Market Association Leaders' Strategic Use of Language and Narrative in Market Disputes and Negotiations in Kumasi, Ghana

Contemporary market traders in Kumasi, Ghana, rely on the leaders of their market groups, which unite those who trade in a specific commodity, to settle daily disputes within the market and to negotiate with outside authorities during times of crisis. Skill in handling disputes by using the appropriate rhetorical strategies marks rising elders as potential candidates for future leadership positions. Conventional procedures have evolved to incorporate the indigeneous principles of dispute settlement accepted by group members (usually ethnically homogenous, whether Asante or not), along with aspects borrowed from Christian and Islamic practices, national common-law courts, trade unions, and cooperatives. This paper looks at the norms invoked and transgressed in several characteristic disputes involving Asante commodity group leaders in Kumasi Central Market. In one case, the leader of the orange traders settled a quarrel between two wholesale traders who had been steady partners. Repeated narratives of the events in question turned out to be the primary procedure for identifying and negotiating conflicting claims. In the second case, market leaders met to negotiate with soldiers, local government representatives, and farm leaders about price controls. Rhetorical devices that traders considered patronizing and inappropriate became the focus of their resentment. In a third case, traders' leaders negotiated over freight rates with drivers and porters who carried their goods. The two sides jockeyed over procedural issues until the actual negotiations stalled. In a fourth case, the original issue of unpaid credit was soon overwhelmed by outrage at procedural abuses that undermined the reputation of the market leader. The need to keep trade running smoothly mandates compliance with these institutions despite their lack of explicit legal status.