20

The question of the father is approached through fieldwork in a matrilineal society in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that of the Yans people. Rituals indicate and transmit identification markers that define the symbolic field into which the person must fit. They feature three major figures: Maternal uncles, the father, and the father’s father or more generally alternate generations. This paper focuses on rituals that mark the entry into the world and those associated with burials. They bring to the forefront the different positions of the three reference figures as well as some lines of conflict. Interpretation systems mobilized in the case of illness or death indicate “imaginary connotations” that contrast with official discourses. Two main identification lines stand out among these various elements: one follows the matrilineal line and is related to the relational or collective dimension of the person; the other follows the paternal line and opens up a space for play in what is otherwise a relatively restrictive normative system. The author discusses the value of such a cultural detour with regard to approaching the question of the father in the modern world.