“Tell me where your wife comes from, and I’ll know how you name your sorghum landraces!”
The social-shaping of sorghum diversity in Northern Cameroon
This paper presents an anthropological case study of sorghum landrace diversity among the Masa agro-pastoralists of Northern Cameroon. The presentation of empirical data will allow to discuss both theoretical and methodological issues related to the analyses of intra-cultural variation of ethnobotanical knowledge. Furthermore, the discussion will provide insights on how social organisation contributes to the shaping of sorghum diversity mainly through the mundane and ritual circulation of seeds from farmer to farmer.