Multidisciplinary Researches on the Societies of the Niger Bend

今年是我们为期八年的项目的最后一年，我们对这一国际性和多学科项目所进行的研究进行了总结。在与会者撰写了11篇文章的情况下，我们将出版我们项目报告的第四卷，作为前几卷，总是以法语出版，目的是向被研究国家的国民提供研究结果，并促进非洲人在国际层面上的信息交流。我们的最后报告包括以下三部分文章。第一部分包括关于尼日尔本德地区地理、历史和文化背景的四个研究：非洲非洲阿拉伯接触的两个重要地区萨赫勒和斯瓦希里语的比较研究(KAWADA)，尼日尔内陆三角洲地区(Sanogo和Dembele)发现的陶瓷的历时调查，尼日尔本德地区(Sanogo)的丧葬习俗研究和殖民前时期马拉巴人的政治作用(Sakai)。在第二部分关于生存活动及其变化的研究中，我们对马里的谷子种植进行了深入的调查。关于Bozo人捕鱼方法创新的技术社会学思考(KASSIBO)和在西非五个不同民族(Hosaka、Ashizawa和其他)发现的关于身体技术的文化和物质方面的两份报告。第三部分，题为“正在转变和濒临灭绝的文化遗产”，包括对Greetins的符号学研究(SOW)，关于正在消失的Manding口述历史的深入实地研究(Nakamura)，以及关于马里共和国考古遗址遭受严重破坏的相关报告(Dembele)。

This is the last year of our eight-year project, and we made a synthesis of the researches that have been carried out in this international and multidisciplinary project. With eleven articles written by the participants, we are publishing the fourth volume of the report of our project, always in French as preceding volumes, with the intention to render the results of the researches to the nationals of the studied country, as well as to facilitate the exchange of information among the Africanists on international level.Our final report includes the following articles devided in three parts. The first part is composed of four studies on the geographical, historical and cultural settings of the Niger Bend area : a comparative study on Sahel and Swahili, the two important areas of Afro-Arabic contact in Africa (KAWADA), the diachronic investigation on the ceramics found in the interior delta area of the Niger (SANOGO and DEMBELE), a study on the funeral customs of the Niger Bend area (SANOGO) and that on the political role of marabouts in pre-colonial times (SAKAI).In the second part treating the subsistence activities and their change, we have a thoroughgoing investigation on the millet cultivation in Mali (OHJI), a technosociological consideration on the innovation of fishing methods among the Bozo (KASSIBO) and two reports on the cultural and physical aspects of the techniques of the body found in five different ethnic groups of West Africa (HOSAKA, ASHIZAWA and others).The third part, entitled "the cultural heritage in transformation and in danger", comprises a semiotic study of greetins (SOW), an intensive field research on the disappearing Manding oral history (NAKAMURA) and a pertinent report on the serious damage inflicted on the archaeological sites in Republic of Mali (DEMBELE).