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Francis G. Snyder
To cite this article: Francis G. Snyder (1981) Colonialism and Legal Form: The Creation of
Customary Law in Senegal, The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 13:19, 49-90,
DOI: 10.1080/07329113.1981.10756258
Article views: 5
Download by: [New York University] Date: 16 October 2015, At: 03:06
COLONIALISM AND LEGAL FORM: THE CREATION OF
"CUSTOMARY LAW" IN SENEGAL*
Francis G. Snyder
own plots was diminished by whatever work he did for the rain
priest (see also Marx, 1974: 792-73). The weakness of the
rain priesthood as a centralized institution and the almost
ad hoc nature of certain prestations supplied to the priest
modify only in degree the pertinence of this observation.
DIAGRAM I
Elol
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,
I
I
I
n
Abin<;1er An Gure Gada
I
I
1
Kubano Theodore ra~n ?riest
DIAGRAM II
North
i
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30M
I
I
I
I
T
~ ... t
I -L-
l r
...... South
~ _J._
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If.-.,..... ~
r- - -. - - - 30..... - - - - - ~I
On the one hand, the interpreter simply awarded each party the
harvest produced largely by their respective production cells.
Though it did not follow Banjal norms, this solution was con-
sistent with an administrative policy of compromise in such
cases. On the other hand, the interpreter's recommendation
effectively appropriated the land from Arfan and his agnates
without reimbursement. This determination marked the creation
of a controversial aspect of Banjal "customary law."
After the French had concluded treaties with the Banjal (see
Snyder, 1973a: 71-72) the explorer Hecquard described the
ritual role of and the provision of prestations to the Banjal
rain priest, noting that the Banjal were "governed by a chief
who is both a king and a great priest" (1852: 417-18). Thirty
years after the French administration had recognized the rain
priest as its political interlocutor, Charles Hanin (1933a:
29-30; 1933b: 271-75) merged these various elements. According
to him, the Diola believed that authority over land derived
originally from the Creator and was delegated to local spirits
and then to "priest-kings." These "local sovereigns" were
political and ritual figures who authorized the clearing of
land within their respective zones but, in principle,
retained residual rights. Hanin's synthesis testified to the
increased interest in African land holding that was also
SNYDER 71
Conclusion
development of capitalism.
NOTES
2Al though this paper only concerns land Law , "customary law"
embraced a wide variety of civil and criminal matters in-
volving Africans in former French colonies until 1946. Early
in the colonial period the French distinguished between "citi-
zens" and "subjects," whose affairs were amenable to juris-
diction in different hierarchies of courts. The cRtegory of
"subjects" included most Africans, with the eventual exception
of those born in the four communes of Senegal, namely Dakar,
Gore, Rufisque, and Saint-Louis. "Customary" criminal law
was applied by the tribunaux indigenes in so far as it was
not "contrary to the principles of French civilization." In
addition, however, Africans were subject to the indigenat, a
system of administrative sanctions for minor offenses deemed
harmful to colonial authority. An "indigenous penal code"
based upon the French Penal Code was instituted for French
West Africa and Togo by decree of February 11, 1941 and sub-
sequently extended to all French colonies in Africa. The
SNYDER 79
REFERENCES
to Decolonisation in French
West Africa," in Michael Crowder
and Obaro Ikime (eds.) West
African Chiefs: Their Changing
Status Under Colonial Rule and
Independence, 2-13. New York:
Africana Publishing Corporation,
and Ile-Ife: University of Ife
Press.
Ernest Leroux.
723-804.