2

‪In the Guinean regions of Gaoual and Koundara, where Fulani pastoralism has flourished since the end of the 20th century, the Fula notion of heɓtaare, commonly translated as “freedom,” “independence” and also “well-being,” expresses both emancipation from the political, environmental and socio-economic constraints and the conditions of well-being generated by this emancipation process. Studying the semantic nuances of the word heɓtaare from the point of view of the elderly cattle-owners who, at the time of the First Republic of Guinea (1958-1984), experienced dispersal in the bush, following the seasons and the needs of their animals, provides a glimpse of the frugal lifestyle that characterized this phase of their lives. The Second Republic’s investment (1993-2008) in the silvopastoral sector increased the profitability of livestock and attracted cattle-owners to a more sedentary lifestyle, leading them to settle in regional urban and semi-urban centers. Today, although cattle still graze in the bush, anthropization poses enormous challenges that make elderly cattle-owners pessimistic about the future of their activity. The children who will inherit pastoral responsibility in the span of a few years have developed a consumerist relationship with the livestock accumulated by their parents. Their vision of heɓtaare tends towards the happiness and the good life that can result from cattle commercialization, mostly for meat production.‪