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Abstract
In this article I make use of transnational Cape Verdean gossip in order to elaborate on social asymmetries between members of transnational families. Drawing on anthropological fieldwork carried out in Cape Verde, I reflect on the content of gossip stories as well as the motivations and reactions of those involved. Gender and resource inequalities are identified as the most prevalent issues, fixed on matters of intimacy, reciprocity, and transnational support. Furthermore, the analysis of the extended network of people involved in these mutual evaluations suggests that members of transnational social networks reflect on newly emerged kinship hierarchies by redefining gender norms, familiarity, and claims to knowledge. The article demonstrates that transnational gossip stories are not ‘just talk’, but they impose particular orders and moralities relevant for those included into them and hence, they should be understood as a powerful tool for exercising social control across national borders.
Notes
1. In this project I work on changing social relations in this Cape Verdean cultural space that is particularly characterized by mobility, immobility, and relatedness across space. Funding has been provided by University of Freiburg and by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), in the form of postdoctoral fellowships. I also thank Lisa Åkesson and the anonymous reviewer, who commented on an earlier version of this paper, as well as the editors of this special issue of African and Black Diaspora, who supported the publication process.
2. Each of the nine Cape Verdean islands has a tendency to certain migration destination(s), which is the result of historical migration patterns (Carling Citation2001). In the USA, larger Cape Verdean migrant communities can be found in the areas of Massachusetts and Rhode Island (Halter Citation1993, Sanchez Gibau Citation2005).
3. Portugal prohibited slavery in 1858, Brazil only did so in 1888. Nevertheless, the system of indentured labour in the context of plantation economy was conducted until the 1970s and this could hardly be differentiated from the exploitative conditions of slavery (Batalha Citation2004).
4. Between 1747 and 1979 were 58 years of famine, during which 250,000 people lost their lives (Meintel Citation1984).
5. Åkesson Citation2004. This constellation can be found in other Creole societies of the transatlantic regions. See for comparison Barrow (Citation1996), who concentrates on family structures in the Caribbean. Here, particularly the apparent paradox between patriarchy, matricentricity, and absent fathers becomes critically revisited.
6. I made my observations in the rural and semi-urban space of the islands Fogo and Brava, and the results can partly be transferred to such spaces in other islands. This is different from the country's capital, Praia, where the households are much smaller and the nuclear family is in the majority.
7. There exists a disagreement in categorizing the Cape Verdean kinship system, which I find understandable given the high variability of lifestyle. Grassi (Citation2007) and Meintel (Citation1984) have classified Cape Verdean kinship as matrilinear; others describe it as matrifocal.
8. When a couple, living together, call themselves marido (husband) and esposa (wife), this can mean that they are officially and legally married. However, in most cases, these terms indicate merely their open acknowledgement of their relationship. For the meaning of the Catholic sacrament of matrimony see Rodrigues (Citation2007), who interprets it as a discursive reaction to societal and catholic ideologies, which do not correspond to nor describe social realities in Cape Verde.
9. Generally speaking, men tend to maintain several relations at the same time, while most women have one relationship after the other. Comparable to the situation in Cape Verde, Christine Ho has described the matricentric kinship system in the Caribbean, and how women appeal for support from a wide range of men in various statuses, i.e. their lover, their son and, eventually, their husband (see Ho Citation1999).
10. This point was discussed with Lisa Åkesson, whose work focuses on Santo Antão and São Vicente, two northern islands. Apparently, the constellation of migrating men and the particular impact on women left behind, which I observed in Fogo and Brava, is much rarer and has no typical pattern on these islands. Generally, family life and gender roles are considered more conservative on the islands of Fogo and Brava, compared to the rest of the archipelago.
11. All personal names have been replaced by common Cape Verdean names in order to protect the privacy of the individuals involved in my research.
12. All interview excerpts included into this account have been translated by the author from Cape Verdean Kriolu to English.
