Etnicitats, fronteres culturals i categories fluïdes en un context global: una mirada sobre els peul mbororo del Camerun

Abstract

The United Nations identifies the semi-nomadic Mbororo pastoralists of Camero-on,  along  with  other  groups,  as  an  indi-genous people. The Mbororo community forms  part  of  the  Peul-Fulani,  the  largest  ethnic group of the Sudano-Sahelian area. I  describe  the  dynamics  that  have  confi-gured  the  Mbororo  community  as  a  dis-tinct  ethnic  group.  While  the  ethnonym  “Mbororo” was traditionally stigmatizing, it has more recently become a point of re-ference for indigenous discourses that have supported  the  empowerment  of  an  elite  educated  at  the  margins.  Taking  a  more  global and interconnected perspective, this example shows a process of fission: in Ca-meroon  semi-nomadic  Peul  (the  Mboro-ro) are identified as a distinct ethnic group, while in other countries the Peul as a who-le are identified as a single ethnic group.