Unit Two

CULTURE AND SOCIETY:

TIES THAT CONNECT
 Conceptualizing Culture
What Culture is and What Culture isn't?
• Has no universally agreed definition
• B.Malinowski has defined culture “as cumulative creation of
man”
• Robert Bierstedt says, “Culture is the complex whole that
consists of everything we think and do and have as members of
society.”
• A widely accepted and the more comprehensive definition of
culture was provided by the British anthropologist Edward B.
Tylor.
• He defined 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”
 Conceptualizing Culture…
Combining several of these definitions,
• Culture as the common way of life shared by a group
of people
• It includes all things beyond nature and biology
• Moral, intellectual and spiritual discipline for
advancement in accordance with the norms and values
• A system of learned behavior shared by and
transmitted among the members of the group
• A collective heritage learned by individuals and
passed from one generation to another
 Basic Characteristics of Culture
1. Culture Is Learned
 Culture is not transmitted genetically rather; it is acquired
through the process of learning
 More than any other species human relies for their survival on
behavior patterns that are learned
 Human have no instinct, which genetically programmed to
direct to behave in a particular way
 Individuals get cultural knowledge of the group through
socialization/learning
 This process of acquiring culture after we born is called
enculturation
 Enculturation is specifically defined as the process by which an
individual learns the rules and values of one’s culture.
 CXS…
2. Culture Is Shared
 Culture is the public property of a (social) group
of people
 For a thing, idea, or behavior pattern to qualify
as being “cultural” it must have a shared
meaning by at least two people within a society
 In order for a society to operate effectively, the
guidelines must be shared by its members.
 Without shared culture members of a society
would be unable to communicate and cooperates
and confusion and disorder would result.
 CXS…
3. Culture Is Symbolic:
 Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to
humans and to cultural learning
 It is based on the purposeful creation and usage of
symbols
 A symbol is something verbal or nonverbal,
within a particular language or culture that
comes to stand for something else
 For example, the designs and colors of the flags
of different countries represent symbolic
associations with abstract ideas and concepts
 CXS…
4. Culture Is All-Encompassing
 Encompasses all aspects, which affect people in their
everyday lives
 Comprises countless material and non-material aspects
of human lives
 when we talk about a particular people’s culture, we
are referring to all of its man- made objects, ideas,
activities whether those of traditional, old time things
of the past or those created lately.
 Culture is the sum total of human creation:
intellectual, technical, artistic, physical, and moral
 CXS…
5. Culture Is Integrated:
 Culture is 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 with one another
 A culture is a system, change in one aspect will likely generate changes
in other aspects
 The analogy between a culture and a living organism is a best way to
show the integrated nature of Culture
 The physical human body comprises a number of systems, all
functioning to maintain the overall health of the organisms, including
among others, such system as the respiratory system, the digestive
system, the skeletal system, excretory system, the reproductive system,
and lymphatic system
• Example:- the integrated nature of Values and Norms
 CXS…
6. Culture Can Be Adaptive and Maladaptive:
 Humans cultural ways of coping with environmental stresses
 Humans use "cultural adaptive kits," which contain customary activities and
tools that aid us
 People adapt themselves to the environment using culture
 Sometimes, adaptive behaviour that offers short-term benefits to particular
subgroups or individuals may harm the environment and threaten the group's
long-term survival
 Example: Automobiles permit us to make a living by getting us from home
to workplace
 But the by-products of such "beneficial" technology often create new
problems
 Chemical emissions increase air pollution, deplete the ozone layer, and
contribute to global warming.
 Many cultural patterns such as overconsumption and pollution appear to be
maladaptive in the long run.
 CXS…
7. Culture Is Dynamic:
 There are no cultures that remain completely static
year after year
 Culture is changing constantly as new ideas and new
techniques are added as time passes modifying or
changing the old ways
 Culture is changing :-through diffusions, innovation,
and adaptation to new circumstances
 Example, our traditional way of arranging marriage
has become changed
 Parents marriage arrangement has been changed to
couples agreement
 CXS…
8. Culture is organic and super-organic
 Organic:-there is no culture without human
society
 Super- organic:- because it is far beyond any
individual life time
– Individuals come and go, but culture remains and
persists
9. Culture is overt and covert
-Overt (material):-tangible human made objects such
as tools, automobiles, buildings
-Covert (non material):- non-physical aspects like
language, belief, ideas, knowledge, attitude, values, etc
 Aspects/elements of Culture
• Two of the most basic aspects of culture are
material and nonmaterial culture
• Material culture consist of man-made objects
such as tools, implements, furniture,
automobiles, buildings, dams, roads, bridges,
and in fact, the physical substance which has
been changed and used by man
• It is concerned with the external, mechanical
and utilitarian objects
• It includes technical and material equipment
• It is referred to as civilization
 Non material culture
Non – Material culture
 Internal and intrinsically valuable, reflects the inward nature of
man
 Consists of :-
 The words the people use
 The language people speak
 The beliefs people hold
 Values and virtues people cherish,
 Habits people follow,
 Rituals and practices that people do
 The ceremonies people participate and observe
 It also customs, tastes(perceptions), attitudes and outlook (view)
 In brief, our ways of acting, feeling and thinking
 Aspects of Nonmaterial Culture
Beliefs
 Beliefs are cultural conventions that concern true or
false assumptions, specific descriptions of the
nature of the universe and humanity’s place in it
 They are derived from values
 Types of beliefs
 political beliefs (how power is distributed and controlled)
Social beliefs (how people’s personal lives is structured in the
society)
Religious beliefs
 Non-Material Culture…
 Values are generalized notions of what is good and
bad; beliefs are more specific and, in form at least,
have more content
 “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.
 Values are principles, ideas or standards of behavior
while beliefs are convictions that we generally
accept to be true.
 Non material culture…
• Language
 System of verbal and in many cases written symbols
with rules about how those symbols can be pass into
together to convey more complex meanings
 Is the distinctive capacity and possession of humans
 Culture encompasses language
 For example in Geez language, you can find many
cultural issues of Ethiopia like indigenous knowledge
on traditional medicine, astronomy, calendar etc…
 In Arabic language (Quran), you can find similar
issues
 Language…
• Through language people can read, discuss, and
recombine existing ideas and technology
• The Wrights brothers who made airplane were using
language
• Equipped with language, humans can pass their
experiences, ideas, and knowledge to others
• How you develop the feelings about ADWA
victory?
• Process of social learning
• Children learn how to eat, dress, or play through the
language component of culture
 Language…
• According to Edward Sapir (1929) and
Benjamin Whorf (1956), language is our guide
to reality
• Our perceptions of the world depend in part on
the particular language we have learned
• Since languages differ, perceptions differ as
well
• For instance, the power of proverbs in different
languages like proverbs on humanity, children,
women etc.
 Non-material…
Values
 The Basis for Norms and Beliefs

 Essential elements of non-material culture

 General, abstract guidelines for our lives, decisions,

goals, choices, and actions
 Shared ideas of a groups or a society as to what is right
or wrong, correct or incorrect, desirable or undesirable,
acceptable or unacceptable, ethical or unethical, etc.,
regarding something
 Values…
• So general that they do not dictate precise ways of
thinking, feeling, and behaving (value to Freedom)
• Thus, different groups within the same society can have
quite different norms based on the same value
• For instance, express the value of freedom in America and
in the former Soviet Union is different
• Soviet leaders:- norms full employment, medical care, and
education
• Americans norms:- the right to free speech and assembly,
the right to engage in private enterprise, and the right to a
representative government
 Values…
• These two countries have the same value to
freedom
• But, the norms to respect this value (freedom) is
different
• For soviet union (full employment, medical care,
and education)
• For Americans (the right to free speech and
assembly, the right to engage in private enterprise,
and others
 Values…
• Identical values do not result in identical
norms.
Example
• All Ethiopians have a value to patriotism
• But, do all Ethiopians have similar
norms(ways of respecting patriotism)?
• Loving the flag, loving the national anthem or
proud to history like Adwa are the different
manifestation of patriotism for different people
 Why are values important?
• Values have a great influence on human social
behavior because they form the basis for norms.
• A society that values democracy will have
norms ensuring personal freedom
• A society that values human welfare will have
norms providing help for needy members
• A society that values hard work will have
norms against laziness (discourage lazes)
 Why values…
• If you have a value to humanity
 You will treat/respect human beings equally
 You will dislike discrimination
 You will not have any consideration (age, gender,
education, ethnic background) to help the need
 You will avoid hate
 You will not have geographical boundary to help
the need
• How do you relate the value of humanity
with Ethiopian current situation?
 Why values…
• They are so general that they are involved in
most aspects of daily life
• For example, the influence of the value of
freedom goes beyond political life
• The value of freedom affects
How family relationships are conducted
How people are treated within the legal system
How organizations are run
 How people worship
 Non material…
• Norms
The rules we live by or govern
 Rules defining appropriate and inappropriate
behavior
Ways of behaving in specific situations
Explain why people in a society or group
behave similarly in similar circumstances
 Norms…
• So deep-rooted, embedded, informal social
controls, informal laws
• Guide behavior without our awareness
• Range from relatively minor rules, such as the
idea that we should approve after a performance
(appreciation, thank you), to extremely
important ones, such as laws against stealing
• Depending on the intensity/strength of feeling
associated with them, norms can be classified
into Mores and Folkways
 Mores

• The term mores (pronounced “MOR-ays”) is

based on the word moral
• Morality deals with conduct related to right and
wrong
• Mores are norms of great moral significance
• They are vital to the well-being of a society
• Conformity to mores draws strong social approval
• Violation of this type of norm brings strong
disapproval
 Mores…
• Conformity to mores is a social requirement
• Some mores are more vital to a society than
others
• The most serious mores are taboos
• A taboo is a norm so strong that its violation
demands punishment by the group (or, some
people think even the supernatural)
• In India, followers of Hinduism have a taboo
forbidding the killing of cows
• Other taboos are related to sexual behaviors
 Mores…
• Incest taboo is forbidding sexual contact with
close relatives
• Generally, regarded as the only taboo that is
present in all societies
• Mores further classify into laws and
conventions
• Laws are codified mores
• Conventions on the other hand refer to formal
agreements such as those made between
countries
 Folkways
• Are minor rules about social conduct that serve
as conventional (conservative) ways of doing
things
• Those norms that should be followed as a matter
of good conduct or politeness
• They are only agreed notions (thinking) of
proper conduct
• Have little moral significance
• Examples include norms involving dressing,
walking, talking rules.
• They are viewed as less important than mores
 Folkways…
• Some folkways are more important than others, and
the social reaction to their violation is more intense
• For example, respecting religious leaders are more
serious than respecting other ordinary people
among the Ethiopians
• Failure to offer a woman a seat on a crowded bus
draws little notice today
• In contrast, horrible behavior at a party after
excessive drinking may bring a strong negative
reaction from others
 Folkways…
• Violations of folkways typically result in only mild
penalties
• For example, a male who does not wear a tie to a
formal dinner party is violating one of the folkways
• we sometimes call "etiquette“ or ethics
• He might be the subject of some mocking comment
• On the other hand, were he to arrive at the dinner
party wearing only a tie, he would be violating
cultural mores and inviting far more serious sanctions
 Folkways…
• Depending on their duration, folkways are also
divided in to two as customs and fashions
• Customs are folkways that have existed for a long
time and become part of society’s traditions
• For example, in rural parts of Ethiopia children are
expected to eat their dinner after elders
• Fashions are folkways which are not relatively
permanent and change from time to time
• For example calling fathers as “DADY”, and mothers
as “MOMY’’ are recent fashions in urban areas of
Ethiopia but may change through time
 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), others are merely generalities (common
to several but not all human groups), other traits
are particularities (unique to certain cultural
traditions)
 Cultural Unity and Variations…
Universality
• Universals are cultural traits that span across all cultures
• Most are biologically that distinguish us from other species
• Examples:
 Long period of infant dependency
 Year-round sexuality
 Complex brain that enables use of symbols, languages, and tools
• Social universals – Life in groups – Some kind of family –
• A great example of universality is that whether in Africa or
Asia, Australia, or Antarctica, people understand the universal
concept of family, Child Care, Cooking etc.
• Anthropologists identified around 70 cultural universals
practiced around the world
 Cultural Unity and Variations…
Generality
• Generalities are cultural traits that occur in many
societies but not all of them
• Societies can share same beliefs and customs
because of borrowing Domination (colonial rule)
• when customs and procedures are imposed on one
culture can also cause generality
• Independent innovation of same cultural trait –
Farming Examples: – Nuclear family Parents and
children
 Cultural Unity and Variations…
Particularity
• Trait of a culture that is not widespread Cultural
borrowing
• Traits once limited are more widespread Useful traits
that don’t clash with current culture get borrowed
• Examples: – Food dishes (plates)
• Particularities are becoming rarer in some ways but
also becoming more obvious
• Borrowed cultural traits are modified Marriage,
parenthood, death, puberty, birth all celebrated
differently
 Basic concepts in Culture
Cultural Change
 All cultures experience change
 It is not static
 Norms, values, and beliefs are relatively stable, but they
do change over time
 Examples, cultures about child care, marriage,
neighborhood and respecting elders are changing in
Ethiopia through time
 Mode of information transmission has changed from
physical delivery ---Posta---phone---email etc..
 Interracial dating (marriage), while still relatively
uncommon, is becoming more acceptable in many
countries
 Causes for cultural change

Discovery
The process of finding something that already
exists
The unrecognized athletic abilities of females
have been discovered generally in the world
This is changing the perception of women and
the relationship between males and females
 Causes…
Invention
The creation of something new
Science has led to inventions that have changed
the world since the fifteenth century, from the
creation of the steam engine to the cellular
phone
Such inventions have greatly altered our way of
life
Examples, new housing designs by artichetures,
new scientific perspective about child care
 Causes…
Diffusion
• The borrowing of aspects of culture from other
cultures,
• One aspect of culture that diffuses rapidly is food
• Tacos, pizza, and hamburgers can be found on
menus all over the world
• Christmas trees and piñatas are part of
celebrations in many countries
• Now a days, our dressing style is diffused from
the western
 Causes…
• Ideas are also diffused
• Ideas like democracy, freedom, federalism,
globalization, capitalism etc. rapidly diffused
to many countries after World War II
• Cultures can also change through adaptation to
new circumstances
• Examples, dressing styles to adapt warm and
icy environments
• Afar’s traditional water refrigeration culture to
adapt the hot environment
 Causes…

Acculturation
• Is the exchange of cultural features that results
when groups have continuous firsthand
contact.
• This usually happens in situations of trade or
colonialism
• In situations of continuous contact, cultures
have also exchanged and blended foods,
recipes, music, dances, clothing, tools, and
technologies.
 Causes…
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
• Promoting such linkages are economic and political
forces, as well as modern systems of transportation and
communication
• Due to globalization, long-distance communication is
easier, faster, and cheaper than ever, and extends to
remote areas
• The mass media help push a globally spreading culture
of consumption
 Globalization…
• Within nations and across their borders, the
media spread information about products,
services, rights, institutions, lifestyles, and the
perceived costs and benefits of globalization
• Emigrants transmit information and resources
transnationally
• They learn to play various social roles and to
change behavior and identity depending on the
situation.
 Basic concepts…

Cultural Diversity
• The existence of different culture with in a given
society
• Exists in all societies
• For example, there are diverse culture in Ethiopia like
Oromo culture, Amhara culture, Sidama culture, etc.
• Some diversity is a result of social categories—groups
that share a social characteristic such as age, gender, or
religion, ethnicity …
• Cultural diversity also comes from groups that differ in
particular ways from the larger culture (sub-culture)
• There are sub culture among the ormos, Amhara etc…
 Basic concepts
Subculture
• Part of the dominant culture but differs from it in some
important aspects
• Members of a subculture participate in the larger culture
• They may speak the language, work regular jobs, eat and
dress like most others, and attend recognized houses of
worship
• However, these groups have some ways of thinking,
feeling, and behaving that set them apart.
• Examples, university students subculture, females sub
culture, elders subculture, musicians subculture, and
mental patients subculture etc..
 Basic concepts…
Counterculture
• A subculture deliberately and consciously opposed to
certain central beliefs or attitudes of then dominant culture
• A counterculture can be understood only within the context
of this opposition
• Countercultures typically grow well among the young, who
have the least investment in the existing (dominant) culture
• Examples include the university students movement against
the feudalist in Ethiopia in 1960s
• Youngster groups counter opposition on traditional
marriage arrangement in Ethiopia
• If groups opposed the culture of chewing chat in Harar
 Counterculture
• Examples of primarily teenage countercultures
include the “Goth” and the “punk” scenes in the
United States of America.
• Goth is a shortening of the term gothic,
meaning dark, strangely mysterious, and remote
• Punk is a philosophy of rebellion and sexual
revolution popularized by the lyrics and music
of punk-rock bands
 Basic concepts…
Culture Shock
• The psychological and social maladjustment
(disturbance) at micro or macro level
• Experienced for the first time when people
encounter new cultural elements such as new
things, new ideas, new concepts, seemingly
strange beliefs and practices
• Anyone who feels disoriented, uncertain, out of
place, even fearful, when immersed and in an
unfamiliar culture may
 Culture shock
• For example, during your visit to china, you
may see people eating dog meat
• Someone from a strict Islamic culture may be
shocked upon first seeing the comparatively
provocative dress styles and open displays of
affection that are common in the United States
of America and various European countries
• Highly ethnocentric people are exposed widely
to culture shock
• Cultural relativists may find it easy to adapt to
new situations and overcome culture shock
 Evaluating Cultural Difference
Ethnocentrism
• A reflection of our attitude that our own culture is
best
• Terms such as underdeveloped, backward, and
primitive to refer to other societies and
experiences
• What “we” believe is a religion; what “others”
believe is superstition (false notion) and
mythology(tradition)
 Ethnocentrism…
• It is not logically possible and proper to
underestimate or overestimate or judge other
cultures on the basis of one's cultural standard
• An attitude of taking one's own culture and
ways of life as the best and the center of all and
on the other hand, regarding other ethnic groups
and cultures as inferior, bad, full of errors, etc
 Two faces of Ethnocentrism
It offers both advantages and disadvantages.
Advantage (for the in group)
People feel good about themselves and about
others in their group.
Stability is promoted because traditions and
behaviors are highly valued
The ancient Chinese built a wall to keep both
invaders and new ideas out
 Faces…
Disadvantage
 Extreme ethnocentrism can prevent change for the
better
 Societies whose members are firmly convinced of their
superiority tend not to create anything new
 The civil rights movement was born to combat racial
ethnocentrism
 Hitler’s Final Solution was ethnocentrism at its worst
 Today, many states are passing laws that increase the
penalties against people who commit violent acts
against others based on their race, origin, or religion
 Evaluating…
Cultural Relativism
• A situation where there is an attitude of respect
for cultural differences rather than condemning
other people's culture as uncivilized or
backward
• It views people’s behavior from the perspective
of their own culture
• Unlike ethnocentrism, cultural relativism
employs the kind of value neutrality in scientific
study
 Attitude…
Xenocentrism
• An interesting extension of cultural relativism
• It is the belief that the products, styles, or ideas
of one’s society are inferior to those that
originate elsewhere
• In a sense, it is a reverse ethnocentrism
• damaging to local competitors
• Had economic impact in the developing world
(Conflict theorists)
• How do you feel about the quality of Ethiopian
shoe as compared with products from abroad?
 Human Rights
• Human rights advocates challenge many of the
views 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?
• Shall we respect these issues in the view of
cultural relativism?
 Human rights…
• Rights based on justice and morality beyond and
superior to particular countries, cultures, and
religions
• The idea of human rights challenges cultural
relativism by invoking a realm of justice and
morality beyond and superior to the laws and
customs of particular countries, cultures, and
religions
• For instance, how we treat issues like abduction,
FGM, Early marriage, minigie (Hamer) etc.. in
Ethiopia from CR perspective
 Human Rights…
• Human rights include the right to speak freely, to
hold religious beliefs without discrimination, and
to not be murdered, injured, or enslaved or
imprisoned without charge
• Such rights are seen as inalienable (nations
cannot reduce or terminate them) and
international (larger than and superior to
individual nations and cultures)
• The right to life (inalienable right), protected
from genocidal act (international right)
 Human rights…
• A doctrine of universal human rights, which
emphasizes the rights of the individual over those
of the community, would condemn such killings
• Most ethnographers try to be objective, accurate,
and sensitive in their accounts of other cultures
• However, their objectivity, sensitivity and a cross-
cultural perspective got nothing to do with
ignoring international standards of justice and
morality
• Therefore, how we treat human rights under
cultural relativism perspective? unanswered
 Ties That Connect: Marriage, Family and
Kinship
What is marriage?
• Almost all known societies recognize marriage
• A sexual union between a man and a woman such
that children born to the woman are considered
the legitimate offspring of both parents
• In traditional, simple societies, marriage is often
more of a relationship between groups than
between individuals
 Marriage…
• In industrial societies, it is more of individual
matter
• Marriage in industrial societies joins
individuals and relationship between
individuals can be separated (broken) more
easily than those between groups in traditional
societies
 Rules of Marriage
• Societies have rules that state whom one can and
cannot marry
• 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
mating between members of the immediate
(nuclear) family: mother-sons, father-daughters,
and brother-sisters.
 Rules of Marriage/….
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
• There are two types of rules of marriage:
• These are endogamy and exogamy
• Endogamy is a marriage rule, which requires that
people marry within their own social group (e.g.
their own tribe, nationality, religion, race,
community, social class, etc..)
 Rules…
• Exogamy requires that people marry outside a
group to which they belong
• It blocks marriage within smaller inner circle,
i.e. one's own close relatives
• One of the main concerns of exogamous
marriage rule is prohibition of incest, i.e.,
marrying or sexual contact between blood
relatives
 Functions of Marriage
The main purpose of marriage is
• To create new social relationships, rights and obligations between
the spouses and their kin
• To establish the rights and status of children when they are born
According to Edmund Leach (1955) marriage may accomplish the
following functions depending on the society
 Establish legal father and mother of children
 Provide control over sexuality of spouse
 Give rights to labor of spouse
 Give rights over spouse’s property
 Create a joint fund of property (for children)
 Begin a socially significant affinal relationship between spouses
and their relatives
 Forms of Marriage
• Generally, marriage is classified into monogamy and polygamy
• Monogamy is a form of marriage which involves usually a man
and a woman
• It is a one to one marriage
• Very common in most societies of the world
• Polygamy (also called plural marriage) is permitted in many
cultures
• The two kinds of polygamy are polygyny and polyandry
• Polygyny involves multiple wives (a man marrying more than
one woman at a time)
• Polyandry involves multiple husbands (i.e. one woman married to
more than one man at a time)
 Forms of Marriage…
• Polygyny and polyandry are found in various social and cultural
contexts and occur for many reasons
• Polygyny is much more common than polyandry
• The most common form of polyandrous marriage is termed as
fraternal polyandry, which involve two or more brothers taking a
single woman as their wife
• Polyandrous marriage is very rare (occurs mainly in South Asian
societies such as Tibet, Burma, Nepal, India, and so on)
• There are demographic, economic, ecological and other reasons for
plural marriages
• In Ethiopia, plural marriages , particularly a man marrying more than
one woman is common in most southern and southwestern parts and
Muslim societies
• In theses societies, polygyny is more common than polyandry
 Other Forms of Marriage Arrangement
• Levirate marriage, which is a form of marriage whereby a man is
entitled to inherit the wife of his dead brother or close relative called
wife inheritance
• This form of marriage is common in some parts of Ethiopia and
elsewhere in traditional societies, despite it may be declining these
days
• Sororate marriage, which entitles a man to take as wife a sister or
close relative of his dead wife
• Child marriage or arranged marriage:- arrangement of marriage
of a young girl to usually an older person
• A more common form of marriage in Ethiopia
• Classified among the so-called harmful traditional practices in
Ethiopia
 Economic Consideration of Marriage
• Most societies view 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: rights of sexual access, legal
rights to children, and rights of the spouses to each other’s
economic goods and services.
• Often the transfer of rights is accompanied by the transfer of
some type of economic consideration.
• These transactions, which may take place either before or
after the marriage can be divided into three categories:
• Bride Price
• Bride Service
• Dowry
 Economic consideration…
• 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.
• 2. Bride Service: When the groom works for his
wife’s family, this is known as bride service.
• 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.
 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.
• Matrilocal Residence: the married couple lives with or near the
relatives of the wife.
• Avunculocal Residence: The married couple lives with or near
the husband’s mother’s brother.
• Ambilocal/Bilocal Residence: The married couple has a choice
of living with relatives of the wife or relatives of the husband
• Neolocal Residence: The Married couple forms an independent
place of residence away from the relatives of either spouse.
 Family
• What is family?
 One of the functions of marriage is that it leads to the creation
of families
 But, families may come into being independently of marriage
 However, marriage provides the family its legal and social
validity
 Family is the basis of human society
 It is the most important primary group in society. The family, as
an institution, is universal.
 It is the most permanent and most pervasive of all social
institutions
 The interpersonal relationships within the family make the
family an endurable social unit.
 Types of Family
1. Nuclear family
• A dominant form of family in today's modern
society consists of a husband, wife and their
dependent children or child
• However, this form of family is the ideal one in
societies where polygamous marriage form is
dominant
• It is rare among small-scale, agriculturalist
societies in the Third World
 Types…
2. Extended family
• A family in much small- scale, traditional
societies may constitute a husband, his
wife/wives, his wife’s/ wives’ children and/or
the wives and children of his sons
• In societies based on extended families, blood
ties are more important than ties of marriage.
 Functions of Family
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.
• Sexual cohabitation between spouses
automatically leads to the birth of off-springs.
• The task of perpetuating the population of a
society is an important function of a family.
Society reproduces itself through family.
 Functions…
2. Economic Function:
• Marriage brings economic co-operation
between men and women and 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.
 Functions…
3. Social Function:
• The form of person to person relations and linking once kin group to
another kin group
• Providing social support,
• Providing physical care and protection for the young, the sick, the
disabled and the aged
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 learn an immense amount of knowledge, culture, values
prescribed by society, before they assume their place as adult members
of a society.
• The task of educating and enculturating children is distributed among
parents
• family behaves as an effective agent in the transmission of social
heritage.
 Kinship System
• Kinship is the method of reckoning (calculating)
relationship
• 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 marriage is called ‘family of procreation’.
• It is a structured system of relationships where
individuals are bound together by complex
interlocking and ramifying ties
 Kinship…
• Kinship is considered the lifeblood or the
social building blocks of the people
• It is defined as the network in which people
are related to one another through blood,
marriage and other ties
• It is a kind of social relationship that ties
people
• It is universally found in all societies
 Types of Kinship…
• Kinship can be categorized into three types
based on the way in which the link created:
1. Consanguineal Kinship
2. Affinal Kinship
3. Fictious Kinship
 Consanguineal Kinship
• A consanguine is a person who is related to
another person through blood
• Includes kin who have blood connection, not
friends
Examples
 A parent's (father/mother/grand-parent) relation to a
child
 Relation between siblings (brothers and sisters)
 An individual’s relation to his/ her uncle, aunt, niece
or nephew etc.
 Continued…

• There are three types of consanguineal kins:

• Lineal kins:- who are the direct offspring of common forebears

in a vertical line

• For instance, grandfather-father-son-grandson.

• Siblings who are the brothers and sisters i.e., the children of the

same parent

• Collateral kins:- that are not related in the single line and are

related indirectly through a linking relative, such as father’s

brother or brother’s daughter.

 Affinal Kinship
• Created through marriage relationship
• The affinal kins are not related through the
bond of blood
Examples
• Kinship ties between husband and wife
• Husband and his wife's group
• Wife and her husband’s group, etc.
 Fictious Kinship
• Created through adoption, fostering, god-
parenthood, etc.
• This is called the principle of fictitious kinship
• Parent-child relationship without any blood or
marriage ties
 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.
• In almost all societies kinship connections are very significant
• Succession and inheritance is related to this rule of descent.
• Unlike Kinship System, descent system recognized only
biological relationship
It rules people
• To determine parenthood
• To identify ancestry
• Assign people to social categories and groups
• Roles on basis of inherited status
 Rules of Descent System
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.
 Continued…
2. Matrilineal descent
• When the descent is traced solely through the
female line. It is called matrilineal descent
• At birth, children of both sexes belong to
mother’s descent group, but later only
females acquire the succession and
inheritance.
• Therefore, daughters carry the tradition,
generation after generation.
 Continued…
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.
 Unit-Three

Human Diversity, Culture

Areas and Contact in Ethiopia
 The biocultural animal?
• Humanity evolves both as a result of biological factors and
cultural factors.
• For this reason, anthropologists call it biocultural evolution.
• Although humans survive by using both their biology and
cultural information, all other animals survive mainly through
their biology and by relying on instinct rather than such
cultural information.
• For example, cultural, not instinctual, information tells you
certain kinds of wood are good for making a digging stick.
• You don’t know about different kinds of wood instinctually but
because detailed information about the properties of different
kinds of wood was passed on to your mind culturally —
through some form of language — by your parent generation
 Humanity
Anthropological perspective
• Is the most common term we to use refer to
human beings
• Humanity stands for the human species, a group
of life forms with the following characteristics:
 Bipedalism (walking on two legs);
 Relatively small teeth for primates of our size;
 Relatively large brains for primates of our size;
 Using modern language to communicate ideas; and
 Using complex sets of ideas called culture to survive
 Cosmologies and Human Origins
• The most profound questions are the ones that puzzle us the most.
 Where did we come from?
 Why are we here?
 What is our place in the universe?
• These questions have been shared by many people throughout
history
• Most cultures have developed explanations that provide answers
to these fundamental questions
• Cosmologies are conceptual frameworks that present the universe
(the cosmos) as an orderly system
• They often include answers to these basic questions about human
origins and the place of human kind in the universe, usually
considered the most sacred of all cosmological conceptions
 Cosmologies…
• Cosmologies account for the ways in which supernatural beings or
forces formed human beings and the planet we live on.
• These beliefs are transmitted from generation to generation
through ritual, education, laws, art, and language.
• For example, in the tradition of Taoism, male and female principles
known as yin and yang are the spiritual and material sources for the
origins of humans and other living forms.
• Yin is considered the passive, negative, feminine force or principle
in the universe, the source of cold and darkness,
• Yang is the active, positive, masculine force or principle, the source
of heat and light.
• Taoists believe that the interaction of these two opposite principles
brought forth the universe and all living forms out of chaos.
 Western Traditions of Origins

• In Western cultural traditions, the ancient Greeks had

various mythological explanations for human origins.
• One early view was that Prometheus fashioned
humans out of water and earth
• Later Greek views considered bio- logical evolution
• The Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus (c.636–
546BC) attempted to understand the origin and the
existence of the world without reference to mythology
• He argued that life originated in the sea and that
humans initially were fishlike, eventually moving onto
dry land and evolving in to mammals
 Western Traditions of Origins..

• The most important cosmological tradition affecting Western

views of creation is recounted in the biblical Book of Genesis,
which is found in Greek texts dating back to the 3rdcentury BC.
• This Judaic tradition describes how God created the cosmos.
• It begins with “In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth” and describes how creation took six days during which
light, heaven, Earth, vegetation, Sun, Moon, stars, birds, fish,
animals, and humans originated.
• The Creator, made man, Adam, from “dust” and placed him in the
Garden of Eden
• Woman, Eve, was created from Adam’s rib
• Later, as Christianity spread throughout Europe, this tradition
became the dominant cosmological explanation of human origins.
 Evolutionary and paleo-anthropological perspectives on human origin

• As opposed to cosmological explanations, today

anthropologist rely on scientific views of evolution
• Evolution refers to a process and gradual change in specie
over time
• In fact, evolution is used to describe the cumulative effects of
three independent facts.
• Replication: The fact that life forms have offspring;
• Variation: The fact that each offspring is slightly different from
its parents, and its siblings; and
• Selection: The fact that not all offspring survive, and those
that do tend to be the ones best suited to their environment.
 Evolutionary and paleo-anthropological…

• One of the prominent persons in relation to this

development is Charles Darwin (1809-1882), a British
Naturalist of the period.
• Charles Darwin is known for his theory of natural
selection in the evolution of species and the idea of
survival of the fittest
• According to him, humanity was part of the world of
living things, not separate from it.
• The study of humans as living, evolving creatures in
many ways no different from the rest of animal life
 Evolutionary and paleo-anthropological…
• Today, anthropologists have countless amount of data, much of it
based on studies of DNA, the molecule that shapes all Earth life, to
back the claims Darwin made in 1859.
• In doing so, 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 fist appear?
• What were our ancestors 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?
• The answers to the above mentioned and many
other questions about our species in the study of
evolution, the change through time of the
properties of a living species.
• That’s because evolution is the foundation of the
life sciences
• Many kinds of life forms have become extinct (like
the dinosaurs), but each of today’s living species
(including humanity) has an evolutionary ancestry
that reaches far back in time.
 The Kinds of Humanity: human physical variation

• People come in many colors and shapes; people of the

Mediterranean, for example, are obviously darker-
skinned than those of Scandinavia, and natives of the
Arctic are shorter and stockier than the tall, lean
Samburu of East Africa.
• Why is this?
• How did these variations come about, and
• what do they mean for humanity as a species?
• For anthropologists, it is due to environmental adaptation
• These questions lead to the concept of race
 Racial types- anthropological perspectives

• Obviously, not all human beings look the same, so

humans have spent some time putting people of
different colors, body shapes, and so on into
different categories sometimes called races.
• Unfortunately, this tendency has had some very
bad consequences for millions of human beings
over the centuries.
• Biologically speaking, a race is a group of organisms
of the same species that share similar physical (and
genetic) attributes and specific geographic regions..
 Racial Types…
• Just like any other living thing, human beings adapt to
their environments through an evolutionary process.
• Adaptation is can be understood as a process
(behavioural and/or biological) that increases the
likelihood of survival for an organism.
• An adaptation can be a mutation that confers an
advantage
• In humans, adaptations include complex behavior,
such as making tools
• These behaviors aren’t passed on genetically but
rather culturally
 What Anthropologists can say for sure about Human Races?

• Races is geographically based differences within the species.

• Recognizes the reality of some geographically specific human
adaptations
• cultural behavior isn’t genetically linked to those geographical
differences.
• Most of human behavior isn’t biologically determined through the
natural environment but most of it is culturally learned.
• It’s culture that really drives behavior, not the genes
• One of the main reasons the race concept really doesn’t apply to
humans is that defining human races is almost impossible: To what
race do you assign a person born from a Native American and a
native African marriage? Do you create a new race in this case?
• And what’s “black” or “white”? Is a Greek person black or white? Of
course, they’re in between.
 Why is Everyone Different? Human Cultural Diversity/Variation

• Although all humans are of the same species, they

don’t all act the same; human behavior varies
tremendously worldwide.
• If race doesn’t control a person’s characteristics,
what does account for human behavioral variation?
• In short, the answer is culture.
• Cultures differ because people live in different
conditions, be they ecological, economic, social, or
what have you.
 Culture Area and Cultural Contact in Ethiopia

• Culture areas refer 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 anthropologists
were interested in examining the concentration of
cultural traits in a given geographic area
• In the context of Ethiopia, we may come up with
different culture area in relation to subsistence
• These are plough(cultivate) culture area, Enset
culture area, and pastoral societies culture area
 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
serving as the backbone of the economy are considered
a plough culture
• Plough culture has been a subject of anthropological
inquires over the past seven decades starting from the
1950s
• Some of the ethnographers who studied plough culture
are Donald Levine, Allen Hobben, Fredrick Gamst and
Jack Bauer
 Enset culture area

• Enset culture area 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 primary diet to
the people who make use the plant in a wide
variety of forms for a living
 Pastoral culture area

• Found in the low land areas covering a large

section of the Afar in the northwest, Somali in
the southeast and Borena of southern parts of
Ethiopia
• As opposed to the above 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 pastoral culture area
 UNIT FOUR

Marginalized, Minorities,
and Vulnerable Groups
 Definition of concepts
• Marginalization :- a treatment of a person or social group as minor,
insignificant or peripheral
• It involves exclusion of certain groups from social interactions, marriage
relations, sharing food and drinks, and working and living together
• Who are mostly marginalized?
 There are marginalized social groups in every society and culture
 Women, children, older people, and people with disabilities are among
marginalized groups across the world
 The nature and level of marginalization varies from society to society as
a result of cultural diversity
 Religious, ethnic, and racial minorities are also among social groups
marginalized in different societies and cultures
 Crafts workers such as tanners (ቆዳ ፋቂ), potters, and ironsmiths (ብረት
ሰራተኛ) are marginalized in many parts of Ethiopia
 Definition….
• Vulnerability :- the state of being exposed to physical or
emotional injuries
• Vulnerable groups are people exposed to possibilities of
attack, harms or mistreatment
• Vulnerable persons/groups need special attention,
protection and support
• For example, children and people with disabilities need
special support and protection as they are exposed to
risks and neglect because of their age and disabilities
• Universities have introduced special needs education for
students with disabilities to give them special support
 Definition…
• Minority groups: 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
• For example, black Americans are minorities in the
United States of America.
• Christians could be minorities in a Muslim majority
country
• Muslims can be minorities in a predominantly Hindu
society.
 Kinds of Marginalization
1. Gender-based marginalization
• Gender inequality involves discrimination on a group of people
based on their gender.
• Gender inequality mainly arises from socio-cultural norms
• Girls and women face negative discrimination in societies across
the world
• Women are exposed to social and economic inequalities involving
unfair distribution of wealth, income and job opportunities
• Gender-based marginalization is a global problem
• It involves exclusion of girls and women from a wide range of
opportunities and social services.
• According to Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey report, the prevalence of FGC
in Ethiopia varied from region to region.
• Somali (99%), Afar (91%), and Harari (84%) are the three regions with very high
prevalence of the practice
 Kinds…
2. Marginalized occupational groups
• There are occupational marginalized groups in many parts of
Ethiopia
• The following are marginalized occupational groups in our
country:
 Tanners ፋቂ
 Potters ቡዳ
 Weavers ቁጢት በጣሽ
 Ironsmiths ቀጥቃጭ
• These craft-workers have different names in different parts of the
country
• Craft-workers such as potters and tanners are considered as
impure and excluded from social interactions, ownership of
economic resources (e.g., land), and participation in associations
and celebrations
 Kinds…
• These occupational groups marginalized in four
ways
1. Spatial marginalization
• Craft-workers settle/live on the outskirts (border)
of villages, 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
 Kinds…

2. Economic marginalization
• Craft-workers are excluded from certain
economic activities including production and
exchanges
• In some cultures they are not allowed to
cultivate crops
• They have a limited access to land and land
ownership
 Kinds
3. Social marginalization
• Craft-workers are excluded from intermarriage
• They do not share burial (funereal) places with
others
• They are excluded from membership of
associations such as iddirs
• When marginalized groups are allowed to
participate in social events, they must sit on the
floor separately-sometimes outside the house or
near the door.
 Kinds
4. Cultural marginalization
• Cultural marginalization is manifested in
negative stereotyping such as the following:
• Occupational minorities are labelled as impure
and polluting; they are accused of eating
animals that have died without being
slaughtered;
• Occupational minorities are also considered
unreliable, lacking morality, respect and
shame.
 Kinds..
3.Age Based Marginalization
- Marginalization of older persons
- Early/child marriage
• 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
• Older persons are marginalized because they are
considered as social burden rather than social assets
 Age-Based Marginalization
Ageism is a widely observed social problem in
the world
Ageism refer to stereotyping, prejudice, and
discrimination against people based on their
age
Causes of Ageism
• Modernization, globalization, and
urbanization
 4. Religious and ethnic minorities

• Religious and ethnic minorities groups also

face different forms of marginalization
• 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
 Human right approaches and inclusiveness:
Anthropological perspectives

• All forms of marginalization and discrimination against vulnerable and

minority groups contradict the principles of human rights.
• The major human rights conventions denounce (condomn) discrimination
against women, children, people with disability, older people and other
minority and vulnerable groups.
• People with disabilities have the right to inclusive services and equal
opportunities.
• The human rights of women and girls include right to be free from
harmful traditional practices such as forced marriage, early marriage, and
female genital cutting.
• Any form of discrimination, exclusion, and gender-based violence also
violate the human rights girls and women.
 Human Rights…

Ethiopian Constitution
• Article 18, prohibition against inhuman
treatment
• Article 25, right to equality
• All persons are equal before the law
• Article 27, freedom of religion, belief and
opinion
• Article 35, rights of women
• Article 36, rights of children
• Article 41, economic, social and cultural rights
 solution
• We have to create inclusive environment
• Recognize and respond to the diverse needs
1. Physical environment
2. Social environment
3. Psychological environment
 Unit Five

Identity, Inter-ethnic Relations and

Multiculturalism In Ethiopia
 Identity
• Identity is a feeling of subjective integrity, consistency and
durability in terms of who we were in the past and still
• Answer to the question ‘’who am I’’, indicating that we are
a unique person different from anybody else
• The question who am I? Sometimes called
the characterization question determines someone’s
personal identity
• It usually refers to properties to which we feel a special
sense of attachment
• Personal identity is also considered as temporary
• The way I define myself as a person might vary from one
time to another
 Identity..
• A self-opinion that an individual creates and
desires to maintain
• Hold both statements about what makes us
similar to other people, and what makes us
dissimilar
• Perception of ourselves and others by means
of abstract social categories
 Social identity…
• Refers the individual's knowledge of belonging
to certain social groups, the emotions and values
that conveys to him or her
• Identities are the traits and characteristics,
social relations, roles, and social group
memberships that define who one is
• Focused on the past-what used to be true, the
present-what is true, or the future-that one
expects or wishes to become
 Social identity
• It is an ongoing and open-ended processes of
identification
• Identity engaged people in the process of
identification
• Does not determine in any mechanistic or
causal sense, what individuals do
• ‘Identity is a process than a fact.’
 Ethnicity and Race
• Race is an elusive(intangible) concept and used in
a variety of contexts and meanings; sometimes
interchangeably with ethnicity
• Ethnicity means identification with, and feeling
part of an ethnic group and exclusion from certain
other groups because of this affiliation
• When a group is assumed to have biological basis,
distinctively shared “blood” or genes, called race
• Discrimination against such a group is called
racism
 Race
• Common ways to divide humanity into four main races
• This classification recognized both the scientific and folk
notions of race
• Race was used both as a system of human classification and
social stratification
• Europeaeus: White; muscular; long, flowing hair; blue eyes,
inventive, gentle, and governed by laws
• Americanus: Reddish; black hair; straight, thick; wide
nostrils – merry, free, and regulated by custom
• Asiaticus: Sallow (yellow); black hair; dark eyes – avaricious,
severe, and ruled by opinions
• Africanus: Black; black hair, silky skin; flat nose; tumid lips,
Crafty, negligent, and governed by will of their masters
 Race..
• These, “folk” and “scientific” notions of race however,
begin to differ in the early 20th century
• Modern genetics consider race as variable or illusionary
concept in biomedical research and tends not to speak of
races, because of two main reasons:
1.Interbreeding between human populations, metaphorically
speaking termed as melting pot, that it would be meaningless
to talk of fixed boundaries between races
2. The distribution of hereditary physical traits does not
follow clear boundaries
• There is often greater variation within a "racial" group
than between two groups.
 Race…
• Genetic studies concerning human variation show
that humans are > 99% genetically alike
• Thus, there lack a unifying genetic essence for
people of the same race
• People of the same race are not necessarily “closely
related” when compared to people of different races
• Biologically speaking, because of the unification of
people from different parts of the world, there is no
“pure” race and race has no scientific validity to be
used as means of group identification/categorization
 Ethnic Group and Ethnic Identity
• Ethnic group: meaning and concept
• A community or a group of people who share the
same culture or descendants of people who may not
share culture but identify themselves by tracing
ancestral tie
• six main features of an ethnic group;
• A common proper name, to identify and express the
“essence” of the community;
• A myth of common ancestry that includes the idea
of common origin in time and place and that gives
an ethnic group a sense of fictive kinship;
 Continued…

• Shared historical memories, or better, shared memories of

a common past or pasts, including heroes, events, and their
commemoration;
• One or more elements of common culture, which need not
be specified but normally, include religion, customs, and
language;
• A link with a homeland, not necessarily its physical
occupation by the ethnic group, only its symbolic
attachment to the ancestral land, as with diaspora peoples;
and
• A sense of solidarity on the part of at least some sections of
the ethnic’s population (Hutchinson and Smith, 1996:6-7).
 Ethnic group…
• It can be seen in two dimensions, objective and subjective
• The objective dimensions include presence of at least some community institutions or
organizations having descendants and ancestors, with a "script" of overt cultural
behaviors, manifested in the form of customs, rituals, norms, values
• The subjective dimension of ethnic groups refers to what has been known as ethnic
boundaries
• These are socio-psychological boundaries that reveal group-inclusion and exclusion
• There are two types of ethnic boundaries
• Those from within the ethnic group (internal) and those from without the ethnic group
(external)
• In many ways the dynamics of interethnic relations depends on the relationship
between these two boundaries
• The internal boundaries are the area of self-inclusion in a group that overlaps with the
process self-identity
• They articulate with the feelings of sympathy and loyalty toward members of the same
ethnic group
• The external boundaries are the border of exclusion of membership; it is the
demarcation of the space of the outsiders
 Ethnic Identity
• Over a long time, the human society develop complex
identities that connect many people in many ways
• Human society build a sense of relationship,
belonging, and shared identity through connections to
family, religion, hometown, language, shared history,
citizenship, sports, age, gender, sexuality, education,
and profession.
• These powerful identities influence what we eat, who
we date, where we work, how we live, and even how
we die
 Ethnic identity…
• Ethnicity is one of the most powerful identities that
humans develop
• It is a sense of connection to a group of people who
believe that they share a common history, culture,
and (sometimes) ancestry and who are distinct from
others outside the group.
• Ethnicity can be seen as a more expansive version
of kinship, culturally specific creation of relatives,
that includes a much larger group and extending
further in space and time
 Ethnic identity…
• With the intensification of globalization and the
increasing flows of people, goods, and ideas across
borders, one might anticipate that the power of
ethnicity to frame people’s actions and to influence
world events would diminish
• Instead, ethnicity seems to be flourishing, rising in
prominence in both local and global affairs
• Why is it so powerful? When threatened or
challenged, because people often turn to local
alliances for support, safety, and protection.
 Theories/Approaches of Ethnicity and
Ethnic Identity:
• Since the mid of 20 Century , ethnicity as an analytical
concept entered the academic arena
• A lot has been written and debated on it
• Its conceptual definitions
• Its manifestations in social or group interaction
• The role it plays in group mobilization for ‘common
ends’,
• The Primordialist, Instrumentalist and Constructivist are
the dominant theoretical approaches in anthropology
envisaged to understand the nature and characteristics of
ethnicity, ethnic identity and ethnic interaction
 Primordialism/ primordial theory
• The oldest in anthropological literature
• It was popular until the mid-1970s
• View human society as a conglomeration(collection) of distinct
social groups
• At birth a person “becomes” a member of a particular group
which is “fixed” and unchangeable
• Ethnic identification is based on deep, ‘primordial’ attachments
to that group, established by kinship and descent.
• Anthropologists who systematized the primordial model
articulated ethnicity as a natural phenomenon with its
foundations in primordial ties - deriving mainly from kinship,
locality and culture
 Primordialism…
• They further illustrated the concept of primordial ties as a means of
explaining the power and persistence of ethnic identity, which they
called ‘basic group identity’ and argued to be assigned at birth and
more fundamental and natural than other social links
• Besides, ethnicity resides in the myths, memories, values, symbols
and the characteristic styles of particular historic configurations
• In short, scholars concluded that ‘primordialism’ makes two
distinct claims
• Firstly, ethnicity and ethnic attachment is “natural and
innate(inherent)”, which would never change over time,
• Secondly, it is “ancient and perennial(constant)” by which
ethnicity or ethnic membership is fixed, permanent and primarily
ascribed through birth
 Instrumental/ situational theory
• View ethnicity as situationally defined, depending on
rational calculations of advantage and stimulated by
political mobilization under the leadership of actors whose
primary motives are non-ethnic
• An instrument of group mobilization for political and
economic ends
• Ethnicity is something that can be changed, constructed or
even manipulated to gain specific political and/or
economic ends
• Proponents of this theory advocate that modern states
leaders (political elites) use and manipulate perceptions of
ethnic identity to further their own ends and stay in power.
 Instrumental…
• Ethnicity is created in the dynamics of elite competition
within the boundaries determined by political and
economic realities
• Ethnic groups are to be seen as a product of political
myths, created and manipulated by culture elites in their
pursuit of advantages and power
• In short, Ethnic groups are not regarded as a community,
but as a rational and purposive associations
• A more moderate view is that indeed there could be a
cultural content in an ethnic community, but ethnic
boundaries of a group depend upon the purpose in hand,
political and economic advantages and disadvantages.
 Social Constructivist Theory of Ethnicity

• Ethnicity as something that is being negotiated and

constructed in everyday living
• It has much to do with the demands of everyday survival
(ethnicity is constructed in the process of feeding,
clothing, sending to school and conversing with children
and others)
• See ethnicity as subjectivist creation, which sees
ethnicity as basically a social-psychological reality or
• A matter of perception of "us" and "them" in
contradistinction to looking at it as something given,
which exists objectively as it were "out there
 Social constructivist…
• Ethnicity is more dependent on the socio-psychological
experience of individuals, where it focuses on the
interpersonal and behavioral aspects of ethnicity
• View ethnic identity as an “individualistic strategy” in
which individuals move from one identity to another to
“advance their personal, economic and political interests,
or to minimize their losses”.
• Ethnic identity also forms through boundary maintenance
and interaction between individuals
• Ethnic group is hence a result of group relations in which
the boundaries are established through mutual perceptions
and not by means of any objectively distinct culture
 Social constructivists…
• In general, constructivists conceive ethnicity as
situational, flexible and variable aspects of inter
personal and inter group interactions
• As far as the flow of individuals from one ethnic
group to another is possible, it is possible to
argue that the boundaries of ethnicity are
permeable and osmotic
• Ethnicity is dynamic which changes through
time and space; and ethnic identities are
constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed
 Unit Six

Customary and Local

Governance Systems & Peace
Making
 Indigenous and local governance systems
in Ethiopia
• Indigenous systems of governance have been used to
maintain sociopolitical order across Ethiopian regions
• The role of indigenous governance was indispensable
before the advent of the modern state system.
• Anthropologists have been studying indigenous
systems of governance in Ethiopia and other parts of
Africa.
• Some of the indigenous systems of governance have
been well- studied while many other are not
adequately studied.
 Examples from the multiethnic and
multicultural Ethiopia.
The Oromo Gadaa
• The Gaada of the Oromo is one of the well-studied indigenous systems of governance.

• Scholars have been studying the Oromo Gaada since the 1950s.
• Scholars studied the Oromo Gaada include Paul Baxter, Eike Haberland and Asmerom
Legesse.
• The Gadaa system is ‘an age grading institution of the Oromo that has a complex
system of administration, law making and dispute settlement’ (Pankhurst and
Getachew 2008, xiv).
• The Gadaa is a celebrated institution of governance and dispute settlement among the
Oromo people.
• Gadaa is widely mentioned as an egalitarian (democratic) system of governance.
• In the Gadaa system, political power is transferred from one generation set (Luuba) to
another every eight years.
• Gaada officials such as the Abba Gaada and Abba Seera (father of law) serve for eight
years and leave their position to the new generation of Gadaa officials.
 The Gaada System…
• The Gaada system involves a continuous process of law making and revision.
• The law making process has rooms for wider participation of the people.
• Gumi gaayo, a law making assembly of the Borana Oromo, is a good example
• Gumi gaayo is held every eight years to revising, adapting, making and
publicizing the customary law (seera) and custom (aadaa) of the Oromo.
• The Waliso Oromo have a law making assembly known as yaa’iiharaa, an
equivalent of gumigaayo, held every eight years.
• The Gaada is an indigenous system of governance, conflict resolution, and
peacemaking.
• The indigenous system of governance among the Oromo also include institutions
of conflict resolution such as the Jaarsa Biyyaa (literally: elders of the soil/land)
institution
 The Gedeo Baalle
• The Gedeo of southern Ethiopia have an indigenous system of
governance called Baalle.
• The Baalle and the Gaada system of the Oromo have some
similarities.
• For example, both have grading system and exercise periodic transfer
of power (i.e., every eight years). The role of religion is high in the
two indigenous systems of governance.
• Moreover, the customary law of the Gedeo is called Seera.
• The Ya’a, the general assembly, is the highest body of the Gedeo
indigenous system of governance.
• The Baalle is a complex system which has three administrative
hierarchies: Abba Gada, Roga (traditional leader next the Abba
Gada), and two levels of council of elders known as Hulla Hayyicha
and Songo Hayyicha. The Abba Gada is the leader of the Baalle.
 The Gedeo Baalle…
• The Baalle system has a body of laws called Seera.
• Conflicts are resolved by the Songo hayyicha at village level.
• When disputes are not settled at the village level, cases can be referred to first
to the Hulla Hayyicha and finally to the Abba Gada.
• In general, the Gedeo system of governance has the following major
institutions: the ya’a (general assembly), the Seera (customary law), the Abba
Gada, and council of elders (Getachew, 2014).
• It should be taken in to consideration that similarities exist among various
traditional governance and justice systems.
• The Oromo Gaada and the Gedeo Baalle system share some common features.
• This is a good example of cross-cultural similarities and cultural blending
between people in Ethiopia.
• Similarities can also be observed in the naming of customary institutions such as
Seera (Oromo), Sera (Sidama), Serra (Siltie), Gorden asera (Soddo Gurage),
Senago sera (Mesqan Gurage), and Seera (Gedeo), Shimgilina (among the
Amhara, Tigray and Agaw), etc.
 Dere Woga of the Gamo
• The Gamo are among Omotic peoples of southern Ethiopia.
• Unlike their neighboring people such as Wolayta and
Dawro, the Gamo did not have a centralized political
system.
• The Gamo people were organized into several local
administrations locally known as deres.
• According to anthropological findings, there were more
than 40 deres across the Gamo highlands.
• Each dere had its own ka’o (king) and halaqa (elected
leader).
• The indigenous system of governance embraces the dere
woga (customary law) and the dubusha assemblies.
 Dere Woga…
• The highest body of the indigenous governance is the dere dubusha,
a general assembly that is responsible to make and revise customary
laws, resolve major disputes that cannot be solved at the lower levels.
• The dubushas assembly has three hierarchies: 1) the dere dubusha (at
the top), sub-dere dubusha (at the middle), and guta/neighborhood
dubusha (at the village level).
• Minor cases and disputes are resolved by the dere cima, council of
elders.
• Like the Oromo Gada and the Gedeo Baalle, the indigenous
governance of the Gamo is embedded in the Gamo belief system.
• It is believed that telling a lie and hiding the truth are considered as
violation of taboo, which would lead to spiritual pollution and then
misfortunes including lack of fertility, illness, and death of human
beings and livestock.
 Intra and inter-ethnic conflict resolution
institutions
• Conflicts and disputes exist in every human society
• Conflicts may arise between individuals, groups and
communities within the same ethnic group.
• In some cases conflicts may involve groups from different
ethnic background.
• Peoples across Ethiopian regions have indigenous
institutions and mechanisms of conflict resolution and
peacemaking.
• These institutions are parts of indigenous systems of
governance
• High involvement of elders at different stages of conflict
resolution and peacemaking process.
 Conflict resolution institutions…
Common elements
• Preference and respect for elders known for their qualities
including experience in dispute resolution; knowledge of
customary laws, procedures, norms and values of the society;
impartiality, respect for rules and people; the ability of listening
and speaking politely; honesty and tolerance.
• Indigenous dispute resolution practices focus on restoring social
relationships, harmony, and peaceful coexistence.
• Indigenous justice systems also have differences in terms of
hierarchies, procedures and level of complexities.
• Most customary justice institutions include three major
components: 1) customary laws, 2) council of elders, and 3)
customary courts or assemblies.
 Customary law:
• It refers to a body of rules, norms, and a set of moral values
that serve as a wider framework for human conduct and social
interactions
• The Sera of the Sidama, the dere woga of the Gamo, the Seera
Addaa of the Oromo; Gordena Sera of Kestane Gurage are
examples of customary laws
• In most cases, customary laws are available orally.
• Some customary laws are published in recent years.
• For example, the Sebat Bet Gurage published their customary
law named Kitcha: The Gurage Customary Law in 1998.
• Similarly, Kistane/Sodo Gurage have a written version of
customary law known as Gordena Shengo.
 Council of elders:
• It is the second important institution of customary justice systems.
• The council of elders embraces highly respected and well-
experienced community members who have a detail knowledge of
the customary laws.
• Members of the elder’s council are also known for their personal
qualities such as truthfulness and experience in settling conflicts.
• Elders often serve their communities on voluntary basis without
any payment.
• The number of the elders varies based on the nature of the case.
• The institution of council of elders has different names in various
ethnic groups: Yehager Shimagile (Amhara), Jaarsaa Biyyaa
(Oromo), Hayyicha (Gedeo), Guurtii (Somali), Dere Cima
(Gamo), Deira Cimma (Wolayita), and Cimuma (Burji).
 Customary courts:
• Are public assemblies that serve two major purposes:
• (a) hearing, discussing and settling disputes,
• (b) revising, adapting, and making laws
• In most cases, indigenous justice systems in Ethiopia
embrace three major structures: customary laws,
customary courts, and council of elders.
• For instance, customary justice system of the Gamo
people of Southern Ethiopia has the following
branches:
• 1) Dere Woga, customary laws,
• 2) Dere Cima, council of elders, and
• 3) Dubusha, customary courts or assemblies.
 Strengths and Limitations
• Strengths of customary justice institutions
• Incur limited cost in terms of time and resources/money; elders do not
request payment for their services; fines and compensation are
relatively small
• Conflict resolution process are held in public spaces in the
community; different parties (victims, offenders and community
members) participate in the process; decisions are communicated in
public;
• Decisions are easily enforced through community-based sanctions
including social exclusion; compliance ensured through blessings and
the threat of curses;
• Customary systems aimed at restoring community cohesion, social
relations, collective spirit and social solidarity
• Rely on respect for elders, the tradition of forgiveness, transferring
compensations, embedded in indigenous beliefs
 Limitations
• Limitations related to protecting and safeguarding
women’s rights.
• Indigenous justice institutions are dominated by men.
• For example, the council of elders are not open to
elderly women.
• Women are excluded from participation at customary
courts and assemblies with a few exceptions.
• Indigenous institutions of dispute resolution and
peacemaking are effective to resolve dispute and restore
peace within the same ethnic group. Their potential in
resolving inter-ethnic conflicts and restoring long-
lasting peace is very limited
 Inter-ethnic conflict resolution
• As noted, one of the weaknesses of indigenous institution of
peacemaking is their limitation in resolving inter-ethnic conflicts.
• However, there are some examples of interethnic conflict
resolution institutions in some parts of Ethiopia.
• Abbo Gereb is one of the indigenous institutions that address
inter-ethnic conflicts.
• It is a dispute resolution institution in Rayya and Wajirat district,
• Abbo Gereb, literally means the father of the river Gerewo.
• Abbo Gereb serves to settle disputes between individuals or
groups from highland Tigray and lowland Afar.
• Conflict between the two groups often arise because of dispute
over grazing land or water resources, particularly in dry season.
 Inter-ethnic…
• When conflict arises between parties from two ethnic groups,
notable elders from Tigray and Afar come together to resolve
the dispute and restore peaceful relations.
• Most of the elders involved in inter-ethnic conflict
resolutions are bilingual: speaking Tigrigna and Afar.
• Ethnographic findings also reveal the existence of inter-
ethnic conflict resolution mechanisms when conflicts arise
between Afar, Issa, Tigrayans and Argobba.
• The mechanisms of inter-ethnic disputes have different
names.
• It is called Xinto among the Afar, Edible among the Issa,
Gereb among the Tigrayans, and Aboroge among the
Amhara.
 Women’s role in conflict resolution and
peacemaking
• Ethiopian women participate in the process of dispute
settlement in exceptional cases
• For example, in some cultures, women participate in
dispute settlement processes when cases are related to
marriage and women’s issues
• Despite these weaknesses, women are not completely
excluded for indigenous systems of governance,
conflict resolution, and peacemaking activities
• In some societies, women use their own institutions to
exercise power, protect their rights, and actively
participate in peacemaking activities
 Women’s peacemaking sticks (in Sidama and Oromo cultures)

• Sidama women have two instruments of power: the Yakka and

the Siqqo.
• The Yakka is women’s association or unity group.
• The Siqqo is a stick that symbolizes peace and women honor.
• The Siqqo and the Yakka are closely associated.
• Mobilizing the Yakka and holding the Siqqo, Sidama women
stand for their customary rights.
• They do this, for example, when a woman is beaten up by her
husband or a pregnant woman is mistreated
• For example, if a man prohibits his wife from Yakka
participation, the women group impose a fine on him.
• The fine could be an ox.
 Sidama and Oromo…
• If a woman is illtreated by her husband, the Yakka leader
(known as Qaritte) mobilizes the Yakka and leads them to
the house of the man.
• The husband would not have a choice when he is surrounded
by the Yakka holding their Siqqo shouting and singing.
• If he is found guilty, the man would be forced to slaughter a
sheep and give part of it to the Yakka.
• Sidama women also use their Siqqo to make peace between
quarrelling parties.
• Oromo women also have a peace stick called Sinqee. Sinqee
serves the purpose of protecting women’s rights and making
peace. Quarrelling men stop fighting when a woman stands
between them holding her Sinqee
 Don Kachel: Agnuak women peacemaking
institution
• Agnuak women have a peacemaking institution known as Don
Kachel (IIRR, 2009, p. 28).
• Literally, DonKachel means ‘let us all live in peace’.
• It involves a peace-making movement initiated by Jaye, a
group of wise and elderly Agnuak women.
• The Jaye start a peace-making movement based on
information gathered through women’s networking.
• The Jaye gather information about potential conflicts from
different sources, including gossips spread in the community.
• The Jaye quickly act upon receiving information about, for
example, a heated argument that could lead to conflict and
fighting.
 Agnuak women peacemaking institution…
• The Jaye call the disputing parties for a meeting to settle the dispute.
• A few neutral observers will also be invited to monitor the process of
the meeting.
• After examining the arguments of the two parties, the Jaye give their
verdict (decision).
• The party that caused the conflict request for forgiveness in public
and pay some compensation.
• A sheep or goat is slaughtered after the conflict resolved; the meat is
cooked and shared by participants of the meeting.
• Finally, the Jaye would announce the meeting is over, the problem
resolved, using these words ‘Now let us all live in peace together!’
• The practice of Don Kachel is currently being adopted by other ethnic
groups including the Nuer, Mejenger, Opo, and Komo.
 Women’s role in Amhara
• The role of women as mothers has been highly
respected in Amahara.
• At times of potential conflict, women, bearing their
breast, would say the following to stop conflicts:
‘please stop quarreling for the sake of my breast that
feeds you- ‘batebahuh tutie’!
• Women use such powerful words in Amhara cultural
areas to influence quarrelling individuals.
• Younger people used to respect the words of
mothers and the elderly.
 Women’s institution of reconciliation: Raya-Azebo, Tigray

• Elderly and highly respected women in a village in Raya-Azebo,

Tigray established a reconciliation institution called the Debarte.
• The Debarte plays an important role in avoiding harms
associated with the culture of revenge. A man may kill another
man in a fight.
• The incident would trigger the feeling of revenge among male
relatives of the murdered man.
• In such a tense situation, the wife of the killer requests for the
Debarte intervention.
• The Debarte quickly start their intervention to stop the act of
revenge.
• The Debarte instruct the murderer’s wife to gathering her female
relatives together.
 Raya-Azebo…
• The wife and her female relatives get ready wearing their netela upside down
and covering their hair with black cloths to show their grief and regret.
• After these preparations, the Debarte lead the female relatives of the killer to
the home of the murdered man.
• The women cry loudly while walking to their destination.
• As they come near to the home of the killed person, they utter the following
words: ‘Abyetye ezgio! Abyetye ezgio!’ ‘Oh God help us! God help us! Upon
their arrival at the compound of the victim, the Debarte kneel down and cover
their heads with the dust of the compound.
• They beg the relatives/family of the murdered man to give up revenge and
consider forgiveness.
• Initially, the relatives may not respond to the request; however, they will
change their mind and open the door to show their consent for reconciliation.
• After persuading the victim’s relatives to give up revenge, the Debarte give the
way for elders who start the peace-making process.
 Legal pluralism: interrelations between
customary, religious and state legal
systems
• Refers to the existence of two or more legal or justice
systems in a given society or country.
• Indicates the co-existence of multiple legal systems
working side-by-side in the same society
• Legal pluralism is evident in the Ethiopian context.
• Multiple legal institutions, including customary laws
and courts, state laws and courts, and religious laws
and courts (e.g., the Sharia Law) work side-by-side in
most parts of the country.
The Gamo people Legal pluralism
 The Gamo….
• Three elements are portrayed in the figure
above:
• 1) state justice institutions: state law, districts
court, and the police;
• 2) customary institutions: dere woga/customary
law, dubusha/customary court, and dere
cima/council of elders; and
• 3) social court attached to each kebele
administration.
 Unit Seven
Indigenous Knowledge Systems
(IKS) and Practices
 Definition of concepts
• Indigenous Knowledge Systems
• Technical insight of wisdom gained and developed
by people in a particular locality through years of
careful observation and experimentation with the
phenomena around them
• IKS is embodied in culture and is described as an
integrated pattern of human knowledge, beliefs
and behavior.
• It consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs,
taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques,
artifacts, rituals, ceremonies, folklores and gender.
 Definition…
• Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) refer to a body of
empirical knowledge and beliefs handed down through
generations of long-time inhabitants of a specific locale,
by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living
beings with each other and their environment (Warren
1991).
• In sum, IKS refers to “ a total of knowledge and practices,
whether explicit or implicit, used in the management of
socioeconomic, ecological and spiritual facets of life ,
stored in the collective memory and communicated orally
among members of the community and to the future
generations [through, stories, myth, songs, etc].
 Definition…
Indigenous peoples
• A specific group of people occupying a certain
geographic area for many generations
• Indigenous people possess, practice and
protect a total sum of knowledge and skills
constitutive of their meaning, belief systems,
livelihood constructions and expression that
distinguish them from other groups
 Domains of IK
• IK as a large body of knowledge and skills
which is developed outside the formal system
including
• development planning,
• environmental assessment,
• resource management,
• local conservation of biological resources,
• conflict resolution
 Special Features of Indigenous Knowledge
1. Local, in that it is rooted in a particular community and situated within
broader cultural traditions; it is a set of experiences generated by people
living in those communities. Separating the technical from the non-technical,
the rational from the non-rational could be problematic. Therefore, when
transferred to other places, there is a potential risk of dislocating IK.
2. Tacit knowledge and, therefore, not easily codifiable.
3. Transmitted orally, or through imitation and demonstration. Codifying it
may lead to the loss of some of its properties.
4. Experiential rather than theoretical knowledge. Experience and trial and
error, tested in the rigorous laboratory of survival of local communities
constantly reinforce IK.
5. Learned through repetition, which is a defining characteristic of tradition
even when new knowledge is added. Repetition aids in the retention and
reinforcement of IK.
6. Constantly changing, being produced as well as reproduced, discovered as
well as lost; though it is often perceived by external observers as being
somewhat static.
 Contribution of IK and its challenges
• Since IK is essential to development, it must be
preserved as in being gathered, recorded,
organized and disseminated knowledge
• IK is facing real multifaceted challenges related
to modernization schemes and cultural
homogenization attempts
• Including but not esxclusively of fast-tracked
population growth, economic and market
globalization, advances in educational systems,
environmental degradation, and top-down
development plans and programs
THANK YOU