ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the way in which the Watchi of southeast Togo’ conceptualise their relationship to the locality which they inhabit, and how such relationships are mediated through the use of nature. Related theoretical questions concerning the concept of nature itself, the transformation of landscapes into habitat and the dynamics involved in shaping notions of belonging are also explored. While the chapter explores mythologies and symbolic typifications of landscape and nature, this goes beyond the scope of sheer representation as the sociality of these concepts is firmly contextualised within the framework of social, cultural and historical localisation of collective identities.
