Global Challenges and the (Re)Development of Neo-traditional Land Rights. Research in Legal Anthropology in Guinea-Bissau
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Abstract
Today, global players and global legal norms are present even in seemingly remote areas. The Bijagós archipelago of Guinea-Bissau is a case in point. Besides the autochthonous islanders, there are operators of the global tourist industry, international drug dealers, fishing ships from Asia and Europe, petrol companies, as well as transnational environmental organisations on the islands who seek to obtain specific rights to access the islands’ resources, be it oil, fishing grounds, beaches, biospheres, or hiding places. All newcomers, however, bring differing legal perceptions to the islands. The article argues that the confrontation of autochthonous legal norms with allochthonous conceptions affects morally protected boundaries between various spheres of exchange, leading to crises of trust, misunderstandings and mutual accusations of immorality. On the archipelago, local groups actively cope with these global challenges by claims for the re-establishment of “neo-traditional” rights on land and fishing grounds, which are not only directed against newcomers, but are also prone to bring about changes within the age-class society of the Bijagós.
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