Where My Cord is Buried: WoDaaBe Use and Conceptualization of Land

Abstract

A general conception among many government officials and those working in relation to
development seems to be that WoDaaBe simply do not have attachment to land, and
traditionally have had no conception of land as a home. These issues are increasingly
important in present day Niger, where claims of land have become a very central issue.
The goal of this paper is to discuss resource use by a specific lineage group of WoDaaBe
and their conceptualization of land. I will explain the dynamics of the seasonal movements
of WoDaaBe, which I believe are partly the reason that WoDaaBe are often seen as not
having an attachment to land. I will also discuss concepts tied to the WoDaaBe
conceptualization of land. I place my discussion in a broad political and ecological
context, explaining the WoDaaBe situation within the nation state.

Keywords: Niger, WoDaaBe, land tenure, land policy, pastoralism, Sahel, nation state.