The dirty smith: smell as a social frontier among the Kapsiki/Higi of north Cameroon and north-eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Among the Kapsiki/Higi of the Mandara mountains the division between black-smith and non-smith pervades society. Blacksmiths dominate technical and ritual specialisations—including the forge—and through their association with death are considered dirty. One way in which this opposition is expressed is through the definition of smell.Using ideophones, the Kapsiki distinguish fourteen types of smell, each associated with specific ‘smelly’ objects, animals or persons (i.e. blacksmiths). The definition of smells by blacksmiths, however, is different from that of non-smiths; also the women of both ‘castes’ define smell differently from the men. Whereas men use the definition of smell to accentuate the gap between smith and non-smith, the women tend to mediate the division.In Kapsiki culture smell is not associated with notions of evil or witchcraft. It is, however, tied in with burial, which in Kapsiki culture entails protracted exposure to a decomposing corpse. The connection smith-corpse may be one reason for the smelly definition of the smith. Another may be the notion of ambivalence and the tendency to draw strict dividing lines between social groups. Smell in Kapsiki seems to stress borderline situations and the mutual dependence of opposing groups.

Revisiting the limits of language: The odor lexicon of Maniq

“…The possibility that this may not be universally true is rarely entertained. While several linguistic and anthropological works in the last decades have reported the existence of ''smell cultures" with languages rich in abstract odor terms (Beer, 2007;Burenhult & Majid, 2011;Classen, Howes, & Synnott, 1994;Hombert, 1992;Lee, 2010;Shepard, 1999;Tufvesson, 2011;van Beek, 1992), these descriptions have not yet reached a wide audience and their full import has not been realized. The psychological literature on olfactory language continues to rely strongly on earlier generalizations, which were made primarily on the basis of WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) communities (Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010).…”

1 Linguistic Expression of Perception and Cognition: A Typological Glimpse

“…In other cultures, smell is associated with the maintenance of social order. For example, among the Kapsiki of Cameroon, the blacksmiths as a social group are identified with the smell of its totemic animal (Van Beek 1992. 1 Various senses such as smell and touch have played an important role in the conceptualization of social categories such as gender, holiness and marginality (see, for instance, Classen's 1998 seminal work).…”

Besieged Palaeonegritics or Innovative Farmers: Historical Political Ecology of Intensive and Terraced Agriculture in West Africa and Sudan

“…Research has focussed on different themes and on different ethnic groups (see e.g. Campbell & Riddel 1984;Riddel & Campbell 1986;Hallaire 1991;Beek 1992;MacEachern 1993MacEachern , 2001MacEachern , 2003Andel 1998;Müller-Kosack 1996;Beek & Avontuur 2005). A comprehensive bibliography for the Mandara Mountains can be accessed on the Internet.…”