Introduction to social anthropology 2021 GC.

UNIT ONE development. Of all the disciplines that study humans,

anthropology is by far the broadest in scope.
1. Introducing Anthropology and its Subject Matter
1.1 Definition, Scope and Subject Matter of Anthropology In more specific terms, anthropology is a science which:
(subject matter)
 How do you define Anthropology?  Investigates the strategies for living that are learned and
 How do you conceive the meaning of the term ‘human’? shared by people as members of human social groups;
 Examines the characteristics that human beings share as
members of one species (Homo sapiens) and the diverse ways
1.1.1 Concepts in Anthropology
that people live in different environments;
 The term anthropology is a compound of two Greek words,
 Analyses the products of social groups -material objects
‘anthropos’ and ‘logos’, which can be translated as ‘human
(material cultures) and non-material creations (religion/beliefs,
being/mankind’ and ‘reason/study/science’, respectively. So,
social values, institutions, practices, etc).
anthropology means ‘reason about humans’ or ‘the study or
science of humankind or humanity’.
 It tries to achieve an understanding of culture, society and
 Man has two important characteristics: biological and cultural.
humanity through detailed studies of community life
Biological and the cultural characteristics are inseparable
supplemented by comparison.
elements. Culture influences human physical structures and the
 At the deepest level, it raises philosophical questions, which it
vise-versa.
tries to respond to by exploring human lives under different
 Literally, it is the study of humans. But what it means to be
conditions. It seeks to explain how and why people are both
human. Yet this literal definition is not particularly
similar and different through examination of our biological and
illuminating; because a number of other academic disciplines—
cultural past and comparative study of contemporary human
including sociology, biology, psychology, political science,
societies.
economics, and history—also study human beings.
 Its ultimate goal is to develop an integrated picture of
humankind—a goal that encompasses an almost infinite number
What is it that distinguishes anthropology from all of
of questions about all aspects of our existence. Why do some
these other disciplines?
groups of people practice agriculture, while others hunt for a
living? We ask, for example, what makes us human? Why do
 Anthropology is the study of people—their origins, their
some groups of people tend to be tall and lanky, while others
development and contemporary variations, wherever and
tend to be short and stocky? Why do some groups of people
whenever they have been found. It is a broad scientific
practice agriculture, while others hunt for a living?
discipline dedicated to the comparative study of humans as a
group, from its first appearance on earth to its present stage of
1.1.2 The Historical Development of Anthropology

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atmosphere of Enlightenment, which is the eighteenth century

 Anthropology is a fairly recent discipline. It was given its present social philosophical movement that emphasized human progress
shape during the twentieth century, but it has important forerunners and the poser of reason, and based on Darwinian Theory of
in the historiography, geography, travel writing, philosophy and Evolution. By the late 1870s, anthropology was beginning to
jurisprudence of earlier times. emerge as a profession. A major impetus /driving force for its
growth was the expansion of western colonial powers and their
 There are, in any case, many ways of writing the history of
consequent desire to better understand the peoples living under
anthropology, just as, in any given society, there may exist
colonial domination.(the Enlightenment) a European
competing versions of national history or origin myths, promoted by intellectual movement of the late 17th and
groups or individuals with diverging interests. 18th centuries emphasizing reason and
 If we restrict ourselves to anthropology as a scientific discipline, individualism rather than tradition.)
some would trace its roots back to the European Enlightenment,
during the eighteenth century; others would claim that anthropology  During its formative years, anthropology became a profession
did not arise as a science until the 1850s, yet others would argue primarily in museums. In this regard, in the 1870s and 1880s many
that anthropological research in its present-day sense only museums devoted to the study of humankind were found in Europe,
commenced after the First World War. Nor can we avoid such North America and South America.
ambiguities.  Early anthropologists mainly studied small communities in
 Originated in the region we commonly but inaccurately call ‘the technologically simple societies. Such societies are often called by
West’, notably in three or four ‘Western’ countries: France, Great various names, such as, “traditional”, “non-industrialized and/or
Britain, and the USA and, until the Second World War, Germany simple societies”.
(Erikson, 2001). Historically speaking, this is a European discipline,  Anthropologists of the early 1900s emphasized the study of social
and its practitioners, like those of all European sciences, and cultural differences among human groups. Here, many of the
occasionally like to trace its roots back to the ancient Greeks. indigenous peoples of non-western world and their social and
cultural features were studied in detail and documented. This
 The present academic anthropology has its roots in the works and approach is called ethnography. By the mid-1900, however,
ideas of the great ancient and Medieval Greek, Roman, and Hebrew anthropologists attempted to discover universal human patterns and
philosophers and social thinkers. They were interested in the nature, the common bio- psychological traits that bind all human beings.
origin and destiny of man, and the morality and ethics of human This approach is called ethnology. Ethnology aims at the
relationships. While the roots of anthropology can be generally comparative understanding and analysis of different ethnic
traced through the history of western culture as far back as ancient groups across time and space.
Greek social philosophical thinking, the discipline did not emerge
as distinct field of study until the mid-nineteenth century. In Ethiopia, professional anthropologists have been studying culture and
 Generally speaking, anthropology as an academic discipline society on a more intensive level only since the late 1950s. Almost
was born during the 19th century, out of the intellectual

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inevitably, the initial emphasis was on ethnography, the description of and in its all means of differences (diversity) and
specific customs, cultures and ways of life. similarities(commonality). Where every human being lives, there is
always anthropology.

1.1.3 Scope and subject matter of anthropology  The discipline is also accounting for the interrelationships between
different aspects of human existence, and usually anthropologists
Reflect your views on the following questions. investigate these interrelationships taking as their point of departure
a detailed study of local life in a particular society or a delineated
 What would be the limit to study human beings? social environment. One may therefore say that anthropology asks
 What specific time period is the subject of its study? large questions, while at the same time it draws its most important
 Where would be the spatial boundary to study human beings? insights from small places. Although anthropologists have wide-
 Which human characteristic (biological or/and cultural) should be the subject ranging and frequently highly specialized interests, they all share a
of its inquiry?
common concern in trying to understand both connections within
societies and connections between societies.
The breadth and depth of anthropology is immense.
Anthropologists strive for an understanding of the biological and
 There no time and space left as far as man exists. In other words,
cultural origins and evolutionary development of the species. They are
the temporal dimension covers the past, the present and even the
concerned with all humans, both past and present, as well as their
future.
behavior patterns, thought systems, and material possessions. In short,
 In terms of the spatial dimension, anthropology studies from Arctic
anthropology aims to describe, in the broadest sense, what it means to
to Desert, from Megapolis to hunting gathering areas. The discipline
be human (Peacock, 1986).
covers all aspects of human ways of life experiences and existence,
as humans live in a social group.

It touches all aspect of human conditions as far as there is a relation

between human beings and natural environment and man and man.
Anthropology not only tries to account for the social and cultural
variation in the world, but a crucial part of the anthropological project
also consists in conceptualizing and understanding similarities between
social systems and human relationships.
As one of the foremost anthropologists of the twentieth century, Claude
Lévi-Strauss, has expressed it: ‘Anthropology has humanity as its object
of research, but unlike the other human sciences, it tries to grasp its
object through its most diverse manifestations’ (1983, p. 49). In other
words, anthropology studies humanity with its all aspects of existence,

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reflections of changes in living organism. Since change occurs in

1.2 Sub-fields of anthropology the universe, it also applies in human beings.

Reflect your views on the following questions.

Human biological variations are the result of the cumulative processes
 Is it possible to study all aspects of human experiences?
of invisible changes occurring in every fraction of second in human life.
 If so, how could we study it?
As discussed in the above headlining, there is no time, space and characteristics
These changes have been accumulated and passed through genes. Genes
left to study human beings. It is as wide as an ocean. Accordingly, it is required are characteristics that carry biological traits of an organism, including
to divide and understand in-depth. Accordingly, anthropology has often human beings.
categorized into four major subfields: Physical/Biological Anthropology,  The major sources of biological variations are derived from the
Archeology, Linguistic Anthropology and Socio-Cultural Anthropology. Let us interrelated effects of natural selection, geographical isolation, and
explain turn by turn. genetic mutations.

1.2.1 Physical/Biological Anthropology Physical anthropology is essentially concerned with two broad areas
of investigation: human evolution and genetics.
Reflect your views on the following questions.
 Human evolution is the study of the gradual processes of simple
 In what ways does man differ from other animal species? forms into more differentiated structures in hominid. It is interested
 What are the sources of biological variation? in reconstructing the evolutionary record of the human species using
 What differentiate human body from other animals? fossils/bones.
 How humans have evolved up to the present time?  Human evolution is further divided into three specialties:
 From where did we (human species) come from? These comprises: Paleo anthropology, Primatology and human
 What is evolution? We hope you remember your high school science genetics.
lessons on evolution. 1. Palaeo anthropology (paleo meaning “old”) is the study of human
biological evolution through the analysis of fossil remains from
 Physical anthropology is closely related to the natural sciences, prehistoric times to determine the missing link that connect modern
particularly biology; that is why it is often called biological human with its biological ancestors.
anthropology. 2. Primatology studies about primates or recent human ancestors to
 Unlike comparative biologists, physical anthropologists study how explain human evolution. Primatologists study the anatomy and
culture and environment have influenced biological evolution and social behavior of such non-human primate species as gorillas and
contemporary variations. Human biology affects or even explains chimpanzees in an effort to gain clues about our own evolution as a
some aspects of behavior, society, and culture like marriage species.
patterns, sexual division of labor, gender ideology etc. The features 3. Human genetics concerns to investigate how and why the physical
of culture in turn have biological effects like the standards of traits of contemporary human populations vary throughout the
attractiveness, food preferences, and human sexuality. Biological world. It focuses to examine the genetic materials of an organism
variations such as morphology/structure, color, and size are

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such as DNA and RNA. In addition, genetic studies are crucial in 1. Prehistoric archaeology investigates human prehistory and
understanding –how evolution works and plays important role in prehistoric cultures. It focuses on entire period between 6,000
identifying the genetic source of some hereditary disease like sickle years ago and the time of the first stone tools (the first artifacts),
cell anemia and cystic fibrosis. around 2.5 million years ago, is called prehistory.
2. Historic archaeologists help to reconstruct the cultures of
1.2.1 Archaeological Anthropology people who used writing and about whom historical documents
have been written. Historic archaeology takes advantage of the
Reflect your views on the following questions. fact that about 6,000 years ago, some human groups invented
language and began to write down things that can tell about the
 What do we mean by the human past? past.
 Which discipline tells you about the human distance past? We Ethiopian have very glorious past. Area logical findings in North,
 What do we learn from our past? south, east and western part of the country have shown our county
belonged to those countries which have old civilization.
 Archaeological anthropology or simply archaeology studies the
ways of lives of past peoples by excavating and analyzing the Reflect your views on the following questions.
material culture/physical remains (artifacts, features and eco-facts)
they left behind.  Discuss the lesson we get by studying our past?
 Artifacts are material remains made and used by the past peoples  Have you ever visited any museums in your area?
and that can be removed from the site and taken to the laboratory  What kind of archaeological evidences are commonly found in your
for further analysis. Tools, ornaments, arrowheads, coins, and area?
fragments of pottery are examples of artifacts. Features are like  From your observation which evidences are similar and different to
artifacts, are made or modified by past people, but they cannot be those of communities/groups around our nearby community?
readily carried away from the site.
 Archaeological features include such things as house foundations,  Why do you think are such differences and similarities
ancient buildings, fireplaces, steles, and postholes. happening?
 Eco-facts are non-art factual, organic and environmental
remains such as soil, animal bones, and plant remains that were 1.2.3 Linguistic Anthropology
not made or altered by humans; but were used by them. Eco-
facts provide archaeologists with important data concerning the Reflect your views on the following questions.
environment and how people used natural resources in the past.
Archaeology has also its own subfields or areas of specialties.  Do you speak a language other than your mother tongue? If yes,
The most important ones are - Prehistoric Archaeology and Historical what’s the similarity& difference between the languages?
Archaeology.

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 What is the difference between human communication and any other communicating. In its simplest form, the task of the descriptive
animal communication? linguist is to compile dictionaries and grammar books for previously
 What distinguishes human communication from any other animal unwritten languages. For structural linguist or structural linguistic
communication? anthropologist, even if there are thousands of human languages, at
 What do languages functions? least structurally all of them are similar making it possible for
everyone of us to grasp and learn languages other than our so called
‘mother tongue’.
 Linguistic anthropology or anthropological linguistics studies
human language as a cultural resource and speaking as a cultural 2. Ethno-linguistics (cultural linguistics): examines the relationship
practice in its social and cultural context, across space and time. between language and culture. In any language, certain cultural
 Language is a system of information transmission and reception. aspects that are emphasized (such as types of snow among the Inuit,
Humans communicate messages by sound (speech), by gesture cows among the pastoral Maasai, or automobiles in U.S. culture) are
(body language), and in other visual ways such as writing. reflected in the vocabulary. Moreover, cultural linguists explore
Analogous to genes that carry and transmit genetic materials to how different linguistic categories can affect how people categorize
offspring, languages hand down cultural traits from one generation their experiences, how they think, and how they perceive the world
to another. around them.
 In fact, some would argue that language is the most distinctive
feature of being human. Although animals could develop certain 3. Historical linguistics: deals with the emergence of language in
behaviors through conditioning that mimic (imitate) to humans, they general and how specific languages have diverged over time. It
do not have a capacity to pass on their own offspring. This is the focuses on the comparison and classifications of different languages
boundary between human beings and other animals including higher to differentiate the historical links between them.
primates.
4. Socio-linguistics: investigates linguistic variation within a given
Linguistic anthropology, which studies contemporary human languages language. No language is a homogeneous system in which everyone
as well as those of the past, is divided into four distinct branches or speaks just like everyone else. One reason for variation is
areas of research: Structural or Descriptive Linguistics, Historical geography, as in regional dialects and accents. Linguistic variation
Linguistics, Ethno-Linguistics, and Socio-linguistics. also is expressed in the bilingualism of ethnic groups.
1. Structural /Descriptive Linguistics: -studies the structure of
linguistic patterns. It examines sound systems, grammatical Linguistic annnthropology generally focuses on the evolution of
systems, and the meanings attached to words in specific languages languages. It tries to understand languages variation in their structures,
to understand the structure and set of rules of given language. Every units, and grammatical formations. It gives special attention to the study
culture has a distinctive language with its own logical structure and of unwritten languages. Language is a key to explore a culture.
set of rules for putting words and sounds together for the purpose of

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Reflect your views on the following questions. cultural comparison). Ethnography provides a comprehensive
account of a particular community, society, or culture. It describes
 What is the relation between language culture, and human thought the features of specific cultures in as much detail as possible
patterns? including local behavior, beliefs, customs, social life, economic
 Do you think that your language changes? If so, what makes activities, politics, and religion. These detailed descriptions
language change? (ethnographies) are the result of extensive field studies (usually a
 Would change in language bring any change on our identity? year or two, in duration) in which the anthropologist observes,
 Can we maintain our identity in state of global changes? talks to, and lives with the people he or she is studying.
 How can we keep our identity in state of global changes? During ethnographic fieldwork, the anthropologist (ethnographer)
 How does language construct identity, ideology, and narratives? gathers data that he or she organizes, describes, analyzes, and
interprets to build and present that account, which may be in the
1.2.4 Socio-Cultural Anthropology form of a book, article, or film.

Reflect your views on the following questions.  Ethnology is the comparative study of contemporary cultures and
societies, wherever they may be found. It examines, interprets,
 What is society and culture? analyzes, and compares the results of ethnography the data gathered
 What differentiate human society from other animal society such as in different societies.
bees, ants, etc?  It uses such data to compare and contrast and to make
 How can we study cultures? generalizations about society and culture. In other words,
Ethnologists seek to understand both why people today and in the
 It is also often called social anthropology or cultural anthropology. recent past differ in terms of ideas and behavior patterns and what
 Socio-cultural anthropology is the largest sub-fields of all cultures in the world have in common with one another.
anthropology. It deals with human society and culture.  Ethnologists attempt to identify and explain cultural differences and
 Society is the group of people who have similar ways of life, but similarities, to test hypotheses, and to build theory to enhance our
culture is a way of life of a group of people. Society and culture are understanding of how social and cultural systems work. Indeed, the
two sides of the same coin. Socio-cultural anthropology describes, primary objective of ethnology is to uncover general cultural
analyzes, interprets, and explains social, cultural and material life of principles, the “rules” that govern human behavior
contemporary human societies. It studies the social (human Ethnography Ethnology
relations), symbolic or non material (religious, language, and any Requires field work to Uses data collected by a series of
other symbols) and material (all man-made objects) lives of collect data researchers
living peoples. Often descriptive Usually synthetic
 Socio-cultural anthropologists engage in two aspects of study: Group/community Comparative/cross-cultural
Ethnography (based on field work) and Ethnology (based on cross- specific

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marriages, political systems, economic lives, technology, belief,

 Socio-cultural anthropology uses ethnographical and ethnological health care systems, personality types, and languages. No place or
approaches to answer all sort of questions related to culture and time is too remote to escape the anthropologist's notice. No
human societies. To properly address emerging questions related to dimension of human kind, from genes to art styles, is outside the
culture and societies, it has been sub-divided into many other anthropologist's attention. Indeed, Anthropology is the broad study
specialized fields as: Anthropology of Art, Medical Anthropology, of human kind, around the world and throughout time.
Urban Anthropology, Economic Anthropology, Political
Anthropology, Development Anthropology, Anthropology of 2. The second important feature is its approach. In its approach
Religion, Demographic Anthropology, Ecological Anthropology, anthropology is holistic, relativistic, and focused one.
Psychological Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, etc. All of them are  Holistic in a sense that it looks any phenomena from different
considered to be the applied areas of anthropology. vantage points. Accordingly, anthropology considers culture,
history, language and biology essential to a complete understanding
of society. Anthropology seeks to understand human beings as
Reflect your views on the following questions whole organisms who adapt to their environments through a
 From your life experiences, which sub-specialization of social- complex interaction of biology and culture.
cultural anthropology could solve your community problems?  Relativity. The concept of relativity is highly appreciated in
 How did humankind arrive at the present stage of biological, anthological studies. In a sense Anthropology tries to study and
intellectual, and cultural development? explain a certain belief, practice or institution of a group of people
How are different people in different places similar and different, both in its own context. It does not make value judgment, i.e., declaring
biologically and culturally/behaviorally? that this belief or practice is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Anthropology's
comparative perspective helps to understand differences and
1.3 Unique (Basic) Features of Anthropology similarities across time and place.

Reflect your views on the following question.  Focused insider view (emic) the so called the respondent
 What makes anthropology unique? perspective. This implies perspectives the way of looking at
There are several distinguishing characteristics that identify people's ideas. It considers insiders' views as a primary focus of
anthropology from other discipline, among these: any anthropological inquiry. Anthropological studies give
 Anthropology is unique in its scope, approach, focus and method attention to how people perceive themselves and understand
of study. their world; how a particular group of people explain about
1. It has a broad scope. Which means it is interested in all human their action, or give meaning to their behavior or cultural
beings, whether contemporary or past, ‘primitive'' or '' civilized'' practices. This is what anthropologists call emic perspective. It
and that they are interested in many different aspects of humans, helps to understand the logic and justification behind group
including their phenotypic characteristics, family lives, behavior and cultural practices.

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 Research approach. Anthropology is highly dependent on  The area of its study. It is said that anthropology is limited to the
qualitative research to understand the meaning behind any human study of "primitive" societies. Indeed, most of the works done by
activity. Extended fieldwork, participant observation, in-depth and anthropologists during early periods focused on isolated, so called
key informant interviews and focus-group discussion are qualitative "primitive", small scale societies. However, anthropologists
research instruments to explore information change and continuities nowadays study most advanced and most complex societies as
in human societies. Ethnographic fieldwork is an important strategy well.
is normally required to spend a year or more with research subjects  Anthropologists considered that they only study the rural people
and document realities occurring across time. For most and rural areas. As a matter of fact, most of the studies conducted
anthropologists, fieldwork is a process requiring them to ‘tune-in; during the formative years (when it undergone a process of
hangout; and hang-on’ to the societies and cultures whom they are development to be developed as a separate fields of study) of the
interested to study. discipline focused on rural areas. But now, anthropologists are also
interested in the study of urban people and urban areas. There is a
Focusing more on the local than the big social processes has been distinct sub-discipline devoted to the study of urban societies
another exclusive approach in the discipline. Paying great attention to called -Urban Anthropology-which focuses on urban areas and in
local or micro-social processes certainly help we to better understand complex cities.
big changes in societies. A detailed account of an event or phenomenon
discovers multiple realities in a community.  It is also wrongly misconceived that anthropology is the
study/analysis of fossil evidences of the proto-humans like that of
Lucy/Dinkeneshe. It is true that anthropology is interested in the
question of the origin of modern human beings. However, this
doesn’t mean that anthropology is all about the study of human
1.4 Misconceptions about anthropology evolution. It studies both the biological and the cultural aspects of
humans and examines the existing human physical and biological
Reflect your views on the following question. variations and cultural diversity.

 What did you hear/read about anthropology, anthropologists and the  It is also misconceived that the purpose of anthropology is to study
work they do? in order to keep and preserve communities far from development
and obsolete cultural practices in museums. Rather,
Due to lack of appropriate awareness about the nature, scope and subject anthropologists’ duties are to support those communities' capacity
matter of the discipline, different misconceptions are held about to empower themselves in development processes. They assist
anthropology, these comprise: peoples' initiatives instead of imposed policies and ideas coming
from outside and play active roles in bringing about positive
change and development in their own lives.

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 In its method of research, it is unique in that it undertakes

1.5 The Relationship between Anthropology and Other Disciplines extended fieldwork among the studied community and develops
intimate knowledge of the life and social worlds of its study
Reflect your views on the following question. group/society through employing those ethnographic data
collection techniques such as participant observation, Key
 How do you think relations between and among different scientific informant interview and focus group discussions.
disciplines be expressed?
 What do you think is the relationship between anthropology and 1.6 The Contributions of anthropology
another social scientific discipline?
Reflect your views on the following question.
Anthropology is similar with other social sciences such as sociology,
psychology, political sciences, economics, history, etc. Anthropology  Being introduced to the general subject matter of anthropology and
greatly overlaps with these disciplines that study human society. the approaches and perspectives it adheres, on what different ways could
you be benefitted from learning anthropology as a common course?

By studying anthropology, we get the following benefits, among

others.

However anthropology differs from other social sciences and the  First, the anthropological perspective, with its emphasis on the
humanities by its broad scope, unique approach, perspective, unit of comparative study of cultures, should lead us to the conclusion that
analysis and methods used. our culture is just one way of life among many found in the world
 In its scope, anthropology studies humankind in its entirety. and that it represents one way (among many possible ways) to adapt
 In its approach, anthropology studies and analyzes human ways to a particular set of environmental conditions. Through the process
of life holistically, comparatively and in a relativistic manner. of contrasting and comparing, we gain a fuller understanding of
 In its perspective, according to Richard Wilk, anthropology other cultures and our own.
approaches and locates dimensions of people’s individual and
communal lived experiences, their thoughts and their feelings in  Helps us better understand ourselves or our own ways of life. As a
terms of how these dimensions are interconnected and mirror of human life, by studying others, we can better understand
interrelated to one another, yet not necessarily constrained or ourselves. Hence, it gives opportunity to understand and to be
very orderly, whole. The perspective is also fundamentally critical about the ways of lives of our own community.
empirical, naturalistic and ideographic [particularizing] than
nomothetic [universalizing] one  Second, anthropology gives us an insight into different ways and
modes of life of human society (social and cultural diversity), which

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helps to understand the logic and justification behind group Anthropologists are better equipped with the knowledge, skills and
behavior and cultural practices. Knowledge about the rest of the methods of identifying the needs and interests of local people for
world is particularly important today because the world has become the betterment and change of their lived experiences. It recognizes
increasingly interconnected. So, today it is important that we not the advantages of consulting local people to design a culturally
only know something about other peoples of the world, but also appropriate and socially sensitive change, and protect local people
grasp how our everyday decisions are influencing them in a from harmful policies and projects that threaten them. In general,
multitude of ways and how others’ decisions are also influencing anthropology is able to suggest sound solutions to all things human.
ours. For example, it is often applied in areas of Environmental Change,
Health and Nutrition, Globalization, Social Justice and Human
Through its distinctive methodology of long-term, intensive, participant- Rights, cultural resource management (CRM) and Cultural
observation research, cultural anthropology offers a unique perspective Dimensions of Civil and Religious Conflicts.
on how local cultural groups are engaging with the process of
globalization. Although many pundits discuss the consequences of
globalization by talking to only government and business leaders,
cultural anthropologists are more likely to see what is actually occurring
on the ground and how the local people themselves talk about their life
experiences in a time of rapid globalization.

 Because of its relativistic approach, anthropology helps us to be

more sensitive to and appreciative of cultural diversity and
variability. It helps us to avoid some of the misunderstandings that
commonly arise when individuals of different cultural traditions
come into contact. Anthropology helps us fight against prejudice
and discriminations. It helps us fight against ethnocentrism; the
belief that one's own culture and one's own way of life is superior to
others cultural, social and material life. This arises from ignorance
about other ethnic groups and their ways of lives.

 Anthropology is also used as a tool for development. Paying

attention to local conditions is crucial to solve community
problems. The application of anthropological knowledge and
research results have become important element to ensure people’s
rights in development and able to sustain projects' life.

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UNIT TWO A widely accepted and the more comprehensive definition of culture
were provided by the British anthropologist Edward B. Tylor. He
2. Human Culture and Ties that Connect defined culture as “a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,
art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired
Study Hours: 8 face-to-face hours by man as a member of society”.

Dear Learners! B. Malinowski has defined culture “as cumulative creation of man". He
regarded culture as the handiwork of man and the medium through
This unit examines the anthropological concept of culture and helps which he achieves his ends.
students to increase their understanding the role and impact of culture in
human life. Therefore, this unit considers, the distinct Robert Bierstadt says, “Culture is the complex whole that consists of
qualities/characteristics features human cultures have; it explores the everything we think and do and have as members of society.”
key components of culture that govern human behavior, explains
cultural traits which are considered universals, generalities, and Combining several of these definitions, we may define culture as the
particularities, the idea of ethnocentrism, cultural relativism and common way of life shared by a group of people. It includes all things
universal human rights, the changing nature culture. Finally, this section beyond nature and biology. Culture therefore, is moral, intellectual
deals with marriage, family and kinship. and spiritual discipline for advancement, in accordance with the
norms and values based on accumulated heritage. Culture is a system of
2.1. Conceptualizing Culture: What Culture is and What Culture isn't learned behavior shared by and transmitted among the members of the
group.
Reflect your views on the following questions.
 How do you define culture?  Culture is a collective heritage learned by individuals and passed
 What do you think are the tributes of culture? from one generation to another. The individual receives culture as
 Do you think culture differentiates human being from other animals? part of social heritage and in turn, may reshape the culture and
introduce changes which then become part of the heritage of
Definition of Culture succeeding generations.

The term culture is not used with consistent meanings. It is used with
various meanings in common-sense. Anthropologists and sociologists
define culture in different ways. Some of their definition has been
quoted below:

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2.2 Characteristic Features of Culture

A symbol’s meaning is not always obvious. However, many symbols
For the better understanding the concept of culture, it is necessary are powerful and often trigger behaviors or emotional states. For
for us to know its main features. example, the designs and colors of the flags of different countries
represent symbolic associations with abstract ideas and concepts.
1. Culture Is Learned:
 Culture is not transmitted genetically rather; it is acquired through 4. Culture Is All-Encompassing
the process of learning or interacting with one’s environment. More
than any other species human relies for their survival on behavior  Culture encompasses all aspects, which affect people in their
patterns that are learned. everyday lives.
 Human have no instinct, which genetically programmed to direct to  Culture comprises countless material and non-material aspects of
behave in a particular way. This process of acquiring culture after human lives. Thus, when we talk about a particular people’s culture,
we born is called enculturation. Enculturation is specifically defined we are referring to all of its man- made objects, ideas, activities
as the process by which an individual learns the rules and values of whether those of traditional, old time things of the past or those
one’s culture. created lately.
 Culture is the sum total of human creation: intellectual, technical,
2. Culture Is Shared: artistic, physical, and moral; it is the complex pattern of living that
directs human social life, and which each new generation must learn
 For a thing, idea, or behavior pattern to qualify as being “cultural” it and to which they eventually add with the dynamics of the social
must have a shared meaning by at least two people within a society. world and the changing environmental conditions.
In order for a society to operate effectively, the guidelines must be
shared by its members. 5. Culture is integrated:
 Without shared culture members of a society would be unable to
communicate and cooperates and confusion and disorder world  Cultures are not haphazard (disorganized) collections of customs
result. and beliefs. Instead, culture should be thought as of integrated
wholes, the parts of which, to some degree, are interconnected with
3. Culture is Symbolic: one another. When we view cultures as integrated systems, we can
begin to see how particular culture traits fit into the whole system
 Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and to cultural and, consequently, how they tend to make sense within that context.
learning. A symbol is something verbal or nonverbal, within a
particular language or culture that comes to stand for something  Culture is a system; change in one aspect will likely generate
else. There need be no obvious, natural, or necessary connection changes in other aspects. A good way of describing this integrated
between the symbol and what it symbolizes. nature of culture is by using the analogy between a culture and a

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living organism. The physical human body comprises a number of 7. Culture is dynamic:
systems, all functioning to maintain the overall health of the
organisms, including among others, such system as the respiratory  There are no cultures that remain completely static year after year.
system, the digestive system, the skeletal system, excretory system, Culture is changing constantly as new ideas and new techniques
the reproductive system, and lymphatic system. are added as time passes modifying or changing the old ways.
This is the characteristics of culture that stems from the culture’s
6. Culture can be Adaptive and Maladaptive: cumulative quality.

 Humans have both biological and cultural ways of coping with Reflect your views on the following questions.
environmental stresses. Besides our biological means of adaptation,
we also use "cultural adaptive kits," which contain customary  How is culture learned?
activities and tools that aid us.  What do we mean by culture is adaptive and maladaptive?

People adapt themselves to the environment using culture. The ability to

adapt themselves to practically any ecological condition, unlike other 2.3 Aspects/Elements of Culture
animals, makes humans unique. Culture has allowed the global human
population to grow from less than 10 million people shortly after the end Reflect your views on the following activity
of the last ice age to more than 7 billion people today, a mere 10,000
years later. This ability is attributed to human’s capacity for creating and  Write dawn any items/activities that show your culture. Then
using culture. differentiate which one is material and non-material culture.

Sometimes, adaptive behavior that offers short-term benefits to Culture is reflected through the various components that it comprises.
particular subgroups or individuals may harm the environment and values, language myths, customs, rituals and laws. Two of the most
threaten the group's long-term survival. Example: Automobiles permit basic aspects of culture are material and nonmaterial culture. These are
us to make a living by getting us from home to workplace. But the by- briefly explained as follows:
products of such "beneficial" technology often create new problems.
Chemical emissions increase air pollution, deplete the ozone layer, and 2.3.1 Material culture
contribute to global warming. Many cultural patterns such as
overconsumption and pollution appear to be maladaptive in the long run.  Material culture consist of man-made objects such as tools,
implements, furniture, automobiles, buildings, dams, roads, bridges,
and in fact, the physical substance which has been changed and
used by man. It is concerned with the external, mechanical and

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utilitarian objects. It includes technical and material equipment. It is “Education is good” is a fundamental value in American society,
referred to as civilization. whereas “Grading is the best way to evaluate students” is a belief
that reflects assumptions about the most appropriate way to
2.3.2 Non – Material culture determine educational achievement.

 The term ‘culture’ when used in the ordinary sense, means ‘non-
material culture’. It is something internal and intrinsically valuable,
reflects the inward nature of man. Non- material culture consists of
the words the people use or the language they speak, the beliefs they Norms:
hold, values and virtues they cherish, habits they follow, rituals and
practices that they do and the ceremonies they observe. It also  Norms are another aspect of nonmaterial culture. Norms are shared
includes our customs and tastes, attitudes and outlook, in brief, our rules or guidelines that define how people “ought” to behave under
ways of acting, feeling and thinking. Some of the aspects of non- certain circumstances. Norms are generally connected to the values,
material culture listed as follows: beliefs, and ideologies of a society.

Values: Norms vary in terms of their importance to a culture, these are:

 Values are the standards by which member of a society define a) Folkway: Norms guiding ordinary usages and conventions of
what is good or bad, beautiful or ugly. Every society develops everyday life are known as folkways. Folkways are norms that are
both values and expectations regarding the right way to reflect not strictly enforced, such as not leaving your seat for an elderly
them. people inside a bus/taxi. They may result in a person getting a bad
 Values are a central aspect of the nonmaterial culture of a look.
society and are important because they influence the behavior of b) Mores: Mores (pronounced MOR-ays) are much stronger norms
the members of a society. than are folkways.
Mores are norms that are believed to be essential to core values and we
Beliefs: insist on conformity. A person who steals, rapes, and kills has violated
some of society’s most important mores.
 Beliefs are cultural conventions that concern true or false
assumptions, specific descriptions of the nature of the universe and  People who violate mores are usually severely punished, although
humanity’s place in it. Values are generalized notions of what is punishment for the violation of mores varies from society to society.
good and bad; beliefs are more specific and, in form at least, have It may take the form of ostracism, vicious gossip, public ridicule,
more content. exile, loss of one’s job, physical beating, imprisonment, commitment
to a mental asylum, or even execution

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2.4 Cultural Unity and Variations: Universality, Generality and 2) Generality:

Particularity of Culture
 Generalities are cultural traits that occur in many societies but not
In studying human diversity in time and space, anthropologists all of them. Societies can share same beliefs and customs because of
distinguish among the universal, the generalized, and the particular. borrowing Domination (colonial rule) when customs and procedures
are imposed on one culture can also cause generality Independent
Certain biological, psychological, social, and cultural features are innovation of same cultural trait – Farming Examples: – Nuclear
universal (found in every culture), others are merely generalities family Parents and children.
(common to several but not all human groups), and other traits are
particularities (unique to certain cultural traditions). 3) Particularity:

1) Universality:  Trait of a culture that is not widespread Cultural borrowing – traits

once limited are more widespread Useful traits that don’t clash with
 Universals are cultural traits that span across all cultures. Most are current culture get borrowed Examples: – Food dishes
biologically that distinguish us from other species – Long period of Particularities are becoming rarer in some ways but also
infant dependency Year-round sexuality becoming more obvious Borrowed cultural traits are modified
 Complex brain that enables use of symbols, languages, and tools Marriage, parenthood, death, puberty, birth all celebrated
Social universals – Life in groups – Some kind of family – differently.
Culture organizes on social life Depends on social interactions
for expression and continuation – Incest taboo – Exogamy 2.5. Evaluating Cultural Differences: Ethnocentrism, Cultural
(marriage outside one’s group). Relativism and Human Rights

 A great example of universality is that whether in Africa or Asia, The concepts of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism occupy key
Australia, or Antarctica, people understand the universal concept of position in anthropology.
family. Anthropologists would argue that it's just what we as
humans do - we organize ourselves into families that are based on Reflect your views on the following questions.
biology. No matter where you choose to travel and explore, you'll  Since your arrival to your college you have observed any
find a family system. events/activities. Would you please list dawn specific cultural
differences you observed between university and home? Justify to your

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group member. Which event do you like and which one you don't like? neighbors trying to get along with each other. The positive aspect of
Why? ethnocentrism has to do with the protection that it can provide for a
culture. By causing a rejection of the foods, customs, and
perceptions of people in other cultures, it acts as a conservative
A. Ethnocentrism: force in preserving traditions of one's own culture. It can help
maintain the separation and uniqueness of cultures.
The common response in all societies to other cultures is to judge them
in terms of the values and customs of their own familiar culture. B. Cultural Relativism:
 Ethnocentrism refers to the tendency to see the behaviors, beliefs,
values, and norms of one's own group as the only right way of We cannot grasp the behavior of other people if we interpret what they
living and to judge others by those standards. say and do in the light of our values, beliefs, and motives. Instead, we
need to examine their behavior as insiders, seeing it within the
 Being fond of your own way of life and condescending or even framework of their values, beliefs and motives.
hostile toward other cultures is normal for all people. Because of  The concept of cultural relativism states that cultures differ, so that
ethnocentrism, we often operate on the premise that our own a cultural trait, act, or idea has no meaning but its meaning only
society’s ways are the correct, normal, better ways, for acting, within its cultural setting.
thinking, feeling and behaving.  Cultural relativism suspends judgment and views about the behavior
 Our own group is the centre or axis of everything, and we scale and of people from the perspective of their own culture. Every society
rate all others with reference to it. Ethnocentrism is not has its own culture, which is more or less unique. Every culture
characteristic only of complex modern societies. People in small, contains its own unique pattern of behavior which may seem alien
relatively isolated societies are also ethnocentric in their views to people from other cultural backgrounds. We cannot understand
about outsiders. It is a cultural universal. Alien cultural traits are the practices and beliefs separately from the wider culture of which
often viewed as being not just different but inferior, less sensible, they are part. A culture has to be studied in terms of its own
and even "unnatural”. meanings and values.
 Cultural relativism describes a situation where there is an attitude
 Ethnocentrism results in prejudices about people from other cultures of respect for cultural differences rather than condemning other
and the rejection of their "alien ways." Our ethnocentrism can people's culture as uncivilized or backward.
prevent us from understanding and appreciating another culture.
When there is contact with people from other cultures, Respect for cultural differences involves:
ethnocentrism can prevent open communication and result in
misunderstanding and mistrust. This would be highly  Appreciating cultural diversity;
counterproductive for businessmen trying to negotiate a trade deal,  Accepting and respecting other cultures;
professionals who work in areas other than their own or even just

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 Trying to understand every culture and its elements in terms of its

own context and logic; Anthropologists respect human diversity. Most ethnographers try to be
 Accepting that each body of custom has inherent dignity and objective, accurate, and sensitive in their accounts of other cultures.
meaning as the way of life of one group which has worked out to its However, their objectivity, sensitivity and a cross-cultural perspective
environment, to the biological needs of its members, and to the group got nothing to do with ignoring international standards of justice and
relationships; morality.
 Knowing that a person's own culture is only one among many; and Go to the reference book “Mirror for Humanity” pages 50 - 52,
 Recognizing that what is immoral, ethical, acceptable, etc, in one suggested at the end of this unit and reflect your views on the following
culture may not be so in another culture. questions.

C. Human Rights:  What ideas do you understand from the topics?

 Is ethnocentrism bad or good?
In today's world, human rights advocates challenge many of the tenets  Is cultural relativism bad or good?
of cultural relativism. Many anthropologists are uncomfortable with the  Why it is important to understand the concept of cultural relativism?
strong form of cultural relativism that suggests that all patterns of  What do you think about cultural relativism and human rights?
culture are equally valid. What if the people practice slavery, violence
against women, torture, or genocide? 2.6 Culture Change
Culture changes in several ways; under this section we will discuss how
 Human rights: rights based on justice and morality beyond and and why cultures change and briefly review some of the widespread
superior to particular countries, cultures, and religions. The idea of changes that have occurred in recent times. Thus, in order to learn more
human rights challenges cultural relativism by invoking a realm of about culture change would you please responding to below question
justice and morality beyond and superior to the laws and customs of before we go the subsequent texts?
particular countries, cultures, and religions.
Reflect your views on the following question
 Human rights include the right to speak freely, to hold religious  Why and how do cultures change?
beliefs without persecution, and to not be murdered, injured, or
enslaved or imprisoned without charge. Such rights are seen as  When you examine the history of a society, it is obvious that its
inalienable (nations cannot abridge or terminate them) and culture has changed over time. Some of the shared behaviors and
international (larger than and superior to individual nations and ideas that were common at one time are modified or replaced at
cultures). another time. That is why any anthropological account of the culture
 A doctrine of universal human rights, which emphasizes the rights of any society is a type of snapshot view of one particular time. The
of the individual over those of the community, would condemn such anthropologists return several years after completing a cultural
killings.

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study he or she would not find exactly the same situation, for there  The cultures of either or both groups may be changed by this
are no cultures that remain completely static year after year. contact. This usually happens in situations of trade or colonialism.
In situations of continuous contact, cultures have also exchanged
and blended foods, recipes, music, dances, clothing, tools, and
technologies.
Culture change can occur as a result of the following Mechanisms:
III. Invention
I. Diffusion
The source of new cultural elements in a society may also be another  Invention-the process by which humans innovate, creatively finding
society. solutions to problems is another mechanism for cultural change.
 The process by which cultural elements are borrowed from another Faced with comparable problems and challenges, people in different
society and incorporated into the culture of the recipient group is societies have innovated and changed in similar ways, which is one
called diffusion. reason cultural generalities exist.
 One example is the independent invention of agriculture in the
 Diffusion is direct when two cultures trade with, intermarry among, Middle East and Mexico. Over the course of human history, major
or wage war on one another. innovations have spread at the expense of earlier ones. Often a
 Diffusion is forced when one culture subjugates another and major invention, such as agriculture, triggers a series of subsequent
imposes its customs on the dominated group. interrelated changes. Thus in both Mexico and the Middle East,
 Diffusion is indirect when items or traits move from group A to agriculture led to many social, political, and legal changes,
group C via group B without any firsthand contact between A and C. In including notions of property and distinctions in wealth, class, and
this case, group B might consist of traders or merchants who take power.
products from a variety of places to new markets. Or group B might be
geographically situated between A and C, so that what it gets from A IV. Globalization
eventually winds up in C, and vice versa. In today's world, much
international diffusion is indirect-culture spread by the mass media and  The term globalization encompasses a series of processes, including
advanced information technology. diffusion and acculturation, working to promote change in the world
in which nations and people are increasingly interlinked and
II. Acculturation mutually dependent. Promoting such linkages is economic and
political forces, as well as modem systems of transportation and
Is the exchange of cultural features that results when groups have communication.
continuous firsthand contact?  Due to globalization long-distance communication is easier, faster,
and cheaper than ever, and extends to remote areas. The mass
media help propel (drive/push) a globally spreading culture of

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consumption. Within nations and across their borders, the media cooperation, regulation of sexual activity, cohabitation, or
spread information about products, services, rights, institutions, expectation of permanency.
lifestyles, and the perceived costs and benefits of globalization.
 Emigrants transmit information and resources transnational, as
they maintain their ties with home (phoning, faxing, e-mailing,
making visits, and sending money). In a sense such people live
multi locally-in different places and cultures at once. They learn to
play various social roles and to change behavior and identity 2.7.1.1 Rules of Marriage
depending on the situation.
Societies also have rules that state whom one can and cannot marry.
Every societies know to anthropology has established for itself some
2.7 Ties That Connect: Marriage, Family and Kinship type of rules regulating mating (sexual intercourse). The most common
form of prohibition is mating with certain type of kin that are defined by
Reflect your views on the following question the society as being inappropriate sexual partners.
 This prohibition on mating with certain categories of relatives
 What comes to your mind when you think of marriage and family? known as incest taboos. The most universal form of incest taboo
involves mating between members of the immediate (nuclear)
2.7.1 Marriage: family: mother-sons, father-daughters, and brother-sisters.

Almost all known societies recognize marriage. The ritual of marriage  There are a few striking examples of marriage between members of
marks a change in status for a man and a woman and the acceptance by the immediate family that violate the universality of the incest
society of the new family that is formed. The term marriage is not an taboo. For political, religious, or economic reasons, members of the
easy terms to define. For years, anthropologists have attempted to define royal families among the ancient Egyptians, Incas and Hawaiians
these terms in such a way to cover all known societies. Frequently, were permitted to mate with and marry their siblings, although this
anthropologists have debated whether or not families and the institutions practiced did not extended to the ordinary members of those
of marriage are universals. societies.
 One interesting case is that the Nayar of Southern India did not have
marriage in the conventional sense of the term. Although teenage  Marriage is, therefore, a permanent legal union between a man and
Nayar girls took a ritual husband in a public ceremony, the husband a woman. It is an important institution without which the society
took no responsibility for the women after the ceremony, and could never be sustained.
frequently he never saw her again. Thus the Nayar do not have
marriage according to our definition in that there is no economic,

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Mormons, Catholics, and Jews have rules of endogamy, though

2.7.1.2 Mate Selection: Whom Should You Marry? these are often violated when marriage take place outside the group.
Castes in India and Nepal are also endogamous
In a society one cannot marry anyone whom he or she likes. There are  “Indeed, most cultures are endogamous units, although they usually
certain strict rules and regulations. do not need a formal rule requiring people to marry someone from
their own society” (Kottak, 2017: 150).
a) Exogamy: for biology out breeding or cross pollination.
 This is the rule by which a man is not allowed to marry someone
from his own social group. Such prohibited union is designated as
incest. Incest is often considered as sin. Different scholars had tried
to find out the explanation behind this prohibition i.e. how incest c) Preferential Cousin Marriage:
taboo came into operation.
 A common form of preferred marriage is called preferential cousin
Reason for exogamy: marriage and is practiced in one form or another in most of the
major regions of the world. Kinship systems based on lineages
 A conception of blood relation prevails among the members of a distinguish between two different types of first cousins, these are:
group. Therefore, marriage within the group-members is considered ♣. Cross Cousins: are children of siblings of the opposite sex- that is
a marriage between a brother and sister. one’s mother’s brothers’ children and one’s father’s sisters’ children.
 Attraction between a male and female gets lost due to close
relationship in a small group. The most common form marriage is between cross cousins because it
 Believe that great increase of energy and vigor is possible in the functions to strengthen and maintain ties between kin groups established
progeny (offspring) if marriage binds two extremely distant persons by the marriages that took place in the proceeding generation.
who possess no kin relation among them.
 exogamy also has adaptive value, because it links people into a ♣. Parallel Cousins: marriage takes place between the children of the
wider social network that nurtures, helps, and protects them in siblings of the same sex; it is called parallel cousin marriage. They are
times of need pushing social organization outward, establishing children of siblings of the same sex, namely the children of one’s
and preserving alliances among groups.(kottak) mother’s sister and one’s father brother. The mate may come either from
one’s father’s brother’s children or mother's sister’s children.
♣. A much less common form of cousin marriage is between parallel
b) Endogamy: cousins, the child of one’s mother’s sister or father’s brother. Found
among some Arabic societies in North Africa, it involves the marriage
 Allowed individuals to marry within their own group and forbids of a man to his father’s brother’s daughter. Since parallel cousins belong
them to marry outside it. Religious groups such as the Amish,

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to the same family, such a practice can serve to prevent the  Polygamy i.e. Marriages of a man or woman with two or more
fragmentation of family property. mates.
Polygamy can be of two types:
d) The Levirate and Sororate 1. Polygyny: the marriage of a man to two or more women at a
time.
 Another form of mate selection that tends to limit individual choice 2. Polyandy: the marriage of a woman to two or more men at a
is those that require a person to marry the husband or wife of time
deceased kin.  Marriage of a man with two or more sisters at a time is
called sororal polygyny. When the co-wives are not sisters, the
 The levirate- is the custom whereby a widow is expected to marry marriage is termed as non- sororal polygyny.
the brother (or some close male relative) of her dead husband.
Usually any children fathered by the woman’s new husband are Advantages & Disadvantages of Polygamy marriage
considered to belong legally to the dead brother rather than to the
actual genitor. Such a custom both serves as a form of social  Having two/more wives is often seen as a sign of prestige.
security for the widow and her children and preserved the rights  Having multiple wives means wealth, power, & status both for the
of her husband’s family to her sexuality and future children. polygnous husband, wives and children.
 It produces more children, who are considered valuable for future
 The sororate, which comes into play when a wife dies, is the economic and political assets.
practice of a widower’s marrying the sister (or some close female  Economic advantage: It encourages working hard (more cows,
relative) of his deceased wife. In the event that the deceased spouse goats.) for more wives
has no sibling, the family of the deceased is under a general  The Drawbacks of Polygyny:Jealousy among the co-wives who
obligation to supply some equivalent relative as a substitute. For frequently compete for the husband’s attention.
example, in a society that practice sororate, a widower may be given 2.7.1.4 Economic Consideration of Marriage
as a substitute wife the daughter of his deceased wife’s brother.
Most societies view as a binding contract between at least the husband
and wife and, in many cases, between their respective families as well.
2.7.1.3. Number of Spouses Such a contract includes the transfer of certain rights between the
parties involved: rights of sexual access, legal rights to children,
Societies have rules regulating whom one may/may not marry; they and rights of the spouses to each other’s economic goods and services.
have rules specifying how many mates a person may/should have. Often the transfer of rights is accompanied by the transfer of some type
of economic consideration. These transactions, which may take place
 Monogamy: the marriage of one man to one woman at a time. either before or after the marriage can be divided into three categories:

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1. Bride Price Where the newly married couple lives after the marriage ritual is
2. Bride Service governed by cultural rules, which are referred to as post-marital
3. Dowry residence rule.
 Patrilocal Residence: the married couple lives with or near the
1. Bride Price: It is also known as bride wealth, is the compensation relatives of the husband’s father.
given upon marriage by the family of the groom to the family of the  Matrilocal Residence: the married couple lives with or near the
bride. According to Murdock, in Africa it was estimated that 82% of the relatives of the wife.
societies require the payment of bride price.  Avunculocal Residence: The married couple lives with or near
the husband’s mother’s brother.
Anthropologists identified a number of important functions that the  Ambilocal/Bilocal Residence: The married couple has a choice of
institutions of bride price performed for the well-being of the society. living with relatives of the wife or relatives of the husband
For example, bride price has been seen: as security or insurance for the  Neolocal Residence: The Married couple forms an independent
good treatment of the wife, as mechanism to stabilize marriage by place of residence away from the relatives of either spouse.
reducing the possibility of divorce, as a form of compensation to the
bride’s lineage for the loss of her economic potential and childbearing Reflect your views on the following issue
capacity and as a symbol of the union between two large groups of kin.
 Please take 15 minutes and write the major types of marriage and a
2. Bride Service: When the groom works for his wife’s family, this is kind of residential place a married couple will take in your locality. And
known as bride service. It may be recalled that in the Old Testament, share it with your classmates.
Jacob labored for seven years in order to marry Leah, and then another
seven years to marry Rachel; Leah’s younger sister, thus performed 2.7.2 FAMILY
fourteen years of bride service for his father-in-law. Bride service was
also practiced by the Yanomamo, a people living in the low- lands of  Family is the basis of human society. It is the most important
Venezuela. During this time, the groom lives with the bride’s parents primary group in society. The family, as an institution, is universal.
and hunts for them. It is the most permanent and most pervasive of all social
institutions. The interpersonal relationships within the family make
3. Dowry: A dowry involves a transfer of goods or money in the the family an endurable social unit.
opposite direction, from the bride's family to the groom’s family.
Cultural anthropologists have identified two fundamentally different
2.7.1.5 Post-Marital Residence types of family structure-the nuclear family and the extended family.

1. The Nuclear Family: Consisting of husband and wife and their

children, the nuclear family is a two-generation family formed around

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the conjugal or marital union. Even though the nuclear family to some and loyalty to his brothers is far more important than his relationship to
degree is part of a larger family structure, it remains relatively his wife. When a woman marries into an extended family, she most
autonomous and independent unity. That is, the everyday needs of often comes under the control of her mother-in-law, who allocates
economic support, childcare, and social interaction are met within the chores and supervises her domestic activities. As geographical mobility
nuclear family itself rather than by a wider set of relatives. are more likely associated with nuclear family than with extended
family. There is a rough correlation found between extended family
In those societies based on the nuclear family, it is customary for system and an agricultural way of life.
married couple to live apart from either set of parents (neolocal
residence), nor is there any particular obligation or expectation for the
married couple to care for their aging parents in their own homes.
Generally, parents are not actively involved in mate selection for their
children, in no way legitimize the marriages of their children, in no
way legitimize the marriages of their children, and have no control
over whether or not their children remain married.
2.7.2.1 Functions Marriage and Family
2. The Extended Family
Family performs certain specific functions which can be mentioned as
In societies based on extended families, blood ties are more follows:
important than ties of marriage. Extended families consist of two or
more families that are linked by blood ties. 1. Biological Function: The institution of marriage and family serves
Most commonly, this takes the form of a married couple living with one biological (sexual and reproductive) function. Sexual cohabitation
or more of their married children in a single household or homestead between spouses automatically leads to the birth of off-springs.The task
and under the authority of a family head. of perpetuating the population of a society is an important function of a
family. Society reproduces itself through family.
In the case of a patrilineal extended family, the young couple takes up
residence in the homestead of the husband’s father, and the husband 2. Economic Function: Marriage brings economic co-operation
continues to work for his father, who also runs the household. between men and women and ensure survival of individuals in a society.
Moreover, most of the personal property in the household is not owned With the birth of off-springs the division of labor based on sex and
by the newlyweds, but is controlled by the husbands’ father. generation come into play. In small scale societies family is a self-
contained economic unit of production, consumption and distribution.
It is important to point out that in extended family systems, marriage is 3. Social Function: Marriage is based on the desire to perpetuate one’s
viewed more as bringing a daughter into the family than acquiring family line. In marriage one adds, not only a spouse but most of the
a wife. In other words, a man’s obligation of obedience to his father spouse’s relatives to one’s own group of kin. This means the institution

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of marriage brings with it the creation and perpetuation of the family, 1. Consanguineal kinship: the kinship is based on blood-birth ties.
the form of person to person relations and linking once kin group to The relationship between parent and children as well as
another kin group. siblings. It is the most basic and universal kinship also primary
kinship.
4. Educational and Socialization Function: The burden of socialization 2. Affinal kin: the relationship which is formed from defined
(via processes of enculturation and education) of new born infants fall marital and the relatives. The final kinds [husband and wife] are
primarily upon the family. In addition, children learn an immense not related to one another through blood. The relationship
amount of knowledge, culture, values prescribed by society, before between husband and wife is considered the basic form of
they assume their place as adult members of a society. The task of kinship.
educating and acculturating children is distributed among parents. 3. Fictive kin: the relationship which is formed either the above
Moreover, family behaves as an effective agent in the transmission kinship. While in this relation the individuals not connected by
of social heritage. birth or marriage. Theses may comprise religious affiliation, or
social group, tribal society.
 Importance of kinship: maintain unity, harmony and corporate
2.7.3 KINSHIP among relationships, get guidelines of communication and
interaction among people.
A significant concept in Anthropology – The concept of kinship is
vitally important in Anthropology, because kinship and family constitute 2.7.4 DESCENT
the focal points in anthropological studies.
 Descent refers to the social recognition of the biological relationship
 Kinship is the method of reckoning relationship. It is a system of that exists between the individuals. The rule of descent refers to a
social organization based on real or putative family ties. In any set of principles by which an individual traces his descent. In almost
society every adult individual belongs to two different nuclear all societies kinship connections are very significant. An individual
families. always possesses certain obligations towards his kinsmen and he
1. The family in which he was born and reared is called also expects the same from his kinsmen. Succession and inheritance
‘family of orientation’. is related to this rule of descent.
2. The other family to which he establishes relation through
marriage is called ‘family of procreation’. There are three important rules of decent are follows;
A kinship system is neither a social group nor does it correspond to
organized aggregation of individuals. It is a structured system of 1. Patrilineal descent
relationships where individuals are bound together by complex When descent is traced solely through the male line, it is called
interlocking and ramifying ties. patrilineal descent. A man’s sons and daughters all belong to the same
Types of kinship system

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descent group by birth, but it only the sons who continue the affiliation.
Succession and inheritance pass through the male line.

2. Matrilineal descent
When the descent is traced solely through the female line, it is called
matrilineal descent. At birth, children of both sexes belong to mother’s
descent group, but later only females acquire the succession and
inheritance. Therefore, daughters carry the tradition, generation after
generation.

3. Cognatic Descent
In some society’s individuals are free to show their genealogical links
either through men or women. Some people of such society are
therefore connected with the kin-group of father and others with the kin
group of mothers. There is no fixed rule to trace the succession and
inheritance; any combination of lineal link is possible in such societies.

Reflect your views on the following questions

 How do families and marriage differ in different societies?

 What do you see as the main differences between nuclear and
extended families?

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UNIT-THREE  The comparative approach, which is also known as cultural

relativism, entails that cultures shouldn't be compared one another
3. Human Diversity, Culture Areas and Contact in Ethiopia for the sake of saying one is better than the other. Instead
3.1. Human Beings & Being Human: What it is to be human? cultures should be compared in order to understand how and
why they differ and share commonalties each other. The
Reflect your views on the following questions comparative approach or cultural relativism encourages us not
to make moral judgments about different kinds of humanity, and
 What do you understand by the term humanity, diversity, and human it examines cultures on their own and from the perspective of
diversity/variation? their unique history and origin.
 What makes human beings different from other animals?  Comparative approach the so called (cultural relativism) states that
 Origin and evolutions of human beings comparing certain culture is not to judge but instead to understand
As Kluckhohn correctly pointed out: "Anthropology holds up a great how and why they differ and share communalities.
mirror to man and lets him look at himself in his infinite variety." In this  Evolution is another key concept in anthropology which, together
case, anthropology helps human beings to look into themselves by with the comparative approach (cultural relativism) allows us to
searching for answers to questions that challenge us. Some of the the address the afore- mentioned fundamental questions regarding
questions central to humanity and anthropology are: our distant origin, current stage of growth, forms of adaptation,
and predict future direction of development. By studying
 What are the commonalities among humans worldwide? (That is evolution, the change of species through time, anthropologists tend
what does every human culture do?) to treat humanity as one of the biological species in the animal
 What are the variations among humans worldwide (That is, what kingdom.
things do only some cultures do?)  In this respect, human biology and culture have evolved over
 Why do these commonalties and variations exist in the first place? millions of years and they will continue to evolve together.
(In other worlds why aren't all human cultures the same?) Human biology affects human culture; and similarly, human culture
 How does humanity change through time? (Is it still evolving, and affects human biology. For instance the human brain size become
if so, how?) larger over millions of year evolution this is considered biological
 Where has Humanity been, and what can that show us change. Whereas, the change in human brain has brought cultural
about where humanity is going? (That is, what can we learn about changes in terms of increased intelligence, language and even the
ourselves today, from the past?) emergence of writing. This is why anthropologists use the term
biocultural to describe the dual nature of human evolution:
 In order to address these questions, we should rely on key both biological and cultural dimensions. Human beings are
anthropological concepts of comparative approach (cultural described as a biocultural animal.
relativism) and evolution. 

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3.1.1. The biocultural animal? humanity through time. If this is the case, let us first see the meaning of
humanity from the anthropological perspective.
The term biocultural to describe the dual nature of human
evolution: both biological and cultural dimensions.  Humanity is the most common term we use to refer to human
 humanity evolves both as a result of biological factors and beings. Humanity stands for the human species, a group of life
cultural factors. For this reason, anthropologists call it biocultural forms with the following characteristics:
evolution. Although humans survive by using both their biology
and cultural information, all other animals survive mainly  Bipedalism (walking on two legs);
through their biology and by relying on instinct rather than such  Relatively small teeth for primates of our size;
cultural information.  Relatively large brains for primates of our size;
For example, cultural, not instinctual, information tells you certain kinds  Using modern language to communicate ideas; and
of wood are good for making a digging stick. You don’t know about  Using complex sets of ideas called culture to survive.
different kinds of wood instinctually but because detailed information
about the properties of different kinds of wood was passed on to your Standing on two legs and having particularly small teeth and large
mind culturally — through some form of language — by your parent brains are all anatomical characteristics, and they’re studied by
generation or your peers. anthropologists focusing on human biological evolution. Surviving by
using a wide array of cultural information (including instructions for
This difference may seem trivial, but it’s actually very important. For making a pottery or farming tools in Ethiopia) is the use of culture. It’s
example, consider the following cultural behaviors and their possible studied by other anthropologists, and even more study the evolution of
involvement with biological evolution of our species: language.

 The earliest use of stone tools corresponds with increased  Humanity is a general term that doesn’t specify whether
consumption of animal protein. More animal protein in turn changes the you’re talking about males, females, adults, or children; it simply
hominid diet and potentially its anatomy. means our species- Homo sapiens sapiens- at large. The term
 The use of clothing (itself a cultural artifact) allows human bodies to humanity can be applied to modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens)
survive in environments they wouldn’t normally survive in. For as well as some of our most recent ancestors, placed more generally
example, the human body is naturally best-suited for equatorial in Homo sapiens, without the subspecies (the second sapiens)
environments, not the Arctic, but the invention of heavy coats and other suffix. Exactly when Homo sapiens evolved into Homo sapiens
such clothing enables that body to survive Arctic temperatures. sapiens is a complex question based on when humans became
anatomically modern and when they became behaviorally modern.
As a result, Paleo-anthropologists are concerned with understanding
how cultural, non- cultural, and bio-cultural evolutionary factors shaped

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Reflect your views on the following issue

3.2.1.1 Cosmologies and Human Origins
 Write short essay on the difference between anatomical modernity Cosmology it is the science generally about the origin and
and behavioral modern origin and evolution of human beings? development of the universe.
The most profound questions are the ones that perplex (baffled) us
3.2 Origin of the Modern Human Species: Homo sapiens sapiens the most. Where did we come from? Why are we here? What is our
place in the universe? These questions have been shared by many
Reflect your views on the following questions people throughout history. Most cultures have developed
explanations that provide answers to these fundamental questions.
 What does different world religions and cosmologies say about the  Cosmologies are conceptual frameworks that present the universe
origin of human beings? (the cosmos) as an orderly system. They often include answers to
 What about scientific (paleo-anthropological explanations) about the these basic questions about human origins and the place of human
origin and evolution of human beings? kind in the universe, usually considered the most sacred of all
cosmological conceptions.
3.2 1. Cosmologies Vs. evolutionally and Paleo-anthropological
Explanations  Cosmologies accounts: supernatural beings or forces formed human
beings and the planet we live on. These beliefs are transmitted from
One of the major questions anthropologists grapple with is the origins of generation to generation through ritual, education, laws, art, and
humankind. The fossil record preserves evidence of past life on Earth, language. When we say supernatural beings it is beyond scientific
tracing a progression of simple one- celled organisms to increasingly understanding.
diverse forms. How did these different forms of life emerge and new
species arise? The biological explanation for this process is the focus of  For example, the Navajo people of the southwestern United States
this section. believe that the Holy People, supernatural and sacred, lived below
ground in 12 lower worlds. A massive underground flood forced the
A theory concerning of life date back to the ancient Greeks, but it was Holy People to crawl through a hollow reed to the surface of the
only during the 19thcentury that the first comprehensive theories Earth, where they created the universe. A deity named Changing
of evolution were developed. They were made possible through Woman gave birth to the Hero Twins, called Monster Slayer
discoveries in many different areas. The acceptance of evolutionary and Child of the Waters.
theory is based on research in many fields. Indeed, the value of  Human mortals, called Earth Surface People, emerged, and First
evolutionary theory is its utility as a unifying explanation for a wide Man and First Woman were formed from the ears of white and
variety of phenomena. Before examining the scientific basis for our yellow corn.
understanding of evolution, it is useful to consider other explanations of  In the tradition of Taoism, male and female principles known as yin
human origins. and yang are the spiritual and material sources for the origins of

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humans and other living forms. Yin is considered the passive, vegetation, Sun, Moon, stars, birds, fish, animals, and humans
negative, feminine force or principle in the universe, the source of originated. Yahweh, the Creator, made man, Adam, from “dust” and
cold and darkness, whereas yang is the active, positive, masculine placed him in the Garden of Eden. Woman, Eve, was created from
force or principle, the source of heat and light. Taoists believe that Adam’s rib. Later, as Christianity spread throughout Europe, this
the interaction of these two opposite principles brought forth the tradition became the dominant cosmological explanation of human
universe and all living forms out of chaos. These examples illustrate origins.
just two of the highly varied origin traditions held by different
people around the world.  In Europe before the Renaissance, the Judeo-Christian view of
creation provided the only framework for understanding humanity’s
Western Traditions of Origins position in the universe. The versions of creation discussed in the
biblical text fostered a specific concept of time: a linear, non-
 In Western cultural traditions, the ancient Greeks had various repetitive, unique historical framework that began with divine
mythological explanations for human origins. One early view was creation. These events were chronicled in the Bible; there was no
that Prometheus fashioned humans out of water and earth. concept of an ancient past stretching far back in time before human
(Prometheus daring and skilful a mdemigod in Greek mythology memory. This view led some theologians to attempt to calculate the
who stole fire from the gods and gave it to the human race) precise age of the Earth on the basis of information in the Bible,
Another had Zeus ordering Pyrrha, the inventor of fire, to throw such as references to births and deaths and the number of
stones behind his back, which in turn became men and women. generations mentioned. One of the best known of these calculations
 Later Greek views considered bio- logical evolution. The Greek was done by Archbishop James Ussher of Ireland (1581–1656). By
philosopher Thales of Miletus (c.636–546BC) attempted to calculating the number of generations mentioned in the Bible and
understand the origin and the existence of the world without drawing of classical writers, Ussher dated the beginning of the
reference to mythology. He argued that life originated in the sea and universe to the year 4004 BC. Thus, according to Bishop
that humans initially were fishlike, eventually moving onto dry land Ussher’s estimate, the Earth was approximately 6,000 years old.
and evolving in to mammals.
 The biblical account of creation led to a static, fixed view of plant
 The most important cosmological tradition affecting Western and animal species and the age of the Earth. Because the Bible
views of creation is recounted in the biblical Book of Genesis, recounted the creation of the world and everything on it in six days,
which is found in Greek texts dating back to the 3 rd century BC. medieval theologians reasoned that the various species of plants and
This Judaic tradition describes how God created the cosmos. It animals must be fixed in nature.
begins with:  God had created plant and animal species to fit perfectly within
specific environments and did not intend for them to change. They
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” and describes had been unaltered since the time of the divine creation, and no new
how creation took six days during which light, heaven, Earth,

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species had emerged. This idea regarding the permanence of species  In spite of dominant religion prevented most from saying so out
influenced the thinking of many early scholars and theologians. loud Darwin’s ideas and the many it fertilized set the foundation for
a new study: the study of humans as living, evolving creatures in
3.2.1.2. Evolutionary and paleo-anthropological perspectives many ways no different from the rest of animal life.
on human origin
Today, anthropologists have countless amounts of data, much of it based
As opposed to cosmological explanations that we discussed above, on studies of DNA, the molecule that shapes all Earth life, to back the
today anthropologist rely on scientific views of evolution in order to claims Darwin made in 1859. In doing so, anthropologists study
explain human origins. Simply put, evolution refers to a process and humanity as a biological phenomenon by raising questions such as:
gradual change in specie over time.
 In fact, evolution is used to describe the cumulative effects of three  What species are we most and least like?
independent facts. Importantly, these attributes of evolution can be  Where and when did we first appear?
observed in nature every day. They are:  What were our ancestors like?
 Can we learn about human behavior from the behavior of our nearest
 Replication: The fact that life forms have offspring; (i.e. relatives, the chimpanzees and gorillas?
reproduction)  Is our species still evolving? How do modern human genetics,
 Variation: The fact that each offspring is slightly different from its population growth, and other current issues play out from a biological
parents, and its siblings; and perspective?
 Selection: The fact that not all offspring survive, and those that do
tend to be the ones best suited to their environment. The answers to the above mentioned and many other questions about
The scientific explanation of human origin and the concept of evolution our species in the study of evolution, the change through time of the
are attributed to a series of discoveries of early modern period and the properties of a living species. That’s because evolution is the foundation
works of handful of scientists in the physical/natural sciences. One of of the life sciences. Many kinds of life forms have become extinct (like
the prominent persons in relation to this development is Charles Darwin the dinosaurs), but each of today’s living species (including humanity)
(1809-1882), a British Naturalist of the period. has an evolutionary ancestry that reaches far back in time.
 Charles Darwin is known for his theory of natural selection in the
evolution of species and the idea of survival of the fittest. 3.3 The Kinds of Humanity: human physical variation
 One of Charles Darwin’s contributions to civilization was to
demonstrate that humanity was part of the world of living things, Reflect your views on the following questions
not separate from it. That of opposite to the biblical view of  Why isn’t everyone the same?
humanity as a special creation fundamentally different from all  Why do people worldwide have differences in their phenotypic
other living things. attributes?

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People come in many colors and shapes; people of the Mediterranean, domesticated about 20,000 years ago) were wolf-like, and their
for example, are obviously darker-skinned than those of Scandinavia, modern diversity is more a result of human selective breeding
and natives of the Arctic are shorter and stockier than the tall, lean than geographical adaptation.
Samburu of East Africa. Why is this? How did these variations come
about, and what do they mean for humanity as a species?  Just like any other living thing, human beings adapt to their
environments through an evolutionary process.
3.3.1. Racial types- anthropological  Adaptation is can be understood as a process (behavioral and/or
perspectives biological) that increases the likelihood (chance) of survival for an
 Humans have to classify their perceptions into some kind of order: organism. An adaptation can be a mutation that confers an
These things go with these others but don’t belong in this group. advantage. For example, a frog that has better-camouflaged skin
Some people have darker skin, so they’re in the “darker skin” than its siblings has a lower chance of being snapped up by a fish,
category, not all human beings look the same, so humans have spent and therefore a stronger chance to survive and have offspring that
some time putting people of different colors, body shapes, and so on will carry the gene for better-adapted camouflage. In humans,
into different categories sometimes called races. Unfortunately, this adaptations include complex behavior, such as making tools. These
tendency has had some very bad consequences for millions of behaviors aren’t passed on genetically but rather culturally.
human beings over the centuries.
 Some of these bodily adaptations are pretty easily visible, and some
 Biologically speaking, a race is a group of organisms of the same are only visible when you look very closely at the genes. Skin color
species that share similar physical (and genetic) attributes and —one of the most visible human characteristics is a good example
specific geographic regions. In short, they’re subdivisions of a of adaptation to a particular environment.
single species- meaning they can mate and have offspring that are  The darkest skin appears in populations originating in tropical
healthy enough to have their own offspring-exhibiting some zones, such as Africa and Asia. The lightest skin is traditionally
characteristics reflecting their geographical origins. found in northern Europe because over time, natural selection
favored darker skins in areas that received extensive and more
This definition is pretty slippery, though, because finding good intensive sunlight, because individuals with lighter skin in these
examples of distinctly different races is difficult. areas were more prone to skin cancers. Darker skin, then, is an
 The most visible non-human animal races are those of dogs. adaptation to the geographical conditions of Africa.
Wherever you go, all dogs are in the same species-Canis familiars-  What’s the adaptive value of lighter skin? It has to do with vitamin
but they have obvious physical differences. Strictly speaking, D, of all things. Vitamin D is a nutrient that helps human bones
they’re of different races - and even this isn’t so strict, because these form properly. Without enough vitamin D, deformities like the
differences come from humans selectively breeding these animals disease rickets, which normally includes bowed legs and a
for certain characteristics, not from their originally inhabiting very misshapen pelvis, will occur.
different environments. Once, all dogs (most likely first

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 Humans naturally produce Vitamin D through the skin when they’re — are referred to as habituation or acclimatization. These aren’t
exposed to sunlight, but cloudier parts of the world — like northern passed on genetically to the next generation (because changes
Europe — are exposed to much less sunlight than regions in the acquired during life can’t be encoded in the genes,) and they’re
tropics, where the species began. reversible (as when the mountaineer returns to lower elevations.)
 As early human populations were expanding into northern Europe
around 40,000 years ago, those individuals with darker skin were
less able to manufacture Vitamin D and probably experienced a 3.3.2. What Anthropologists can say for sure about Human Races?
much lower birthrate than those populations with lighter skin.
Lighter skin, then, is an adaptation to the geographical conditions of So do human races exist? Very strictly speaking, yes. Homo sapiens
Europe because over time, the prehistoric colonists of Europe who sapiens does feature geographically based differences within the species.
happened to be born with lighter skin (simply by chance) had more However, you must consider two very important points.
offspring, who themselves carried the genes for lighter skin.
 Biological adaptations aren’t instantaneous. They take place over  First, these genetic differences don’t mean a lot, biologically.
the span of generations, so an African moving to Europe won’t Because all healthy humans can mate and have healthy offspring,
evolve lighter skin, nor will a European travelling to Africa evolve we’re all in Homo sapiens sapiens, biologically speaking. Don’t
darker skin (except for some tanning). A suntan is a lighter-skinned let anyone tell you different. Not only is it inaccurate to say “the
body’s defense mechanism — the release of dark pigmented female species” when talking about significant sex differences
melanin — against too much ultraviolet light. between males and females, but it’s also inaccurate to say “the
 Another example of biological adaptation in human beings is the African race” or the “European race” when speaking of deep
difference of stature between arctic (such as Inuit) and East African differences in these peoples.
(such as Maasai) people.  A look at the genes shows no significant species-level differences
 In biology, Bergmann’s rule indicates that in colder regions, warm- — only very minor visible ones such as skin color, shape of nose, or
blooded animals will have stockier bodies than their counterparts hair texture. Biologically speaking, though, these differences aren’t
from warmer regions, because stockier bodies are more efficient at important. For most physical anthropologists (who’ve spent the
retaining body heat. In the cold Polar Regions, the Inuit have a short most time closely examining human biology), race is nearly
and stocky build; the Maasai of East Africa have taller and more meaningless when applied to humanity. Rather than talk about
slender bodies that don’t have to retain so much heat — they races, physical anthropologists more commonly talk today of
actually have to dump excess heat in their hot environment, which ancestry, a more general term that recognizes the reality of some
is facilitated by their body shape. Body stature in these cases is an geographically specific human adaptations but doesn’t turn them
adaptation to the geographical conditions of hot African and the into loaded, black-and-white races (pun intended.) Ancestry may
cold Arctic. be important, for example, when considering someone’s genetic
 The rapid physiological changes that occur in one’s lifetime — like health because different human populations have developed slightly
a mountaineer’s adjustment to lower oxygen levels at high altitude different genetic characteristics over time.

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 Second — and most important — is that cultural behavior isn’t

genetically linked to those geographical differences. This
disconnect is one of anthropology’s most important 3.4 Human Races: the history of racial typing
discoveries and lessons for humanity. People from Scandinavia
aren’t reserved — or whatever other behavioral trait you may apply Reflect your views on the following questions.
to them — because it’s in their genes to be so. It’s not. Most of
human behavior isn’t biologically determined or filtered in through  What can you say for sure about human races?
the natural environment — most of it is culturally learned. An infant Like all animals, humans have undoubtedly been classifying their
from Japan can be raised in the Kalahari of Southern Africa and neighbors in various ways for a very long time.
won’t automatically remove his shoes when going into a home Some of the first records of humans classifying others as certain “types”
unless his culture specifically teaches him to do so. Like any human come from ancient
can acquire any language, any infant can acquire any culture; it’s Egypt, where by 1350 BC you can see records of them classifying
culture that really drives behavior, not the genes. The ancient belief humans by skin color:
that human races have innate behavioral traits — industrious  Egyptians were red-skinned, people south of Egypt were black-
Asians or hot-blooded Mediterranean’s — is simply wrong. skinned, those living north of the Mediterranean Sea were white-
skinned, and people to the east were yellow-skinned.
 One of the main reasons the race concept really doesn’t apply to  By the the16th century, during the Age of Discovery, Europeans
humans is that defining human races is almost impossible: To what voyaging around the world were encountering many previously
race do you assign a person born from a Native American and a unknown peoples and developing racial classifications of their own.
native African marriage? Do you create a new race in this case? Because skin color was so noticeable, many racial classifications
Although some of these designations do exist, to come up with a were based only on that factor. Additionally, these unknown people
race for every possible combination of ancestries would be an weren’t Christian and didn’t share European culture and values, so
infinite job. Plus, it would just be another exercise in drawing lines the Europeans labeled them Savages. In fact, they thought they
where they don’t really exist. And what’s “black” or “white”? Is a could use racial type as an indicator of just how Savage a person
Greek person black or white? Of course, they’re in between. was. The less European-looking, of course, the more Savage.
Assigning people to a race based on skin color becomes an exercise Though most have ditched this concept today, many racial
in holding up paint chips to the skin. supremacists still believe that cultural behavior correlates with skin
color, nose shape, hair texture, or what have you.

 Some naturalists in the 16th through 19th centuries proposed that

savages were even a different species than white Europeans,
saying that they shouldn’t even be considered human. This

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classification made persecution and enslavement of different

peoples purely because of how they looked much easier. Early With behavioral characteristics “linked” to genetic characteristics in the
attempts by Europeans to categorize people into racial schemes minds of many (including scientists), some in the 19th and early 20th
were extremely biased and hierarchical, associating morality and centuries even advocated for state regulation of marriages, family size,
intelligence with skin color and other physical attributes. These and whether to allow an individual to reproduce. This practice became
schemes always placed Europeans at the top of the scale, and known as eugenics, and the Nazis took it to a terrible extreme during
the successively darker-skinned peoples at the bottom. World War II. In Germany, the Nazi party began to systematically kill
By the mid-1800s, naturalists began using a method of describing the those members of society that it considered inferior to the northern-
shape of the head called the cephalic index, a ratio measurement of the European Christian ideal they held. Using eugenics as the basis for its
length and width of the head. Dolichocephalic peoples had long and acts, the Nazi party killed millions of Jewish people, Gypsies and others
narrow heads (like most northern Europeans), and brachycephalic it considered inferior in an attempt to create a master race.
peoples tended to have broad heads — like many southern Europeans.
Not surprisingly, this classification scheme and others like it led to  The problems with the concept of a master race — aside from the
many arguments about which peoples were superior to the others. obvious moral issues surrounding eugenics — is that biological
variation is necessary for the health of a population. Basically, if all
The root problem of all this flailing around at the identification of members of a population are the same, the population has no buffer
human types was biological determinism, the idea that physical traits against a particularly lethal or catastrophic disease or any other
were somehow linked to behavior. Many thought traits like intellect, major change in the species’ selective environment. If everyone is
values, and morals were all products of one’s race. Today, most people the same, everyone is susceptible to the same potential disaster. For
know better, although some people still wear sheets and call for “racial this reason, many biologists measure the overall health of a species
purity,” an impossible and destructive idea. by its very genetic diversity. So even if a master race were possible,
and one could (and would want to) manage to prevent any
A similar way that everyone including early anthropologists — had this interbreeding, the end result would be a genetically uniform and
idea all wrong was in the application of Darwin’s principles of genetically vulnerable population. The idea of a master race is
biological evolution to societies. This led to a concept known as social therefore suicidal.
Darwinism, the idea that as societies and nations evolved and competed,
the morally superior societies would prevail as the less-moral, 3.5 The Grand Illusion: Race, turns out, is arbitrary
“savage” societies were weeded out, and that this was all natural and
good. Around this time debates about the superiority or inferiority of Reflect your views on the following question
particular groups continued and some began to fear that civilized
(meaning northern European Christian) society was slowly being  Why do you think is race become an elusive concept?
destroyed by “unfit” peoples who, for one reason or another, were not
being weeded out.

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Over the years, various anthropologists have attempted to classify the  Although all humans are of the same species, they don’t all act the
human species into various races, such as Caucasian, Black African, same; human behavior varies tremendously worldwide. If race
Asian, and so on. The problem is that the physical traits used to identify doesn’t control a person’s characteristics, what does account for
which group an individual belonged in aren’t binary opposites like black human behavioral variation? In short, the answer is culture.
or white, period, with no middle ground. They’re continuous traits,  Cultures differ because people live in different conditions, be they
meaning that a whole spectrum exists between, say, and “black and ecological, economic, social, or what have you. For example, each
white” skin designations. culture is ultimately a unique adaptation to the social and
environmental conditions in which it evolves. The culture of the
Any attempt to classify human races raises a number of questions. Amazonian foragers has certain characteristics, and they value
Although Asians look pretty clearly different from Europeans in some certain things and act certain ways, because they have evolved in a
respects, what do you do with people who look, well, partly Asian and particular ecological environment, one different from highland
partly European? And does “European” end in the Middle East, where Scots, whose own culture is an adaptation to their unique
some African traits are present? Where does Africa even begin, environment. This difference is ultimately why human behavior
genetically speaking? Who’s going to draw up the lines between “black” isn’t the same worldwide.
and “white” (and what qualifies that person for the job, anyway)? One Of course, human cultures have been evolving for thousands of years —
thorough 1972 study by Harvard anthropologist R.C. Lewontin and in the modern age, with mass communication and mass movement
concluded that “Human racial classification is of no social value and of peoples from one environment and culture to another, culture has
is positively destructive of social and human relations. Since such changed very quickly.
racial classification is now seen to be of virtually no genetic or
taxonomic [classifying] significance either, no justification can be
offered for its continuance.” Bottom line: For most professional
anthropologists today, human “race” is an antiquated concept. For
biomedical reasons (and sometimes forensic identification of bodies),
the reality of genetic ancestry can be important, but color coded races,
loaded with behavioral traits, are basically arbitrary.

3.6. Why is everyone Different? Human Cultural

Diversity/Variation

Reflect your views on the following question

 Why don’t others do things the way we/you do?

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C. Pastoral culture area

3.7. Culture area and cultural contact in Ethiopia
 Pastoral culture area is found in the low land areas covering a large
Put simply culture are as refers to a cluster of related cultures occupying section of the Afar in the northwest, Somali in the southeast and
a certain geographical region. In anthropology the concept of culture Borena of southern of Ethiopia. As opposed of the above the cases,
area has been used beginning from the 1920s where Alfred Kroeber and inhabitants of the pastoral culture area rely significantly on their
his contemporaries were interested in examining the concentration of herds and cattle for a living. Mobility of people and herds is a major
cultural trains in a given geographic area. characteristic feature of the people occupying the pastoral culture
area.
In the context of Ethiopia, we may come up with different culture are in
relation to subsistence. These are plough culture, Enset culture area, and Reflect your views on the following question
pastoral society’s culture are  Search for anthropological findings/studies in your library
focusing on plough culture, enset culture and pastoral culture
A. Plough culture area areas in Ethiopia. Summarize the finding of scholars in a group
of five students and present the result of you work in class to
 Plough culture area represents those parts of the country your instructor and students.
where agriculture is predominantly the means by which  How do you explain the pattern of historical interaction
subsistence is eked out (make long lasting). Most of highland and between the different cultures areas of the country discussed in
central parts of the country serve as the backbone of the economy is this unit?
considered a plough culture. The area often called plough culture  What other culture areas can identify in the country in addition
has been a subject of anthropological inquires over the past seven to the above three types?
decades starting from the 1950s. Some of the ethnographers who 3.8. Unit Summary
studied the area that we call plough culture are Donald Levine, Dear learners!
Allen Hobben, Fredrick Gamst and Jack Bauer. In this unit, we have covered a wide variety of issues including human
origins, humanity, diversity, race and racial types, culture areas of
B. Enset culture area Ethiopia at length. By now you know what it means to be human? What
is meant by biocultural animal, the difference and similarities among
 Enset culture area, on the other hand, covers a vast region in the human population, and the cultural explanation for human variation
southern part of country. Enset cultivating regions of the present across the world. In addition, we have discussed three different culture
day SNNPRS such as the Guraghe, Sidama and Gedeo areas areas in the context of Ethiopia by taking subsistence into consideration.
constitute enset culture area. In this region, enset serves as a staple
diet to the people who make use the plant in a wide variety of forms
for a living.

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UNIT FOUR What is vulnerability?

 It is refers to the state of being exposed to physical or emotional
4. Marginalized, Minorities, and Vulnerable Groups injuries. Vulnerable groups are people exposed to possibilities of
attack, harms or mistreatment. As a result, vulnerable
Study Hours: 4 Face to Face Hours persons/groups need special attention, protection and support. For
example, children and people with disabilities need special support
Introduction and protection as they are exposed to risks and neglect because of
their age and disabilities. Universities have introduced special needs
In this unit, we will discuss issues related to marginalized, minority and education for students with disabilities to give the special support.
vulnerable groups focusing on global and Ethiopia settings. The chapter  Minority groups: The phrase ‘minority group’ refers to a small
specifically focuses on marginalization of women, children, group of people within a community, region, or country. In most
occupational, religious and ethnic minorities. Let us begin with cases, minority groups are different from the majority population in
definition of some concepts. terms of race, religion, ethnicity, and language. For example, black
Americans are minorities in the United States of America.
IV.1 Definition of concepts  Christians could be minorities in a Muslim majority country.
Muslims can be minorities in a predominantly Hindu society.
What is marginalization? Hence, minority groups can be ethnic minorities, religious
 It is defined as a treatment of a person or social group as minor, minorities, or racial minorities in a given community, region of
insignificant (irrelevant) or peripheral. Marginalization involves country.
exclusion of certain groups from social interactions, marriage
relations, sharing food and drinks, and working and living together.
 Who are mostly marginalized? There are marginalized social
groups in every society and culture. Women, children, older
people, and people with disabilities are among marginalized
groups across the world.
 The nature and level of marginalization varies from society to
society as a result of cultural diversity. Religious, ethnic, and racial
minorities are also among social groups marginalized in different
societies and cultures. Crafts workers such as tanners, potters, and
iron smiths are marginalized in many parts of Ethiopia.

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There are different forms of marginalization. In this chapter we There are some customary practices that affect the health and
will discuss issues related to occupational, age and wellbeing of girls and women. These practices collectively are called
gender-base marginalization. harmful traditional practices (HTPs). We will discuss two examples:
early/child marriage and female circumcision, also called female genital
Reflect on the following questions cutting/mutilation. Let us see female genital cutting, which is widely
practiced in most regions of Ethiopia.
What kind of marginalization do you observe in your social
environment? Female genital cutting
Who are the most marginalized groups?
What are the major causes for the marginalization of those groups of  Female genital cutting (FGC) is practiced in 28 countries in
people? western, northern and eastern Africa. The prevalence of FGC is
very high in Somali (98%) 1, Djibouti (93%), Egypt (87%), Sudan
4.2 Gender-based marginalization (87%), and Eritrea (83%). Ethiopia is one of the high prevalence
countries in Africa. According to recent reports, 65% of girls and
 Gender inequality involves discrimination on a group of people women in 15 to 49 years age category are circumcised (UNFPA &
based on their gender. Gender inequality mainly arises from socio- UNICEF, 2017).
cultural norms. The manifestation of gender inequality varies from According to Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey report, the
culture to culture. Girls and women face negative discrimination in prevalence of FGC in Ethiopia varied from region to region. Somali
societies across the world. Women are exposed to social and (99%), Afar (91%), and Harari (84%) are the three regions with very
economic inequalities involving unfair distribution of wealth, high prevalence of the practice. The prevalence of FGC in Oromia
income and job opportunities. (76%), Benishangul-Gumuz (63%), and Amhara (62%) and Southern,
 Gender-based marginalization is a global problem. It involves Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) regional states (62%) is also
exclusion of girls and women from a wide range of opportunities high. The prevalence of the practice in also high in big cities such as
and social services. A gender disparity in education is a good Addis Ababa (54%) and Dire Dawa (79%). The two regions with
example. Girls in developing countries, especially those who live in relatively low FGC prevalence are Tigray (24%) and Gambella (33%).
remote and rural areas, are excluded from formal education. The
enrollment of girls in higher education is much lower than that of
boys. Women do not enjoy equal employment opportunities. They
do not have equal rights in terms of property ownership and
inheritance.
 Women and girls are also vulnerable to gender-based violence such
as rape, early/child marriage, abduction/forced marriage, domestic
violence and female genital cutting/mutilation.

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Health impacts of female genital cutting The following are some of the beliefs related to the practice:
 FGC is considered as a process of purifying girls. In some cultures
Types of FGC: uncircumcised girls/women are considered as impure. According to
 There are four major types of FGC. They are Type I local beliefs, marriage to uncircumcised girls would bring
(clitoridectomy), Type II (excision), Type III (infibulations), and misfortunes such as illness, infertility, and conflict. Hence, girls
Type IV (all the rest). The first three types of FGC are practiced in must be circumcised to be clean and ready for marriage
Ethiopia. According to the Ethiopian demographic and health  Uncircumcised girls would be disobedient, powerful and ill-
survey (EDHS 2016), 3% of circumcised women (age 15-49) mannered. In some parts of Ethiopia, people believe that
experienced the type of circumcision that involves cutting without uncircumcised girls tend to destroy household utensils.
flesh removing (clitoridectomy), 7% experienced sewn closed type  There is a widely held belief that uncircumcised girls are
(infibulations), promiscuous because they have high sexual drive. Some people
believe that marriage to uncircumcised girls/women would not be
1 Figures show the percentage of girls and women (aged 15 to 49 years) stable and long-lasting.
who have undergone female genital cutting and 73% experienced cut  FGC is also considered as a means of preserving girls’ virginity,
and flesh removed (excision). Harms of FGC vary because the types of which is considered as a precondition for marriage in some cultures.
FGC practiced in different regions and cultural settings are different.
Type III (also called infibulations or phraonic) is the most severe form Reflect on the following questions
of FGC. This type of FGC is widely practiced in the Somali, Afar, and
Harari regions. Do you think that beliefs related to FGC are acceptable? Do you accept
Impact of FGC the benefits of FGC outlined above?
 Short term and long term implications for the health of girls and What shall be done to accelerate the abandonment of FGC?
women including severe bleeding, infections, pain during sexual
intercourse, delivery complications, and fistula. The impacts also
include psychological trauma.
Factors that encourage female genital cutting Social expectation norms and sanctions of uncircumcised girls
and women
The prevalence of FGC has been declining in Ethiopia. However, it is  Female genital cutting is sustained is enforced by social
still practiced in most of the regions in the country. expectations and norms. Girls and parents who decide to
Why do people practice FGC? abandon the practice would be subject to social sanctions. The
 The practice is sustained for some reasons: 1) people consider it following are examples:
as an integral part of their culture; and 2) people believe that the
practice has some benefits.

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 Social exclusion and marginalization: Community members from social interactions, ownership of economic resources (e.g.,
would exclude uncut girls and women from a wide range of land), and participation in associations and celebrations.
social relations and interactions.
 Gossip and insult: community members, including peer groups,
boys, women and men, put pressure on uncircumcised girls and As noted above, marginalized occupation groups are people engaged in
their parents through gossiping and insulting. craftworks such as pottery, tannery, and iron works. Craft-workers in
Ethiopia produce several articles such as traditional hand-woven clothes,
 In some parts of Ethiopia, men do not marry uncircumcised
household utensils, and farm tools. Crafts workers lead a life of
girls. As a result, uncircumcised girls are excluded from paradoxes. They have important contributions to their communities;
marriage opportunities and love relationships. however, they are marginalized by the dominant and majority groups.
 In some parts of the country, people do not eat food cooked by For examples, weavers produce cultural clothes highly demanded by
uncircumcised girls. Uncircumcised girls/women are not also thousands and millions of people. Many people use cultural clothes
allowed to join other people for prayer. This is because uncut during annual celebrations, religious holidays, weddings, culture days,
girls are labeled as impure. and mourning. The demand of cultural dresses has been increasing in
the last three decades. People dress cultural clothes in different
occasions such as cultural festivals, days of nations and nationalities,
 Read and Discus and religious celebrations. Despite their contributions, weavers are
marginalized from the wider society.
 What are the cultural justifications for practicing FGC in different
regions and cultural settings in Ethiopia?
 Do you think that FGC has negative impacts on health and Reading
wellbeing of girls and women? If so what are the harms caused by
A book edited by Dena Freeman and Alula Pankhurst (2001) is an
the practice?
important reading material on marginalized occupational groups in
 Propose culturally appropriate/sensitive solutions to the Ethiopia. The title of the book is ‘Marginalized Minorities of Craft-
problems caused by FGC. workers and Hunters in Southern Ethiopia’. The book focuses on
marginalized occupational groups in 14 ethnic/cultural groups including
4.3 Marginalized occupational groups the Gurage, Kambata, Kaffa, Dawro, Gamo, Sidama and Konso. Read a
few chapters and discuss some of the issues among your classmates or
According to anthropological findings, there are occupational during class discussion.
Ironsmiths are among occupational groups marginalized in many
marginalized groups in many parts of Ethiopia. cultural setting in Ethiopia. Ironsmiths make and repair iron articles
 marginalized occupational groups in our country includes: without using machines. They contribute a lot especially in rural areas.
tanners, potters, weavers and iron smiths. These craft-workers Ironsmiths serve rural communities by producing farming tools such as
have different names in different parts of the country. Craft-workers plough shares, sickles, and hoes. Ethiopia families widely use household
such as potters and tanners are considered as impure and excluded utensils (e.g., knives and axes) made by ironsmiths. Tanners make
leather products that serve community members.

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Potters produce pottery

articles essential for food processing and serving and fetching water. Types and manifestations of marginalization of craft workers
 Despite their contributions, these craft-workers are considered
inferior Type of manifestations of marginalization
and marginalized from wide areas of social interactions. marginalization
Craft-workers such as potters and weavers have big contributions to  Craft-workers settle/live on the outskirts of villages, near to
their respective communities; however, they are excluded and spatial forests, on poor land, around steep slopes.
mistreated by the majority groups. marginalization  They are segregated at market places (they sell their goods
What do you think the reason for the marginalization of these at the outskirts of markets).
occupational groups?  When they walk along the road, they are expected to give
What is the impact of this practice to the development of the crafts way for others and walk on the lower side of the road.
industry in Ethiopia?
What solution do you suggest to eradicate the marginalization of crafts
workers and protect their rights? Economic  Craft-workers are excluded from certain economic activities
Write your answer and read it in the class. marginalization including production and exchanges. In some cultures they
 Marginalization of despised occupational groups is manifested in are not allowed to cultivate crops.
many ways in different parts of Ethiopia. Dena Freeman and Alula  They have a limited access to land and land ownership.
Pankhurst (2001), well-known anthropologists, identified different
forms of marginalization targeting minority occupational groups. Social  Craft-workers are excluded from intermarriage, they do not
Some of them are summarized in the following table. marginalization share burial places with others; they are excluded from
Source: Alula Pankhurst and Getachew Assefa membership of associations such as iddirs.
(2008)  When marginalized groups are allowed to participate in
social events, they must sit on the floor separately-
The marginalization of craft-workers is an issue of human rights. sometimes outside the house or Cultural marginalization
Provide your critical reflection on the following questions. near the door.
 How do you evaluate the negative stereotypes against craft-workers?
 What are the short and long term impacts of such stereotypes Cultural Cultural marginalization is manifested in negative
targeting occupation minorities? marginalization stereotyping such as the following:
 Occupational minorities are labeled as impure and
 Some people argue that marginalization of craft-workers is one of the
polluting; they are accused of eating animals that have died
factors that hinders the development of craftworks and small scale without being slaughtered;
manufacturing in Ethiopia. Do you agree? If you do what are your  Occupational minorities are also considered unreliable,
reasons? lacking morality, respect and shame.

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4.4 Age-based vulnerability Early marriage has the following major harmful consequences:
 Young girls enter into marital relation when they are too young to
What is age-based vulnerability? give their consent to get married.
 Age-based vulnerability is susceptibility of people, especially  Early marriage inhibits girls' personal development; it hinders
children and older people, to different forms of attack, physical girls’ chance to education and future professional development.
injuries and emotional harms. For example, children and older  Early marriage exposes young girls to sexual abuse by their older
people (people aged 60 and above) are exposed to possibilities of husbands.
attack, harm and mistreatment because of their age. As a result,  Early marriage leads to early pregnancies, which increases risks of
vulnerable persons/groups need special attention, protection and diseases and complications during delivery, fistula, and death of
support. the mother or child.
Child marriage is an illegal practice according to the Criminal Code of
4.4.1 Children: Discrimination/vulnerability Ethiopia. Despite these legal restrictions, however, early marriage is
still practiced in different regions of the country.
 Children are among vulnerable groups exposed to harm because of
their age. Both boys and girls are exposed to some harm and abuse Facts about early marriage in Ethiopia
in the hands of older people. However, girls are exposed to double  Forty percent of all women who are in their early twenties married
marginalization and discrimination because of the gender. before the age of 18.
 Child girls are exposed to various kinds of harm before they reach  Eight percent of girls aged 15-19 were married before they reach at
at the age of maturity. As discussed earlier in this chapter, girls are the age of 15.
exposed to HTPs such as female genital cutting. Minor girls are also  Uneducated girls, girls from poor family, and girls living in rural
exposed to early/child marriage in many parts of Ethiopia. areas more likely marry earlier that rich-family, urban and educated
 Early/child marriage: Early marriage refers to marriage which girls (Harper et al, 2018, page 44).
involves girls below the age of 18. The prevalence of early marriage Read more on early marriage and its implications for the
is declining in Ethiopia and other African countries. However, it is wellbeing of girls.
still widely practiced in different regions of Ethiopia.
 According to international human rights conventions, early Factors encouraging early marriage:
marriage is regarded as violation of the rights of the child. According to study findings, there are various factors that drive early
marriage. Social norms and economic factors are the two major drivers
of the practice.

 Social norms: Social norms contribute a lot for the continuation of

early marriage in many parts of the world. Chastity of girls is one of
the social norms that influence parents and relatives to protecting

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girls from pre-marital sex. The value attached to virginity is another Ethiopia currently has large number of younger people. What are the
driver of early marriage. Girl’s reputation and family social status advantages and challenges of having large population of young? People
are associated with sexual purity of girls. Parents incline to marry in countries like Ethiopia?
off their daughter before the girl reach at the stage of puberty to
avoid the possibility of pre-marital sex and love affair. Community  People’s attitude towards older persons is changing over time in
members influence unmarried teen-age girls to get married as early Ethiopia and all over the world. Older men and women have been
as possible. They do this through social pressure including insulting respected across Ethiopian cultures. Older persons have been
unmarried young girls. Komoker, an Amharic term, is the widely considered as custodians of tradition, culture, and history.
used insult to ridicule girls considered to be late to get married.  The role of older persons crucial in mentoring younger people,
 Economic factors are among the major factors that drive child resolving disputes, and restoring peace across Ethiopian cultures.
marriage. In many areas of Ethiopia marriage provides economic Situations are changing as family structures and living patterns are
security for young girls. Hence, parents, in some cases girls, support changing over time. Rural-urban migration, changes in values and
early marriage for economic benefits such as access to land and life style, education and new employment opportunities lead to so
other resources. Parents’ desire to get a good husband for their many changes. Care and support for older people tend to decline
daughter is also another reason. as younger people migrate to urban areas and exposed to
economic pressure and new life styles.
4.4.2 Marginalization of older persons  Ageism is a widely observed social problem in the world.
 Ageism refers to stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against
 Age- based marginalization also affects older people. The phrase people based on their age. Older women and men enjoyed a certain
‘older people’ refers to adults with the age of 60 and above. The level of support and respected in the past. This was true in many
number of older people is increasing globally. According to the cultures of Ethiopia in the past. Things have been changing in
estimation of the United Nations (2009), the number of older people recent times. Older people are facing various problems as a result of
will increase to 2 billion by 2050. Eighty percent of the 2 billion modernization, globalization, and urbanization. Older people are
older persons would live in low and middle- income countries. This exposed to social exclusion because of their lower social and
means Africa would have a large number of older adults after 30 economic status.
years. Ethiopia, the second populous country in Africa, would also  In most cases, older people are excluded from social, cultural,
have millions of older persons after three decades. political and economic interactions in their communities. Older
persons are marginalized because they are considered as social
Discuss the impacts of demographic changes burden rather than social assets. Communities do not provide
older persons with opportunities to contribute to their communities.
What do you think about this demographic change? What are the
potential challenges of an increasing population of older people? Discuss changes related to older people

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 What kind of challenges do older men and women face in 4.6. Human right approaches and inclusiveness: Anthropological
Ethiopia? Do the challenges vary in rural and urban areas? perspectives
 Do you think that respect for older people is declining over time?
 What kind of change do you observe social and economicstatus  All forms of marginalization and discrimination against vulnerable
of older people in the community you come from? and minority groups contradict the principles of human rights. The
major human rights conventions denounce discrimination against
4.5. Religious and ethnic minorities women, children, people with disability, older people and other
minority and vulnerable groups. People with disabilities have the
 Religious and ethnic minorities groups also face different forms of right to inclusive services and equal opportunities.
marginalization. There are several examples of marginalization and  The human rights of women and girls include right to be free from
discrimination targeting religious and ethnic minorities in the world. harmful traditional practices such as forced marriage, early
Let us mention two examples. marriage, and female genital cutting. Any form of discrimination,
 The Jewish people suffered from discrimination and persecution in exclusion, and gender-based violence also violate the human rights
different parts of the world. They were targets of extermination in girls and women.
Germany and other Western European countries because of their
identity. Explore the human rights treaties
 Muslim Rohingyas are among the most marginalized and
persecuted people in the world. According to Abdu Hasnat Milton  The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a human rights
et al (2017), the Rohingya are ‘one of the most ill-treated and treaty approved by the United Nations in 1989. The Convention has
persecuted refugee groups in the world’. In recent years, more than 41 articles focusing on the survival rights, development rights,
half-a-million Rohingyas fled from their homes in Nyanmar to protection rights and participation rights.
neighboring countries such as Bangladesh. As people living in  Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
refugee camps, the Rohingyas are vulnerable to problems such as against Women (CEDAW) is also a human rights treaty endorsed
malnutrition and physical and sexual abuse. by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979.
Read the two conventions and outlines articles focusing on exclusion
These are among the widely known examples of discrimination against and discrimination against children and women.
religious and ethnic minorities. The problem is not limited to specific Anthropology appreciates cultural diversity and commonality.
areas, regions or countries. Although the level of the problem varies  Do you remember the meaning of cultural relativism? It is one of
in different contexts, religious and ethnic minorities face different the guiding principles in social anthropology. It is about the
forms of discrimination in many parts of the world. importance of understanding the values, norms, customs and
practices of a particular culture in its own context. This requires
appreciating the life styles of others including their dressing styles,
food habits, beliefs, rituals and celebrations. It also requires

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avoiding value judgments such as saying ‘this custom is backward and minority groups. In the next you will learn about theories of inter-
or primitive’. This does not mean that we need to appreciate every ethnic relations and multiculturalism.
custom and practice.
 Anthropologists do not Support/appreciate cultural practices that
violate the rights and wellbeing of individuals and groups.
For example, anthropologists do not support the following harmful
practices in the name of cultural relativism:
 Female genital cutting (FGC): Anthropologists do not support
FGC for practical reasons: FGC violates the rights of girls to
physical integrity. It has short and long term consequences for the
health of girls and women.
 Early/child marriage: Early marriage violates the rights of young
girls to make decision about their future. It destroys their chance to
education, and personal and professional development. Early
marriage negatively affects their physical and psychological
wellbeing.

Dear Students:

We are finalizing this unit. Please reflect on the following issues before
you move on to the next unit: (1) how do you understand cultural
relativism? (2) Do we need to support/appreciate harmful customary
practices in the name of cultural relativism?

4.7. Unit Summary

In this Unit, we have discussed issues related to marginalization of

different groups including gender, age, religious and ethnic groups. It
also outlined the marginalization of occupational groups such as potters,
tanners and weavers in different cultural settings in Ethiopia. The Unit
also dealt with the human rights approach and the importance of
inclusive approaches to protect the rights of marginalized, vulnerable

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Contents of the Unit:

UNIT FIVE
The major topics that we are about to uncover in this part of the module
5. Identity, Inter-Ethnic Relations and Multiculturalism in include: the elaboration and detailed problematize of the concepts of
Ethiopia ethnicity, identity, ethnic identity as essentially illusive concepts in need
of further explications. In due course, all related concepts such as ethnic
Study Hours: 8 face-to-face hours groups, ethnic boundaries, race etc. will be explored. The most
prominent theoretical positions concerning these issues are also
Dear Learners! addressed in broader terms with their critics and counter critics.
Race the major division humankind by its distinct physical
characteristics
This unit deals with the social world of identity, ethnicity, race, inter- Reflect your views on the following questions.
ethnic relations and multiculturalism.
 Ethnicity, race, and nationality pose one of the greatest challenges  How do you describe who you are (your identity)?
to the survival of humankind in the 21stc, for they touch the very  What are the ways we tell for others who we are?
core of the social fabric, personal identity and individuality; they  Why do people are obsessed with their identity?
influence how we think of others and ourselves; they play a role in  What’s the point of this obsession with who we are?
our morality and political behavior; and they affect our everyday
existence in significant ways...
 All animals recognize differences between “self” and “other”. In
To this end, it is hoped that you will benefit a lot out of this unit in terms human societies, these differences take on enormous (vast huge)
understanding the process of social categorization and identification, as significance, partly because humans are so individualistic - rather
you will rigorously discuss about how ethnic difference is socially than being clone-like automatons (as a machine which performs a
constructed, organized and negotiated –in context of diversity. And, function according to set of coded instruction), humans have
how ethnic identification, or indeed any kinds of identification, individual personalities. Society validates that individualism by
works, and made socially relevant and the relationship of ethnicity to giving infants unique names. Those names also keep track of who’s
other analogues or homologues identifications such as race and related to whom, sometimes for generations back into the past.
national identity. What’s the point of this obsession with who we are? Why am I
named “X” rather than “#26-A,” and why do we go further,
adding categorical identifiers such as “ethnic X” or “race
Z” to our identifications?

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 To understand themselves as a species, humans have to also cropping up in the press, in TV news, in political programmers’ and
understand themselves as individuals within networks of other in casual conversations.
individuals. This unit explores identity, individual and collective;  There has been a parallel development in the social sciences with a
and how societies worldwide manage to define and growing interest in such studies. During the 1980s and early 1990s,
categorically identify different kinds of identities, such as ethnic, we have witnessed an explosion in the growth of scholarly
racial and national identity. Brubaker (2004), inculcate that identity publications on ethnicity, ethnic phenomenon and nationalism
more generally is not real, either, in the sense that it is not a ‘thing’ across different disciplines, within social sciences.
that people can be said to have or to be. Instead, we should talk
about ongoing and open-ended processes of identification. By this An important reason for the current academic interest in ethnicity and
logic, identity does not impel (push) people to do anything; it is, nationalism is the fact that such phenomena have become so visible in
rather, people who engage in identification. many societies that it has become impossible to ignore them. In the early
twentieth century, many social theorists held that ethnicity and
 It is certainly true, for instance, that whatever reality can be nationalism would decrease in importance and eventually vanish as a
attributed to groups depends on people thinking that groups exist result of modernization, industrialization and individualism. This never
and that they belong to them. It is also certainly true that identity came about. On the contrary, ethnicity and nationalism have grown in
depends on processes of identification and does not determine, in political importance in the world, particularly since the Second World
any mechanistic or causal sense, what individuals do (Jenkins, War.
2008).
 Thirty-five of the thirty-seven major armed conflicts in the world in
1991 were internal conflicts, and most of them - from Sri Lanka to
5.1.1. Ethnicity: What’s in a name? Northern Ireland - could plausibly be described as ethnic conflicts.
In addition to violent ethnic movements, there are also many
Reflect your views on the following questions. important non-violent ethnic movements, such as the Quebecois
 What do people mean when they talk about ethnicity? independence movement in Canada. In many parts of the world,
 Why does currently, ethnic studies and ethnic issues dominate public further, nation-building - the creation of political cohesion and
and academic discourses? national identity in former colonies - is high on the political agenda.
 Why does ethnicity seem to matter to some people(s) – in some
situations – but not to others? Ethnic and national identities also become strongly pertinent following
 Why and when does ethnicity really matter? the continuous influx of labor migrants and refugees to Europe and
North America, which has led to the establishment of new, permanent
 After the end of the second world war, words like “ethnicity”, ethnic minorities in these areas. During the same period, indigenous
“ethnic groups” “ethnic conflict” and “nationalism” have become populations (such as Inuits & Sami) have organized themselves
quite common terms in the English language, and they keep politically, and demand that their ethnic identities and territorial

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entitlements should be recognized by the State. Finally, the political The study of ethnicity and ethnic relations has in recent years come to
turbulence /turmoil in Europe has moved issues of ethnic and national play a central role in the social sciences, to a large extent replacing class
identities to the forefront of political life. structure and class conflict as a central focus of attention. This has
occurred on an interdisciplinary basis involving social anthropology,
 At one extreme of the continent, the erstwhile Soviet Union has sociology, political theory, political philosophy and history (Erikson,
split into over a dozen ethnically based states. With the 2002). In this regard, the academic and popular use of the term
disappearance of the strong Socialist state in the countries of ‘ethnicity’ is fairly, modern. According to John Hutchinson and
Central and Eastern Europe, issues of nationhood and minority Anthony Smith (1996), the term “ethnicity” is relatively new, first
problems are emerging with unprecedented force. appearing in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1953.
 On the other extreme of the continent, the situation seems to be the
opposite, as the nation-states of Western Europe are moving 5.1.3. The term itself –Ethnicity
towards a closer economic, political and possibly cultural
integration. But here, too, national and ethnic identities have  The English origin of the term ‘ethnicity’ is connected to the term
become important issues in recent years. Many people fear the loss “ethnic,”–which is much older and has been in use since the middle
of their national or ethnic identity as a result of a tight European Ages.
integration, whereas others consider the possibilities for a pan-  The word is derived from the Greek term ‘ethnos’ (which in turn,
European identity to replace the ethnic and national ones. derived from the Latin word ‘ethnikos’), which literally means “a
 The process reveled how personal identities are intimately linked group of people bound together by the same manners, customs or
with political processes and that social identities, e.g. as Danes or other distinctive features” (Vanderwerf et al., 2009).
Europeans, are not given once, and for all, but are negotiated over.  In the context of ancient Greek, the term refers to a collectivity of
Both of these insights are crucial to the study of ethnicity. The same humans lived and acted together -which is typically translated today
is true for Ethiopia, where issue of ethnic and national identities is as ‘people’ or ‘nation’ (not political unit per say, but group of
contested and ethnicity has become the official organizing principle people with shared communality) (Jenkins, 1997).
of the state since 1991.  Contrary to its literal meaning however, ancient Greeks were using
the term ‘ethnos’ in practice to refer to non-Hellenic, people who
5.1.2. Ethnicity – A Short Historical Overview are non-Greek and considered as second-class peoples. Likewise, in
early England, it used to refer to someone who was neither
Reflect your views on the following questions. Christian nor Jewish (to refer to heathen or pagan).
 What is the root word (etymological origin & meaning) of the term
‘ethnicity’? What’s its meaning?  In its modern sense, it was only after the end of II World War that
 How do terms like ‘ethnicity and ethnic’ have historically been used the term widely adopted and begins to use. Before World War II,
and applied at different times and spaces? while the term “tribe” was the term of choice for “pre-modern”

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societies and the term “race” was used to refer modern societies phenomenon called ethnicity and from its indefinite and ever-
(Jenkins, 2001). expanding domain…ethnicity is “vague, elusive and expansive”
 Due to the close link between the term “race” and Nazi ideology, (Eller, 1999).
after the end of IIWW, the term “ethnic” gradually replaced “race”
within both the North American tradition and the European  The fall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet-style
tradition. The North American tradition adopted ‘ethnic’ as a federations along ‘ethnic’ lines and the emergence of ‘ethnic
substitute for minority groups within a larger society of the nation- cleansing’ policies in the Balkans and the Caucasus have further
state (referring to the Jews, Italians, Irish and other people complicated these definitional issues. With the wars on former
considered inferior to the dominant group of largely British Yugoslav soil, extensive and influential mass media coverage of
descent). ‘ethnic conflict’ has seen the term ‘ethnic’ degenerate into a
 The European tradition regularly opted to use ‘ethnic group’ as a synonym for tribal, primitive, barbaric and backward.
synonym for nationhood, defined historically by descent or territory
(Vanderwerf et al., 2009:5). At the same time both traditions shared  Finally, the ever-increasing influx of asylum seekers, refugees and
a joint aim to replace what had become a popular, but heavily economic migrants to Western Europe, North America and
compromised (due to the Nazi experiment), concept of ‘race’. Australia, who do not necessarily express visible or significant
physical, cultural or religious differences to their hosts,
 Nevertheless, popular discourses, in both Europe and North together with their uncertain legal status (i.e., waiting for a
America, have ‘racialized’ the concept of ethnicity, that is ‘race’ decision on asylum), has relegated the term ‘ethnic’ to a quasi-
was largely preserved (in its quasi-biological sense quasi meaning legislative domain. In this context, the term ‘ethnicity’ often refers
part) and has only now been used interchangeably with ‘ethnicity’. again to non- citizens who inhabit ‘our land’, just as it did in the
Furthermore, the collapse of the colonial world in the 1950s and days of ancient Greece and Judea; that is, to second-class peoples.
1960s has brought even more confusion on questions of ‘race’,
‘culture’ and ‘ethnicity’. The homelands of former European What is obvious from this short history of the term is the fact that
colonizers have become populated with new, post-colonial immigrants, ‘ethnicity’ contains a multiplicity of meanings. Such a plasticity and
who are visibly different. ambiguity of the concept allows for deep misunderstandings as well as
 Following the consolidation of North American popular and political misuses. As Jack David Eller put it, “some of the most
legislative discourse these groups have also become defined perplexing problems arise from the vagueness of the term and
as ‘ethnic’, thus, simultaneously preserving old definitions of phenomenon called ethnicity and from its indefinite and ever-expanding
historical ethnicity by descent or territory (i.e., Welsh, Flamans, domain (Eller, 1999:8). In other words, ethnicity is “vague, elusive and
Walloons, etc.) while adding the new definition of ethnicity as an expansive”. Hence, in the following section attempts will be made to
immigrant minority (i.e., Pakistani, West Indian, Sri Lankan, etc.). conceptualize ethnicity and its related concepts of ethnic group and
 As Jack David Eller put it, “some of the most perplexing ethnic identity from different scholarly viewpoints.
(confusing) problems arise from the vagueness of the term and

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5.2. Conceptualizing Ethnicity –What’s it?

 a brief glance through titles of books and monographs over the past  So it is important to be clear about what our subject – ethnicity - is
few years indicates a steadily accelerating acceptance and and about what it is not.
application of the terms “ethnicity” and “ethnic” to refer to what  None of the founding fathers of anthropology and sociology - with
was before often subsumed (absorbed) under ‘culture’, ‘cultural’, or the partial exception of Max Weber granted ethnicity much
’tribal’. New journals have appeared using the terms in their titles, attention. Max Weber, in his work entitled “Economy and Society”,
and special programs of ethnic studies are showing up in university first published in 1922 (1978:385-98), provided the early and
catalogs. influential sociological conceptions of ethnicity and ethnic group.
 Almost any cultural-social unit, indeed any term describing  According to Weber, an “ethnic group” is based on the belief in
particular structures of continuing social relations, or sets of common descent shared by its members, extending beyond
regularized events now can be referred to as an "ethnic" this kinship, political solidarity vis-à-vis other groups, and common
or that. This can be seen in the proliferation of titles dealing with customs, language, religion, values, morality, and etiquette. In
ethnic groups, ethnic identity, ethnic boundaries, ethnic conflict, other words, ethnic groups are those human groups that entertain a
ethnic cooperation or competition, ethnic politics, ethnic subjective belief in their common descent because of similarities or
stratification, ethnic integration, ethnic consciousness, and so on. physical type or of customs or both, or because of memories of
Name it and there is in all likelihood, someone who has written on it colonization and migration. It does not matter whether or not an
using “ethnic” or “ethnicity” qualifiers to describe his or her special objective blood relationship exists, but whether it is believed to
approach to the topic. exist.

Nevertheless, most scholars who uses “ethnicity” find definition either  Perhaps the most significant part of Weber’s argument is that:
unnecessary or they are reluctant (unwilling and hesitant) to provide “ethnic membership does not constitute a group; it only facilitates
general framework for the concept. Isajiw looked at 65 studies of group formation of any kind, particularly in the political sphere. On
ethnicity in anthropology, and sociology and found only 13 that defined the other hand, it is primarily the political community, no matter
the term. Writers generally take it for granted (decided) that the term how artificially organized that inspires the belief in common
refers to a set of named groupings, singled out by the researcher as ethnicity” (1978: 389).
ethnic units. Membership in such group is then shown to have an effect
on, or correlation with, one or more dependent variable(s). In this  To him the belief in common ancestry is a consequence of
sense, ethnicity is widely used as a significant structural phenomenon. collective political action rather than its cause; people come to see
But that is hardly a definition. themselves as belonging together – coming from a common
background – as a consequence of acting together. Collective
Reflect your views on the following questions. interests thus, do not simply reflect or follow from similarities and
 How do you define or conceptualize ethnicity? differences between people; the pursuit of collective interests
 How do different scholars define and conceptualize ethnicity? does, however, encourage ethnic identification. In terms of

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collective action, this form of ethnic communality is a form of anthropology. Hence, current anthropological conventional wisdom
monopolistic social closure: it defines membership, eligibility and about ethnicity for the larger part is stems from this influential work of
access. Barth. In his introduction to the collection of “Ethnic Groups and
Boundaries”, Barth (1969) outlined in detail a model of ethnicity.
 Any cultural trait in common can provide a basis for and resources (Copernican system or Nicolas Copernicus 1473-1543 polish
for ethnic closure: language, ritual, economic way of life, lifestyle astronomer)
more generally, and the division of labor, are all likely
possibilities in this respect. Shared language and ritual are  Barth began with what actors believe or think: ascriptions and
particularly implicated in ethnicity: mutual intelligibility of the self-ascriptions. A categorical ascription is an ethnic ascription
behavior of others is a fundamental pre- requisite for any group, as when it classifies a person in terms of his basic, most general
is the shared sense of what is ‘correct and proper’ which constitute identity, presumptively determined by his origin and background.
individual ‘honor and dignity’. By this token, an ethnic group is a To the extent that actors use ethnic identities to categorize
particular form of status group. themselves and others for purposes of interaction, they form ethnic
 Finally, Weber argues that since the possibilities for collective groups in this organizational sense.
action rooted in ethnicity are ‘indefinite’, the ethnic group, and its
close relative the nation, cannot easily be precisely defined for Barth focused not upon the cultural characteristics of ethnic groups but
sociological purposes. upon relationships of cultural differentiation, and specifically upon
contact between collectivities thus differentiated, 'us' and 'them'
As Weber (1968) emphasized, it is the effectiveness of social action and, (Erikson, 2002). Barth's emphasis was not so much upon the substance
above all, a political aspect of group action that ‘inspires belief in or content of ethnicity, what he called the 'cultural stuff', as upon the
common ethnicity’ and transforms group membership into a political social processes, which produce and reproduce - which organize, if you
community. For Max Weber, an ethnic group is based, on the belief in like-boundaries of identification and differentiation between ethnic
common descent shared by its members because of similarities or collectivities.
physical type or of customs or both, or because of memories of
colonization &migration. And “it does not matter whether or not an As illustrated by Barth, it is important to recognize that although
objective blood relationship exists”, but believed to exist. ethnic categories take cultural differences into account:

The next great contribution to our understanding of ethnicity comes We can assume no simple one-to-one relationship between ethnic units
from the influential works of the Norwegian anthropologist, named and cultural similarities and differences. The features that are taken into
Frederick Barth (1969). Barth in an exceptionally brilliant ‘Introduction’ account are not the sum of 'objective' differences, but only those which
part of a collection of scholarly work entitled “Ethnic Groups and the actors themselves regard as significant…not only do ecological
Boundaries”(1969),where he was the editor, provided nothing short of a variations mark and exaggerate differences; some cultural features are
Copernican revolution in the study of ethnicity –in and outside used by the actors as signals and emblems of differences, others are

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ignored, and in some relationships radical differences are played down Reflect your views on the following questions.
and denied (Barth, 1969: 14).
 Does this imply that ethnic groups don’t necessarily have a
The cultural contents of ethnic dichotomies would seem analytically to distinctive culture?
be of two orders:  Can two groups be culturally identical and yet constitute two
I. overt signals or signs - the diacritical features that people look for different ethnic groups?
and exhibit to show identity, often such features as dress, language,  What’s the relationship between culture and ethnicity, after all?
house-form, or general style of life, and
II. Basic value orientations: the standards of morality and excellence These are complicated questions, but need to be answered. Before
by which performance is judged. Since belonging to an ethnic Barth, cultural difference was traditionally explained from the inside out
category implies being a certain kind of person, having that basic – social groups possess different cultural characteristics, which make
identity, it also implies a claim to be judged, and to judge oneself, them unique and distinct (common language, lifestyle, descent, religion,
by those standards that are relevant to that identity. Neither of these physical markers, history, eating habits, etc.). Culture was perceived as
kinds of cultural 'contents' follows from a descriptive list of cultural something relatively or firmly stable, persistent and intact.
features or cultural differences; one cannot predict from first  Cultural difference was understood in terms of a group’s property
principles which features will be emphasized and made (i.e., to be Gamo is to be in possession of a distinct culture to that of
organizationally relevant by the actors. the Wolayita).
 According to Frederick Barth (1969), Cultural difference per se
Indeed, ethnic categories provide an organizational vessel that may be (itself) does not create ethnic collectivities. It is the social contact
given varying amounts and forms of content in different socio-cultural with others that leads to definition and categorization of an ‘us’ and
systems. They may be of great relevance to behavior, but they need not a ‘them’; hence, cultural difference between two groups is not the
be; they may pervade all social life, or they may be relevant only in decisive feature of ethnicity. Indeed, ethnicity is essentially an
limited sectors of activity. There is thus an obvious scope for aspect of a relationship, not a property of a group.
ethnographic and comparative descriptions of different forms of ethnic
organization.  Nonetheless, (in spite of) Barth turned the traditional understanding
 In its most general notion, for Barth, ethnicity is seen as a ‘social of cultural difference on its head. He defined and explained
organization of culture difference’. But, the concept of ‘culture’, in ethnicity from the outside in: it is not the ‘possession’ of cultural
Barth’s model unless clearly explained found problematic one. This characteristics that makes social groups distinct but rather it is the
very ambiguity in the designation of ethnic groups in terms of social interaction with other groups that makes that difference
cultural differences has been taken on as a challenge by possible, visible and socially meaningful.
anthropologists.  Shared culture is, in this model, best understood as generated
in and by processes of ethnic boundary maintenance, rather than
the other way round: the production and reproduction of difference

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vis-à-vis external others is what creates the image of similarity Reflect your views on the following questions.
internally, vis-à-vis each other. Barth and his collaborators ushered
(showed) in an increasing awareness on the part of many  What is an ethnic boundary?
anthropologists that 'culture' is a changing, variable and contingent  Is an ethnic boundary physical/territorial boundary per se?
property of interpersonal transactions, rather than a reified entity,  Why, when and how do individuals and groups maintain ethnic
somehow 'above' the fray of daily life, which produces the behavior boundaries?
of individuals.

In Barth’s own words: ‘the critical focus of investigation from this point In other words, ethnic boundaries are explained first and foremost as a
of view becomes the ethnic boundary that defines the group, not the product of social action. Cultural difference per se does not create ethnic
cultural stuff that it encloses’ (1969:15).The difference is created, collectivities: it is the social contact with others that leads to definition
developed and maintained only through interaction with others (i.e., and categorization of an ‘us’ and a ‘them’. At this point, we should
Frenchness is created and becomes culturally and politically meaningful note that contrary to a widespread commonsense view, cultural
only through the encounter with Englishness, Germaneness, difference between two groups is not the decisive feature of ethnicity.
Donnishness, etc.). ‘Group identities must always be defined in relation to that which they
are not – in other words, in relation to non- members of the group’
 Hence, the focus in the study of ethnic difference has shifted from (Eriksen, 1993: 10). Thus, in emphasizing boundaries between
the study of its contents (i.e., the structure of the language, the form groups, and their production and reproduction, Barth immediately
of the particular costumes, and the nature of eating habits) to the shifted the analytical center of gravity away from this or that settled,
study of cultural boundaries and social interaction. The boundaries bounded group - or 'society' - and towards complex universes of
to which we must give our attention are of course social boundaries, relationships between groups and their members. In doing so, Barth
though they may have territorial counterparts. If a group maintains emphasized that ethnic identity is generated, confirmed or transformed
its identity when members interact with others, this entails criteria in the course of interaction and transaction between decision-making,
for determining membership and ways of signaling membership and strategizing individuals. Barth’s work has transformed and shifted the
exclusion. study of ethnic difference from the study of cultural contents (language,
 Ethnic groups are not merely (simply) or necessarily based on the religion, and customs) to the study of the interaction processes in which
occupation of exclusive territories; and the different ways in which cultural characteristics are “picked up” as markers of differences in the
they are maintained, not only by a once-and for-all recruitment but interaction process. Cultural differences per se do not create ethnic
by continual expression and validation, need to be analyzed. collectivities: The social contact with others leads to the definition and
categorization of an “us” and “them”.

For instance, two distinctive, endogamous groups, say, somewhere in

Ethiopia, may well have widely different languages, religious beliefs

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and even technologies, but that does not entail that there is an ethnic (e.g. Barth 1959, 1966, 1981), and has certainly been the most
relationship between them. For ethnicity to come about, the groups must influential, Barth was not alone in establishing the current
have a minimum of contact between them, and they must entertain ideas anthropological understanding of ethnicity.
of each other as being culturally different from themselves. If these
conditions are not fulfilled, there is no ethnicity, for ethnicity is Reflecting, on the one hand, the practical ethnographic concern with the
essentially an aspect of a relationship, not a property of a group. everyday lives of real people, i.e., their ‘actually existing’ social
Conversely, some groups may seem culturally similar, yet there can be a relationships (Radcliffe-Brown, 1952:190), and on the other, the pursuit
socially highly relevant (and even volatile) inter-ethnic relationship of verstehen (‘understanding’), advocated by Weber and Simmel,
between them. This would be the case of the relationship between Serbs Clifford Geertz has elegantly defined ethnicity as the 'world of personal
and Croats following the break-up of Yugoslavia, or of the tension identity collectively ratified and publicly expressed' and 'socially ratified
between coastal Sami and Norwegians. There may also be considerable personal identity' (1973:268, 309).
cultural variation within a group without ethnicity (Blom, 1969). Only
in so far as cultural differences are perceived as being important, and are In spite of the difference in scholarly views of ethnicity among
made socially relevant, do social relationships have an ethnic element. anthropologists, the 'basic social anthropological model of ethnicity'
Ethnicity is an aspect of social relationship between agents who can be summarized as follows:
consider themselves as being culturally distinctive from members of
other groups with whom they have a minimum of regular interaction.  Ethnicity is a matter of cultural differentiation - although, to
reiterate the main theme of social identity (Jenkins 2004),
 Furthermore, Barth’s research established a foundation for identification always involves a dialectical interplay between
understanding ethnicity in universalist rather than in particularistic similarity and difference.
terms. Since culture and social groups emerge only through
interaction with others, then ethnicity cannot be confined to  Ethnicity is centrally a matter of shared meanings - what we
minority groups only. conventionally call 'culture' - but is also produced and reproduced
during interaction.
As Jenkins (1997) and Isajiw (2000) rightly argue, we cannot study
minority ethnic groups without at the same time studying the majority  Ethnicity is no more fixed or unchanging than the way of life of
ethnicity. which it is an aspect, or the situations in which it is produced and
reproduced.
 Generally speaking, Barth understanding of ethnicity has been
central to pretty much all subsequent anthropologizing about  Ethnicity, as identification, is collective and individual,
ethnicity. Nevertheless, although his was arguably the most externalized in social interaction and the categorization of others,
systematic model in depth and detail, the most securely grounded in and internalized in personal self- identification.
wider theoretical arguments about social forms and social processes

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Culture is conceived here partially in the traditional anthropological Reflect your views on the following questions.
sense as involving a total way of life. The total way of life, however,
does not necessarily mean simply a set of distinct everyday customs,  What kind of social collectivity/community is the ‘Ethnic group’?
although it may include these. Rather, it refers to a unique historical  Are there specific rules/standards for a group to be an ‘ethnic group’?
group experience.  Are ethnic groups a clearly demarcated and bounded,
Culture is in essence a system of encoding such experience into a set of homogeneous collectivities or are they just collectivities, with only a
symbolic patterns. It does not matter how different the elements of one shared sense or image of ‘groupness’?
culture are from another culture. A distinct culture is a manifestation of  How do you differentiate ethnic group from other social categories
a group's distinct historical experience. Its product is a sense of unique (like cultural group, racial group, nation etc)?
people hood. Ethnicity is not a single unified social phenomenon but a
congeries, a “family,” of related but analytically distinct phenomena. Ethnic Group
The foundations of ethnicity, the “markers” of ethnicity, the
history of ethnicity, the aims and goals of ethnicity—these vary from Notably, the term ‘ethnic group’ is also attached with various
case to case” (Eller, 1999). meanings as ethnicity. Scholars have been trying to conceptualize it
from different perspectives and as a result, different definitions have
The emphasis on culture as the point of departure for our understanding been proposed to define ‘ethnic group’. In this regard, earlier conception
of the nature of ethnicity is not intended to mean that members of an of ethnic group once again associated with Max Weber.
ethnic group must always share one and the same culture to the  According to Weber, an ‘ethnic group’ is based on the belief in
exclusion of any other. Rather, it is intended to mean that persons who common descent shared by its members, extending beyond kinship,
include themselves in an ethnicity would have a relation to a group who political solidarity in comparison with other groups, and common
either now or at some point in the past has shared a unique culture. customs, language, religion, values, morality, and etiquette (ethics)
(Weber, 1978).
5.3. Ethnic Groups and Ethnic Identity  Anderson (1983), in his part described ethnic groups as “an
Dear learners, this section will provide detail conceptual discussions imagined community” that possesses a “character and quality”
about ethnic groups and ethnic identity, supplemented by empirical (Anderson, 1983).
cases and various ethnographic examples.  Schermerhorn (1996), on the other hand, conceptualize ethnic group
 The concept of ethnic group is the most basic, from which the others as a unit of population having unique characteristics in relation with
are derivative. It refers to ethnicity as the collective phenomenon. others, binding with common language, myth of origin, and history
Ethnic identity refers to ethnicity as an individually experienced of ethnic allegiance (loyalty) (1996).
phenomenon. Ethnicity itself is an abstract concept, which includes
an implicit reference to both collective and individual aspects of the Scholars mainly use it to explain contact and inter-relationship between
phenomenon. groups.

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 Taking Bateson’s (1979) ideas, Eriksen states that since ethnic

categories created out of the very contact between groups, dealing
with ethnic groups in total isolation is as absurd as to speak of the
sound from one hand clapping (Eriksen, 2002).
 In this regard, other scholars including F. Barth (1969), define By considering the various definitions provided to define ethnicity,
ethnic groups as a self-defined group based on subjective factors Hutchinson and Smith’s (1996) identified six main features that the
and/or fundamental cultural values chosen by members from their definition of an ethnic group, predominantly consists. This includes;
past history or present existing conditions in which members are
aware of-and-in contact with other ethnic groups. 1. A common proper name, to identify and express the “essence” of the
 Barth (1969) further illustrated that, in a context of inter-ethnic community;
interaction, group distinctiveness strongly depends on identification 2. A myth of common ancestry that includes the idea of common origin
of self and ascription by others and members of a certain ethnic in time and place and that gives an ethnic group a sense of fictive
group will be evaluated in accordance with their ‘performance’ of kinship;
the value standards and ‘possession’ of diacritical features 3. Shared historical memories, or better, shared memories of a common
designing the group against other. past or pasts, including heroes, events, and their commemoration;
 This entailed that, ethnic group are defined out of group 4. One or more elements of common culture, which need not be
interaction in which members of a group keep their social specified but normally, include religion, customs, and language;
solidarity, identified themselves as belonging to specific group 5. A link with a homeland, not necessarily its physical occupation by
based on their subjective communalities (language, myth of the ethnic group, only its symbolic attachment to the ancestral land, as
origin, and shared cultural entities) that defined in reference with with Diaspora peoples; and
others (Abbink, 2004). 6. A sense of solidarity on the part of at least some sections of the
ethnic’s population (Hutchinson and Smith, 1996:6-7).
 Ethnic groups constitute an identity as defined by outsiders who do
not belong to the group but identify it as different from their own  Ethnic Identity
groups and by “insiders” who belong to the same group. This
generally becomes the basis of mobilizing group’s consciousness Definitions of ethnic identity vary according to the underlying theory
and solidarity and which in certain situation result in political embraced by researchers’ and scholars’ intent on resolving its
activities (Kasfir, 1976). conceptual meanings. The fact that there is no widely agreed upon
definition of ethnic identity is indicative of the confusion
surrounding the topic.

Reflect your views on the following questions.

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 What is the basis of one’s ethnic identity? socialized in an ethnic group or that his or her ancestors, real or
 Can you distinguish between the external and internal aspects of symbolic, have been members of the group. The social systems may
ethnic identity? be one's ethnic community or society at large, or other ethnic
 What is the relationship of the individual to the ethnic? communities and other societies or groups, or a combination of all
these (Isajiw, 1990).
Typically, ethnic identity is an affiliative construct, where an individual
is viewed by themselves and by others as belonging to a particular  Locating oneself in relation to a community and society is not only
ethnic or cultural group. An individual can choose to associate with a a psychological phenomenon, but also a social phenomenon in the
group especially if other choices are available (i.e., the person is of sense that the internal psychological states express themselves
mixed ethnic or racial heritage). objectively in external behavior patterns that come to be shared by
others. Thus, individuals locate themselves in one or another
Affiliation can be influenced by racial, natal, symbolic, and cultural community internally by states of mind and feelings, such as self-
factors (Cheung, 1993). definitions or feelings of closeness, and externally by behavior
appropriate to these states of mind and feelings. Behavior according
 Racial factors involve the use of physiognomic (a person’s facial to cultural patterns is thus, an expression of identity and can be
features or expression) and physical characteristics, studied as an indication of its character.
 Natal factors refer to "homeland" (ancestral home) or origins of
individuals, their parents and kin, and  We can thus distinguish external and internal
 Symbolic factors include those factors that typify or exemplify an aspects of ethnic identity.
ethnic group (e.g., holidays, foods, clothing, artifacts, etc.).  External aspects refer to observable behavior, both cultural and
Symbolic ethnic identity usually implies that individuals choose social, such as (1), speaking an ethnic language, practicing ethnic
their identity; however, to some extent the cultural elements of the traditions, (2), participation in ethnic personal networks, such as
ethnic or racial group have a modest influence on their behavior family and friendships, (3), participation in ethnic institutional
(Kivisto & Nefzger, 1993). organizations, such as churches, schools, enterprises, media (4),
participation in ethnic voluntary associations, such as clubs,
 On the individual level, ethnicity is a social-psychological process, 'societies,' youth organizations and (5) participation in functions
which gives an individual a sense of belonging and identity. It is, of sponsored by ethnic organizations such as picnics, concerts, public
course, one of a number of social phenomena, which produce a lectures, rallies, dances.
sense of identity. Ethnic identity can be defined as a manner in
which persons, on account of their ethnic origin, locate themselves  The internal aspects of ethnic identity refer to images, ideas,
psychologically in relation to one or more social systems, and in attitudes, and feelings. These, of course, are interconnected with the
which they perceive others as locating them in relation to those external behavior. But, it should not be assumed that, empirically,
systems. By ethnic origin is meant either that a person has been the two types are always dependent upon each other. Rather, they

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may vary independently, as for example, a third-generation person For some time, it was common to divide humanity into four main races,
may retain a higher degree of internal than of external aspects. We which recognized both on the scientific and folk notions of the concept.
can distinguish at least three types of internal aspects of identity: (1) In this regard, race was used both as a system of human classification
cognitive, (2) moral, and (3) affective (related to psychology and social stratification as follows:
moods, feelings and attitudes).
 Europeaeus: White; muscular; hair – long, flowing; eyes blue –
5.4. Race –The Social Construction of Racial Identity Acute, inventive, gentle, and governed by laws.
 Americanus: Reddish; erect; hair – black, straight, thick; wide
 Race is an elusive concept like ethnicity –used in a variety of nostrils – Obstinate, merry, free, and regulated by custom.
contexts and meanings; sometimes interchangeably with ethnicity,  Asiaticus: Sallow (yellow); hair black; eyes dark – Haughty,
where the relationship between the two concept remain complex. avaricious, severe, and ruled by opinions.
When first appeared, ethnicity/ethnic identity was used in synonym
with race or racial identity, which complicated their relation.  Africanus: Black; hair –black, frizzled; skin silky; nose flat;
Moreover, the boundary between the two concepts is historically lips tumid – Crafty, indolent, negligent, and governed by caprice
variable; what was 'racial' before 1945 may be more publicly or the will of their masters.(Source: Linnaeus (1758), Systemae
acceptable as 'ethnic' today. This sub-section will provide a Naturae).
discussion about race/racial identity as a social construction of
group categorization and identification, and come up with the The folk Notions of the concept on the other hand, perceived race as a
significant distinctions among the races and the major difference non-overlapping and distinguishable categories of people; which is fixed
between race/racial identity and ethnicity/ethnic identity. But, few and/or natural (immutable) in its character. These, “folk” and
words should be said initially about ‘race’ in order to stress that it “scientific” notions of race however, begin to diverge in the early 20th
has dubious descriptive value. century.
 Modern genetics abandon race as a variable in biomedical research
and tends not to speak of races, and this has two main reasons:
Reflect your views on the following questions. 1. There has always been so much interbreeding between human
 Do you think racial categorization and identification have any populations that it would be meaningless to talk of fixed boundaries
scientific validity and objective basis? between races.
 How do you entertain the claims about the existence of ‘pure’ race?
 Do you think the claims of some people/groups about superior & 2. The distribution of hereditary physical traits does not follow clear
inferior racial groups have any scientific validity? boundaries. In other words, there is often greater variation within a
"racial" group than there is systematic variation between two groups.
 What is a ‘racial group’, after all?
 Racial Classification: A Short Historical Overview

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 Genetic studies concerning human variation show that humans are believe in the existence of race, since their object of study is the
> 99% genetically alike. Surprisingly, of the <1% variation [~85% social and cultural relevance of the notion that race exists. Hence, in
is found within any human population or group (such as societies, where they are important, ideas of race may therefore, be
town/village/tribal or ethnic group), ~10% is between any two studied as part of local discourses on ethnicity.
groups, even those that are geographically close and ~5% is
between geographically distant groups such as two towns/villages  As a social construction of human categorization ‘Racial group’ is a
from different continents] (J Marks, 1995). group of people, defined by it or others as distinct by virtue of
 Thus, dramatic genetic discontinuities are not found among perceived common physical characteristics that are held to be
modern human population and even the little variation, far more inherent.
within-group than between group. In other words, there lack a
unifying genetic essence for people of the same race; people of the In such contexts however, the question remains do race/racial relation or
same race are not necessarily “closely related” when compared to identity distinguishable from ethnicity/ethnic relations or identity?
people of different races. Different anthropologists and other scholars have different views on
 Biologically speaking, because of the blending of people from this.
different parts of the world, there is no such thing as a “pure” race
(Shwartz, 2001). As a result, use of race as system of human Reflect your views on the following questions.
categorization lacks scientific validity (Haga & Venter, Science,
2003).  What is the difference between ethnicity and race / ethnic
identification and racial identification?
 Nevertheless, when used as a social construction of human  Under what societal conditions do race and ethnic prejudice and
categorization ‘Race’ is human groups defined by it or others as discrimination develop & conflicts occur?
distinct by virtue of perceived common physical characteristics that
are held to be inherent. In this sense of the concept, race is a group
of human beings socially defined on the basis of physical traits. At  Scholars like Pierre van den Berghe (1983) other than
this level, concept of race would be important to the extent that it differentiating the two concepts, regard "race" relations as a special
will inform people's actions; where it exists as a cultural construct, case of ethnicity. He describes race as “a special marker of
whether it has a "biological" reality or not. ethnicity” that uses biological characteristics as an ethnic marker. In
other words ‘race’ is a social construct, where phenotypic attributes
are popularly used to denote in-groups from out-groups. Since there
 Racism, obviously, builds on the assumption that personality is is no sound biological or sociological foundation for its use in an
somehow linked with hereditary characteristics, which differ analytical sense, one should treat ‘race’ as no more than a special
systematically between "races", and in this way race may assume case of ethnicity. Hence, when the term ‘race’ is used in popular
sociological importance even if it has no "objective" existence. discourse, it cannot refer to a ‘sub-species of Homo sapiens’ (van
Social scientists who study race relations need not themselves

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den Berghe, 1978) but is applied only as a social attribute. It is  Thus, racial categorizations, which are defined by the outsider, are
viewed as a ‘socially defined group which sees itself and is normally laced with inaccuracies and stereotypes, while ethnic
seen by others as being phenotypically different from other such classification is normally more accurate of a cultural group because
groups’. it is defined by the group itself. Yet, ethnic classifications can also
be defined and used by outside groups to stereotype an ethnic
 Contrary to this, other scholars (e.g., Georges Vacher de la Pouge community in ways that are often oversimplified and that view
1896, Max Weber 1992, John Rex 1973, Michael Banton 1967, and ethnicity as a static cultural process.
Gerald Berreman 1972 & 1981) argued that while there is much
overlap between race and ethnicity, they are distinct concepts and so Despite this however, some scholars claims that the external ethnic
that they need to be distinguished. boundaries are the source of racial distinctions and of race as a group
 In this regard, Max Weber (1922), differentiated between racial phenomenon. As a social phenomenon, race is a response to external
and ethnic identity by proposing that a blood relationship was categorization and exclusion and whatever internal dynamics race
necessary for racial identification but not for ethnic identification. generates, it is always a response to external exclusion rather than to
John Rex in his part explained that “a far wider set of situations are internal identity- generating forces.
based upon cultural differentiation of groups (in the form ethnic groups)
than those which are commonly called racial and . . . few of them have To return briefly to the quotation from John Rex, it appears that
anything like the same conflictual consequences that racial situations ethnicity is a more general social phenomenon than racism or 'racial'
do” (Rex 1973: 184). categorization. It is equally clear that ethnicity, although its emphasis
 For Rex, ethnicity is still a wider classificatory or organizational may conventionally be thought to fall upon group identification, is
principle than 'race', and it remains true that few ethnic conflicts are routinely implicated, through the signification of cultural or ethnic
as bloody as 'racial' ones (the comparison between the former markers, in processes of categorization. Race or skin color as such is not
Yugoslavia and Rwanda) in this regard is depressingly instructive the decisive variable in every society.
here.
5.5. Theories of Ethnicity: Primordialist, Instrumentalism and Social
 In more specific terms, Gerald Berreman (1972, 1981) Constructivism
provides his own distinctions between ethnicity and race. As per
to Berreman, ethnicity is linked in a dichotic relationship with race. Introduction
It is differentiated from race in that racial stratification is associated
with birth- ascribed status based on physical and cultural Since the middle of twentieth century, when ethnicity as an analytical
characteristics defined by outside groups. Ethnicity is also ascribed concept entered the academic arena, a lot has been written and debated
at birth, but the ethnic group normally defines its cultural on its conceptual definitions, its manifestations in social or group
characteristics itself. interaction, the role it plays in group mobilization for ‘common ends’,
and so forth. Over the years, this has turned into a perennial and

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argumentative debate about the nature of ethnicity/ethnic identity. This

argument takes its place alongside a range of theoretical controversies Perspective Description
about the capacity of humans to intervene in their own lives, to
determine or to be determined. In general, the Primordialist,
Instrumentalist and Constructivist are the dominant theoretical Primordialist Ethnicity is fixed at birth. Ethnic
approaches in anthropology envisaged to understand the nature and Approach identification is based on deep,’ primordial’
characteristics of ethnicity, ethnic identity and ethnic interaction. Thus, attachments to a group or culture
this section will provide a brief theoretical debates and discussion the Instrumentalist Ethnicity, based on people’s “historical”
fundamentals of ethnicity. Approach and “symbolic” memory, is something
created and used and exploited by leaders
and others in the pragmatic pursuit of their
Reflect your views on the following questions. own interests.
Constructivist Ethnic identity is not something people
 Is ethnicity a fundamental aspect of human nature & self- Approach “possess” but something they “construct”
consciousness, essentially unchanging and unchangeable? in specific social and historical contexts to
 Is ethnicity an irresistible aspect of human nature? further their own interests. It is therefore
 Is it, to whatever extent, socially constructed, strategically or fluid and subjective.
tactically manipulatable, and capable of change at both the individual
and collective levels?
 Is it socially constructed? These theories broadly reflect changes of approach in anthropology over
the past 20 years, i.e. the shift from cultural evolution theories, to
structural-functionalist theories, to conflict theories, and finally to
postmodern theories. These changes are related to the twin forces of
modernity and globalization.
 Globalization started as an economic phenomenon and end up as a
phenomenon of identity. Traditional ways people defined who they
were have been undermined. Modernity has, remade life in such a
way that “the past is stripped away, place loses its significance,
community loses its hold, objective moral norms vanish, and what
remains is simply the self.” The result of this process has been a
Table 1 - Three Basic Anthropological Approaches for Understanding loss of identity resulting in fragmentation and rootlessness (anomie)
Ethnicity at the personal level and the blurring of identities at the collective
level.

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Some scholars claim that there have been irreconcilable and unbreakable mainly from kinship, locality and culture (Geertz 1963). Geertz
barriers between the above divergently contending, and dominant explicitly recognizes not only the role of culture in defining the
approaches ethnicity. For instance, Banks (1996) portrayed the primordial 'givens', but also that strength of such primordial bonds,
divergences between the leading theories of ethnicity as follows: and the types of them that are important, differ from person to
person, from society to society, and from time to time (Geertz
...the contents of ethnic identity versus its boundary, the primordial gut 1973: 259). Further, Geertz is perfectly clear that what matters
feeling of an identity versus its instrumental expression, the individuals analytically is that ties of blood, language and culture are seen by
versus the group, ethnicity as an all-inclusive general theory versus actors to be ineffable and obligatory; that they are seen as natural.
ethnicity as a limited approach to particular problems are the polar He is also concerned with the terms in which attachments are
extremes central in theories of ethnicity…. (Banks, 1996: 47). understood and mobilized locally; with what people believe. Geertz
further argues that in some respects these putative 'primordial
attachments' are actually likely to be stimulated and quickened by
These divergently contending models of ethnicity are discussed briefly the political modernization of nation-building.
as follows.
 In its general sense then, it can be said that ethnicity is something
5.5.1. The Primordial Model of Ethnicity given, ascribed at birth, deriving from the kin-and-clan-structure
of human society, and hence something more or less fixed and
 The Primordialist approach is the oldest in anthropological permanent (Geertz, 1963; Isaacs, 1975; Stack, 1986).
literature. It was popular until the mid-1970s. The roots of
Primordialist thinking can be traced back to the German Romantic A model by Isaacs (1974) further illustrated the concept of primordial
philosophers, especially J.G. Herder. Johann Gottfried von Herder ties as a means of explaining the power and persistence of ethnic
(1744–1803), proclaimed the primacy of emotions and language, identity, which he called ‘basic group identity’ (Jones 1997:65–66).
and defined society a deep-seated, mythical community. Herder Isaacs’s basic group identity was linked to ethnic identity, which was
envisaged that every Volk (people) had its own values, argued to be assigned at birth and more fundamental and natural than
customs, language and ‘spirit’ (Volksgeist) and argued for the other social links.
“atavistic power” of the blood and soil (Blut und Boden) that bound
one closely with one’s people (das Volk). Indeed, Primordialism is  Primordialist theories view human society as a conglomeration
an “objectivist or essentialist theory” which argues, that “ultimately (collection) of distinct social groups. At birth a person “becomes” a
there is some real, tangible, foundation for ethnic identification.” member of a particular group.
 For Primordialist: ethnic identification is based on deep,
 The anthropologist, Clifford Geertz (1973: 255-310), who ‘primordial’ attachments to that group, established by kinship and
systematized the primordial model articulated ethnicity as a natural descent. One’s ethnicity is thus “fixed” and an unchangeable part of
phenomenon with its foundations in primordial ties - deriving one’s identity.

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 Anthony D. Smith (1986), one of the articulators of this perspective, instrumentalist understandings of ethnicity as an instrument of
in his part, theorized the defining elements of ethnic identification group mobilization for political and economic ends (Banks, 1996:
as psychological and emotional, emerging from a person’s historical 40). By this, ethnicity is something that can be changed, constructed
and cultural backgrounds. He illustrated that the ‘core’ of ethnicity or even manipulated to gain specific political and/or economic ends.
resides in the myths, memories, values, symbols and the
characteristic styles of particular historic configurations, i.e., what Proponents of this perspective (e.g., Abner Cohen, Paul Brass and Ted
he calls ‘a myth-symbol complex’. The durability of the ethnie Gurr) advocate that in the contexts of modern states, leaders (political
(ethnic group) resides in the forms and content of the myth-symbol elites) use and manipulate perceptions of ethnic identity to further their
complex. Of pivotal importance for the survival of the ethnie is the own ends and stay in power. In this regard, ethnicity is created in the
diffusion and transmission of the myth-symbol complex to its unit dynamics of elite competition within the boundaries determined by
of population and its future generations. political and economic realities” and ethnic groups are to be seen as a
product of political myths, created and manipulated by culture elites in
 Smith emphasizes the “extraordinary persistence and resilience of their pursuit of advantages and power.
ethnic ties and sentiments, once formed” and argues that they are
essentially primordial since they are received through ethnic  Abner Cohen (1974), one of the leading advocator of this
socialization into one’s ethnie and are more or less fixed. And, perspective, in contrast to Barth, “placed [a] greater emphasis on
regards primordial ties as the basic organizing principles and bonds the ethnic group as a collectively organized strategy for the
of human association throughout history. protection of economic and political interests” (Jones 1997:74).
Ethnic groups share common interests, and in pursuit of these
To sum, Smith concluded that, ‘primordialism’ makes two distinct interests they develop “basic organizational functions: such as
claims. Firstly, ethnicity and ethnic attachment is “natural and innate”, distinctiveness or boundaries (ethnic identity); communication;
which would never change over time, and secondly, it is “ancient and authority structure; decision making procedure; ideology; and
perennial” (Smith, 1986). By this, ethnicity is an ascribed status and socialization” (Cohen 1974: xvi–xvii).
ethnic membership is fixed, permanent and primarily ascribed through
birth.  Accordingly, Daniel Bell (1975) and Jeffrey Ross (1982) emphasize
the political advantage of ethnic membership choice. Hence,
5.5.2. Instrumentalist (Situational) Theory of Ethnicity ethnicity is "a group option in which resources are mobilized for
the purpose of pressuring the political system to allocate public
 The instrumentalist theorists view ethnicity as situationally defined, goods for the benefit of the members of a self-differentiating
depending on rational calculations of advantage and stimulated by collectivity" (Ross, 1982). In more general terms, it refers to the
political mobilization under the leadership of actors whose primary actor's pliant ascription of ethnic identity to organize the meaning of
motives are non-ethnic (Eidheim, 1971, Cohen, 1974a, and his social relationships within the requirements of variously
Esman,1994). Given this, Banks (1996) explained the structured social situations (Okamura, 1981). In his anthropological

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research on New York China town, Enoch Wan has found that the  F. Barth is the leading figure of this approach. Barth viewed ethnic
“Chinese ethnicity” of this immigrant community is circumstantial, identity as an “individualistic strategy” in which individuals
flexible, fluid and instrumental. move from one identity to another to “advance their personal
economic and political interests, or to minimize their losses”
Taken to its extreme this would suggest that the ethnic group should (Jones1997:74). Following Barth, ethnic identity forms through
be regarded not as a community at all but as a rational and purposive boundary maintenance and interaction between individuals.
association. A more moderate view is that there is indeed a cultural Depending on each social interaction, a person’s ethnic identity can
content in an ethnic community, but that the boundaries of the group, be perceived or presented in various ways.
which has that culture, depend upon the purpose in hand. The pursuit of
political advantage and/or material self-interest is the calculus, which is In fact, Barth himself took a rather extreme position. For practical
typically, held to inform such behavior. purposes, he jettisoned culture from the concept of ethnicity. For him,
ethnic boundaries were psychological boundaries; ethnic culture and
5.5.3. Social Constructivist Theory of Ethnicity its content were irrelevant. Overall, interaction between individuals
does not lead to an assimilation or homogenization of culture. Instead,
 The basic notion in this approach is that ethnicity is something that cultural diversity and ethnic identity are still maintained, but in a non-
is being negotiated and constructed in everyday living. It regards static form. Cultural traits and even individuals can cross over ethnic
ethnicity as a process, which continues to unfold. It has much to do boundaries, which in turn can transform an ethnic group over time.
with the exigencies (urgent need/demand) of everyday survival Ethnic group is hence a result of group relations in which the
(ethnicity is constructed in the process of feeding, clothing, sending boundaries are established through mutual perceptions and not by
to school and conversing with children and others). means of any objectively distinct culture.
 Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this approach is its
subjectivist stance, which sees ethnicity as basically a social-  In general, constructivists conceive ethnicity as situational,
psychological reality or a matter of perception of "us" and flexible and variable dealing with inter-personal ethnicity without
"them" in contradistinction to looking at it as something given, initially reifying a concept of culture. Jenkins (1997) further noted
which exists objectively as it were “out there". By this, ethnicity is that, as far as the flow of individuals from one ethnic group to
more dependent on the socio-psychological experience of another is possible, it is possible to argue that the boundaries of
individuals, where it focuses on the interpersonal and behavioral ethnicity are permeable and osmotic (Jenkins, 1997: 53). This
aspects of ethnicity. However, this does not mean that all provoked that ethnicity is dynamic that changes through time and
“subjectivists” reject all objective aspects of ethnicity. Some, in space; and ethnic identities are constructed, deconstructed and
fact give them significant attention. But, they all tend to make it reconstructed.
dependent on the socio-psychological experience.

Reflect your views on the following questions.

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 Can you draw a clear line between the major arguments of

primordialism, instrumentalism and social constructivism about the
nature and characteristics of ethnicity?
 Is it wrong to assume instrumentalism as another version of
constructivism? Why?

5.6. Unit Summary

In this chapter we have tried to explain the concepts of identity,

ethnicity as identity categorization. Ethnicity has got a widespread
mainstream use in end of 20th c. It is employed to describe an
expanding range of social and political concerns. As we have seen as the
term has gained popularity, so have its meanings shifted. Most social
scientists from Weber to Barth agreed today that ethnicity is a
constructed, artificial category the characteristics and boundaries of
which have been renegotiated, redefined over the years to suit different
contexts and objectives. There also seems confusion between race and
ethnicity. Most people seem to consider race as a biological construct
fundamentally explained in terms of phenotypical expressions.
However, as it has been already elucidated race itself is human
construct. We have also seen the three prominent theories of ethnicity.
Primordialism holds that ethnicity has existed at all times of human
history and that modern ethnic groups have historical roots far into the
past with an understanding of humanity as being divided into
primordially existing groups rooted by kinship and biological heritage.
Constructivism sees the primordialist views as basically flawed, and
holds that ethnic groups are only products of human social interaction,
maintained only in so far as they are maintained as valid social
constructs in societies. We have also seen that Instrumentalism is a
perspective towards ethnicity that sees ethnic classification as a
mechanism of social stratification or as the basis for a social hierarchy.
UNIT SIX

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among the Oromo people. Gadaa is widely mentioned as an

6. Customary and Local Governance Systems and Peace Making egalitarian (democratic) system of governance.
 In the Gadaa system, political power is transferred from one
6.1 Indigenous and local governance generation set (Luuba) to other every eight years. Gaada officials
such as the Abba Gaada and Abba Seera (father of law) serve for
Indigenous systems of governance have been used to maintain social eight years and leave their position to the new generation of Gadaa
order across Ethiopian regions. The role of indigenous governance was officials.
indispensable before the advent of the modern state system.
Anthropologists have been studying indigenous systems of The Gaada system involves a continuous process of law making
governance in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa. Some of the and revision. The law making process has rooms for wider
indigenous systems of governance have been well- studied while many participation of the people.
other are not adequately studied. Understanding of indigenous systems  Gumi gaayo, a law making assembly of the Borana Oromo, is a
of governance helps us know our cultures. We do not have space to take good example. Gumi gaayo is held every eight years to revising,
examples from every region and culture. We have outlined some adapting, making and publicizing the customary law (seera) and
examples of indigenous systems of governance to start discussions. custom (aadaa) of the Oromo.
 The Waliso Oromo have a law making assembly known as
The Oromo Gadaa yaa’iiharaa, an equivalent of gumigaayo, held every eight years.
The Gaada is an indigenous system of governance, conflict
The Gaada of the Oromo is one of the well-studies indigenous systems resolution, and peacemaking.
of governance. Scholars have been studying the Oromo Gaada since the  The indigenous system of governance among the Oromo also
1950s. Scholars studied the Oromo Gaada include Paul Baxter, Eike include institutions of conflict resolution such as the Jaarsa Biyyaa
Haberland and Asmerom Legesse. Asmerom, a famous anthropologist, (literally: elders of the soil/land) institution. We will discuss the role
is widely known for his ethnographic studies on the Oromo political of the Jaarsa Buyyaa in settling conflicts and restoring peace in the
system. He published a lot on the Gaada system, particularly focusing next section of this chapter.
on the Borena Oromo. The following are two of his books: Gadaa:
Three Approaches to the Study of African Society, published in 1973; The Gedeo Baalle
and Oromo Democracy: An Indigenous Political System, printed in
2000.  The Gedeo of southern Ethiopia have an indigenous system of
governance called Baalle. The Baalle and the Gaada system of the
 The Gadaa system is ‘an age grading institution of the Oromo that Oromo have some similarities. For example, both have grading
has a complex system of administration, law making and dispute system and exercise periodic transfer of power (i.e., every eight
settlement’ (Pankhurst and Getachew 2008, xiv). The Gadaa is a years). The role of religion is high in the two indigenous systems of
highly celebrated institution of governance and dispute settlement governance.

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 Moreover, the customary law of the Gedeo is called Seera. The  Why do we have such cross-cultural similarities?
Ya’a, the general assembly, is the highest body of the Gedeo  Does it indicate long-term interactions among different
indigenous system of governance. cultural/ethnic groups?
 The Baalle is a complex system which has three administrative
hierarchies: Abba Gada, Roga (traditional leader next the Abba Dere Woga of the Gamo
Gada), and two levels of council of elders known as Hulla
Hayyicha and Songo Hayyicha. The Gamo are among Omotic peoples of southern Ethiopia. Unlike their
 The Abba Gada is the leader of the Baalle. The Baalle system has a neighboring people such as Wolayta and Dawro, the Gamo did not have
body of laws called Seera. Conflicts are resolved by the Songo a centralized political system.
hayyicha at village level. When disputes are not settled at the  The Gamo people were organized into several local administrations
village level, cases can be referred to first to the Hulla Hayyicha and locally known as deres. According to anthropological findings,
finally to the Abba Gada. there were more than 40 deres across the Gamo highlands. Each
 In general, the Gedeo system of governance has the following dere had its own ka’o (king) and halaqa (elected leader).
major institutions: the Ya’a (general assembly), the Seera  The indigenous system of governance embraces the dere woga
(customary law), the Abba Gada, and council of elders. (customary law) and the dubusha assemblies. The highest body of
the indigenous governance is the dere dubusha, a general assembly
that is responsible to make and revise customary laws, resolve
Reading major disputes that cannot be solved at the lower levels.
 The dubushas assembly has three hierarchies: 1) the dere
We have seen some similarities between the Oromo Gaada and the dubusha (at the top), sub-dere dubusha (at the middle), and
Gedeo Baalle system. This is a good example of cross-cultural guta/neighborhood dubusha (at the village level).
similarities in Ethiopia. Similarities are also observed in the naming of  Minor cases and disputes are resolved by the dere cima, council of
indigenous institutions. Several ethnic groups use a similar term elders. Like the Oromo Gada and the Gedeo Baalle, the indigenous
with slight variations to refer to their respective customary law: governance of the Gamo is embedded in the Gamo belief system. It
Seera (Oromo), Sera (Sidama), Serra (Siltie),Getachew Senishaw. is believed that telling a lie and hiding the truth are considered as
(2014).Gorden asera (Soddo Gurage), Senago sera (Mesqan violation of taboo, which would lead to spiritual pollution and
Gurage), and Seera(Gedeo). then misfortunes including lack of fertility, illness, and death of
human beings and livestock.
Read more on these issues and share your findings in class discussions. Now, let us shift to indigenous institutions of conflict resolution and
Reflect your views on the following questions. peacemaking. Now let us shift to indigenous institutions of conflict
resolution.
 What does the similarity between Gaada and the Gedeo Baalle
system indicate? 6.2 Intra and inter-ethnic conflict resolution institutions

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 Preference and respect for elders known for their qualities

 Conflicts and disputes exist in every society and community. including experience in dispute resolution; knowledge of
Conflicts may arise between individuals, groups and communities customary laws, procedures, norms and values of the society;
within the same ethnic group. In some cases conflicts may involve impartiality, respect for rules and people; the ability of listening
groups from different ethnic background. and speaking politely; honesty and tolerance.
 Peoples across Ethiopian regions have indigenous institutions and  Indigenous dispute resolution practices focus on restoring social
mechanisms of conflict resolution and peacemaking. These relationships, harmony, and peaceful coexistence.
institutions are parts of indigenous systems of governance.  Indigenous justice systems also have differences in terms of
Major features of customary justice systems, institutions, and practices hierarchies, procedures and level of complexities. For example,
are discussed in this section. As Ethiopia is a big multicultural country,  In some cultural settings, conflict resolution mechanisms
we need to discuss these issues taking some examples. You, as a involve several hierarchies and complicated procedures;
student, are expected to read different materials and discuss issues with  The compositions and responsibilities of council of elders also
your classmates to expand your knowledge. vary from society to society. For example, different types of
elders address different forms of disputes in some cultural
There are different indigenous institutions of conflict resolution and settings; whereas the same body of elders deals with various
peacemaking across regions and cultures in Ethiopia. Authors use types of disputes in other settings.
different terms to discuss these indigenous institutions. The following
are some of them: customary dispute resolution mechanisms; traditional Reading
mechanisms of conflict resolution; grassroots justice systems; and
customary justice institutions. To get more information, see books Getachew Assefa and Alula Pankhurst (2008) have outlined ten major
edited by Alula Pankhurst and Getachew Assefa (2008) and Gebre Y., characteristics of indigenous dispute resolution in Ethiopia. Public
Fekade A. and Assefa F. (2011). In this module, we use indigenous participation, voluntary and consensual proceedings, and forgiveness
institutions of conflict resolution and customary/indigenous justice and compensation are among the major features listed by the authors.
systems interchangeably. Read the last chapter Grassroots Justice in Ethiopia (2008) edited by
Alula Pankhurst and Getachew Assefa take note on major characteristics
 Study findings reveal variations and similarities among of indigenous dispute resolution; their advantages and limitations in
indigenous institutions of conflict resolution in Ethiopia. Ethiopia.
Indigenous justice institutions and mechanisms share several  Indigenous/customary justice institutions have been widely used
common aspects including the following: across Ethiopian regions and cultures. With some exceptions,
customary justice institutions include three major components.
 High involvement of elders at different stages of conflict The three components are 1) customary laws, 2) council of elders,
resolution and peacemaking process. and 3) customary courts or assemblies.

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 Customary law: it refers to a body of rules, norms, and a set of  Do you think that it is due to similarities in culture and language?
moral values that serve as a wider framework for human
conduct and social interactions. The Sera of the Sidama, the  Customary courts are public assemblies that serve two major
dere woga of the Gamo, the Seera Addaa of the Oromo; purposes: (a) hearing, discussing and settling disputes, and (b)
Gordena Sera of Kestane Gurage are examples of customary revising, adapting, and making laws.
laws. In most cases, customary laws are available orally. Some
customary laws are published in recent years. For example, the As noted above, in most cases, indigenous justice systems in Ethiopia
Sebat Bet Gurage published their customary law named Kitcha: embrace three major structures: customary laws, customary courts, and
The Gurage Customary Law in 1998. Similarly, Kistane/Sodo council of elders. Let us summarize the Gamo customary justice system
Gurage has a written version of customary law known as to portray the three major structures. The customary justice system of
Gordena Shengo. the Gamo people of Southern Ethiopia has the following branches: 1)
Dere Woga, customary laws, 2) Dere Cima, council of elders, and 3)
 Council of elders: It is the second important institution of Dubusha, customary courts or assemblies.
customary justice systems. The council of elders embraces
highly respected and well-experienced community members The three structures of Gamo customary justice system
who have detail knowledge of the customary laws. Members of
the elder’s council are also known for their personal qualities  The Dere Woga: It is a comprehensive body of rules and
such as truthfulness and experience in settling conflicts. Elders procedures that govern a wide range of issues including
often serve their communities on voluntary basis without any inheritance, property ownership, marriage and divorce, conflict
payment. The number of the elders varies based on the nature of resolution and gender division of labor.
the case. The institution of council of elders has different names  The Dere Cima: Literally, dere cima means elders of the
in various ethnic groups: Yehager Shimagile (Amhara), Jaarsaa land/country. It includes notable and respected elders
Biyyaa (Oromo), Hayyicha (Gedeo), Guurtii (Somali), Dere experienced in resolving disputes. Elders serving in dispute
Cima (Gamo), Deira Cimma (Wolayita), and Cimuma (Burji). resolution are expected to have a sound knowledge of the
customary laws, norms and values of the community.
 Dubusha: it is customary courts. Dere dubusha, the biggest
Reflect your view on the following questions customary court in a given Gamo community, has two major
functions: (a) hearing, discussing and resolving disputes, and
The last three ethnic groups use similar terms to refer to council of (b) revising and making laws. In most Gamo communities, the
elders: Dere Cima (Gamo), Deria Cimma (Wolayita), and Cimuma structure of the customary courts has three levels: Guta
(Burji). dubusha, at the village level; sub-dere dubusha, at the kebele
level; and dere dubusha at the higher level. Cases would be
 How do you explain this similarity? heard at the guta dubusha level, if not settled, referred to the

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second and third level of the structure. According to the  Rely on respect for elders, the tradition of forgiveness, transferring
indigenous belief, dere dubusha is a sacred place where compensations, embedded in indigenous beliefs
supernatural power exists. It is a place where curses are uttered
in its name; justice is delivered; and important assemblies are Limitations of customary justice institutions
held. Dubushas are places where truth prevails. Misconducts  Limitations related to protecting and safeguarding women’s rights.
such as telling a lie during dubusha assemblies are considered Indigenous justice institutions are dominated by men. For example,
as transgression of taboos, which in turn would bring the council of elders is not open to elderly women. Women are
misfortunes to individuals and communities. Customary courts excluded from participation at customary courts and assemblies
are easily accessible as each Gamo community has several with a few exceptions.
customary courts [Sources: Temesgen Minwagaw 2011;  Indigenous institutions of dispute resolution and peacemaking are
Getaneh Mehari 2016]. effective to resolve dispute and restore peace within the same ethnic
group. Their potential in resolving inter-ethnic conflicts and
 Strengths and limitations of customary justice systems/institutions restoring long-lasting peace is very limited.

Study findings indicate that indigenous institutions of dispute resolution Elders of neighboring ethnic groups work together in times of inter-
have strengths and limitations. Some of their strengths and limitations ethnic conflicts and settle disputes. However, indigenous institutions of
are outlined below. conflict resolution have limitations in restoring long-lasting peace when
conflicts occur between parties from two or more ethnic groups.
Strengths of customary justice institutions
 How do you explain this problem?
 Incur limited cost in terms of time and resources/money; elders do  Is there a possibility of crafting hybrid institutions to resolve
not request payment for their services; fines and compensation are disputes occurring between different ethnic groups? Discuss this issue
relatively small; among your classmates.
 Conflict resolution process are held in public spaces in the
community; different parties (victims, offenders and community 6.3 Inter-ethnic conflict resolution
members) participate in the process; decisions are communicated
in public; As noted above, one of the weaknesses of indigenous institution of
 Decisions are easily enforced through community-based sanctions peacemaking is their limitation in resolving inter-ethnic conflicts.
including social exclusion; compliance ensured through blessings However, there are some example of inter- ethnic conflict resolution
and the threat of curses; institutions in some parts of Ethiopia. Abbo Gereb is one of the
 Customary systems aimed at restoring community cohesion, indigenous institutions that address inter-ethnic conflicts. It is a dispute
social relations, collective spirit and social solidarity resolution institution in Rayya and Wajirat district, Southern Tigray.
Abbo Gereb, literally means the father of the river Gerewo. Abbo Gereb

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serves to settle disputes between individuals or groups from highland

Tigray and lowland Afar. Conflict between the two groups often arises 3 Shimeles Gizaw and Taddese Gessese. (2008).
because of dispute over grazing land or water resources, particularly in 4 Alula Pankhurst and Getachew Assefa. (2008).
dry season. When conflict arises between parties from two ethnic
groups, notable elders from Tigray and Afar come together to resolve  The elderly have been playing an important role in settling disputes
the dispute and restore peaceful relations. Most of the elders involved in and restoring peace. Their words and instructions were highly
inter-ethnic conflict resolutions are bilingual: speaking Tigrigna and respected across cultures in Ethiopia. Intra and inter-ethnic
Afar. conflicts have become common in our country in recent years.

Ethnographic findings also reveal the existence of inter- - What do you think are the causes of these conflicts?
ethnic conflict resolution mechanisms when conflicts arise between - Is it related to the decline of respect for the elderly in recent times?
Afar, Issa, Tigrayans and Argobba. The mechanisms of inter-ethnic - Or has the culture of peaceful coexistence deteriorated?
disputes have different names. It is called Xinto among the Afar,
Edible among the Issa, Gereb among the Tigrayans, and Aboroge One of the limitations of customary justice systems, as noted above, is
among the Amhara.??????? the marginalization of women. In most cases, indigenous institutions of
conflict resolution are dominated by men. This does not mean that
Although we have some studies on indigenous institutions of inter- women are completely excluded from conflict resolution and
ethnic conflict resolution, this area is not well-studied. peacemaking activities. Three examples that illustrate the role of women
 Do you know institutions/mechanisms of conflict resolution that in conflict resolution and peacemaking are outlined below. Read them
address inter-ethnic conflicts? Bring your experience and knowledge to and discuss issues related to women’s role in peacemaking in Ethiopia.
class discussion!

6.4 Women’s role in conflict resolution and peacemaking Women’s peacemaking sticks

Ethiopian women participate in the process of dispute settlement in Sidama women have two instruments of power: the Yakka and
exceptional cases. For example, in some cultures, women participate in the Siqqo. The Yakka is women’s association or unity group.
dispute settlement processes when cases are related to marriage and The Siqqo is a stick that symbolizes peace and women
women’s issues. Despite this weaknesses, women are not completely honor. The Siqqo and the Yakka are closely associated.
excluded for indigenous systems of governance, conflict resolution, Mobilizing the Yakka and holding the Siqqo, Sidama women
and peacemaking activities. In some societies, women use their own stand for their customary rights. They do this, for example,
institutions to exercise power, protect their rights, and actively when a woman is beaten up by her husband or a pregnant
participate in peacemaking activities. The next section discusses the role woman is mistreated. For example, if a man prohibits his wife
of women in conflict resolution and peacemaking from Yakka participation, the women group imposes a fine on

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him. The fine could be an ox. If a woman is ill- treated by her Women in many regions of Ethiopia play an important role in
husband, the Yakka leader (known as Qaritte) mobilizes the peacemaking. Agnuak women have a peacemaking institution known as
Yakka and leads them to the house of the man. The husband Don Kachel (IIRR, 2009, p. 28)6. Literally, Don Kachel means ‘let us
would not have a choice when he is surrounded by the Yakka all live in peace’. It involves a peace-making movement initiated by
holding their Siqqo shouting and singing. If he is found guilty, Jaye, a group of wise and elderly Agnuak women. The Jaye start a
the man would be forced to slaughter a sheep and give part of it peace-making movement based on information gathered through
to the Yakka. Sidama women also use their Siqqo to make women’s networking. The Jaye gather information about potential
peace between quarrelling parties. Oromo women also have a conflicts from different sources, including gossips spread in the
peace stick called Sinqee. Sinqee serves the purpose of community. The Jaye quickly act upon receiving information about, for
protecting women’s rights and making peace. Quarrelling men example, a heated argument that could lead to conflict and fighting. The
stop fighting when a woman stands between them holding her Jaye call the disputing parties for a meeting to settle the dispute. A few
Sinqee. neutral observers will also be invited to monitor the process of the
meeting. After examining the arguments of the two parties, the Jaye give
International Institute of Rural Reconciliation, (IIRR) 2009. their verdict. The party that caused the conflict request for forgiveness
in public and pay some compensation. A sheep or goat is slaughtered
The function of women’s peacemaking institutions such as Siqqo has after the conflict resolved; the meat is cooked and shared by
been declining. There are attempts to renew these institutions. The participants of the meeting. Finally the Jaye would announce the
Walda Sinqee Association was established to promote the use of the meeting is over, the problem resolved, using these words ‘Now let us all
Sinqee as a means of conflict resolution. The Association provides other live in peace together!’ The practice of Don Kachel is currently being
services to women: refugee centers for abused women, legal and adopted by other ethnic groups including the Nuer, Mejenger, Opo, and
financial support, and capacity building trainings. Sinqee associations Komo.
are now recognized and supported by women’s affairs and culture and
tourism offices in Oromia. 6 International Institute of Rural Reconciliation (IIRR) 2009

Is strengthening women’s institutions important to foster The role of women as mothers has been highly respected in Ethiopia. At
peacemaking in Ethiopia? times of potential conflict, women, bearing their breast, would say the
Do you know other women’s peacemaking institutions in other parts following to stop conflicts: ‘please stop quarreling for the sake of my
of Ethiopia? Discuss this issue in some detail breast that feeds you!’Women use powerful words such as ‘batebahuh
tutie’ in Amharic speaking areas to influence quarrelling individuals.
Younger people used to respect the words of mothers and the elderly.

Don Kachel: Agnuak women peacemaking institution  What do you observe in today’s Ethiopia?
 How far the youth respect words of mothers and parents?

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 How do younger people respond to advice of the elderly?

 Where are we heading in this regard? Reflect your views on the following questions

Women’s institution of reconciliation: Raya-Azebo, Tigray  What do you think about the contribution of the Debarte in
avoiding revenge and making peace?
Elderly and highly respected women in a village in Raya-Azebo, Tigray  Do you know other women’s institutions involved in making peace?
established a reconciliation institution called the Debarte. The Debarte  Do you think that women could play an important role in
plays an important role in avoiding harms associated with the culture of peacemaking in the current situation of Ethiopia?
revenge. A man may kill another man in a fight. The incident would
trigger the feeling of revenge among male relatives of the murdered 6.5 Legal pluralism: interrelations between customary, religious and
man. In such a tense situation, the wife of the killer requests for the state legal systems
Debarte intervention. The Debarte quickly start their intervention to stop
the act of revenge. The Debarte instruct the murderer’s wife to gathering Legal pluralism is an important concept in disciplines that study legal
her female relatives together. The wife and her female relatives get issues.
ready wearing their netela upside down and covering their hair with  It refers to the existence of two or more legal or justice systems
black cloths to show their grief and regret. After these preparations, the in a given society or country. Legal pluralism indicates the co-
Debarte lead the female relatives of the killer to the home of the existence of multiple legal systems working side-by-side in the
murdered man. The women cry loudly while walking to their same society. Legal pluralism is evident in the Ethiopian context.
destination. As they come near to the home of the killed person, they Multiple legal institutions, including customary laws and courts,
utter the following words: state laws and courts, and religious laws and courts (e.g., the Sharia
‘Abyetye ezgio!’ ‘Abyetye ezgio!’ ‘Oh God help us! God help us! Law) work side-by-side in most parts of the country. The FDRE
Upon their arrival at the compound of the victim, the Debarte kneel Constitution provides ample space for religious and customary laws
down and cover their heads with the dust of the compound. They beg and courts to address personal and family cases. The following two
the relatives/family of the murdered man to give up revenge and Articles show this reality.
consider forgiveness. Initially, the relatives may not respond to the
request; however, they will change their mind and open the door to  In accordance with provisions to be specified by law, a law
show their consent for reconciliation. After persuading the victim’s giving recognition to marriage concluded under systems of
relatives to give up revenge, the Debarte give the way for elders who religious or customary laws may be enacted (Article 34(4).
start the peace-making process.  Religious and customary courts that had state
recognition and functioning prior to the adoption of the
Constitution shall be organized on the basis of recognition
accorded to them by the Constitution. (Article 78(5))

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 Legal pluralism is a pervasive phenomenon in Ethiopia. This is devised different institutions and mechanisms to control, manage and
because a single legal system does not have a capability to address resolve conflicts in order to maintain peace and social order. In this unit,
all legal cases and maintaining peace and order. you have also discussed the role of women and women’s institutions in
calming quarrelling parties and making peace is also presented and
Hence, the following justice institutions work side-by-side in most parts discussed. You will have more discussion on indigenous knowledge
of the country, especially in remote and rural areas: state/formal justice systems in the next unit.
institutions, customary justice institutions, and religious courts. The
following figure shows the formal and customary justice institutions 6.7 Assessment Techniques:
working side-by-side in one of the districts in Gamo zone.
The assessment methods to be used in this unit include; quiz, group
Three elements are portrayed in the figure above: assignment, individual assignments, administering different
1) State justice institutions: state law, districts court, and the police; examinations and mandatory reading assignments.
2) Customary institutions: dere woga/customary law,
dubusha/customary court, and dere cima/council of elders; and
3) Social court attached to each kebele administration. The picture will
be more complex if we add religious courts such as the Sharia court
which is very important in regions such as Afar, Somali, and Harari

Reflect your views on the following questions

What are the advantages and disadvantages of legal pluralism (having
multiple justice/legal systems/institutions)?
 Do you think that state justice institutions and customary justice
institutions support each other to maintain peace and order?

Discuss these and related issues among your classmates.

6.6 Unit Summary

Dear students, this unit discusses issues related to institutions of UNIT SEVEN
indigenous/local governance, conflict resolution and peacemaking. We
cannot completely avoid conflicts in the social world. Societies have 7. Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Practices

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7.1. Definition of concepts

Study Hours: 8 Face to Face Hours
7.1.1. Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)
Dear Students!
 IKS is defined as technical insight of wisdom gained and developed
You have discussed customary and local governance systems and by people in a particular locality through years of careful
peacemaking in Chapter 6. In this chapter, you will discuss issues observation and experimentation with the phenomena around them.
related to indigenous knowledge systems and practices. The chapter  IKS is not just a set of information that is in the minds of the
discusses who indigenous peoples are and their knowledge; special people, which can be simply taped and applied. It is accessible by
features of indigenous peoples; significances of indigenous knowledge; recall and practice (Mangetane, 2001).
indigenous knowledge and development; preservation, challenges and  IKS is embodied in culture and is described as an integrated
limitations of indigenous knowledge; and the erosion of indigenous pattern of human knowledge, beliefs and behavior. It consists of
knowledge systems. Dear students, as this is modular course, your active language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools,
participation is of vital importance. techniques, artifacts, rituals, ceremonies, folklores and gender.
This culture is passed down from one generation to the next
Contents of the Unit: generation and generally it provides a holistic view of how to use
natural resources based on traditional ethical perspectives (Atteh,
In this part of this module, we will explore more about indigenous 1991).
knowledge systems (IKS). The conceptualizations of IKSs starting from  Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) refer to a body of empirical
definitional concerns to scholarly agreed up on features and the knowledge and beliefs handed down through generations of long-
development, significance and preservation of indigenous knowledge time inhabitants of a specific locale, by cultural transmission, about
will be highlighted. Finally, analysis is made on the challenges the relationship of living beings with each other and their
associated with the decline and erosion of indigenous knowledge. environment (Warren 1991).

Unit Learning Outcomes: In sum, IKS refers to “a total of knowledge and practices, whether
explicit or implicit, used in the management of socioeconomic,
Up on the successful completion of this unit, you will be able to: ecological and spiritual facets of life (Hoppers, 2005:2) stored in the
collective memory and communicated orally among members of the
 Identify who indigenous people are, and their knowledge community and to the future generations [through, stories, myth,
 Describe the significances of indigenous knowledge songs, etc].
 State the challenges facing indigenous knowledge
 Suggest viable ways of promoting and protecting IK 7.1.2. Indigenous peoples and Indigenous Knowledge

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Indigenous peoples definitions. Being indigenous is about “continuity of habitation,

aboriginality, and often a ‘natural’ connection to the land”
 In international context, while the term ‘indigenous’ is understood (Clifford 1997[1994]:287). For example, in the cosmology of
(mostly by Europeans) as being similar or synonym to ‘traditional’, Native Hawaiians the land is an ancestor who gave birth to
‘aboriginal’, ‘vernacular’, ‘African’, ‘Black’, and ‘native Hawaiians (Trask 1999). Thus, the relationship to the land is a form
American’, the phrase ‘indigenous people' refers to a specific of kinship. There is a sense of stewardship and of duty to not only
group of people occupying a certain geographic area for many use the resources that the land gives for sustenance, but to do what
generations (Loubser, 2005). each generation can to perpetuate the health and fertility of the land.
 Indigenous people possess, practice and protect a total sum of
knowledge and skills constitutive of their meaning, belief systems,  Academic definitions focus on the following elements of indigenous
livelihood constructions and expression that distinguish them identity: living in tradition-based cultures, having political
from other groups (Dondolo, 2005; Nel, 2005). autonomy prior to colonialism, and seeking to preserve cultural
integrity in the present (Corntassel, 2003). They also recognize the
However, the concept “indigenous” is a social and historical construct role of land to indigenous peoples—noting that they are descended
with high political, social, and economic stakes. Definitions of from inhabitants of the land they occupy (ibid).
indigenous in international governing organizations (IGOs), in
indigenous communities, and in the academic literature are highly In 1986, however, a working definition of Indigenous peoples was
contested. offered by the UN Working Group on Indigenous Issues,
The World Bank's definition of indigenous peoples includes close developed within the comprehensive Study by Martinez Cobo .J on
attachment to ancestral territories and the natural resources in them; the problem of discrimination against indigenous populations.
presence of customary social and political institutions; economic
systems primarily oriented to subsistence production; an indigenous According to this definition:
language, often different from the predominant language; and self- Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which,
identification and identification by others as members of a distinct having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial
cultural group (The world Bank in Corntassel, 2003:86). societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct
from other sectors of the societies now prevailing on those territories, or
parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society
 Indigenousness, as defined by indigenous peoples, focuses on the and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future
relationship with the community in which they live. In each generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the
definition the distinction between the communities is cited. Both basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with
definitions also highlight the relationship of indigenous peoples to their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems
the power structure within the state, noting that indigenous groups (MartinezCobo, 1982).
are disadvantaged or lack control. Territory is also essential in the

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In sum, despite the lack of an authoritative / formal universal definition region at the time when people of different cultures or ethnic origins
for the concept of indigenous peoples, the United Nations Permanent arrived. The new arrivals later became dominant through conquest,
Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) sets outs distinguishing features occupation, settlement or other means (UNPFII fact sheet, n.d.).
as a guide for the identification of indigenous peoples across the globe.
This includes the: Reflect on the following questions

 Self- identification as Indigenous peoples at the individual  Can you list some of the distinguishing features Indigenous peoples?
level and accepted by the community as their member;  Where and how do you think IK is stored and transmitted from one
 Historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler generation to the next?
societies;  How do the term ‘indigenous’ is understood by the western world?
 Strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources;
 Distinct social, economic or political systems; Indigenous Knowledge (IK)
 Distinct language, culture and beliefs;
 Formation of non-dominant groups of society; and Literature on indigenous knowledge does not provide a single definition
 Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral of the concept. This is in part due to the differences in background and
environments and systems as distinctive peoples and perspectives of the authors, ranging from social anthropology to
communities (UNPFII, n.d. Available agricultural engineering
from:https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/5session
_factsheet1.pdf.).  According to Warren, indigenous knowledge is the local knowledge
– knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. Since every
Regarding their number, it is estimated that there are approximately 370 population is unique in terms of its environment, its resources, and
million indigenous peoples live in some 90 countries across the world its tools (both physical and conceptual), IK will also be unique.
(Bartlett, 2007). While they constitute 5 per cent of the world’s  IK contrasts with the international knowledge system generated by
population, they make up 15 per cent of the world’s disadvantaged. Of universities, research institutions and private firms. It is the basis for
the 7,000 languages in the world today, it is estimated that more than local-level decision making in agriculture, health care, food
4,000 are spoken by the indigenous peoples (Edmund Jan Osmanczyk preparation, education, natural-resource management, and a host of
ed., 1990). Practicing their respective unique traditions, indigenous other activities in rural communities .(Warren, 1991).
people retain social, cultural, economic and political characteristics  For Kwaku and Morena (2010), IK is a unique local knowledge to a
which are distinct and different from those of the larger societies in given culture or society. IK exists in rural and urban societies as
which they live (Bahar , 2010). part of life that their livelihood depends on specific skills and
knowledge for survival.
Spread across the world from the Arctic to the South Pacific, they are  The World Bank refers IK as a large body of knowledge and skills
the descendants -- of those who inhabited a country or a geographical which is developed outside the formal system including

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development planning, environmental assessment, resource Ellen and Harris (1996) identified the following special features of
management, local conservation of biological resources, and indigenous knowledge that distinguish it broadly from other knowledge.
conflict resolution (World Bank, 1998). As to them IK is:

IK has different but closely related names such as 'folk knowledge', 1. Local, in that it is rooted in a particular community and situated
'local knowledge or wisdom', 'non-formal knowledge', 'culture', within broader cultural traditions; it is a set of experiences generated by
'indigenous technical knowledge', 'traditional ecological knowledge’, people living in those communities. Separating the technical from the
'traditional knowledge', and others. All these terms have similar non-technical, the rational from the non-rational could be problematic.
concepts and refer to how members of a community perceive and Therefore, when transferred to other places, there is a potential risk of
understand their environment and resources, particularly the way dislocating IK.
they convert those resources through labor(Akabogu, 2002).
2. Tacit knowledge and, therefore, not easily codify able.
In sum, indigenous knowledge is the knowledge that people in a given
community have developed over time, and that continues to develop. It 3. Transmitted orally, or through imitation and demonstration.
is based on experience, often tested over centuries of use, adapted to Codifying it may lead to the loss of some of its properties.
local culture and environment, dynamic and changing 4. Experiential rather than theoretical knowledge. Experience and trial
(International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, IIRR, 1996). and error, tested in the rigorous laboratory of survival of local
communities constantly reinforce IK.

5. Learned through repetition, which is a defining characteristic of

Reflect on the following questions tradition even when new knowledge is added. Repetition aids in the
 Who are indigenous people? retention and reinforcement of IK.
 What is indigenous Knowledge?
6. Constantly changing, being produced as well as reproduced,
discovered as well as lost; though it is often perceived by external
observers as being somewhat static

Reflect on the following questions

7.1.3. Special Features of Indigenous Knowledge
 Can you list some of the distinguishing features Indigenous
peoples?

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 Where and how do you think IK is stored and transmitted from composed of technologies, rules, information, approaches, and
one generation to the next? relationships that are vital to sustainable development'' (Kalawole,
2001).
7.2 Significance of indigenous knowledge
 Over the years, IKS authorities (elders) make local rules to protect
Until relatively recently, the development of a community’s conception important resources such as useful plants, water bodies, stone
of knowledge was influenced primarily by the philosophy and methods terracing, agro-forestry, watersheds and rivers, food preservations,
of western science. “Few, outside of some anthropologists and conflict management, calendar, fallowing as a soil regeneration
historians recognized that there are numerous sciences embedded practice, etc. According to Paula Puffer Paula (1995), indigenous /
in cultures of other peoples and civilizations throughout the world local knowledge can help find the best solution to a development
(Davies, S. and Ebbe, K., editors, 1995). challenges. For example, familiarity with local knowledge can help
extensionists and researchers understand and communicate better
Today, however, both scholars and public policy makers are recognizing with local people.
the importance of various local or culture-based knowledge systems in
addressing the pressing problems of development and the environment” In general, indigenous knowledge is an important part of the lives of the
(ibid). poor. IK is a key element of the “social capital” of the poor; their main
asset to invest in the struggle for survival, to produce food, to provide
 Indigenous knowledge is important in that people in a community for shelter or to achieve control of their own lives. Furthermore, one
value whatever resource they get from the environment through cannot overlook indigenous knowledge’s ability to provide effective
sustainable production systems. These communities are conscious alternatives to Western know-how. IK offers local people and their
of the need to self-reliant in capital stocks and management development workers further options in designing new projects or
skills ( Mangetane et al, 2001). addressing specific problems and wider disasters. Instead of relying on
imported Western technologies, people in the developing nations can
 The knowledge of local people is an enabling component of choose from readily available indigenous knowledge or, where
development. In this regard; a large percentage of the earth's genetic appropriate, combine indigenous and Western technology.
diversity has been maintained and managed through farmer's IKS
(Dewes, 1993). However, it is important to note that not all indigenous practices are
 Indigenous knowledge systems enable people to develop strategies beneficial to the sustainable development of a local community; and not
for handling household and communal activities (Mangetane et al., all IK can a priori provide the right solution for a given problem.
2001). For example in Ethiopia Debo and Jige are important uniting Typical examples are slash and burn agriculture and female
forces in communal activities. Members of the community unite to circumcision. Hence, before adopting IK, integrating it into
provide essential inputs, including direct labor to operations. ''This development programs, or even disseminating it, practices need to be
deployment of manpower is strongly supported by IKS, which is

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scrutinized for their appropriateness just as any other technology. (A  It increases and enhances livelihood options, revitalize agriculture,
frame work for action, 1998). increase food security, improve health and promote a sense of
cultural pride within the community (Kudzayi et al, 2013).
 Many plants currently growing wild in the ancestral domain
Reflect on the following questions produce natural dye, fiber, detergent and natural oil. Several plants
in the ancestral domain have medicinal uses. Chemical
 Why do we study indigenous knowledge? compounds of these plants could be identified for the production of
 Do you think indigenous knowledge is an important part of the organic medicine (ibid).
lives of the indigenous people? How?  ''Indigenous knowledge is used at the local level by communities as
the basis for decisions pertaining to food security, human and
7.3. Indigenous knowledge and development animal health, education, natural resources management, and
other vital activities'' (Nicolas, 2000).
Needless to mention again, indigenous knowledge refers to what  Nicolas further states that indigenous institutions, indigenous
indigenous people know and do, and what they have known and done technology, and low-cost approaches can increase the efficiency of
for generations – practices that evolved through trial and error and development programs because IK is a locally owned and managed
proved flexible enough to cope with change (Melchias, 2001). resource. Utilizing IK helps to increase the sustainability of
development efforts because the IK integration process provides for
 Indigenous knowledge passes from one generation to the next mutual learning and adaptation, which in turn contributes to the
and enable indigenous people to survive, manage their natural empowerment of local communities.
resources and the ecosystems surrounding them like animals, plants,
rivers, seas, natural environment, economic, cultural and political Since efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability are key determinants
organization. of the quality of development work, harnessing indigenous knowledge
 Knowledge of these elements form a set of interacting units known has a clear development business case. Early indications point to
as indigenous coping systems. In other words, ‘‘IK is relevant to significant improvements in development project quality, if IK is
development process such as agriculture, animal husbandry, leveraged with modern technologies. Building on IK systems also
traditional medicine, saving and credit, community development, empowers local communities. Empowerment, especially of the
poverty alleviation, and peaceful coexistence'' (Boven and poor, is a core objective of most development efforts (ibid).
Morohashi, 2002).
 According to the 1998/99 World Development Report, knowledge,
 Indigenous knowledge may help identify cost-effective and not capital, is the key to sustainable social and economic
sustainable mechanisms for poverty alleviation that are locally development. Building on local knowledge, the basic component of
manageable and meaningful. any country’s knowledge system, is the first step to mobilize such
capital.

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 As to the same report, the challenge for the development 7.4. Preservation, Challenges and Limitations of IK
community is to find better ways to learn about indigenous
institutions and practices and where necessary adapt modern Indigenous knowledge, which has generally been passed from
techniques (i.e., “global best practices”) to the local practices. Only generation to generation by word of mouth, is in danger of being lost
then will global knowledge be rendered relevant to the local unless it is formally documented and preserved (Amare, 2009). The
community needs. The key factor in the adaptation process is the future of IK, that reflects many generations of experience and problem
involvement of those who possess indigenous knowledge. A study solving by thousands of indigenous people across the globe, is uncertain
of 121 rural water projects in 49 countries found that 70 percent (Warren, 2004).
succeeded when the intended beneficiaries participated in project
design, compared to 10 percent success rate among programs where  The loss of IK would impoverish society because, just as the world
they did not. needs genetic diversity of species, it needs diversity of knowledge
systems (Labelle, 1997). The rapid change in the way of life of
In sum, indigenous knowledge is the knowledge that helps a society local communities has largely accounted for the loss of IK.
make decisions about activities, such as agriculture and education, Younger generations underestimate the utility of IK systems
that are acceptable to their life ways. Indigenous knowledge, along because of the influence of modem technology and education
with western- based knowledge; helps create development solutions that (Ulluwishewa, 1999).
are culturally acceptable by the community. In the past, such knowledge
has been ignored and development solutions have been created that were  If IK is not recorded and preserved, it may be lost and remain
not economically feasible or culturally acceptable by the local inaccessible to other indigenous systems as well as to development
community. When western scientific ideas are paired with indigenous workers. Development projects cannot offer sustainable solutions to
knowledge systems, researchers going overseas or working with local local problems without integrating local knowledge (Warren, 1991).
communities can prepare an initial development plan that has a
complete picture (Puffer, 1995). "Since IK is essential to development, it must be gathered, organized
and disseminated, just like Western knowledge''(Agrawal, 1995 in
71998/99 World development Report: Knowledge for Development. Amare, 2009). As IK is the key to local-level development, ignoring
people’s knowledge leads possibly to failure. Similarly, ''one should not
Reflect on the following questions expect all the expertise for third world development to come from
Can you list some of the major features of IK? List the different but developed nations, academic institutions, multinational corporations or
closely related names of IK. NGOs'' (Amare, 2009). In the face of dwindling resources available to
African countries, and noting that even the industrialized nation
governments cannot provide for all the needs of the people, it has been
suggested that IK, and the technical expertise developed there from
become vital tools for rural development(Atte, 1989).

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Regarding the challenges and limitations of IK, Amare (2009) states that indigenous peoples have also committed environmental sins’
the following: through over-grazing, over-hunting, or over-cultivation of the land.
It is misleading to think of IK as always being ‘good’, ‘right or
Although the knowledge of indigenous communities has been found to ‘sustainable’.
be very useful, the, exploitation of natural resources, and increased
competition for employment, has set off a problematic chain of events.  Quite often the overlooked feature of IK, which needs to be taken
This modernization has influenced indigenous traditional spread of into account, is that, like scientific knowledge, sometimes the
industrialization threatens the preservation and continued development knowledge which local people rely on is wrong or even harmful.
of IK systems (Sherpa, 2005). Industrialization, along with its attendant Practices based on, for example, mistaken beliefs, faulty
processes of urbanization African which generates IK and practices can experimentation, or inaccurate information can be dangerous and
break down. Added to this is the commercial society in many ways and may even be a barrier to improving the wellbeing of indigenous
Ethiopia is no exception. people.

 IK can also be eroded by wider economic and social forces.  Doubleday (2003) pointed out that knowledge is power, so
Pressure on indigenous peoples to integrate with larger societies is individuals are not always willing to share knowledge among
often great and, as they become more integrated, the social themselves, or with outsiders. Knowledge is a source of status and
structures pressure by multinational agrochemical companies eager income (as is the case, for example, with an herbalist) and is often
to break into new markets (Thrupp, 1989). As Grenier (1998) puts jealously guarded. A related issue is that some indigenous peoples
it: “the growth of national and international markets, the imposition fear that their IK will be misused, and lacking the power to prevent
of educational and religious systems and the impact of various such abuses, they choose to keep quiet.
development processes are leading more and more to the
“homogenization” of the world’s cultures. Consequently, Reflect your views on the following questions
indigenous beliefs, values, customs, know-how and practices may
be altered and the resulting knowledge base incomplete.  How can we preserve IK?
 Why IK is considered as an important part of the lives of
As with scientific knowledge, (Amare, 2009), IK has the following the indigenous peoples?
limitations and drawbacks and these must be recognized as well:  Do you think as with scientific knowledge, IK has limitations?
How?
 IK is sometimes accepted uncritically because of naive notions that
whatever indigenous people do is naturally in harmony with the
environment. Thrupp (1989) argues that we should reject
“romanticized and idealistic views of local knowledge and
traditional societies”. There is historical and contemporary evidence

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7.5. The Erosion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)  More and more knowledge is being lost as a result of the disruption
of traditional channels of oral communication. Neither children nor
Despite the fact that some IK is lost naturally as techniques and tools are adults spend as much time in their communities anymore (for
modified or fall out of use, the recent and current rate of loss is example, some people travel to the city on a daily basis to go to
accelerating because of rapid population growth, growth of international school, to look for work, or to sell farm produce; many young
markets, educational systems, environmental degradation, and people are no longer interested in, or do not have the opportunity
development processes — pressures related to rapid modernization and for, learning traditional methods). It is harder for the older
cultural homogenization (Louise Grenier, 1998). Below, some generation to transmit their knowledge to young people.
examples are given by Grenier to illustrate these mechanisms:  As IK is transmitted orally, it is vulnerable to rapid change —
especially when people are displaced or when young people acquire
 With rapid population growth—often due to in-migration or values and lifestyles different from those of their ancestors.
government relocation schemes in the case of large development  Farmers traditionally maintained their indigenous crop varieties by
projects, such as dams — standards of living may be compromised. keeping household seed stocks and by obtaining seed through
With poverty, opportunities for short-term gain are selected over traditional family and community networks and through
environmentally sound local practices. With increasing levels of exchanges with nearby communities. Some of these traditional
poverty, farmers, for example, may also have less time and fewer networks have been disrupted or no longer exist.
resources to sustain the dynamic nature of IK systems through their  In the past, outsiders (for example, social, physical, and agricultural
local experiments and innovations. scientists, biologists, colonial powers) ignored or maligned IK,
 The introduction of market-oriented agricultural and forestry depicting it as primitive, simple, static, “not knowledge,” or
practices focused on mono- cropping is associated with losses in IK folklore. This historic neglect (regardless of its cause —
and IK practices, through losses in biodiversity and cultural racism, ethnocentrism, or modernism, with its complete faith in the
diversity. For instance, policies promoting generic rice and wheat scientific method) has contributed to the decline of IK systems,
varieties devalue locally adapted species. With the ready availability through lack of use and application. This legacy is still continued, as
of many commercial foods, some biodiversity seems to become less a result of which many professionals are still skeptical (Louise
relevant, such as seed and crop varieties selected over the years for Grenier, 1998).
their long-term storage attributes. Also, in some countries, official propaganda depicts indigenous cultures
 In the short term, chemical inputs seem to reduce the need to tailor and methodologies as backward or out of date and simultaneously
varieties to difficult growing conditions, contributing to the demise promotes one national culture and one language at the expense of
of local varieties. minority cultures. Often, formal schooling reinforces this negative
 With deforestation, certain medicinal plants become more attitude. Local people’s perceptions (or misperceptions) of local species
difficult to find (and the knowledge or culture associated with the and of their own traditional systems may need to be rebuilt. Some local
plants also declines). people and communities have lost confidence in their ability to help

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themselves and have become dependent on external solutions to their ‘natural’ connection to the land. IK as a large body of knowledge and
local problems (ibid). skills which is developed outside the formal system including
development planning, environmental assessment, resource
In sum, indigenous peoples often have much in common with other management, local conservation of biological resources, and conflict
neglected segments of societies, i.e. lack of political representation and resolution characterized usually by being locally distributed and owned
participation, economic marginalization and poverty, lack of access to by communities (groups or individuals) as a tacit, repetitive, oral,
social services and discrimination. Despite their cultural differences, the usually practical and experiential and always in some form of flux.
diverse indigenous peoples share common problems also related to the The significance of IK has been being recognized by development
protection of their rights. actors and practitioners of sustainable development across all levels.
Hence, since IK is essential to development, it must be preserved as in
Reflect on the following summary questions being gathered, recorded, organized and disseminated knowledge.
Recently, however, IK is facing real multifaceted challenges related to
 What are the factors that contribute to the loss of IK? modernization schemes and cultural homogenization attempts including
 Why do the recent and current rate of loss of IK is but not exclusively of fast-tracked population growth, economic and
accelerating? market globalization, advances in educational systems, environmental
 Why do we preserve IK? degradation, and top-down development plans and programs.
 Do you think all indigenous practices are beneficial to the
sustainable development of a local community? How? 7.7. Assessment Techniques:

7.6. Unit summary The assessment methods to be used in this unit include; quiz, group
assignment, individual assignments, administering different
Dear Students! examinations and mandatory reading assignments.

In this unit we have addressed the most important concepts, aspects and
dimensions of indigenous knowledge as system of knowledge. We have
seen that Indigenous knowledge is defined as technical insight of
wisdom gained and developed by people in a particular locality through
years of careful observation and experimentation with the phenomena
around them. IKS is embodied in culture and is described as an
integrated pattern of human knowledge, beliefs and behavior. The
concept “indigenous” is a social and historical construct with high
political, social, and economic stakes… indigenous is about pre-
invasion, pre-colonial continuity of habitation, aboriginality, and often a

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