Wedding invitations in Bamako (Mali): When international migration creates social differences
In Bamako, Mali, wedding invitations often feature spatial references indicating the places where members of one’s family live. This is one way family members who have emigrated abroad can be recognized. Our article examines the social function of this custom through an analysis of the importance of migration for a country like Mali. Because migration clearly gives people access to different kinds of resources (financial and/or social), it comes to be seen as a kind of symbolic capital reflecting either social success or failure. The Bamako wedding invitation custom has led to competition for social standing, based on which families can list the greatest variety of geographic locations on their invitations.