Paper short abstract:

In Korhogo city (Côte d'Ivoire), two people may refer to each other as yawogɛlɛ freinds. This means that they have a formal friendship relationship, after they recognized an exceptional affinity. This allows us to re-examine friendship and its links to other relationships, such as kinship.

Paper long abstract:

In Korhogo city, situated in the northern region of Côte d'Ivoire, two people may refer to each other as yawogɛlɛ friends, i.e. partners in a yawolo relationship. During ceremonies, while working in the fields, or on the way to the market, everyone may encounter someone they ‘love’ (dɛnɛ) and with whom they desire to become a yawolo friend. Initially, it is acknowledged that there exists an exceptional affinity between the two individuals. In order for it to be socially recognized, there must be an exchange of goods and services between the families of the two friends. To a certain extent, this mimics the marriage proposal procedure. The yawolo friendship is in accordance with what anthropologists refer to as formal friendship.

In both discourse and practice, two fundamental characteristics of yawolo friendship emerge. Firstly, it involves a strict reciprocity in the expectations placed on the other partner; comprising of moral, physical and financial support to cope with challenges of life. Secondly, the two partners have distinct roles, as evidenced by the use of the terms “husband”/”wife” or “parent”/”child” to refer to the other, even when they are of the same age and gender. Engaging in a yawolo friendship grants access to potential networks of solidarity that extend beyond the realm descent and marriage. The yawolo friendship borrows language codes and services from other relational modes, while establishing itself as a mode with its own modalities. This allows us to re-examine friendship and its links to other relationships, such as kinship.