Whose Reality? Local Perceptions of Fertility Versus Demographic Analysis

Abstract

Single-round demographic surveys of three Malian populations showed substantial fertility differentials, with much lower fertility in the two nomadic pastoral Kel Tamasheq populations than among the sedentary cultivating Bambara. Demographic analysis explained these fertility differentials by different marriage patterns, dominated by the structural effects of Kel Tamasheq monogamy which maintains a large group of currently unmarried women. This contrasts with the Kel Tamasheq's own pre-occupations with their low fertility which they ascribe to pathologically induced subfecundity and sterility. Parity progression ratios and birth-interval distributions are used to examine the degree to which the Tamasheq perceptions of their own fertility behaviour can be demonstrated by using the demographic data. The importance of the different perspectives and outcomes is discussed, with the need for taking into account local concerns both in analysis and ultimate policy interventions.