Une ‘culture’ de la terre et de l'eau : l’exemple du sorgho

Yemen’s regional diversity, of which we are all aware, associated with a diversity of social classes, land tenure and legal practices, even though Islam, with its various interpretations, remains the common reference. Nevertheless, as an ethnologist, I will show how presentation and analysis of materials concerning a very specific valley can lead to a comparative reflection and to wider questions.Many years have passed since I carried out this survey in a valley from Sacadah area and what is described here may have to date changed now. This is precisely the concerned topic of this discussion: the urgent need to become aware of the rapidity of current changes. The disruptions which occurred over the last decades are well known and give forewarning of the next ones, if no one does anything about it. During the survey itself, some evolution was already expected: higher market dependence, decrease of food crops and depletion of water resources due to overspreading of wells.This small valley, Wādī cAkwān, is located in the high plateau, in the far northern areas of Yemen. In between low mountains, it stretches itself upon some 5 km, at 1600 m high. From upstream to downstream sides of the valley, men from different hamlets, set up a complex system of dams, derivations, canalisations in order to irrigate their lands in times of floods, and, during other periods, with water extracted from wells.