Waluguru traders in Dar es Salaam : an analysis of the social construction of economic life

This article highlights the fallacy of the market as an abstract idea, arguing that any market is created in a particular form through social behaviour. It focuses on a specific group of people, Waluguru traders in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, originating from Mgeta, about 200 kilometres inland from Dar es Salaam. Four Waluguru marketeers were asked to keep a diary of their social contacts. These were discussed bi-weekly over the course of a year (1988-1989) and produced many distinct concepts within the vegetable market. It appeared that traders were labelled with particular Swahili words denoting a hierarchy of stages in trade. The first stage is the trade between Mgeta and Dar es Salaam ('mlanguzi'); the second is the lowest rung on the ladder of trade in Dar es Salaam: illegal trade on a small scale ('genge'); third are traders with a legitimate stall at a recognized market ('ubao'); fourth are wholesale traders who travel to various parts of the country ('anasafiri'); and fifth are the big traders or brokers ('madalali') who operate from Dar es Salaam. Each type of trader is described on the basis of information derived from the life histories of twenty traders. It is shown that the hierarchy reflects an increase in the individual trader's independence and security amidst fluctuating business fortunes. Notes, ref