Abstract

SILVA, Maria Cardeira da. Hospedaria Vasque: Culture, race, gender and diligence in a mauritanian oasis. Etnográfica [online]. 2006, vol.10, n.2, pp.355-381. ISSN 0873-6561.

Ouadane, a small oasis in the Mauritanian Adrar, has recently entered the touristic patrimonialization routes, partly due to a residual Portugueseproject of cultural cooperation. Through an ethnography centered in the new landscape, but essentially in Zeida (a young and successful hostel manager), will lead us into seeing how the impulse of wonder, the desire of knowledge, and the thrust for salvation/protection - attracting tourists, development agents and anthropologists - are transformed into resources and locally incorporated through class, race and gender stratifications. This incorporation arouses new social configurations that, through their apparent unexpectedness, recycle Ouadane’s attractive force. In parallel, Zeida’s case shows us how Islam can offer alternative legitimations for individual behaviors, within rigid and paralyzing social codifications, unready for quick social change.

Keywords : tourism; patrimonialization; Mauritania; cooperation; gender and other social stratifications; Islam.

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