Que font en brousse les enfants des morts? : Morphologie et rituel chez les Moosi
Institution:
Paris, EHESSDisciplines:
Directors:
Abstract EN:
This dissertation is based on field work carred out in a moosi village, locted in the east of burkina faso. Alocal story tells of a man who left another village to found his own, how this man came to be considered an "elder brother", and how he was obliged to submit himself to the authority of the chief of his village of origin. In the village, every chief is held to be attached to this fondation and every year he organizes a feast to honour the ancestors, both the founder and other patrilineal ancestors, and to renew his power. Districts, the territorial subdivisions of the village, are each inhabited by one patrilineage who conduct his own marriages and funerals. At a funeral, the deceased must be transformed into a sprit. The "children of the dead person" and his "joking kinsmen" see to this transformation. In this way, the deceased is given to the earth-mother, female part of the moosi god' wende. During funerals, the inhabitants are no longer subordinated to their ancestors but to wende. Funerals are very differents from other village or district rituals, since they call into question the villagers'values. Thus institutional forms, most notably territorial power represented by the village chief, are in contradiction with the funeral rituel wich reestablishes original principles that the arrival of a civilizing hero, the founder of the village, overturned once long ago.
Abstract FR:
Cette these a ete redigee a la suite d'une etude qui s'est deroulee dans un village moosi, situe a l'est du burkina faso. Une histoire locale raconte comment un homme a quitte son village pour aller fonder son propre village, comment il a ete considere comme "aine" et comment il s'est trouve soumis au chef du village quitte. Dans le village, chaque chef lie a cette origine, organise tous les ans une fete des ancetres qui honore l'ancetre fondateur du village et ceux du patrilignage, tout en renouvelant son pouvoir. Les quartiers, subdivisions territoriales du village, sont chacun habite par un patrilignage, qui regle les maraiges et conduit les funerailles. Lors des rituels funeraires un mort doit etre transforme en "esprit de mort". Les "enfants du mort" et les "parents a plaisanterie" contribuent a cette transformation. A cette condition, le defunt est donne a la terre-mere, partie feminine du dieu moosi, wende. Pendant les rituels funeraires, les habitants du quartier ne sont plus soumis a leurs ancetres mais a wende. Les rituels funeraires sont d'une autre texture que les rituels de village ou de quartier, ils remettent en cause les valeurs villageoises. Ainsi, aux formes institutionnelles courantes, notamment celle d'un pouvoir territorialise, represente par la personne du chef de village, s'oppose tout un processus funeraire qui retablit les principes fondamentaux qui ont jadis ete bouleverses par l'arrivee du heros civilisateur, fondateur du village.