar��gin��al��ize?tr.v. mar��gin��al��ized, mar��gin��al��iz��ing, mar��gin��al��iz��esTo relegate or confine to a lower or outer limit or edge, as of social standing. to the same degree as the Shuwa.The social and economic superiority of the Wandala is seductive tomembers of the lesser-ranked local groups. However, the processes andthe material results of 'Wandala-ization' are not the same inthese communities. Some Mura and Urza consider Islamic conversion as ameans to upward social and economic mobility. Islamic conversion iscalled 'becoming Wandala' rather than 'becomingMoslem'. Converts move into the Wandala quarter and undergo manysocio-cultural changes monitored by the established Wandala community.As the montagnard community consider 'becoming Wandala' a deepbetrayal, these individuals are referred to as 'dead' and areshunned by their families. While Mura and Urza lose individuals to theWandala community, the social and economic structure of the remainingcommunity is distinct. This is not true for the Shuwa. Wandala-izationof Shuwa does not require religious conversion or absorption into theWandala quarter. Instead, the Shuwa embrace the Wandala's sedentarylifestyle For anthropology, see sedentism.Sedentary lifestyle is a type of lifestyle most commonly found in modern (particularly Western) cultures. It is characterized by sitting or remaining inactive for most of the day (for example, in an office. based on sorghum and cotton farming with reduced emphasis onherding. Wandala-ization does not alienate To voluntarily convey or transfer title to real property by gift, disposition by will or the laws of Descent and Distribution, or by sale.For example, a seller may alienate property by transferring to a buyer a parcel of the seller's land containing a house, in Shuwa individuals from theircommunity, as some freely claimed that they were no longer Shuwa butWandala. Such self-proclaimed changes in ethnic identity are not yetendorsed by the Wandala community.Distribution of ethnic communities in DelaIn this discussion the term household refers to co-resident men,women and children occupying a compound of buildings. Ethnicity isdefined as an individual's self-identification and theidentification to a particular social group attributed to them by othermembers of the community. In all groups household residents are relatedthrough the male household head; while Mura and Urza households areparticularly multi-ethnic, the ethnic affiliation of households usedhere refers to that of its head, as it is he who owns, constructs andultimately decides on building shape.There are approximately 200 compounds in Dela. Ten Mura, 4 Urza, 10Wandala and 4 Shuwa households participated in the study. Thedistribution of ethnic groups in the town reproduces the spatialdistribution of the regional demography demography(dĭmŏg`rəfē), science of human population. Demography represents a fundamental approach to the understanding of human society. , a distribution intentionallyrecreated by the chief whose policy is to relocate newcomers next tohouseholds of members of their own ethnic group. This practice hascreated spatially defined ethnic neighbourhoods in each quarter. Delahas four ethnic quarters inside the ruins of the old town walls (???seeFIGURE 2). The Mura occupy two quarters, Wa-Dela and Sela-Podokwo,located north of the inselberg and east of the highway. Urza householdsare situated in the eastern section of Wa-Dela quarter and in thesatellite community of Widive, northeast of town. Wandala households arelocated in Wandala Centre, a quarter which straddles the highway anddominates the town's west side. The Shuwa quarter is north of theold town wall.The distribution of rectangular buildings in DelaRectangular buildings were probably introduced to the Wandala throughIslamic contacts in the trans-Saharan trade. Islamized areas of WestAfrica West AfricaA region of western Africa between the Sahara Desert and the Gulf of Guinea. It was largely controlled by colonial powers until the 20th century.West African adj. & n. and the central Sudan are associated with a style ofarchitecture, the 'Sudanese style' (see Bourdier 1993; Denver1978: 55), believed to derive from Islamic North Africa, Egypt, Moroccoor Kairouan (Prussin 1986: 103). Incorporating many variations, thisstyle is characterized by rectangular buildings with courtyards, flat,mud roofs and parapets pierced with gutters to channel rainwater (Denver1978: 160-61). The Wandala, like other Islamized groups in the Sudanregion, limit the use of this style to specific people and publicbuildings (Forkl 1989).The earliest report of this style being used by the Wandala comesfrom Denham (Denham et al. 1826), the first European to travel into thearea. FIGURE 3 is based on a drawing by Denham of another Wandala royalcapital, Mora, in 1823. The drawing portrays a town wall enclosing adense cluster of round huts with thatched roofs. Towards the back of thetown, possibly situated on a mound or, more likely, on slightly higherground near the base of the mountain, are at least two large, apparentlyrectangular-shaped structures with flat roofs. These large buildingsmust represent the tlikse's palace and/or administrative buildings.The rest of the town's buildings are round and are likely domesticdwellings. If the drawing is remotely accurate, it is clear evidence ofthe Wandala's use of the Sudanese style of architecture for publicbuildings by the early 19th century. It is still used in Wandala publicbuildings, including the entry to the chief's compound in Dela. Inthis century, European-style government buildings, schools and Christianmissions reinforced the association between rectilinear public buildingsand political authority.Rectangular structures are now being used in domestic buildings inDela. Only the shape is borrowed from public architecture; the scale andthe style of domestic structures are in neither Sudanese nor Europeanstyle. When were rectilinear forms incorporated into domestic compounds?Some Wandala men stated that until the 1970s their houses were round,and this is consistent with the description of Hallaire (1965: 53); itseems that square buildings were not the norm in plains villages in theearly 1960s as they are today. The oldest rectilinear buildings inWandala compounds sampled date to the early 1960s. Mura and Urzadomestic structures were round, until the move to the plains in the1960s. All observable foundations of abandoned Urza compounds on near-byWa-Talake and Mura compounds on Wa-Dela insel-bergs are circular. Thisincludes the ruins of Anarbana's 19th-century retreat, which couldbe construed as the Mura's only attempt at public architecture. Theage of rectilinear buildings in compounds is also a rough gauge of theirintroduction, as households in all four groups were forced to relocatein the 1960s. Rectilinear forms in Mura compounds are as old as those ofthe Wandala; which may indicate that the two groups began to use thisbuilding shape concurrently. The oldest Urza rectilinear structures aremore recent, dating to the mid 1970s. The traditional Shuwa house isalso round but these structures are significantly different. Shuwabuildings are approximately 2-4 times [TABULAR DATA FOR TABLE 1 OMITTED]greater in size than circular buildings in the other three groups, asthese large buildings housed both family members and cattle at night.The oldest rectilinear structure in Shuwa compounds dates to the late1970s.The relative age of rectilinear-building construction in eachcommunity does not correlate with its current predominance pre��dom��i��nance? also pre��dom��i��nan��cyn.The state or quality of being predominant; preponderance.Noun 1. predominance - the state of being predominant over otherspredomination, prepotency ordistribution within them. By 1986, 90% of Wandala, 46% of Mura, 36% ofUrza and 34% of Shuwa structures in households sampled were rectilinearin form (see TABLE 1). While rectilinear forms dominate all Wandalacompounds, their frequency varied within compounds of the other threegroups. The greatest frequency of rectangular buildings withinindividual Mura compounds is in households located close to both thehighway and the border of the Wandala quarter on the east side of thehighway. In the non-Wandala communities, the frequency of rectilinearstructures within each compound also correlates with individualmen's status. The Wa-Dela blama's compound is located besidethe highway and the Wandala quarter. He is the head of the founding Muralineage and the highest-ranked montagnard in Dela. His compound is theonly non-Wandala compound in the study whose currently occupiedbuildings are exclusively rectangular. In the Urza and Shuwacommunities, the greatest frequency of rectilinear buildings occur intheir respective blama's compounds. Wandala also use building shapeto designate status. The wealthiest Wandala man in the village built hisbedroom in the Sudanese style with a flat, mud roof andhigher-than-average walls.In addition to varying the distribution of rectilinear structureswithin the community, each group also manipulates rectilinear structuresdifferently in terms of construction and placement. Materials used inwall construction are ranked by the four groups; they are one means ofmaintaining economic and social differences between ethnic communitiesand between individual men within each community. Daub, a mixture ofearth and additives such as stones, pottery sherds and organicmaterials, can be formed into blocks in moulds and sun-dried, or it canbe built in courses akin to coiled-pottery construction. Daubcoursed-wall construction is the most valued. Block walls have ause-life of only 5 years, whereas coursed daub walls last at least 25years with constant maintenance. Stone, termite-mound soil and vegetal vegetal/veg��e��tal/ (vej��e-t'l) vegetative (defs. 1, 2, and 3). veg��e��taladj.1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of plants.2. material are also used in wall construction. The latter is considered apoor man's Poor man's is a common slang term used to compare one thing with another. It is not necessarily a derogatory term. It is usually used in a sentence as "X is a poor man's Y", with "X" being the person or thing one is referring to, and "Y" being the superior but similar person or resource, as it is readily available, requires littlelabour to build and has the shortest life of the wall materials.Although a wall material's value is based on costs in construction,maintenance and use-life, it is possible that lesser values are alsoattributed to materials associated with montagnard and Shuwa buildingtraditions. There are also practical reasons for ethnic choices. Stoneand termite-mound soil were commonly used by montagnards for wallconstruction when they lived on the mountains. Soil is a scarce resourcein mountain farming and considerable effort is spent on terraces toretain soil for growing crops. There daub walls are impractical. Themovement of montognards from Wa-Dela forced them to select differentbuilding materials Building materials used in the construction industry to create .These categories of materials and products are used by and construction project managers to specify the materials and methods used for . ; stone does not occur on the plains, but soil fordaub walls is plentiful. The Mura now use coursed daub-wall constructionmore than any other group. Vegetal material is the only cost-effectiveand structurally sound means of constructing the large Shuwa house.All household heads stated that rectangular, coursed, daub-walledbuildings are the most prestigious and expensive, as they require theexpertise of a skilled mason. These structures are not cost-effective,as experimental studies demonstrate they are less durable than circularones (McIntosh 1974: 159; Prussin 1969: 30-31, 114-15). Coursed daubwalls in rectilinear structures must be considered as a form ofconspicuous consumption conspicuous consumptionn.The acquisition and display of expensive items to attract attention to one's wealth or to suggest that one is wealthy.Noun 1. ; the Wandala are the biggest consumer with 57%of their buildings constructed in this manner (see TABLE 1). Incomparison, rectilinear coursed-daub buildings constitute only 31% ofMura, 5% of Urza and 18.5% of Shuwa structures. Although the Urza usedaub, they prefer the cheaper daub block for rectilinear-shapedbuildings; this may explain the absence of old rectilinear forms intheir houses. Daub-block walls viewed from a distance areindistinguishable from coursed daub, do not require the expense of aspecialist, and provide an economical alternative for constructingrectilinear buildings. However, the use of cheaper constructionmaterials is not lost on the community; the technique is rarely used bythe other groups for rectilinear buildings.The location of rectilinear buildings within individual compounds isalso meaningful. The four study groups produce three distinct compoundplans [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 4 OMITTED]. Mura and Urza compounds arevirtually identical in outward appearance and internal spatial order[ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 5 OMITTED]. Their compounds are formed by anelliptical el��lip��tic? or el��lip��ti��caladj.1. Of, relating to, or having the shape of an ellipse.2. Containing or characterized by ellipsis.3. a. cluster of single-room round and rectilinear structureslinked together with walls enclosing a central, partially coveredcourtyard crowded with men's and women's granaries. Compoundsare constructed to house a man, his wives and children; neither men norwomen can maintain a compound without a spouse. Elderly parents arehoused individually to the side of a son's compound; widowed ordivorced sons are housed in a room behind a father's compound.Inside the family compound, structures, storage and activities areorganized by principles of gender and seniority. The household head eatswith his sons, and visits with male guests, sleeps and has sex with hiswives at the compound entry. The entry is usually a building orsometimes a break in the wall on the front, west side of the compoundopening into a street or pathway. The first wife's kitchen andbedroom are located directly opposite the entry at the back, easternside. Other wives' rooms are placed between the husband's andthe first wife's rooms toward the back. Women eat with daughtersand young sons, visit with female guests, sleep, give birth to children,bathe, prepare food and beer, and make pottery in their rooms or theadjacent section of courtyard. Rooms for animals and older children(usually sons) are placed between the women's rooms and the entry.The tall, cylindrical cyl��in��dri��caladj.Of, relating to, or having the shape of a cylinder, especially of a circular cylinder. granaries obscure direct lines of sight across thecompound and facilitate social practices such as father-in-law avoidanceand the separation of men and women while eating. Family rituals arealso conducted in the courtyard around ancestral shrines.The spatial organization of men's and women's activities isthe same in compounds with or without rectilinear-shaped buildings.Rectangular structures are substituted for round ones, but in locationswhich are strategic for men. Virtually all rectilinear buildings areplaced at the front of the compound. Although women's roomsoutnumber out��num��ber?tr.v. out��num��bered, out��num��ber��ing, out��num��bersTo exceed the number of; be more numerous than.outnumberVerbto exceed in number: men's rooms by approximately 2:1, only 42% of Murawomen's structures are rectangular, in comparison to 72% ofmen's structures. In Urza compounds 75% of men's but only 10%of women's buildings are rectangular (see TABLE 2). The placementof rectangular structures at the front of the compound makes these thestructures presented to approaching visitors. Rectilinear buildingsreinforce gender relations within the Mura and Urza communities. Muraand Urza men perceive themselves superior to women partly because theyalone can own domestic buildings and farmland. Rectilinear buildings inthe men's area are a new visual medium at a greater cost investmentfor men to express their perception of gender relations within thedomestic context (see Lyons 1992).Wandala compounds house a man, his wives and children [ILLUSTRATIONFOR FIGURE 6 OMITTED]. Unlike montagnard households, elderly parentsmaintain their own compounds and divorced or widowed sons are housedinside their father's compound. The entire compound is surroundedby a high wall which encloses more than twice the area than do Mura andUrza compounds, even though the meat, family size is the same. Theheight of the courtyard wall and the orientation of the [TABULAR DATAFOR TABLE 2 OMITTED] compound entry is intended to provide women withprivacy, as they should not be seen doing manual work from the street.The front entry opens into a square, street or pathway. The entry isreserved for greeting visitors, conducting men's and women'scommercial activities and for accommodating overnight male guests. Insome households there is a small courtyard between the street entry andthe family's inner courtyard, ensuring maximum privacy. Theenclosed buildings are usually free-standing, single- or multi-roombuildings set well apart and arranged around a large, open, uncoveredcourtyard with verandas attached to individual bedrooms for shade. Theorganization of other structures is intended to segregate seg��re��gate?v. seg��re��gat��ed, seg��re��gat��ing, seg��re��gatesv.tr.1. To separate or isolate from others or from a main body or group. See Synonyms at isolate.2. activities bygender and to afford privacy. The household head's bedroom isseparate from the entry and is located either at the front or the back,but always opposite the women's bedrooms. A man uses his room forsleeping and for eating meals with his sons. Each wife has her ownbedroom at the back, usually eastern, side of the compound which theyshare with daughters and infant sons. Women's kitchens are eitherinside or placed next to their bedrooms. Infrequently co-wives share akitchen structure. Each adult has an enclosed latrine la��trine?n.A communal toilet of a type often used in a camp or barracks.[From French latrines, privies, from Old French, from Latin l and bathing areabehind their bedroom. Although some men have granaries in the courtyardnext to their bedrooms, most store grain in sacks inside their rooms.Women do not have separate crops and have no comparable storagefacilities to those of montagnard women. Animals and adolescent boys mayhave rooms at the front of the compound. Most ritual activities occur atthe village mosque or in public areas rather than inside domesticspaces.The Wandala use round buildings rarely, and when they do, they arefor low-status activities, particularly goat/sheep houses andwomen's kitchens. In contrast to bedrooms, women's kitchens -especially round ones - are usually made with the cheapest buildingmaterials enhancing the low prestige associated with such activity.Shuwa compounds are approximately three times the areal extent ofWandala compounds and are not enclosed by a wall - an arrangement whichfacilitates the movement of many head of livestock in and out ofbuildings where they are kept at night [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 7OMITTED]. Buildings occupied by closely related men and their familiesare arranged in a circle around an open central area. Most frequentlythis is a man and his adult sons or brothers. The senior man'shouse is preferably located in the east, and progressively juniormen's buildings are arranged anti-clockwise relative to him. Thelatter principle is more evident than is cardinal orientation in thehouses studied. The Shuwa's traditional round buildings areinternally divided by gender. Looking in from the doorway, awoman's kitchen, bed and storage area are located to the left, anda man's bed and night-time cattle-keep are located to the right.Unmarried men may have their own buildings which serve asbedroom/cattle-keep, and widowed women may have a separatebedroom/kitchen structure. All four Shuwa compounds had recently adoptedoversized o��ver��size?n.1. A size that is larger than usual.2. An oversize article or object.adj. o��ver��size also o��ver��sizedLarger in size than usual or necessary. montagnard-style granaries placed on the periphery of thecentral area where cattle are corralled.Although the principle of organizing Shuwa buildings by maleseniority and the spatial scale of their compounds are maintainedregardless of building shape, rectilinear buildings rearrange re��ar��range?tr.v. re��ar��ranged, re��ar��rang��ing, re��ar��rang��esTo change the arrangement of.re andsegment gender-based spaces and activities. Wandala-style buildings aremuch smaller than Shuwa structures and this prohibits housing men, womenand cattle under one roof. Instead, men's and women'sbedrooms, kitchens and cattle are all housed in separate buildings. TheWandala-ization of internal domestic space is also apparent in changesin women's furnishings, even inside round dwellings. Shuwa womenformerly built themselves large four-poster beds on which they hungtheir dowries of calabashes and pots. Almost all of the women hadreplaced the Shuwa bed with the ornamental metal bed favoured by theWandala, and displayed their wealth in metal pots on platforms or incupboards opposite the door as do Wandala women.DiscussionIn Dela, the incorporation of rectilinear-shaped buildings indomestic compounds occurs long after its initial use in publicarchitecture by the Islamized Wandala state and later by Europeans. Whywere rectilinear forms not adopted into domestic architecture until the1960s, and what explains the uneven distribution of these buildingswithin and between ethnic groups in Dela today?Wandala informants stated that the Wandala began to build rectangulardomestic structures so as to be 'modern', to accommodatefurniture purchased in the market and to enable the use of corrugated cor��ru��gate?v. cor��ru��gat��ed, cor��ru��gat��ing, cor��ru��gatesv.tr.To shape into folds or parallel and alternating ridges and grooves.v.intr. metal roofing. The latter two reasons are not supported by observationsmade in 1986. Most furniture found in Wandala households includeswomen's metal four-poster beds, cupboards for displaying metalpots, men's cots and folding chairs. This furniture is found inbedrooms but rarely in other Wandala rectangular structures such asentries, verandas and kitchens which are most often unfurnished unfurnishedAdjectivenot containing any furnitureAdj. 1. unfurnished - not equipped with what is needed especially furniture; "an unfurnished apartment" ; it isvirtually absent from all Mura and Urza compounds with rectangularbuildings. Nor does roof material correlate with house shape. Althoughmetal roofs can only be used on rectangular buildings, not allrectangular buildings have metal roofs. Only a quarter of theWandala's rectilinear structures have such roofing, using cheaperbatted straw and stalk stalk(stawk) an elongated anatomical structure resembling the stem of a plant.allantoic stalk roofs on the rest. Furthermore, informants statedthat the expensive corrugated metal was not generally available untilthe 1980s. The evidence indicates that furniture and roofing were notthe initial criteria for selecting rectangular structures, while theassociation of non-traditional furniture and roofing with rectilinearforms may be part of the Wandala's (and other groups')perception of modernity.The explanation of building rectangular domestic structures in orderto be 'modern', while elusive, may better relate to thecontext in which these forms were adopted. 'Being modern', anexpression frequently used by household heads in their reference torectilinear structures, probably relates to the policies of the Cameroongovernment in the 1960s, aimed at modernizing the image of the nation.These policies had a profound effect on the region and resulted in amassive demographic upheaval. Government departments, and officialsenforcing the new government's policies, operated from and werehoused in rectangular-shaped buildings in major centres, includingnear-by Mora. Local people's perception of 'being modern'likely included the government's own building shape as suchstructures became a vital part of the material presence of thegovernment in the region.Several important events associated with regional modernizationoccurred in Dela immediately before and shortly after the Wandala'sand Mura's use of rectangular domestic buildings. These eventsincluded the construction of a government-built rectangular publicschool, the construction of a paved highway through the Wandala quarter,the enforced move of the local montagnard population from Wa-Dela to itsfoot, the addition of both displaced montagnards from the MandaraMountains and the arrival of the Shuwa. Previously, stylisticdifferentiation in households was unnecessary, as the Wandala andmontagnard communities were physically separated. This situation changedwith massive demographic shifts in the 1960s, and the distinctionsbetween these two groups became less obvious. The construction of thehighway through the Wandala quarter forced many families to reconstructtheir compounds east of the highway, next to where the Mura weresettling. The montagnard immigrants' round domestic buildings werenot significantly different from traditional Wandala domesticarchitecture. The similarity in their houses actually increased with themontagnards' new use of daub-wall construction.I suggest that in this period of political transition, the Wandalaadopted rectangular-shaped domestic buildings as a political strategy tofurther their own self-interests. The selection of rectilinear formsmust be considered as a conscious strategy as this shape is explicitlyassociated with traditional Wandala authority. In addition, it was aform that involved costs that could not have been incurred by their Muraneighbours - at least not as extensively as could be incurred by Wandalafamilies, a point explicitly stated by Mura and Wandala household heads.Although some Mura built rectilinear buildings at about the same time,it is unlikely that the Wandala would have followed the Mura'sstylistic lead. At any rate, the Mura were not as successful inappropriating the rectilinear form into domestic architecture as werethe Wandala - partly due to its cost. The proliferation proliferation/pro��lif��er��a��tion/ (pro-lif?er-a��shun) the reproduction or multiplication of similar forms, especially of cells.prolif��erativeprolif��erous pro��lif��er��a��tionn. of rectilinearforms in Wandala compounds visually differentiated the Wandala communityfrom their montagnard neighbours, associating them with both old and newpolitical authorities Political authorities hold positions of power or influence within a system of government. Although some are exclusive to one or another form of government, many exist within several types. and with the concept of 'being modern'.The Wandala's use of material-culture style to define between groupboundaries in conditions of economic and social stress follows theexpectations laid out by Hodder (1979; 1982; 1985). However, Murahouseholds closest to the highway and the Wandala quarter have the mostrectilinear house forms of non-Wandala groups, blurring the Wandala-Muraborder in spite of inter-group competition and clear differences ininternal social strategies, contrary to Hodder's expectations. Why?I suggest that the Mura began to build rectangular buildings at thesame time as the Wandala in order to counteract the Wandala'sstrategy of establishing a visual difference between them. In a veryreal sense, the official perception of Dela is from the highway.Visiting officials come to town by car along the highway, and in thetown conduct most of their business in front of public buildings. Allpublic buildings are located on the highway, including the mosque,public school and the chief's residence. Both Mura blamas'residences (not public buildings) are adjacent to the highway. Since theWandala and the federal government place a low value on the montagnardway of life, Mura men can use rectangular buildings to suppress visibledifferences between themselves and the Wandala, and to appear modern tothe new authority. Rectangular buildings, particularly expensiverectilinear course-daub structures, are most strategic where they can beseen by visiting officials - closest to the highway. As Urza and Shuwahouseholds are not clearly visible from the highway, it is lessstrategic for households in these communities to invest in expensivedaub-walled rectilinear structures.The blurring of ethnic boundaries for visiting officials isparticularly important to montagnards whose homes are in the officialview from the highway. Their ethnic visibility as montagnards isdetrimental to their self-interest, as the Cameroon government singledout their life-style as the antithesis antithesis(ăntĭth`ĭsĭs), a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure. Parallelism of expression serves to emphasize opposition of ideas. of modernity. The placing ofrectilinear structures at the front of montagnard compounds,particularly in the compounds of blamas who may receive official visits,is - I suggest - a material manifestation of ethnic malleability malleability,property of a metal describing the ease with which it can be hammered, forged, pressed, or rolled into thin sheets. Metals vary in this respect; pure gold is the most malleable. Silver, copper, aluminum, lead, tin, zinc, and iron are also very malleable. .(4) Themanipulation of ethnic identity in appropriate contexts is a strategylong used by montagnards in the northern Mandara Mountains (the problemof defining ethnicity in the study region has been discussed elsewhere:David et al. 1991; MacEachern 1990: 254) as it is by acephalous groupsin other parts of Africa (see Lentz 1994; Willis 1992). In reality,montagnards tend to be multi-ethnic, particularly through maritalobligations which require them to fulfil social and ritual roles withintheir spouses' kin groups. The contextual nature of ethnicityamongst the montagnard population is attributed by MacEachern (1990:316-17) to social and economic relations over the last few centuries.This history of inter-group conflict resulted in a need for neighbouringgroups to co-operate for protection, particularly against plains groupssuch as the Wandala as well as other montagnard 'coalitions'.In these conditions a malleable malleable/mal��le��a��ble/ (mal��e-ah-b'l) susceptible of being beaten out into a thin plate. mal��le��a��bleadj.1. Capable of being shaped or formed, as by hammering or pressure. ethnic identity was strategic, as we seeit today in the design of Mura and Urza compounds. While the visibilityof rectilinear structures from the exterior of the compound masks ethnicidentity to observers who denigrate den��i��grate?tr.v. den��i��grat��ed, den��i��grat��ing, den��i��grates1. To attack the character or reputation of; speak ill of; defame.2. the montagnard lifestyle, theinterior spatial organization of people, property and activities isunchanged. As gender roles and relationships are culturally constructedpartly through the meaningful association of men's and women'sactivities in the domestic context (see e.g. Hodder 1982; Moore 1986),then the integrity of internal spatial organization in Mura and Urzacompounds indicates that building shape has not significantly alteredthese relations, and may in fact reinforce gender differences.The Shuwa are also manipulating their ethnic identity through the useof rectilinear buildings. The Shuwa are coping with a rapidly changingsubsistence base. Farming will make individuals more permanent membersof the local community in which their status as outsiders is low. Isuggest that the Shuwa are actively eroding social boundaries betweenthemselves and the Wandala by appropriating aspects of Wandala materialculture which are used to establish status within that community,including objects given in dowry dowry(dou`rē), the property that a woman brings to her husband at the time of the marriage. The dowry apparently originated in the giving of a marriage gift by the family of the bridegroom to the bride and the bestowal of money upon the bride by , ostentatious os��ten��ta��tious?adj.Characterized by or given to ostentation; pretentious. See Synonyms at showy.os display through buildingform, and in the segregation of men's and women's activityareas and resources with the adoption of Wandala-style rectilinearstructures. This may eventually result in cultural absorption of theShuwa community, but for now Shuwa men also maintain traditionalstrategies of prestige through corporate cattle-holdings, even thoughthese are much reduced.ConclusionThe recent adoption of rectilinear buildings in domestic contexts ispart of ethnic political manoeuvring manoeuvringor US maneuveringNounthe skilful manipulation of a situation to gain some advantage in Dela. Social and economic stressbetween the Mura, Urza, Wandala and Shuwa has resulted in the emergenceof new stylistic choices. Competition between these groups is not even.As the Wandala have greater material and social authority in thecommunity and in the region, new choices, such as the change from roundto rectilinear houses, are most successfully instigated by the Wandala.Other groups must make similar stylistic choices in order to gain andmaintain credibility with government officials. Rectilinear buildingshape is meaningfully adopted to cope with social change, as the form isunderstood both by local groups as a traditional shape of authoritativebuildings, and by the federal authorities as progressive.The use of external household style by the Mura and Wandala requiresa modification of Hodder's interpretation of stylisticdifferentiation between competing groups. Hodder (1979; 1985)demonstrates that the degree of material-culture distinctiveness betweengroups depends upon the degree of social and economic stress betweenthem and upon the degree of difference in internal social relationswithin them. However, Hodder was examining interaction within and acrossboundaries of acephalous, lineage-based groups. In this study,interaction between acephalous groups and more complex societies at thelocal, national and international levels creates other pressures onmaintaining, masking or breaking down visible social boundaries. Isuggest that in community power structures where one group has asignificant economic and social edge over others, there is no advantagefor weaker groups to differentiate themselves stylistically - at leastnot in contexts where difference is counter to their self-interests. InDela, stylistic differentiation only benefits the Wandala as it would anupper class. Instead, it is beneficial to other local groups that theirhouses look like the Wandala's from the outside. Although it isanticipated that the Wandala will eventually choose other buildingstyles to maintain their social distance from the other groups, economicfactors create a lag between the old and the new styles. Theirfinancially poorer competitors can use this to their advantage. MostMura and Urza only construct one or two rectangular buildings at thefront of the compound. The Shuwa need to construct Wandala-style andmaintain Shuwa-style buildings to engage in dual systems of prestige.Stylistic competition is kept within financial means and greaterflexibility exists for change in the future. Copying building styles ofthe Wandala is, after all, not intended to feel the Wandala, foreveryone in Dela knows the status of everyone else - a situation commonto small communities. The blurring of styles along ethnic boundaries inDela is targeted to impress visitors.Acknowledgements. I am indebted to Chief Amanaji Boukar and thehouseholds of Dela who participated in the study. I especially thank DrNicholas David for the opportunity to participate in the MandaraArchaeological Project and for comments on the research which shapedthis paper. Field assistance and translation was provided by MatsameSiliman. Hermann Forkl kindly provided his unpublished field map of Delaon which FIGURE 2 is based. Many thanks to Shannon Wood who preparedFIGURES 1, 2 & 4 as presented in the text. Funding for field work inDela was provided by a Social Science and Humanities Research Council ofCanada doctoral fellowship and a Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University,main campus at Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; provincially supported; coeducational; chartered 1963, opened 1965. The Harbour Centre campus in downtown Vancouver opened in 1989. OpenScholarship.1 Dela is frequently printed as Doulo on maps of the region but ispronounced Dela by the townspeople.2 The Mura are also referred to as the Mora or Kirdi Mora.3 As founding communities, the Wandala and Mura cooperate inofferings and sacrifices for rain for Dela (personal observation August1986). Similar rain rites are conducted by montagnards and Wandala atMora and Grea (see Forkl 1984; Mohammadou 1982: 93-4).4 Both Mura blamas have added Wandala-style compound walls along thehighway-visible sides of their compounds. 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