Anthropology and genealogical politics

research notes from southwestern Mauritania

Abstract

In Mauritania, a country with complex historical traditions and plural ethnic structures, Hemeila is a female character from the second half of the 17th century who is still present in various local traditions. I will use this character to examine the historical definition of the different groups currently living in southwestern Mauritania. Additionally, this text reflects on the production of anthropological knowledge. In this case, tied to prolonged immersion in the field and the critical presentation of data as an experience that is directly shared between the researcher and his interlocutors.