The gender of the rite: Crossed perspectives on male and female rituals among the Bassari (Republic of Guinea, Senegal)

This article provides an analytical description of Bassari initiation rites grounded in two complementary concerns. The first relates to the interplay of male and female initiation cycles: whereas the transition to manhood among the Bassari entails a set of clearly identifiable ritual procedures giving rise to spectacular public events coupled with semi-secret backstage scenes, the female initiatory cycle involves a series of stages that consist of either still more radical public displays (such as mocking the male ritual), or reinforced levels of secrecy (men know much less about female rituals than women do about male rites). Secondly, regardless of the regional variations between the initiation cycles in Guinea (Laurent Gabail) and in Senegal (Mimina Di Muro), the authors look at how their differences in interpretation stem from the ethnographic materials accessible to them according to their (respectively male and female) gender. The slightly divergent perspectives they adopt are thus, at least in part, based on a logic comparable to that of the initiatory processes they seek to elucidate.