In Africa, the palaver is a custom of meeting, and of creating or maintaining social links. It is an egalitarian institution in which all or part of a village community participates. This custom also makes it possible to settle a dispute without violence. In many cases, a village has a traditional house or other place dedicated to the palaver ("palaver hut", "palaver tree", etc.).

Dedicated places

Depending on the region, the palaver can be held under the palaver tree, generally a

baobab tree ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropi ...

, or in a special building reserved for this purpose. This is the case of the Toguna (variable spelling: togouna, to'guna), in Dogon Country,

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

, a low-roofed structure reserved for men, built that way so that no one can stand up and try to take the upper hand in a fight. In his autobiography,

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

, who was born in

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ban ...

to a

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

family, cites the tribal meetings that were held regularly at the Great Mansion. With the Baoulé, depending on the circumstances, meetings may be held under the "apatame" (traditional "arbor") of the village chief, usually located in front of his house, but the chief may also go to the house himself. According to Godefroy Bidima in his book entitled "La palabre. Une juridiction de la parole" (1997), among the

Fangs A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fangs ...

and the Bulu of Central Africa, the palaver takes place within a guardhouse called Aba. In the past, the Aba was considered the House of Men and was the place par excellence for public debate. In

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, it is a very common form of local conflict resolution. Most villages have a palaver hall for this purpose. {{cite journal , last1=Sevareid , first1=Peter , title=Cite Sevareid, Peter. "The Case of the Unreturned Goat: Dispute Resolution by a Mano Court in Liberia. , journal=Temp. Int'l & Comp. , page=61

References

Anthropology Mediation Culture of Africa Custom