Ambo University

College of Social Sciences and

Humanities
Department of Sociology

Anthropology of Ethiopian Societies

&Cultures

04/15/2025 Tesfaye D. 1 1
 UNIT ONE

INTRODUCING ANTHROPOLOGY AND

ITS SUBJECT MATTER

2
1.1 Definition, Scope& Subject Matter of
Anthropology
1.1.1 Defining Anthropology

 Anthropology is derived from two Greek words:

 ‘anthropos’, meaning ‘human beings’ or ‘humankind’ and

 ‘logia’, means ‘the study of’ or ‘knowledge of’.

 So, anthropology is the systematic study of humankind.

 this definition does not distinguish from other disciplines.

 Anthropology is the scientific study of human beings as

social organisms, interacting with each other in their

environment. 3
 Con’t
• Humans have 2 essential characteristics: biological &
cultural;

 Human interaction & adaptation with material env’t

involves interplay between culture and biology (Kottak,
2007).

• Anthropology study humans, both biologically and

culturally, in whatever form, time period, or region of
the world.

• Anthropology can also be outlined as a science which

study:
4
 Con’t
 the products of social groups: material cultures & non-material.

 It is the holistic & comparative study of humanity (Kottak, 2007).

 Peacock (2002) argued anthropology should stress, a discipline for

understanding humankind in its many facets, holistically.

 Anthropologists share the assumption that ‘human nature’ can’t be

drawn from a single nation, society, or cultural tradition.

 It seeks to explain how & why people are both similar & d/t

through examination of our biological & cultural past &

comparative study of contemporary human societies in detail.

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 Con’t

 It is broad & dedicated to the comparative study of

humans as a group, from its first appearance on earth

to its present stage of development which made it very

broad in scope.

 Anthropology primarily offers two kinds of insight:

1. produces knowledge about the actual biological and

cultural variations in the world;

2. offers methods & theoretical perspectives enabling

practitioner to study & solve these varied expressions

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of the human condition.
 Con’t
• For Peacock (2002) anthropology’s theories are a ‘lens’
that helps to bring human life into focus.

• Its ultimate goal is to develop an integrated picture of

humankind—a goal that encompasses an almost
infinite number of questions about all aspects of our
existence.

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 1.1.2 The Historical Development of Anthropology

• Like other social sciences, anthropology is recent

discipline.

• The root of anthropology traced to ancient Greek

historical and philosophical writings about human
nature and the organization of human society.

• Anthropology has its roots in the works and ideas of

the great ancient and medieval philosophers and
social thinkers.

• They were interested in the nature, origin and

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destiny of man, variation and cultural diversity, and
 Con’t
• the writings of ancient Greek philosophers and

travellers, medieval Arab historian, medieval&

renaissance European travellers, & later European

philosophers & social thinkers, are all plausible

forerunners of anthropology.

• Historian, Herodotus (5thc BC),tried to understand

other people & cultures by travelling far, & wrote

detailed accounts of ‘other’ peoples, comparing their

customs & beliefs to those of Athens (Erikson, 2001).

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 Con’t
• The greatest historian and social philosopher of the
middle age, Ibn Khaldun (1332- 1406), provides
massive history of the Arabs and Berbers.

• Khaldun’s main achievement lies in his non-religious,

theoretical framework, where he stresses differing
forms of social cohesion (kinship & religion) as a key
variable in accounting for historical change & the rise
of new groups to power (Barnard, 2004).

• His theory were anticipated É. Durkheim’s ideas social

solidarity.
10
• During Middle Ages (5 th
to 15 th
c AD) biblical scholars
 Con’t
• In Europe, scholarly interest in cultural variation and
human nature re-emerged in the later years, as a
consequence of the new intellectual freedom of the
Renaissance and, perhaps even more importantly,
increasing European explorations and conquests of
distant lands (Ingold, 1986).

• Intellectuals such as Michel de Montaigne (16thc),

Thomas Hobbes (17thc) and Giambattista Vico (18thc),
were among the first European thinkers, who tried to
account for cultural variability and global cultural
history (Erikson, 2001). 11
 Con’t
• It was only during the 19thc that anthropology
born as an academic discipline, out of the
intellectual of Enlightenment movement that
emphasized human progress & the poser of
reason, & based on the Darwinian theory of
evolution (Ingold, 2003).

• Darwinism had a strong impact in the

discipline.

• Culture generally develops (or evolves) in12 a

 Con’t
• It was thought that most societies pass through the
same series of stages, to arrive at a common end,
where European societies were thought to be the end
product of a long dev’tal chain.

• By the late 1870s, anthropology was beginning to

emerge as a profession.

• A major impetus for its growth was the expansion of

western colonial powers & their consequent desire to
better understand the peoples living under colonial
domination (Ingold, 2003).
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• By the 19thc, anthropology developed into the primary
 Con’t
• Anthropologists of the early 1900s emphasized the
study of social and cultural differences among human
groups.

• Many of the peoples of non-western world & their

social & cultural features were studied in detail &
documented (Kottak, 2007).

• This approach is called ethnography.

• It was believed that Anthropologists study of non-

industrial societies, however, it is much more than the
study of non-industrial peoples (Eriksen, 2001). 14
 Con’t
• By the mid-1900, anthropologists attempted to discover

universal human patterns & the common bio-psychological traits

that bind all human beings by an approach called ethnology.

• Ethnology aims at the comparative understanding and analysis

of different human groups across time and space.

• Important intellectual dev’ts outside anthropology in the second

half of the 19th century such as the Darwin’s theory of natural

selection (1859) & the emergence of classic sociological theory

in the works of Comte, Marx and Tönnies, & later Durkheim, also

had a powerful impact on the dev’t of the field (Barnard, 2004).

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 Con’t
• In spite of the philosophical & scholarly efforts of the
preceding centuries & other theoretical developments,
& methodological refinements, however, it was during
the 20th century that anthropology attained its present
shape (Eriksen, 2001).

• Its emergence as the discipline known today, is

associated with four outstanding scholars, in the early
decades of the 20thc:

 Franz Boas (1858-1942) in the USA;

 A.R. Radcliffe-Brown (1881-1955), and

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 Con’t
• They may considered as the founding fathers of anthropology.

• Between them, they effected a near-total renovation of three

of the four anthropology’s national traditions -the American,

the British & the French.

• In Ethiopia, professional anthropologists have been studying

culture & society on a more intensive level since the late

1950s.

• Almost inevitably, the initial emphasis was on ethnography,

the description of specific customs, cultures and ways of life.

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 1.1.3 Subject matter and Scope of
anthropology
• Its scope and subject matter is very vast and broad; as
there is no time and space left as far as man exist.

 the temporal dimension covers the full length of

human history, prehistory, the present and even the
future.

 the spatial dimension, anthropology encompasses the

globe.

• Claude Lévi-Strauss stated “anthropology has

humanity as its object of research, but unlike other
human sciences, it grasp its object through its most
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 Con’t
• Eriksen (2001), the role of anthropology is to discover both

the uniqueness of each social and cultural setting and the

ways in which humanity is one.

• It is interested in some of the following questions and

issues:
 What makes us human?

 When, where, and how did the human species originated

and why we evolved into what we are today?

 What are we now and where are we going?

 How did we (the human species) arrive at the present

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 Con’t
 Do all people share a common human nature?If so,
what is it like?

 How do we understand the diversity of human thought,

action, & sociality across cultures? how we explain
why cultures vary?

 How have changes in culture and society influenced

and been influenced by biological change?

 In what ways do humans who live in various times and

places, differ irrespective of their commonality?

 For Tim Ingold (2003) the striking quality 20 of

 1.2 Unique Features of Anthropology

• Distinguishing features that differentiate it from other

discipline

1. Broad Scope:

 It is interested in all human beings, contemporary or

past; wherever they may be found.

2. Unique Approaches

 In its approach, anthropology is holistic, relativistic,

and comparative that it follows these unique
approaches and perspectives as a guiding principle in
studying human life. 21
 ii. Relativistic Approach
• All cultures must be viewed in its cultural context

rather than from the viewpoint of other cultures.

• No value judgment

iii. Comparative Approach

• anthropology is a comparative science it offers a

unique, cross-cultural perspective; constantly

comparing the customs of one society with those of

others (Kottak, 2007).

• Helps understand differences & similarities among

22
human beings across time & place.
 3. Emphasis on Insider Perspective
• Anthropology has made a distinction b/n the emic
perspective and the etic perspective.

• Emic perspective refers to an insider view,

which seeks to describe culture or social
behaviour in terms of the categories, concepts,
and perceptions of the people being studied.

• Etic perspective refers to an outsider view, in

which anthropologists use their own categories
and concepts to describe the culture under
23
analysis (Andreatta & Ferraro, 2010).
 4. Method of Research
• Anthropology is highly dependent on qualitative research to

understand the meaning behind any human activity .

• It recognizes most of human behaviour, people lives, culture

and social practices are not readily measurable.

• It aims to be ‘in-depth’, getting under the surface of social

life to make its underlying dynamics visible .

• It engages fully with the complexities of human ‘being’.

• Ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, in-depth &

key informant interviews & FGD are qualitative research

instruments to explore change & continuities in human

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societies .
 Con’t
• Ethnographic study consist extended fieldwork

in a particular social setting and document

realities occurring across time.

• Paying great attention to local or micro-social

processes certainly helps us to better

understand big changes in societies.

• A detailed account of an event or a

phenomenon discovers multiple realities in a

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 1.3 Misconceptions about Anthropology

• Misconceptions are held due to lack of appropriate

awareness about the nature, scope subject matter of

the discipline.

1. The area of its study.

 People usually misconceived it either as the study of

“primitive” societies or limited to study of rural areas

and rural people .

 Though it is initially emerged as a western discipline

for the study of non-western societies; it is wrong26 to

 Con’t

2. It study fossil remains of the proto-humans

species.

 It is true that anthropology is interested in the

question of the origin of modern human beings &

examines human evolution.

• However, this does not mean it is all about human

evolution.
27
 Con’t
3.The purpose of anthropological study is to keep &

preserve communities far from development and obsolete

cultural practices in museums.

 Anthropologists’ duties are to support those communities'

capacity to empower themselves in dev’t processes.

 They assist 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

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1.4 The Relationship b/n Anthropology & Other Disciplines

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 1.5 Contributions of Anthropology
• Anthropology has contributed in a number of
important ways to the scientific understanding of
humanity.

 It is very broad task ( studies all time & all parts of

the globe).

 Its holistic & comparative approaches, thus,

anthropology serves us a corrective tool to
deterministic thinking.

 Our culture is one way of life among many found

30
in
 Con’t
 Anthropology with its emphasis on people’s own
perspectives also gives us an insight into d/t ways and
modes of life of human society (social & cultural
diversity), w/h helps to understand the logic &
justification behind group behavior & cultural
practices.

 So, not only know something about other peoples of

the world, but also grasps how our everyday decisions
influences others and how others’ decisions are also
influencing ours.

 Anthropologists see what is actually occurring on 31the

 Con’t
• Due to its relativistic approach, anth. helps to be
more sensitive to & appreciative of cultural diversity
& variability.

• Due to rapid communication & interconnections,

people must recognize & show sensitivity toward the
cultural differences.

• Anthropology promotes a cross-cultural perspective

that allows to see ourselves as part of one human
family in the midst of tremendous diversity (Kottak,
2007).
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 Con’t
• It helps us to be non-judgmental, & open to new ways
of thinking.

 Anthropology may offer more pragmatic

applications.

 Anthropology is used as an important tool for

development.

• Knowledge gleaned from it enable practitioners &

policy makers to find practical solutions for dealing
with issues of cultural & ethnic diversity, &
multiculturalism & solving various societal problems.
33
 Con’t

• Anthropologists are better equipped with the knowledge, skills

& methods of identifying the needs and interests of local people

for the betterment and change of their lived experiences.

• It recognizes advantages of consulting local people to design a

culturally appropriate & socially sensitive change, & protect

local people from harmful policies and projects that threaten

them.

• Similarly, policy makers at different levels may find

anthropologists’ expertise knowledge useful in particular

subjects to formulate practical solutions to immediate social

problems .
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 Unit Two : Sub-Fields of Anthropology

 Anthropology is often divided into four major

subfields:

 Physical/Biological Anthropology,

 Archaeological Anthropology,

 Linguistic Anthropology and

 Socio-Cultural Anthropology.

 Each sub-field of anthropology is further

divided into a number of specialization areas
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 Anth. • Prehistoric
• Primatology Arch.
Anth. • Classical
• Forensic Anth. Arch.
• Human • Urban Arch.
Ecology

Physical
Anthropolog Archaeology
y

Linguistic Cultural
Anthropology Anthropology
• Structural
• Ecological
Ling.
Anthr.
• Morphology • Political Anth.
• Sociolinguistic • Urban Anth.
s

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 2.1 Archaeological Anthropology

• It studies the ways of lives of past peoples by excavating and

analyzing the material culture remains they left behind.

• Archaeologists study artifacts to get clues about values, beliefs,

and norms; the cultures of societies that existed in the past.

1. Artefacts: material remains made & used by the past peoples &

that can be taken from the site to laboratory for further analysis.

 ex. Tools, ornaments, arrowheads, coins,& fragments of pottery,….

2. Features are like artifacts, are made or modified by past people,

but they cannot be readily carried away from their site (ex. house

foundations, ancient buildings, fireplaces, steles, and postholes).

37
 Con’t
3. Eco-facts are non-artefactual, organic and
environmental remains such as soil, animal bones, and
plant remains that were not made or altered by humans;
but were used by them.
• Archaeology has also its own areas of specialties:

1. Prehistoric archaeology: investigates human

prehistory & prehistoric cultures.

2. Historic archaeologists(6,000): helps to

reconstruct the cultures of people who used writing and
about whom historical documents have been written.

3.Ethno-archaeologists: study material culture 38 of

 2.2. Linguistic Anthropology

• It generally focuses on the evolution of languages by studying

contemporary human languages as well as those of the past.

• It studies how language is used within a society, and how the

human brain acquires and uses languages.

 It studies language as a cultural resource & speaking as a

cultural practice in its social and cultural context, across space

and time.

• It is basically a system of information transmission and

reception.

• Analogous to genes that carry and transmit genetic materials to

descendants, languages hand down cultural traits from 39one

 Con’t
• Language is the most distinctive feature of being
human.

• Although animals could develop certain behaviors

through conditioning that mimic to humans, they
do not have a capacity to pass on their own
offspring.

• It gives special attention to the study of unwritten

languages.

• Language is a key to explore a culture.

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 1. Structural /Descriptive Linguistics
• Studies grammatical patterns of languages to identify
the similarities and differences among contemporary
languages.

• It examines sound systems, grammatical systems, and

the meanings attached to words in specific languages
to understand the structure and set of rules of given
language.

• It helps to compile dictionaries and grammar books for

previously unwritten languages.

• For structural linguistic anthropologist, even if there

41
are thousands of human languages, at least
 2. Ethno-linguistics (cultural

 examines the r/nship linguistics):

b/n language and culture.
 In any language, certain cultural aspects that are emphasized

(ex, types of snow among the Inuit, cows among the pastoral

Maasai, or automobiles in U.S. culture) are reflected in the

vocabulary.
 Moreover, cultural linguists explore how different linguistic

categories can affect how people categorize their experiences,

how they think, and how they perceive the world around them.

3. Historical linguistics: deals with the emergence of language

in general and how specific languages have diverged over time.

• It focuses on the comparison and classifications of different

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 4. Socio-linguistics
• It examines how the use of language to defines social

groups.

• It investigates linguistic variation within a given language.

 No language is a homogeneous system in which everyone

speaks just like everyone else.

 One reason for variation is geography, as in regional

dialects and accents.

 Linguistic variation also is expressed in the bilingualism

of ethnic groups. 43
 2.3. Socio-Cultural Anthropology

 this largest sub-field of anthropology.

• It studies contemporary societies & cultures

throughout the world

• In the past, mainly social anthropologists from

western conducted ethnographic fieldworks in non-
Western societies.

• Famous anthropologists such as EvansPritchard and

Meyer Fortes conducted ethnographic research in the
British colonies.

• Currently, socio-cultural anthropologists conduct

44
 Con’t
• Society and culture are two sides of the same coin.

• Sociocultural anthropology describes, analyzes, interprets, and

explains social, cultural and material life of contemporary human

• Socio-cultural anthropologists engage in two aspects of study:
A. Ethnography (based on field work)
 It provides a comprehensive account of a particular community,
society, or culture and describe in detail.
• It is the result of extensive field studies (usually a year or two)
in which they observes, talks to, and lives with the people.
• Anthropologists (ethnographer) gathers data that he or she
organizes, describes, analyzes, & interprets to build and present
that account, which may be in the form of a book, article, or film.
45
 Con’t
• B. Ethnology (based on cross-cultural comparison).

 Comparatively study of contemporary cultures &

societies.

• It examines, interprets, analyzes, and compares the

results of ethnographic data gathered in different
societies.

• Ethnologists seek to understand both why people today

and in the recent past differ in terms of ideas and
behavior patterns and what all cultures in the world
have in common with one another. 46
 Con’t
Ethnography Ethnology

Requires field work to Uses data collected by a

collect data series of researchers

Often descriptive Usually synthetic

Group/community Comparative/cross-
specific cultural

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 2.4 Physical/Biological Anthropology

• Physical anthropology is a branch of anthropology that

focuses on the biological aspects of human beings.
• It has sub-fields such as:
 biological anthropology,
 forensic anthropology,
 primatology,
 paleoanthropology,
 population genetics, and
 human ecology.
 There are two major areas of research in physical
anthropology:
48
 Con’t
• Research in human evolution shows that the origin of

humanity is traced back over 6 million years.

• Africa is found to be the cradle of human beings.

• East Africa, especially the Great Rift Valley, is the origin of

mankind, ex Lucy/Dinknesh (Australopithecus Afarensis).

• Physical anthropologists study how culture & environment

have influenced biological evolution and contemporary
human variations.

• Human biology affects or even explains some aspects of

behavior, society, and culture like marriage patterns, sexual
49
division of labor, gender ideology etc.
 Con’t
• The features of culture in turn have biological effects
like the standards of attractiveness, food preferences,
& human sexuality.

• Biological variations such as morphology/structure,

color, and size are reflections of changes in living
organism.

• Human biological variations are the result of the

cumulative processes of invisible changes occurring in
human life.

• These changes have been accumulated and passed

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 Con’t
• Biological variations are derived from the
interrelated effects of natural selection,
geographical isolation and genetic mutations.

• Physical anthropology is essentially concerned

with two broad areas of investigation: human
evolution and genetics.

• Human evolution is the study of the gradual

processes of simple forms into more differentiated
structures in hominid. 51
 Con’t
• Physical anthropology itself is further divided into three
special fields of study:

A. Palaeoanthropology (paleo meaning “old”) is the study

of human biological evolution through the analysis of fossil
remains from prehistoric times to determine the missing link
that connect modern human with its biological ancestors.

B. Primatology studies about primates or recent human

ancestors to explain human evolution.

• study the anatomy and social behavior of such non-human

primate species as gorillas and chimpanzees in an effort
52
to gain clues about our own evolution as a species.
 Con’t
C. Anthropometry is the study of human variations within

and among different populations in time and space, human

ecology, population genetics, etc.

 Anthropometry shades some light on how differing physical

characteristics have helped human groups adapt to different

geographical environments.

• Human genetics investigates how and why the physical

traits of contemporary human populations vary throughout

the world.

• It focuses to examine the genetic materials of an organism

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2.4.1. Evolutionary and Paleo-anthropological perspectives on
human origin

• The origins of human kind is major questions for

anthropologists.

• This theory is a unifying explanation for a variety of

phenomena.

• Anthropologists today rely on scientific views of evolution in

order to explain human origins.

• Evolution is a process and gradual change in specie over time.

• In fact, evolution is used to describe the cumulative effects of

the following three independent facts:

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1. Replication: the fact that life forms have offspring.
 Con’t
2. Variation: the fact that each offspring is slightly different

from its parents, and its siblings;

3. Selection: the fact that not all offspring survive, and those

that do tend to be the ones best suited to their environment.

 Scientists in the natural sciences contribute on the scientific

explanation of human origin & the concept of evolution.

 Charles Darwin (1809-1882) theory of natural selection in the

evolution of species and the idea of survival of the fittest.

 For him human civilization was part of the world of living

things.
 For thousands of years, biblical study(Creationist View), held
 Con’t
• But for Darwin & others, the study of humans as living is evolving

creatures in many ways not d/t from the rest of animal life.

• Today based on ample data anthropologists study humanity as

a biological phenomenon by raising questions such as:

 What species are we most and least like?
 Where and when did we first appear?
 What were our ancestors looks like?
 Can we learn about human behavior from the behavior of our
nearest relatives, the chimpanzees and gorillas?
 Is our species still evolving?
 How do modern human genetics, population growth, and other
current issues play out from a biological perspective?
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 The answer to the above questions is Evolution process
2.4.2 Anthropological perspectives on racial
types and human physical variation
• People come in many colors and shapes, ex:

 People of Mediterranean are darker-skinned than

Scandinavia, and natives of the Arctic are shorter and
stockier than the tall, lean Samburu of East Africa.
Why is this?

 Adaptation to varying environments by the same

evolutionary process that shapes all living things from
the perspective of race.

 Categorizing human by differences of colours and

57
body shapes into different categories is called races.
 Con’t
• Biologically speaking, race is a group of organisms of
the same species that share similar physical (and
genetic) attributes and specific geographic regions.

 In short, they’re subdivisions of a single species

 they can mate & have offspring that are healthy

enough to have their own offspring-exhibiting some
characteristics reflecting their geographical origins.

• Just like any other living thing, human beings adapt to

their environments through an evolutionary process.

• We survive our environments not because we’ve

58
 Con’t
• So, it should be noted that human bodies (human
beings) have adapted to certain conditions over
time.

• Adaptation is a process (behavioral or biological)

that increases the likelihood of survival for an
organism.

• An adaptation can be a mutation that confers an

advantage.

• EX, a frog that has better-camouflaged skin than

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 Con’t
• In humans, adaptations include complex behavior,
such as making tools.

• These behaviors aren’t passed on genetically but

culturally.

• Some of these bodily adaptations are easily

visible, and some are only visible when you look

very closely at the genes, ex Skin color

• The darkest skin appears in populations

originating in tropical zones, such as Africa and

60
 Con’t
• This is because over time, natural selection favored

darker skins in areas that received extensive & more

intensive sunlight, because individuals with lighter skin
in these areas were more prone to skin cancers.
• Biological adaptations aren’t instantaneous.

• A suntan is a lighter-skinned body’s defense mechanism

- release of dark pigmented melanin - against too much

ultraviolet light.
• ex, of biological adaptation in human beings is the

difference of stature b/n arctic ( Inuit) & East African

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(Maasai) people.
 Con’t
• In biology, Bergmann’s rule colder regions, warm-
blooded animals will have stockier bodies than their
counterparts from warmer regions, b/se stockier
bodies are more efficient at retaining body heat.

• In the cold Polar Regions, the Inuit have a short and

stocky build; the Maasai of East Africa have taller and
more slender bodies that don’t have to retain so much
heat - they have to dump excess heat in their hot
env’t, which is facilitated by their body shape.

• The rapid physiological changes that occur in one’s

62
lifetime - like a mountaineer’s adjustment to lower
 Con’t
• These aren’t passed on genetically to the next
generation (because changes acquired during life can’t
be encoded in the genes,) and they’re reversible (when
mountaineer returns to lower elevation.)

• The root problem of all this flailing around at the

identification of human types was biological

determinism, the idea that physical traits were

somehow linked to behavior.

• Many thought traits like intellect, values, and morals

were all products of one’s race. 63

 Con’t
 Early anthropologists & everyone understood the
application of Darwin’s principles of biological
evolution to societies was wrong.

• the idea that as societies and nations evolved and

competed, the morally superior societies would prevail
as the less moral, “savage” societies were weeded out;
& this was all natural & good.

• Those who believe with close link b/n behavioural

characteristics and genetic characteristics including
some 19th & early 20thc scientists, advocated 64 for
 Con’t
• if all members of a population are the same, the
population has no buffer against a particularly lethal or
catastrophic disease.

• If everyone is the same, everyone is susceptible to the

same potential disaster.

• So, biologists overall health of a species by its very

genetic diversity.

• So even if a master race were possible, &one could (&

would want to) manage to prevent any interbreeding,
the end result would be a genetically uniform65 &
2.4.4 The Grand Illusion: Race, turns out, is
arbitrary
• Anthropologists have attempted to classify the human
species into various races as Caucasian, Black African,
Asian, & so on.
• Who’s going to draw up the lines between “black” and
“white” (and what qualifies that person for the job,
anyway)?
• For R.C. Lewontin “Human racial classification is of no
social value & is positively destructive of social &
human relations.
• Since such racial classification is now seen to be of
virtually no genetic or taxonomic [classifying]
66
 Con’t
 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.

67
 2.4.5. What Anthropologists can say
for sure about Human Races?
• So do human races exist? Very strictly speaking,
yes.

• Homo sapiens sapiens does feature geographically

based differences within the species.

• However, you must consider two very important points.

1. these genetic differences don’t mean a lot, biologically.

• Because all healthy humans can mate and have healthy

offspring, we’re all in Homo sapiens sapiens,
biologically speaking. 68
 Con’t
• Biologically speaking, though, these differences aren’t

important.

• Most physical anthropologists (who’ve spent the most

time closely examining human biology), race is nearly

meaningless when applied to humanity.

• Physical anthropologists more commonly talk today of

ancestry than race, a more general term that

recognizes the reality of some geographically specific

human adaptations but doesn’t turn them into loaded;

69
black-and-white races.
 Con’t
• Ancestry may be important when considering
someone’s genetic health because different human
populations have developed slightly different genetic
characteristics over time.

2. cultural behavior isn’t genetically linked to those

geographical differences.

• Most of human behavior isn’t biologically determined

or filtered in through the natural environment – rather
culturally learned.

• An infant from Japan can be raised in the Kalahari

70
of
 2.5. Human socio-cultural and biological diversity
and similarities: What is to be human?

• Anthropology is a broader discipline.

• Anthropology is unique disciplines.

• It is holistic discipline studying human beings comprehensively.

• Anthropology’s four major branches bridge the natural

sciences, the humanities and the social sciences.

• They touch virtually on every aspects of human beings.

• the largest two branches of anthropology: the socio-cultural &

biological cover the two essential dimensions of humanity

 socio-cultural and biological diversity and similarities.

71
 Con’t
• It studies humanity in its entirety called mirror of
humanity.

• As Kluckhohn pointed out, "Anthropology holds up a

great mirror to man and lets him look at himself in his
infinite variety."

• So, anthropology helps human beings to look into

themselves by searching for answers to questions that
challenge us.

• Some of the questions central to humanity and

anthropology are:
72
 Con’t
• Why do these commonalties and variations exist in the

first place? (In other worlds, why aren't all human

cultures the same?)

• How does humanity change through time? (Is it still

evolving, and if so, how?)

• Where has Humanity been, and what can that show us

about where humanity is going? (That is, what can we

learn about ourselves today, from the past?)

 Comparative approach (cultural relativism) and

73
 Con’t
• The comparative approach or cultural relativism
encourages us not to make moral judgments about
different kinds of humanity, and it examines cultures
on their own and from the perspective of their unique
history and origin.

• Evolution and cultural relativism allows us to

address the afore-mentioned fundamental questions
regarding our distant origin, current stage of growth,
forms of adaptation, and predict future direction of
development.
74
• By studying evolution, the change of species through
 Con’t
• In this respect, human biology and culture have
evolved over millions of years and they will continue to
evolve together.
• Human biology and human culture affects each other.

• Ex; the brain size of humans has become larger over

millions of years of evolution, and this is considered
biological change.

• Changes in human brain brought cultural changes in

terms of increased intelligence, language & even the
emergence of writing.
75
 The bio-cultural animal
• Humanity evolves as a result of both biological &
cultural factors.

• For this reason, anthropologists call it bio-cultural

evolution.

• Although humans survive by using both their biology &

cultural information, all other animals survive mainly
through their biology & by relying on instinct rather
than cultural information.

• For example, cultural, not instinctual, information tells

you certain kinds of wood are good for making
76 a
 Con’t
• For example, consider the following cultural behaviors
and their possible involvement with biological
evolution of our species:

 The earliest use of stone tools corresponds with

increased consumption of animal protein.

 More animal protein in turn changes the hominid diet

and potentially its anatomy.

 The use of clothing (a cultural artifact) allows human

bodies to survive in environments they wouldn’t
normally survive in.
77
 Con’t
• As a result, Paleo-anthropologists are concerned with
understanding how cultural, non-cultural, and bio-
cultural evolutionary factors shaped humanity through
time.

• The meaning of humanity from anthropological

perspective is:

• Humanity refer to human beings.

• Humanity stands for the human species, a group of life

forms with the following characteristics:

 Bipedalism (walking on two legs);

78
 Con’t
 Using modern language to communicate ideas; and

 Using complex sets of ideas called culture to survive

 Standing on two legs and having particularly small

teeth and large brains.

 Surviving by using a wide array of cultural

information.

• Humanity can be applied to modern humans (Homo

sapiens sapiens) as well as some of our most recent
ancestors, placed more generally in Homo sapiens,
79
without the subspecies (the second sapiens) suffix.
 Unit Three: Human Culture and Ties that Connect

2.1. Conceptualizing Culture: What it is & What Culture isn't

• Anthropologists and sociologists define culture in different ways.

 British anthropologist Edward B. Tylor Provided a widely accepted and

comprehensive definition of culture as:

 “a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law,

custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a

member of society”.
 B. Malinowski defined culture “as cumulative creation of man".

 the handiwork of man & through which he achieves his ends.

 Clyde Kluckhohn (1949) defined culture as a way of thinking, feeling,

believing.

80
 Con’t
 Robert Bierstedt, “Culture is the complex whole that
consists of everything we think and do and have as
members of society.”

• Combining several of these definitions, we may define

culture as the common way of life shared by a
group of people.

• It includes all things beyond nature and biology.

• Culture is a collective heritage learned by individuals

and passed from one generation to another.

81
• The individual receives culture as part of social
 2.1.1 Characteristic Features of
Culture
1. Culture is Learned:

• Culture is not transmitted genetically which no instinct rather; it is

acquired through the process of learning or interacting with one’s

environment through the process called enculturation.

• Enculturation is the process by which an individual learns the rules

and values of one’s culture.

• More than any other species, human beings rely for their survival on

behavior patterns that are learned.

• But our own cultural learning depends on the uniquely developed

human capacity to use symbols (Kottak, 2005).

• Cultural learning is unique to human & other animals don’t have.

82
 2.Culture is Shared

• Things, ideas, or behavior pattern to qualify as

“culture” it must have a shared meaning by at least

two people within a society.

• With out shared culture members of a society would

be unable to communicate & cooperates & confusion &

disorder world result.

• Culture is not an individual possession; rather it is

shared by a group of people. 83

 3. Culture is Symbolic

• Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and

to cultural learning.
• A symbol is something verbal or nonverbal, within a
particular language or culture that comes to stand for
something else.
• There need be no obvious, natural, or necessary
connection between the symbol and what it
symbolizes.
• A symbol’s meaning is not always obvious.
• However, many symbols are powerful and often
trigger behaviors or emotional states. 84
 4. Culture Is All-Encompassing

• Culture encompasses all aspects, which affect people

in their everyday lives.

• Culture is the sum total of human creation:

 intellectual,

 technical,

 artistic, physical, and moral;

 it is the complex pattern of living that directs human

social life, and which each new generation must learn
& to which they eventually add with the dynamics of
the social world & the changing env’tal conditions. 85
 5. Culture Is Integrated

• Cultures are not haphazard collections of customs and

beliefs.

• Instead, culture should be thought as of integrated

wholes, the parts of which, to some degree, are
interconnected (Holistic)

• A culture is a system, change in one aspect will likely

generate changes in other aspects.

• Ex, the analogy between a culture and a living

organism.
86
 Con’t

• Besides our biological means of adaptation, we also use

"cultural adaptive," w/c contain customary activities and

tools that aid us.

• The ability to adapt themselves to practically any ecological

condition, unlike other animals, makes humans unique.

• Some adaptive behaviour that offers short-term benefits to

particular subgroups or individuals harm the env’t &

threaten the group's long-term survival called maladaptive .

• the very cultural creations & achievements of peoples may

turn out to threaten their survival.

87
• Ex: Automobiles use, overconsumption and its pollution.
 7. Culture is Dynamic

• Each society has its own culture w/h enables individuals to

adjust to his total settings.

• culture is not static than always changing.

• There are no cultures that remain completely static year to

year.

• Culture is changing constantly as new ideas & new

techniques are added as time passes modifying or changing

the old ways.

• Although a culture constantly changes, certain fundamental

beliefs, values, world views, & practices like child rearing

88
 8. Culture seizes nature
• Culture imposes itself on nature.

• It suppresses the natural, biological instincts in us and

expresses it in particular ways.

• EX, we as biological beings feel the desire for food; but

what type of food to eat, how many times per day to
eat, with whom to eat, how much to eat, how fast or
slow to eat, etc, are all determined by the cultural
values and norms of a particular group of people.

• Or, we feel the desire to urinate, but one cannot do

89
that any time and anywhere, unless one is an animal,
 2.1.2.Aspects/Elements of Culture

• Two basic aspects of culture are material and

nonmaterial.

A. Material culture

 It consist of man-made objects such as tools,

furniture, automobiles, roads, and the physical
substance w/h has been changed & used by man.

• Concerned with the external, mechanical &

utilitarian objects.

90
• It includes technical and material equipment.
 B. Non – Material culture

• 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 hold, values and virtues they cherish,
habits they follow, feeling and thinking, attitude,
rituals and practices that they do & the ceremonies
they observe. 91
 1. Values
• Values are the standards by which member of a society
define what is good or bad, beautiful or ugly.

• It is a central aspect of the nonmaterial culture & are

important b/se it influences the behavior of the
members of a society.

• Values are collective /shared ideas as to what is right

or wrong, good or bad, desirable or not desirable,
ethical or unethical, moral or immoral in a particular
culture.

• Values do not dictate which behaviors are appropriate

92
 Con’t
• Values typically come in pairs of positive and negative
values, such as being brave or cowardly, hardworking
or lazy.

• Values are like road maps or guiding principles that

dictate our behavior and actions.

2. Beliefs

 Beliefs are cultural conventions that concern with true

or false assumptions, specific descriptions of the
nature of the universe and humanity’s place in it.

 Values are generalized notions of what is good 93and

 Con’t

 “Education is good” is a fundamental value in American

society, whereas “Grading is the best way to evaluate
students” is a belief that reflects assumptions about the
most appropriate way to determine educational
achievement.

 Even though the specifics of individual culture vary widely,

all cultures have four common nonmaterial cultural

components: symbols, language, value and norms.

 These components contribute to both harmony and strife

in a society (kendall, 2005) 94

 Symbols
• A symbol is anything that meaningfully represents
something else which people use to communicate with
others.

• Culture could not exist without symbols because there

would be no shared meanings among people.

• Symbols can simultaneously produce loyalty and

animosity, and love and hate.

• They help us communicate ideas such as love or

patriotism because they express abstract concepts
with visible objects. 95
 Language
• The capacity to use symbols, expressed in language, enabled

humans to cumulate cultural traditions, to communicate

propositions and plans.

• Language is a system of verbal and in many cases written

symbols with rules about how those symbols can be strung

together to convey more complex meanings, is the distinctive

capacity and possession of humans; it is a key element of culture.

• Culture encompasses language, and through language, culture is

communicated and transmitted.

• Without language it would be impossible to develop, elaborate

and transmit culture to the future generation (Zerihun, 2005).

96
 3. Norms

• They are derived from value.

• Values provide ideals or beliefs about behavior, but do not

state explicitly how we should behave.

• Norms do have specific behavioural expectations.

• Norms are established rules of behaviour or standard of

conduct.

• Norms are shared rules or guidelines that define how people

“ought” to behave under certain circumstances.

• Norms are generally connected to the values, beliefs, and

ideologies of a society.
97
• Norms are enforced by sanctions.
 Con’t
• Sanctions refer to positive or negative reactions to the
ways in which people follow norms.
• Positive sanction is an expression of approval given for
following a norm, while a negative sanction is
disapproval for breaking it.
• Positive sanctions can be material, such as money
reward, a prize, or trophy, but in everyday life they
usually consist of hugs, smiles, a clap on the back,
soothing worlds, or even handshakes.
• Negative sanctions also can be material--a fine is one
98
example----but they, too, are more likely to consist
 A. Folkway
• Norms guiding ordinary usages and conventions
of everyday life are known as folkways.

• Folkways are norms that are not strictly enforced,

such as not leaving your seat for an elderly people
inside a bus/taxi, talking loudly on the telephone
being in the tax, odd dressing, etc.

• Results no serious reaction from the society.

• These may result in a person getting a bad look.

99
 B. Mores:
• Mores are much stronger norms than folkways.

• Mores are norms that are believed to be essential to

core values and we insist on conformity.

• A person who steals, rapes, and kills has violated some

of society’s most important mores.

• Violation of mores leads to sever punishment, although

punishment and violation of mores varies.

• EX: Ostracism, vicious gossip, public ridicule, exile, loss

of one’s job, physical beating, imprisonment,

commitment to a mental asylum, or even execution 100

 2.1.3. Cultural Unity and Variations: Universality, Generality and Particularity of Culture

• In studying human diversity in time and space,

anthropologists distinguish among the universal, the
generalized, and the particular.

• Certain biological, psychological, social, and cultural

features are:

 Universal (found in every culture),

 Generalities(common to several but not all human

groups),

 Particularities (unique to certain cultural traditions).

101
 1. Universality

• Universals are cultural traits that span across all cultures.

 Most are biologically that distinguish us from other species:

 long period of infant dependency,

 year-round sexuality,

 complex brain that enables use of symbols and use of

languages and tools

 Social universals

 Life in groups

 Some kind of family –

 Incest taboo

 Exogamy (marriage outside one’s group).

102
 2. Generality

• Generalities are cultural traits that occur in many

societies but not in all of them.

• Societies can share same beliefs and customs

because of borrowing, trade, war, colonial rule,

independent invention; this means two or more

societies may invent similar cultural belief or

practice independently, not by copying or imitation

• Ex: Farming, nuclear family, monogamy, strict

103
 3. Particularity/Localized

• Cultural Particularities are unique to certain cultural

tradition.

• It is a culture trait not widespread and rarely occur.

• Cultural traditions which are unique to only few

societies.

• Ex, homosexualism, polyandrous marriage, eating raw

meat, etc.

• All people become hungry but the potential food

sources defined as edible vary across cultures, 104
 2.1.4. Evaluating Cultural Differences:
Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism &
Human Rights
• Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism occupy key
position in anthropology.

A. Ethnocentrism: refers to the tendency to see the

behaviors, beliefs, values, and norms of one's own group
as the only right way of living and to judge others by
those standards.

• Our own society’s ways are the correct, normal, better

ways, for acting, thinking, feeling and behaving.

• It is a cultural universal.
105
• Ethnocentrism results in prejudices about people from
 Con’t
• When there is contact with people from other cultures,

ethnocentrism can prevent open communication and

result in misunderstanding and mistrust.

• Its positive aspect has to do with the protection that it

can provide for a culture.

 It acts as a conservative force in preserving traditions

of one's own culture by rejecting others culture.

 It can help maintain the separation and uniqueness of

cultures. 106
 B. CULTRUALRELATIVISM

• Cultural relativism states that cultures differ, so that

a cultural trait, act, or idea has no meaning but its
meaning only within its cultural setting.

• We need to examine their behavior as insiders,

seeing it within the framework of their values,
beliefs and motives.

• No judgment.

• We cannot understand the practices and beliefs

separately from the wider culture of which they are
part. 107
 Con’t
 Respect for cultural differences involves:

 Appreciating cultural diversity;

 Accepting and respecting other cultures;

 understanding every culture and its elements in terms of its

own context and logic;

 Accepting that each body of custom has inherent dignity and

meaning as the way of life of one group which has worked out to

its environment, to the biological needs of its members, and to

the group relationships;

 Knowing that a person's own culture is only one among many;

 Recognizing that what is immoral, ethical, acceptable, etc, in

108
one culture may not be so in another culture.
 C. HUMAN RIGHTS

• In today's world, human rights advocates challenges

many of the tenets of cultural relativism.
• Many anthropologists are uncomfortable with the
strong form of cultural relativism that suggests that
all patterns of culture are equally valid.
• What if the people practice slavery, violence against
women, torture, or genocide?
• Human right: is rights based on justice and morality
beyond and superior to particular countries, cultures,
and religions.
• The idea of human rights challenges cultural
109
 Con’t
• It is the right to speak freely, to hold religious beliefs
without persecution, & not be murdered, injured, or
imprisoned without charge.

• It emphasizes the rights of the individual over those of the

community.

• Such rights are seen as inalienable (nations cannot abridge

or terminate them) & international (larger than and
superior to individual nations and cultures).

• Most ethnographers try to be objective, accurate, and

sensitive in their accounts of other cultures.

• However, their objectivity, sensitivity and a cross-

110
 2.1.5.Culture Change

• It is obvious that culture has changed over time.

• Culture change can occur as a result of the following

Mechanisms:
 Diffusion: is the process by which cultural elements are

borrowed from another society and incorporated into the

culture of the recipient group.
 Diffusion is direct when two cultures trade with, intermarry

among, or wage war on one another.

 Diffusion is forced when one culture subjugates another and

imposes its customs on the dominated group.

 Diffusion is indirect when items or traits move from group A to

group C via group B without any firsthand contact b/n A and C.

111
 Con’t
ii. Acculturation : is the exchange of cultural features
that results when groups have continuous firsthand
contact
• The cultures of either or both groups may be changed
by this contact.
• This usually happens in situations of trade or
colonialism.

iii. Invention-the process by which humans innovate,

creatively finding solutions to problems results cultural
change.
112
 iv. Globalization

• Globalization encompasses a series of processes,

including diffusion and acculturation, working to
promote change in a world in which nations and people
are increasingly interlinked and mutually dependent.
• Due to globalization, long-distance communication is
easier, faster, and cheaper than ever, and extends to
remote areas.
• The mass media help propel spreading culture of
consumption.
• Emigrants transmit information and resources
113
transnationally, as they maintain their ties with home
 2.1.6. Culture Shock

• Culture shock is the psychological and social maladjustment

at micro or macro level that is experienced for the first time

when people encounter new cultural elements such as new

things, new ideas, new concepts, seemingly strange beliefs &

practices.

• No person is protected form culture shock.

• However, individuals vary in their capacity to adapt and

overcome the influence of culture shock.

• Highly ethnocentric people are exposed to culture shock.

• Cultural relativists easily to adapt to new situations and

overcome culture shock

 Con’t
• Xenocentrism is the preference for the cultural
practices of other cultures and societies which can
entail how they live, what they eat, rather than of one's
own way of life.

• Xenophobia, or fear of strangers, is a broad term that

may be applied to any fear of someone who is different
from us.

• Hostility towards outsiders is often a reaction to fear.

• It typically involves the belief that there is a conflict

-115
 2.2 . Ties that Connect: Marriage, Family and Kinship

2.2.1. MARRIAGE
 Marriage is defined as basically a sexual union between a man

and a woman such that children born to the woman are

considered the legitimate offspring of both parents.

 The main purpose of marriage is to create new social

relationships, rights & obligations b/n the spouses & their kin,

& to establish the rights and status of children when they are

born.
 In traditional, simple societies, marriage is often more of a

relationship between groups than one between individuals.

 In industrial societies, it is more of individual relation which
116
 Con’t
 Almost all known societies recognize marriage.

• The ritual of marriage marks a change in status for a

man and a woman and the acceptance by society of the
newly formed family.

• Anthropologists have debated whether or not families

and the institutions of marriage are universals & have
debated definition.

• The above definition isn’t universally valid for several

reasons.

• One is that marriages may unite more than 117two

 Con’t
• Some societies also recognize same sex marriages.

• Traditionally in Africa’s Sudan a Nuer woman could marry

another woman if her father had only daughters but no male

heirs, who are necessary if his patrilineage is to survive.

• He might ask his daughter to stand as a son in order to take a

bride.

• This was a symbolic & social relationship rather than a sexual

one.

• This woman’s ‘wife’ had sex with a man or men (whom her

female ‘husband’ had to approve) until she got pregnant.

• The children born to the wife were accepted as the offspring of

118
 Con’t
• Although the female husband was not the actual genitor, the

biological father of the children, she was their pater, or

socially recognized father (Kottak, 2005).

• the Nayar of Southern India, did not have marriage in the

conventional sense.

• Although teenage Nayar girls took a ritual husband in a public

ceremony, the husband took no responsibility for the women

after the ceremony, and frequently he never saw her again.

• Thus the Nayar do not have marriage according to our

definition in that there is no economic cooperation, regulation

of sexual activity, cohabitation, or expectation of permanency

119 .
 2.2.1.1 Rules of Marriage

• Every societies have rules that state /regulate whom

one can and cannot marry and with whom one can
make sexual intercourse.

• The most common form of prohibition is mating with

certain type of kin that are defined by the society as
being inappropriate sexual partners.

• These prohibitions on mating with certain categories

of relatives known as incest taboos.

• The most universal form of incest taboo involves

120
mating between members of the immediate (nuclear)
 Con’t
• A few striking examples of marriage b/n members of the

immediate family that violate the universality of incest taboo.

• For political, religious, or economic reasons, members of the

royal families among the ancient Egyptians, Incas and

Hawaiians were permitted to mate with and marry their

siblings, although this practiced did not extended to the

ordinary members.

• Marriage is a permanent legal union b/ n a man & a woman.

• It is an important institution without which the society could

never be sustained.

121
 2.2.1.2 Mate Selection: Whom Should You Marry?

• In a society one cannot marry anyone whom he or she

likes. There are certain strict rules and regulations.

A. Exogamy:

• This is the rule by which a man is not allowed to marry

someone from his own social group.

• In social science, exogamy is viewed as a combination

of two related aspects: biological and cultural.

• Biological exogamy is marriage of non-blood related

beings.
122
 Con’t
• Persons are expected to marry outside their totem clan(s) or

other groups, in addition to outside closer blood relatives.

• Prohibited union is designated as incest w/h is considered

as sin.

• In fact, there are some definite reasons for which practice

of exogamy got approval. They are:

 Blood relation prevails among the members of a group.

 Therefore, marriage within the group-members is

considered a marriage between a brother and sister

 Attraction between a male and female gets lost due to close
123
 Con’t
 There is a popular idea that a great increase of

energy and vigor is possible in the progeny if

marriage binds two extremely distant persons who

possess no kin relation among them.

 Kottak argued exogamy has adaptive value,

because it links people into a wider social network

that nurtures, helps, and protects them in times of

need pushing social organization outward,

establishing and preserving alliances among

124
 B. Endogamy

• A rule of endogamy requires individuals to

marry within their own group and forbids them
to marry outside it.

• Religious groups such as the Amish, Mormons,

Catholics, and Jews have rules of endogamy,
though these are often violated when marriage
take place outside the group.

• Castes in India and Nepal are also

125
 C. Preferential Cousin Marriage
The are two different types of first cousins are:

A. Cross Cousins: are children of siblings of

the opposite sex- that is one’s mother’s
brothers’ children and one’s father’s sisters’
children.

• Its functions is to strengthen and maintain

ties b/n kin groups established by the
marriages that took place in the proceeding
126
 Con’t
• Parallel Cousins Marriage: When marriage takes
place between the children of the siblings of the same
sex .

• the children of one’s mother’s sister and one’s father

brother which is less practiced.

• Found among some Arabic societies in North Africa, it

involves the marriage of a man to his father’s brother’s
daughter.

• less common form of cousin marriage is b/n parallel

127
cousins.
 D. The Levirate and Sororate

• Is a form of mate selection which limit individual

choice and that requires a person to marry the

husband or wife of deceased kin.

• The levirate- is the custom whereby a widow is

expected to marry the brother (or close male relative)

of her dead husband.

• Usually any children fathered by the woman’s new

husband are considered to belong legally to the dead

brother rather than to the actual genitor.

128
 Con’t
• The sororate is the practice of a widower’s
marrying the sister (or some close female relative)
of his deceased wife.

• In the event that the deceased spouse has no

sibling, the family of the deceased is under a
general obligation to supply some equivalent
relative as a substitute.

• For example, in a society that practice sororate, a

widower may be given as a substitute wife the
129
 2.2.1.3. NUMBER OF SPOUSES

• Societies have rules regulating whom one may/mayn’t

marry; have rules specifying how many mates a
person may/should have

• Monogamy: the marriage of one man to one woman at

a time.

• Polygamy: is marriage of a man or woman with two

or more mates. Polygamy can be of two types:

 Polygyny: is the marriage of a man to 2 or more

women at a time.

 Marriage of a man with 2 or more sisters at a time is

130
 Con’t
• Marriage of a man with two or more sisters at a time is

called sororal polygyny.

• When the co-wives are not sisters, the marriage is

termed as non- sororal polygyny

 In contemporary North America, where divorce is fairly

easy and common, polygamy (marriage to more than one

spouse at the same time) is against the law.

 As divorce grows more common, North Americans

practice serial monogamy, that is, individuals having
more than one spouse but never legally at the same time.
131
 Con’t

• According to Leach, Marriage can, but doesn't always,

accomplish the following (Kottak, 2002):

 Tallish the legal father of a woman's children and the

legal mother of a man's.

 Give either or both spouses' rights to the labor of the

other.

 Give either or both spouses a monopoly in the sexuality

of the other.

 Give either or both spouses rights over the other's

property
132
 Con’t
Advantages & Disadvantages of Polygamy marriage
 Having two/more wives is often seen as a sign of prestige.

 Having multiple wives means wealth, power, & status

both for the polygnous husband, wives and children.

 It produces more children, who are considered valuable

for future economic and political assets.

 Economic advantage: It encourages to work hard (to

have more resource) for more wives

 The Drawbacks of Polygyny: Jealousy among the co-wives

who frequently compete for the husband’s attention.

133
 2.2.1.4 Economic Consideration of Marriage

• Most societies view marriage as a binding contract

between at least the husband and wife and, in many
cases, between their respective families as well.

• Such a contract includes the transfer of certain rights

between the parties involved:

o rights of sexual access,

o legal rights to children, and

o rights of the spouses to each other’s economic goods

& services.

• Often the transfer of rights is accompanied by134the

 Con’t
• These transactions, which may take place either before

or after the marriage can be divided into four categories:

1.Bride Price: It is also known as bride wealth.

 is the compensation given upon marriage by the family

of the groom to the family of the bride.

 As the value of bride wealth increases, marriage becomes

more stable.

 Anthropologists identified a number of important

functions that the institutions of bride price performed

135
for the well-being of the society.
 Con’t
 bride price has been seen:-

 as security or insurance for the good treatment

of the wife:

 as mechanism to stabilize marriage by reducing

the possibility of divorce:

 as a form of compensation to the bride’s lineage

for the loss of her economic potential and

childbearing capacity: and 136

 2. Bride Service
 In societies with considerable material wealth,
marriage considerations take the form of bride
wealth paid in various forms of commodities.

 But because many small scale societies cannot

accumulate capital goods, men often give their labor
to the bride’s family instead of material goods in
exchange for wives.

 Bride service is when the groom works for his wife’s

family.

 practiced by Yanomamo, people living in the 137

low-
 3. Dowry
• A dowry involves a transfer of goods or money in the

opposite direction, from the bride's family to the groom’s

family.

• Dowry, best known in India but also practiced in Europe,

correlates with lower female status.

• Women are perceived as burdens.

• When husbands and their families take a wife, they expect

to be compensated for the added responsibility.

• Bride wealth exists in many more cultures than dowry does,

138
but the nature and quantity of transferred items differ.
 4. Reciprocal Exchange
• It involves the roughly equal exchange of gifts

between the families of both the bride and the

groom.

• More prominently common in the pacific region

and among traditional Native Americans.

• Such a custom was practiced by the traditional

Vugusu people of western Kenya, who exchanged a

large variety of items b/ n a sizable numbers of

139
 3.7.1.5 Post-Marital Residence

 Where the newly married couple lives after the marriage ritual
is governed by cultural rules, which are referred to as post-
marital residence rule.

 Patrilocal Residence: the married couple lives with or near

the relatives of the husband’s father (69% of the societies).

 Matrilocal Residence: the married couple lives with or near

the relatives of the wife (13 percent of societies).

 Avunculocal Residence: The married couple lives with or

near the husband’s mother’s brother (4 percent of societies).

 Ambilocal (Bilocal) Residence: The married couple has a

choice of living with relatives of the wife or relatives of the
husband(9 percent societies) 140
 2.2.2 FAMILY

• is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by

birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship)

• Family is the basis of human society and universal

institution.

• It is the most important primary group in society.

• is the most permanent & most pervasive of all social

institutions.

• The family is universal institution.

• The interpersonal relationships within the family make

the family an endurable social unit. 141
 1. The Nuclear family

• Consisting of a married couple and their dependent

children.

• It is typically of the middle class.

• This family is well separated from other relatives,

visiting only occasionally if at all.

• “Even though the nuclear family, to some degree, is

part of a larger family structure, it remains relatively
autonomous and independent unit.

• That is, the everyday needs of economic support,

142
childcare, and social interaction are met within the
 Con’t
• The Nuclear family is most likely to be found in societies
with greatest amount of geographic mobility.

• This certainly is the case in the United States and Canada,

which currently have both considerable geographic mobility
and the ideal of the nuclear family.

• In any society every adult individual belongs to two different

nuclear families.

• The family in which he was born and reared is called ‘family

of orientation’.

• The other family to which he establishes relation through

143
marriage is called ‘family of procreation’.
 2. The Extended Family
• Consist of 2 or more nuclear families that are linked
by blood ties.
• Most commonly, a married couple living with one or
more of their married children in a single household or
homestead and under the authority of a family
head(Ferraro, 2006).
• In a patrilineal extended family, the young couple takes
up residence in the homestead of the husband’s father,
& the husband continues to work for his father.
• Most of the personal property in the household is not
owned by the newlyweds, but is controlled by 144the
 Con’t
• A man’s obligations of obedience to his father and
loyalty to his brothers are far more important than his
relationship to his wife.

• When a woman marries into an extended family, she

most often comes under the control of her mother-in-
law, who allocates chores and supervises her domestic
activities.

• As a geographical mobility is more likely associated

with nuclear family than with extended family, there is
a rough correlation found b/n nuclear family system
and an agricultural way of life. 145
 3.7.2.1. Functions Marriage and Family

• Family performs certain specific functions which can be

mentioned as follows:
1. Biological Function: The institution of marriage and family
serves biological (sexual and reproductive) function.
 The institution of marriage regulates and socially validates
long term, sexual relations between males and females.
 Thus, husband- wife relationship come into existence and
become a socially approved means to control sexual relation
and a socially approved basis of the family.
 Sexual cohabitation between spouses automatically leads to
the birth of off-springs.
 The task of perpetuating the population of a society.
146
 Society reproduces itself through family.
 Con’t
2. Economic Function: Marriage brings economic co-operation
between men & women & ensure survival of individuals in a society.
 With the birth of off-springs, the division of labor based on sex
and generation come into play.
 In small scale societies family is a self-contained economic unit of

production, consumption and distribution.

3. Social Function: Marriage is based on the desire to perpetuate
one’s family line.
 In marriage one adds, not only a spouse but most of the spouse’s

relatives to one’s own group of kin.

 the institution of marriage brings with it the creation and

perpetuation of the family, the form of person to person relations

147
and linking one’s kin group to another kin group.
4. Educational and Socialization Function
• The burden of socialization (via processes of enculturation and
education) of new born infants fall primarily upon the family.

• Children also learn an immense amount of knowledge, culture,

values prescribed by society, before they assume their place as
adult members of a society.

• Moreover, family behaves as an effective agent in the

transmission of social heritage.

3.7. 3. KINSHIP

• Kinship is social relations based on culturally recognized ties of

descent and marriage.

• kinship is defined as the network in which people are related to

148
one another through blood, marriage and other ties.
• It is the method of reckoning relationship

• It is a feature of all human societies.

• The reason for this universality is to some extent

biological.

• But while biology provides the basis for kinship, the

ways in which people define and use kinship are
determined by sociocultural considerations, not
biological ones.

• When anthropologists study kinship, they are

concerned with social relations and cultural
149
 Con’t
• It is a structured system of relationships where individuals

are bound together by complex interlocking and ramifying

ties.

• Relationship based on blood ties is called “consanguineous

kinship”, and the relatives of this kind are called

‘consanguineous kin’.

• “This kind of bond, which arises out of a socially or legally

defined marital relationship, is called affinal relationship”,

and the relatives so related are called ‘affinal kin’.

• The final kinds [husband and wife] are not related to one
150
another through blood.
 Con’t
• Fictive kinship is patterned on kin-like relations

but not actually based upon blood or marriage.

• It is a kind of social relationship that ties people.

• Kinship is universally found in all societies, and it

can be created through three ways: blood,

marriage, and through adoption/fostering / good-

parenthood.

151
 2.2.4. DESCENT

• Descent refers to the social recognition of the

biological relationship that exists between the
individuals.

• The rule of descent refers to a set of principles by

which an individual traces his descent.

• An individual always possesses certain obligations

towards his kinsmen and he also expects the same
from his kinsmen.

• Succession and inheritance is related to this rule of

descent.
152
 Con’t
• The group endures even though its membership changes, as

members are born and die, move in and move out.

• Decent group membership is determined at birth and is life-

long.

• In this case it is an ascribed status (Kottack, 2005).

• In almost all societies kinship connections are very

significant.

• An individual always possesses certain obligations towards

his kinsmen and he also expects the same from his kinsmen.

• There are three important rules of decent:

153
 1. Patrilineal descent
• When descent is traced solely through the male line, it

is called patrilineal descent.

• A man’s sons and daughters all belong to the same

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.

• At birth, children of both sexes belong to mother’s

154
 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. 155
3.8. Culture areas and culture contact
• Culture area refers to a cluster of related cultures

occupying a certain geographical region.

• In anthropology the concept of culture area has

been used beginning from the 1920s where Afred

Kroeber and his contemporaries were interested in

examining the concentration of cultural trains in a

given geographic area.

• In the context of Ethiopia, we may come up with

d/t culture are in relation to subsistence. 156

 A. Plough culture area
• Plough culture area represents those parts of the
country where agriculture is predominantly the means
by which subsistence is eked out.

• Most of highland and central parts of the country

serves as the backbone of the economy is considered a
plough culture.

• The area often called plough culture has been a

subject of anthropological inquires over the past seven
decades starting from the 1950s.

• Some of the ethnographers who studied this area 157are

 B. Enset culture area
• Enset culture area, on the other hand, covers

a vast region in the southern part of country.

• Enset cultivating regions of the present day

SNNPRS such as the Guraghe, Sidama and

Gedeo areas 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. 158

 C. Pastoral culture area
• Pastoral culture area is found in the low land
areas covering a large section of the Afar in the
northwest, Somali in the southeast and Borena of
southern of Ethiopia.

• As opposed to the above the cases, inhabitants of

the pastoral culture area rely significantly on
their herds and cattle for a living.

• Mobility of people and herds is a major

characteristic feature of the people occupying the
159
pastoral culture area.
 Unit Four: Marginalized, Minorities, and Vulnerable Groups

4. 4.1 Definition of concepts

• Marginalization is a treatment of a person or social group
as minor, insignificant or peripheral.
• It involves exclusion of certain groups from social interactions
such as marriage relations, sharing food & drinks, & working
& living together.
• EX: minority occupational groups (e.g., potters and tanners)
are not allowed to be members of community-based
associations (e.g., Iddirs) .
• In some cultural, it involves excluding certain groups from
basic economic rights including rights to property ownership,
& rights to be engaged in certain economic activities of jobs.
160
 Who are mostly marginalized?
• The targets of marginalization may vary from society to
society.

• Women, children, older people, and people with

disabilities are among marginalized groups across the
world.

• Religious, ethnic, & racial minorities are also among

social groups affected by marginalization in d/t
societies and cultures.

• Minority occupational groups such as crafts-

workers(tanners, potters, and ironsmiths) are targets
161
 What is vulnerability?
• Vulnerability refers to the state of being exposed to
physical or emotional injuries.

• Vulnerable groups are people exposed to possibilities

of attack, harms or mistreatment(Physical and
emotional).

• Its impact can leads to long-term problems including

emotional disorder (psychological trauma) & social
relational problems.

• For example, girls and women are vulnerable to

gender-based violence such as harassment, rape, and
162
forced marriage.
 Con’t
• Teenage pregnancy in turn leads to a severe reproductive health

problems such as fistula.

• In addition to physical damage and psychological disorder, women

with fistula suffer from isolation from social interactions.

• Vulnerable persons need special attention, protection & support.

• For example, children (especially child girls) must be protected

from harmful practices such as child marriage and genital cutting.

• Older-persons and people with disabilities also need special

support and protection as they are exposed to risks and neglect

because of their age and disabilities.

163
 Minority groups
• ‘Minority group’ refers to a small group of people
within a community, region, or country.

• In most cases, minority groups are different from the

majority population in terms of race, religion, ethnicity,
and language.

 EX, blacks are minorities in the United States of

America.

 Christians would be minorities in a Muslim majority

country.

 Muslims can be minorities in a predominantly

164
 4.2. Gender-based marginalization

Sex and gender

• To understand the meaning of gender, we need to discuss

the difference between these two concepts: sex and gender.

• Sex is differences between female and male human beings,

& are closely associated with biological differences.

• This means that women and men are genetically (e.g.,

variation in types of chromosomes and hormones).

• Biological differences between women & men are

expressed in terms of hormonal and physiological
differences.

165
 Con’t
• The main sexual differences between men and women

include the following:

 Primary differences: contrasts in sexual and

reproductive organs (eg., only women can get pregnant,

give birth & nurture new born)

 Secondary differences: contrasts in breasts, type of

voice, and distribution of hair; and

 Other variations: differences in height (men tend to be

taller), weight (men tend to weigh more), & physical

166
strength (Kottak 2005).
 Con’t
• The meaning of gender is closely related to
socially/culturally constructed characteristics of
females and males.

• Gender differences are expressed in gender roles (i.e.,

behaviors expected from females and males in a given
cultural setting.

• Gender roles are tasks and activities a culture assigns

to men and women (Kottak 2005).

• For example, based on traditional roles of male and

female roles, men are expected to be leaders,
167
 Con’t
• This includes gender division of labor observed in many
cultures.

• For example, in many African societies, especially in

rural areas, women’s roles are dominated by indoor
activities including child care and home management.

• Men’s roles include working outdoors, travelling to

distant areas as hunters, traders, and warriors.

• Gender-based marginalization is closely related to

gender inequality.

• Gender stereotypes play an important role in

168
 Con’t
• Gender stereotypes refer to strongly held views about
the characteristics of males and females.

• Gender inequality involves discrimination on a group of

people based on their gender.

• Gender inequality mainly arises from cultural values,

norms, & beliefs rather than biological differences b/n
women and men.

• The indicators of gender inequality varied from culture

to culture.

• Girls and women face some level of marginalization

169
 Con’t
• As a result, women are exposed to social and economic
inequalities involving unfair distribution of wealth,
income, job opportunities, and political power.

• Gender-based marginalization is a global problem.

• It involves exclusion of girls and women from a wide

range of opportunities and social services.

• Gender disparities in education are good examples.

• Moreover, women do not enjoy equal employment

opportunities.
• Women do not have equal property rights in many
170
 Con’t
• For example, they are excluded from the right to own
and inherit key family resources such as land.

• Women and girls are also vulnerable to gender-based

violence such as rape, child marriage, forced marriage,
domestic violence and FGC.

• There are some customary practices that affect the

health and wellbeing of girls and women.

• these practices are called harmful traditional practices

(HTPs).

171
 Female Genital
Mutilation/Cutting(FGM/FGC)
• FGM/FGC is regarded as a form of gender-based
violence.
• Is the cutting/removal of some parts of girls genital
organ.
• According to sources, more than 200 million women
and girls alive today have undergone FGM/C.
• Moreover, more than 3 million girls are at risk of
FGM/FGC every year (Shell-Duncan, Naik, & Feldman-
Jacobs 2016).
• FGM/C is practiced in 28 countries in Africa & high
prevalence. 172
 Con’t
• The age of girls undergone FGM/FGC varies across
regions and cultures in Ethiopia.

• FGM/FGC is performed shortly after birth in Amhara,

Tigray and Afar regions as well as in northern parts of
Oromia.

• In southern Ethiopia, FGM/C is practiced when girls

are approaching the age of marriage.

• It is practices as a rite of passage and preparation for

marriage.

• the practice could lead to severe bleeding 173and

 Key drivers of FGM/FGC
• Different factors support the continuation of FGM/C
which includes:
 maintenance of cleanliness,
 preservation of virginity,
 discouraging promiscuity,
 increasing marriageability,
 enhancement of fertility,
 improvement of male sexual satisfaction, social
acceptance,
 fear of marginalization, and
174
 Con’t

• Some of the major factors (e.g., beliefs, values, and norms) that

support the continuation of FGM/FGC.

1. Belief in impurity

 FGM/FGC-related marginalization is enforced by norms & taboos

(strongly cherished social norms) embedded in indigenous belief.

 The concept taboo is defined as ‘a ritually sanctioned prohibition

against contact with things, a person or an activity’.

 Persons subject to taboo are regarded as sacred or impure.
 There is a belief that breaching of a taboo has implications

including pollution and supernatural sanctions (Buckser, 1997).

175
 Con’t
 A recent ethnographic study reveals that taboos are
the major drivers of FGM in some cultural settings in
southern Ethiopia.

 In some societies uncut/uncircumcised women are

considered impure.

 They are also regarded as polluting others including

men having sex with them.

 As a result, marriage and casual sexual contact with an

uncut woman is regarded as breaking of taboo.
176

 Con’t
1. it pollutes the transgressor (the man who married uncut

girl);

2. the pollution would be followed by misfortunes.

 According to the local belief, a man who marries an uncut

woman would be exposed to misfortunes such as health

problems, infertility, and diminishing farm yield and family

wealth (Getaneh, 2016).

 As a result of this belief, men avoid marriage relationship

with uncircumcised girls.

 Hence, according to cultural beliefs, girls must be

177
 2. Discouraging promiscuity

• The term promiscuous has the following dictionary

definition.
• It refers to a person who has a lot of different sexual
partners or sexual relationships.
• In societies where FGC is a social norm, there is a
belief that uncircumcised girls have high or
extraordinary sexual desire.
• As the result, uncut girls/women are considered as
promiscuous.
• Uncut women or uncut married women, would have
178
sexual relationship with multiple partners.
 3. Preserving virginity
• In many Ethiopian cultures, social norms prohibit
premarital sex and pregnancy.

• Value attached to virginity is very strong in order to

discourage premarital sex and is precondition for
marriage in many cultures.

• In some parts of Ethiopia child girls (girls before the

age of 18, or 15) get married to avoid the possibility of
premarital sex.

• Girl’s reputation and family social status are

associated with sexual purity (virginity) of girls.
179
 4. Fear of ill-manner
• There is a wide spread belief that uncircumcised girls

would be disobedient, powerful and ill-mannered.

• Hence, FGC is practiced as a means of moderating the

behavior of girls and women.

5. Social sanctions

 Social sanctions are used to control the behavior of

members of a given society or community.

 Avoiding FGC is considered as violation of social norms

in FGC practicing societies. 180

 Con’t
 Hence, parents and girls abandoning FGC will be

punished through social sanctions including isolation from

the community.

 Parents of girls let their daughter undergo the practice

mainly because of an overwhelming fear that their

daughter and the entire family will be marginalized if they

refuse to comply with social norms related to FGM/C.

 In many cultures, a girl who has not been cut is often

ridiculed, insulted and driven out of her community and

have little chance for marriage. 181

 Negative impacts of FGM/C
• It is considered as violation of the rights of girls & women.

• The practice also has negative implications for the health,

social and psychological wellbeing of girls and women.

• The following are some of the negative impacts of the

practice:

 severe bleeding during and after the practice,

 different forms of infections,

 pain during sexual intercourse, and

 complications during child delivery.

• The practice could also lead to emotional disorder and

182
psychological trauma.
4.3 Marginalized occupational groups
• According to anthropological findings, there are occupational

minorities marginalized from other groups in many .

• The most marginalized occupational groups are tanners, potters,

weavers and ironsmiths.

• Craft-workers such as potters &tanners are considered as

impure.

• As a result, they are excluded from social interactions, ownership

of economic resources (e.g., land), economic activities such as

farming, and participation in community-based associations and

certain cultural celebrations.

• These occupational groups are marginalized despite their

183
 Con’t

• Craft-workers fulfil the demands of their respective

communities by producing articles such as traditional
hand-woven clothes, household utensils, and farm
tools.
• Despite their important contributions, however, they
are marginalized by the dominant and majority groups.
• For examples, weavers produce cultural clothes highly
demanded by thousands and millions of people.
• Many people use cultural clothes during annual
celebrations, religious holidays, weddings, culture
days, and mourning. 184
 Con’t
• Despite their contributions, these craft-workers are
considered inferior and marginalized from wide areas
of social interactions and economic activities.

• Marginalization of despised occupational groups is

manifested in many ways in different parts of Ethiopia.

• Dena Freeman and Alula Pankhurst (2001), well-

known anthropologists, identified different forms of
marginalization targeting minority occupational
groups. Some of them are summarized in the following
table. 185
Spatial Craft-workers settle/live on the outskirts of villages,
Marg. near to forests, on poor land, around steep slopes.
 They are segregated at market places (they sell their
goods at the outskirts of markets).
 When they walk along the road, they are expected to
give way for others and walk on the lower side of the
road.
Econom  Craft-workers are excluded from certain economic
ic activities including production and exchanges.
Marg.  In some cultures they are not allowed to cultivate
crops.
 They have a limited access to land and land ownership.
Social  Craft-workers are excluded from intermarriage, they do
Marg. not share burial places with others; they are excluded
from membership of associations such as iddirs.
 When they are allowed to participate in social events,
they must sit on the floor separately-sometimes outside
the house or near the door
Cultural Cultural marginalization is manifested in negative
Marg. stereotyping as:
 Occupational minorities are labeled as impure 186and
 4.4. Age-based vulnerability

• Age-based vulnerability is susceptibility of people,

especially children and older people, to different forms
of attack, physical injuries and emotional harms.

• Ex, children & older people (people aged 60 & above)

are exposed to various forms of attack, harm &
mistreatment b/se of their age.

• As a result, vulnerable persons/groups need special

attention, protection and support.

4.4.1 Children: Discrimination/vulnerability

• Both boys and girls are exposed to some harm 187and

 Con’t

• However, girls are exposed to double marginalization

and discrimination because of their gender.

• Child girls are exposed to various kinds of harm before

they reach at the age of maturity.

• girls are exposed to harmful traditional practices

(HTPs) such as female genital mutilation/cutting.

• Minor girls are also exposed to early/child marriage

(before 18 years age) in many parts of Ethiopia which
is violation of the rights of the child by international
human rights conventions .
188
 Child marriage
• It is a marriage which involves girls below the age of
18.

• The prevalence of child marriage is declining in

Ethiopia and other African countries.

• However, it is still widely practiced in different regions

of Ethiopia.

• According to international human rights conventions,

child marriage is regarded as violation of the rights of
the child.

• Child marriage has the following major harmful

189
 Con’t
 Child marriage inhibits girls' personal development; it
hinders girls’ chance to education and future
professional development.
 It exposes young girls to sexual abuse by their older
husbands.

 Child marriage leads to early pregnancies, which

increases risks of diseases and complications during

child delivery, fistula (a severe reproductive health

problem affecting thousands of women in Ethiopia),

and death of the mother or child.

190
Factors that encourage child marriage
• there are various factors that drive child marriage.

• Social norms and economic factors are the two major

factors that support the continuation of the practice.

Social norms

• Social norms contribute a lot for the continuation of

child marriage in many parts of the world.

• Sexual purity of girls is one of the social norms that

influence parents and relatives to protecting girls from
pre-marital sex.

• Premarital sex and pregnancy would expose the 191girl

 Con’t
• The value attached to virginity is another factor that

encourages child marriage.

• Parents incline to marry off their daughter before their

daughter reaches at the stage of puberty to avoid the

possibility of pre-marital sex and pregnancy.

• Community members influence unmarried teen-age girls to get

married as early as possible.

• They do this through social pressure including insulting

unmarried young girls.

• Komoker, an Amharic term, is the widely used insult to ridicule

192
girls considered to be late to get married.
 Economic factors
• Economic issues are among the major factors that
support the continuation of child marriage.

• In many areas of Ethiopia marriage provides

economic security for young girls.

• Hence, parents in some cases, support child

marriage for economic benefits such as access to
land and other resources.

• Parents’ desire to get a good husband for their

daughter is also another reason. 193
4.4.2 Marginalization of older persons
• Age-based marginalization also affects older people.

• The number of older people is increasing globally.

• People’s attitude towards older persons is changing

over time in Ethiopia and all over the world.

• Older people have been respected across Ethiopian

cultures.

• Older persons have been considered as custodians of

tradition, culture, and history.

• Their role has been crucial in mentoring younger

people, resolving disputes, & restoring peace across
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• As family structures and living patterns are changing
from time to time care support of older people
declines.
• Rural-urban migration, changes in values and life style,
education and new employment opportunities lead to
so many changes.
• Care & support for older people decline as younger
people migrate to urban areas & exposed to economic
pressure & new life styles.
• Ageism is stereotyping, prejudice, & discrimination
against people based on their age.
 Con’t
• Things have been changing in recent times.

• Older people are facing various problems as a result of

modernization, globalization, and urbanization.

• Older people are exposed to social exclusion because

of their lower social and economic status.

• In most cases, older people are excluded from social,

cultural, political and economic interactions in their
communities.
• Older persons are marginalized because they are
considered as social burden rather than social assets.
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 4.5. Religious and ethnic minorities
• Religious & ethnic minorities also face different forms
of marginalization.

• There are several examples of marginalization and

discrimination targeting religious and ethnic minorities
in the world.

• The Jewish people suffered from discrimination and

persecution in different parts of the world.

• They were targets of extermination in Germany and

other Western European countries because of their
identity. 197
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• This large scale extermination of the Jewish people is

called the Holocaust.

• Muslim Rohingyas are among the most marginalized

and persecuted people in the world.

• According to Abdu Hasnat Milton et al (2017), the

Rohingya are ‘one of the most ill-treated and

persecuted refugee groups in the world’.

• In recent years, more than half-a-million Rohingyas fled

from their homes in Nyanmar to neighboring countries

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• As people living in refugee camps, the Rohingyas are
vulnerable to problems such as malnutrition and
physical and sexual abuse.

• These are among the widely known examples of

discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities.

• The problem is not limited to specific areas, regions or

countries.

• Although the level of the problem varies in different

contexts, religious and ethnic minorities face different
forms of discrimination in many parts of the world. 199
4.6. Human right approaches & inclusiveness: Anthropological perspectives

• All forms of marginalization &discrimination against

vulnerable and minority groups contradict the
principles of human rights.

• The major human rights conventions denounce

discrimination against women, children, people with
disability, older people and other minority and
vulnerable groups.

• For example, people with disabilities have the right to

inclusive services and equal opportunities.

• Hence, buildings & compounds of service giving

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• The human rights of women and girls include right to be free

from harmful practices such as forced marriage, child

marriage, and female genital mutilation/cutting.

• Any form of discrimination, exclusion, and gender-based

violence also violate the human rights girls and women.

• Cultural Relativism is one of the guiding principles in social

anthropology.

• This does not mean that we need to appreciate every custom &

practice.

• Anthropologists do not support/appreciate customary practices

that violate the rights and wellbeing of individuals and groups.

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• Anthropologists do not support the following harmful

practices in the name of cultural relativism:
 Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C): B/se

 FGM/C violates the rights of girls to physical integrity.

 it has short & long term consequences for the health of

girls & women.
 Early/child marriage: B/se

 Child marriage violates the rights of young girls to make

decision about their future.
 It destroys their chance to education, and personal and
professional development.
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