Projects

My current projects are two.

Legacies of slavery in Ngazidja is an investigation of the way servile status remains important in shaping relationships on the island of Ngazidja. Participation in rituals, land ownership and residence patterns, marriage strategies, access to and exercise of power, are all often framed with reference to the hierarchies that are the legacy of slavery on the island, and which remain salient today. The notion of social repair frames my approach to the way hierarchical structures continue to shape daily interactions on the island.

Constructions of identity in the Comorian archipelago is linked conceptually (as it must be, given the ethnographic context) to Legacies of slavery”, is an investigation of the relationships between the Maorais, the people of Mayotte, and other islanders, particularly on Ngazidja, as those of the former island, once subservient to their neighbours, find that the economic benefits of being a French possession allow for a reversal of status. What are the effects of now-wealthy Maorais arriving on Ngazidja with the means to purchase land? How are relationships between islanders perturbed but the transformation in relations of power framed by new economic configurations?

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