Les poneys des Soudans à l’ombre du grand cheval

The history of Africa, in the Sahel and Western/Central Sudan, cannot be written without its horses. But behind the conquering horse of the great Muslim kingdoms, monopoly of these dynastic powers, hides a small equine, a pony, more specifically African. It belongs to societies that are often victim...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Christian Seignobos, Robin Seignobos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Laboratoire Éco-anthropologie et Ethnobiologie 2025-06-01
Series:Revue d'ethnoécologie
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ethnoecologie/12671
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Summary:The history of Africa, in the Sahel and Western/Central Sudan, cannot be written without its horses. But behind the conquering horse of the great Muslim kingdoms, monopoly of these dynastic powers, hides a small equine, a pony, more specifically African. It belongs to societies that are often victims of the aforesaid kingdoms. Taking refuge in rocky or marshy areas, the ponies bred by these communities show a remarkable adaptability. They play a significant part in structuring these societies into vast related groups showing some of most accomplished forms of civilisation in the Sudanian zone. The great horse and the pony maintain a dialectic link between them through cross-breeding which, in turn, reflects the evolution of the socio-political frameworks and the changing boundaries of the pagan and muslim worlds.
ISSN:2267-2419