Male and Female Circumcision among the Mandinka of The Gambia: Understanding the Dynamics of Traditional Dual-Sex Systems in a Contemporary African Society

This groundbreaking book unravels the complex symbolic meanings of female (and male) circumcision rituals in Africa with a special focus on matriarchy, or women's power and agency. The author lucidly describes the complex links between Mandinka history, oral traditions and social structures as well as local beliefs about dual-sex power. Current global views about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) presume ideologies of female subordination and sexual oppression that do not tally with the beliefs, practices or lived experiences of most women who uphold female circumcision. This in-depth case study by an African-American female anthropologist who is a both an insider and outsider sheds much needed light on how this controversial practice is associated with women's traditional power or matriarchy among Mande speaking peoples in Sub-Sahara Africa.