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▪ Abstract  Inscriptions on the body, especially tattoo, scarification, and body paint, have been part of ethnographic literature since before the birth of anthropology as a discipline. Anthropology's origins as the study of the exotic Other can be seen in the early descriptions of the body art of non-Western peoples. Anthropologists have generally focused on how the inscribed body serves as a marker of identity in terms of gender, age, and political status. More recently, scholars interested in this subject have looked also at issues of modernity, authenticity, and representation. The recent focus on the inscribed body responds to postmodern theory, the importance of body art in contemporary Western culture, reflections on the meaning of representations of the exotic, and an interest in the visible surface of the body as the interface between the individual and society. This article reviews recent literature in anthropology and related disciplines pertaining to the cultural construction of the inscribed body.

Certain conceptual issues important in defining & understanding the nature of children's work in the 'informal' sector are discussed & related to female & child employment among Hausa-speaking Muslims of Kano City in northern Nigeria (number of cases = 69 households). The Hausa are committed to a set of values regarding the status of women that stipulates early marriage, high fertility, submission to male authority, polygamy, & purdah. Hausa girls are expected to marry by the onset of puberty; boys marry when they are economically productive. Hausa males are expected to support their wives & children, & the seclusion of married women is a sign of men's ability to provide for the needs of their dependents. Nevertheless, many secluded women have income-producing occupations, & the income remains their own. Children, who are not restricted by gender-specific roles, are the links between secluded women & the outside world. They perform errands, carry information, buy food & ingredients for cooking, sell food, & enable women to carry on their income-producing activities as well as their domestic roles. The current campaign on the part of state & federal governments in Nigeria to enroll all children in primary school is certain to have an impact on the status of women, as well as on the lives of school children. Much of the proceeds from women's & children's economic activity is used for children's marriage expenses, including bridewealth & dowry. The loss of this income may eventually alter the traditional Hausa marriage system. Changes in the roles of children will inevitably alter the sexual division of labor in the family & the status of secluded women, who as in many Muslim societies, are highly dependent on children. Modified AA.

Thepolitical status of strangers in African societies, particularly in urban areas, has been insufficiently analysed.1This may be partly because studies of African politics and political development have been dominated by a conceptual framework which contrasts two types of society, the 'traditional' or 'tribal' and the 'modern' or 'developed'. The former usually implies a rural community with a relatively self- sufficient political system.2In such a society, the traditional leaders are usually associated with a particular ethnic group and territory; and their authority may be derived from sacred sources, such as tradition itself, ties to land, or genealogical links to ancestors. In the 'modern' society, leadership is assumed to be 'rational' and 'secular', oriented towards western rather than traditional values.3Political development has often been somewhat vaguely conceived as the transformation of a society from the traditional to the modern type.