IN SEARCH OF MOZAMBIQUE - THE IMAGININGS OF GEFFRAY,CHRISTIAN IN LA CAUSE DES ARMES AU MOZAMBIQUE - ANTHROPOLOGIE DUNE GUERRE CIVILE - FRENCH - GEFFRAY,C

Christian Geffray's recent book contains both rich description and val uable insight into the articulation of Frelimo's national development strategy with the internal dynamics of rural communities. La Cause pro vides a rare worm's-eye perspective on the genesis and growth of popul ar disaffection with the post-independence government and on local pro cesses of war in northern Nampula Province. However, his principal the sis that the collective turn to dissidence in Erati district is only i ntelligible as a communal attempt to liberate a besieged, but largely intact, traditional way of life is less than convincing. This contenti on misleads in so far as it presupposes an essentialised culture that can unproblematically be renewed. Moreover, Geffray's argument is not necessarily vindicated by his own evidence. In the case of male youth, adherence to Renamo was motivated by a dogged if long frustrated dete rmination to break decisively with local cultural constraints and inju nctions. The exceptionality of youth is the most dramatic instance of a conceptual dissonance that runs throughout the book.