After a description of the Diola of the Basse-Casamance region in Senegal and the village of Diatock, which serves as basis for a discussion of the social organisation and the Diola land tenure system, the author attempts a reconstruction of the precolonial situation. He then describes the changes which took place during the colonial period under the influence of the market economy, and the principles underlying the new national land tenure system introduced in 1964. The author looks at the way in which the new system operated in 1964-1978 and its possible consequences for the future division of land. He concludes that the post-colonial government has created the legal means enabling it to enforce complete integration of the rural population into the market economy. This development is not an isolated phenomenon but should be seen against the background of the inevitable integration of the Diola into the market economy. Notes, ref.
