ABSTRACT
Long-term migration-movement out of Etyolo for more than one dry season-began to appear in the early 1960s. In small but increasing numbers, men and women began to remain in town through the wet season. The term "permanent" can refer indiscriminately to two quite different types of migrants: those who remain permanently outside their village of origin; and/or those who reside permanently in one specific urban area. Many investigators have discussed the difficulty of using the term "permanent" to describe migration. Individually, Bassari long-term migrants differ considerably in terms of those characteristics which might indicate "permanency". In the Bassari case, two aspects of the long-term community are particularly important: the nature and extent of rural-urban links; and the patterning of time spent in town by long-term migrants. Villagers themselves explain the growth of long-term migration in a variety of ways. Long-term migration arises from some specific factors of both rate and incidence, Bassari long-term migrants are not a homogeneous group.
