The editors of this special issue on '"Making" and "Doing" the Material World' examine some aspects of the anthropology of techniques, a relatively understudied branch of anthropology, which considers the embodied and cognitive engagement of human beings in their lived material world. They suggest that the use of new theories of embodiment, cognition and performance allows for a consideration of the role of the senses, perception, emotions and materiality in the formation of knowledgeable, gendered subjects. They argue that the Francophone and Anglophone traditions in the anthropology of techniques are complementary, despite their divisions (between and within them). Key Words ◆ embodiment ◆ materiality ◆ performance ◆ subjectivation ◆ technology '"MAKING" AND "DOING" THE MATERIAL WORLD': A WORKSHOP The multidisciplinary workshop '"Making" and "Doing" the Material World' held at University College London (UCL) in January 2008 was the starting point of a new dialogue between the material culture group at UCL's Department of Anthropology and the members of the Technologie Culturelle group (Francophone scholars spread over several institutions). Subsequently, a series of workshops and seminars 1 were held in Marseille, at the Museum of the Quai Branly in Paris, and at UCL. A special issue of the French journal Techniques & Culture (no. 52) will be published in parallel with this one. We hope that the selected papers will stimulate a renewed interest in the study of technology. They answer some of the questions raised during the workshop and work towards a definition of techniques or technology 411

This article explores some aspects of Hausa wild silk embroidered gowns known as riga, interpreting these famous and prestigious attires in the light of techniques and transformative processes. The author thus highlights implicit forms of knowledge underlying material practices about, first, the wearing and layering of highly decorated gowns and, second, the process of creating silk-embroidered motifs (on the outside gown) and inked patterns (on the inside gown) that stand as the objectification and expression of charismatic power through self-display. The author proposes that Hausa wild silk-embroidered gowns constitute a material identity of power in that they materialize individual as well as group social status, prestige, fame and wealth. The empirical materials derive from ongoing fieldwork in northern Nigeria on the production and use of wild silk, a particular substance/material to which mystic properties are attributed and which plays an important role in the empowerment of riga.

This article explores some of the multiple forms and uses of Dogon domestic waste, considering daily shared experiences of the matter. It examines the implicit meanings objectified in the materiality of, and the daily praxis associated with, rubbish that the Dogon select and allocate to particular places in and out of their `home container'. These are framed within a recycled cosmology that encompasses a plurality of entangled world-views that inform us about the life cycles of people, environment and society.

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