Land “heritage” against sale: the example of a wè-guéré village (Bangolo Department, Côte d’Ivoire)

In western Côte d’Ivoire, the notion of “heritage” is now used to challenged land sale contracts signed without the agreement of the seller’s relatives. This concept is rooted in land autochthonism, which is expressed by an opposition to land sales and tempered by the rejection of “strangers” (Ivorians and non-Ivorians) linked to the balance of authority between elders and younger people over the land. In this article, we aim to provide an overview of its development in a wè-guéré village.