Hunger for Money
Maize, Food-Insecurity, and Identity Formation Within Polygynous Households in Rural Southern Zambia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12799728 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nicholas J Sitko (0000-0002-4863-9052, Michigan State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 415-435 |
| Publication date | 2012-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Food Culture & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1552-8014 • E-ISSN: 1751-7443 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.2752/175174412x13276629245885 |
| OpenAlex | W1489534339 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
The haphazard process of maize market liberalization produces conditions for maize to assume a money function in the Tonga-speaking region of Mayindi, Zambia. Drawing on ethnographic data, this article analyzes the ways in which members of polygynous households in Mayindi attempt to navigate the intra-household tensions provoked by the use of a staple food as a form of money. In an effort to reconcile these tensions, co-wives in many polygynous households now distribute maize equally among themselves, regardless of how many people each individual woman is responsible for feeding. I argue that while this form of maize distribution leaves some members of the household food-insecure, it also serves to maintain critical aspects of women's social identities as mothers to their children and members of their matrilineage
Agriculture · Biology · Distribution (mathematics · Economics · Ethnography · Function (biology · Liberalization · Market economy · Polygyny · Population · Sociology · Staple food · Agriculture and Rural Development Research · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Ecology
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |