The creation of an outsiders' myth

This chapter has two purposes. The first is to examine two components of the myth about traders (mudalali): namely, that traders have social characteristics that differentiate them from the rest of the community; and that traders operate their businesses outside the moral norms of the community in which they live. It will be shown that it is not factually correct in the case presented that traders are outsiders in terms of their social characteristics. What is true is that the metaphor of being an outsider is used to articulate the content of relationships. It is also untrue that traders operate outside the moral economy. The example of their credit relations with their customers will be used to illustrate…