Tired of Weeping: Mother Love, Child Death, and Poverty in Guinea-Bissau (Women in Africa and the Diaspora) [Paperback]

Jonina Einarsdottir (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2004 | Series: Women in Africa and the Diaspora

In this comprehensive and provocative study of maternal reactions to child death in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, anthropologist Jónína Einarsdóttir challenges the assumption that mothers in high-poverty societies will neglect their children and fail to mourn their deaths as a survival strategy. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted from 1993 to 1998 among the matrilineal Papel, who reside in the Biombo region, this work includes theoretical discussion of reproductive practices, conceptions of children, childcare customs, interpretations of diseases and death, and infanticide. Einarsdóttir also brings compelling narratives of life experiences and reflections of Papel women.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A fascinating study of the facts of life surrounding child death and the parental responses to it.”—Dorothy D. Wills, American Anthropologist

“A well researched and clearly written critical study, narrated in an engaging style . . .”—Peter Karibe Mendy, International Journal of African Historical Studies

From the Publisher

Women in Africa and the Diaspora --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 2nd edition (November 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299201341
• ISBN-13: 978-0299201340
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,634,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > History > Africa > Guinea Bissau
  • #21 in Books > History > Africa > Guinea

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