Jimma University

College of Social Sciences & Humanities

Department of Social Anthropology
Teaching material for the course
Social Anthropology (ANTH 1012)

Oct/2023
Chapter one: definition & concepts of Anthropology

• What is Anthropology?
• Anthropology is a combination of two words derived
from Greek language:
❑Anthropos– mankind or human being
❑logos – means study or science.
So, anthropology is:
❖the study or science of mankind or humanity.
❖The study of mankind or human being
❖The study of human being as a group from its appearance on
the earth to its present stage of development
❖Studies social groups, social institutions & every aspects of
man
❖Studies the origin and evolutionary development of humans, .
Cont…
❖Examines the characteristics that human beings
share as members of one species (homo sapiens)
& the diverse ways that people live in different
environments
❖Analyses the products of social groups:
Eg: Material objects (material cultures) and
Non-material creations (religion/beliefs, social
values, institutions, practices, etc.).
Importance of studying anthropology
• Anthropology emphasis on the comparative study of
cultures, should lead us to the conclusion of diversity of
world’s culture.
• Through the process of contrasting and comparing, we
gain a fuller understanding of other cultures and our
own.
• It helps us better understand ourselves/ our own ways of
life.
• As a mirror of human life, by studying others, we can
better understand ourselves.
• Hence, it gives opportunity to understand & to be critical
about the ways of lives of our own community.
Importance, cont…
• Anthropology gives us an insight into different
ways and modes of life of human society (social
and cultural diversity).
• Knowledge about the rest of the world is
particularly important today because the world
has become increasingly interconnected.
• It is used as a tool for development. Paying
attention to local conditions is crucial to solve
community problems.
Cont…
• The application of anthropological knowledge and
research results have become important element to
ensure people’s rights in development and able to
sustain projects' life.
• Anthropologists are better equipped with the
knowledge, skills and methods of identifying the
needs and interests of local people for the
betterment and change of their lived experiences.
• It recognizes the advantages of consulting local
people to design a culturally appropriate and
socially sensitive change, and protect local people
from harmful policies and projects that threaten
them.
Historical Development of Anthropology
• Various scholars argued differently about the origin and emergence of
anthropology as a science or a discipline.
• Anthropology is rooted in the works & ideas of the great ancient and
medieval Greek, Roman & Hebrew philosophers and social thinker.
• The 18th century Enlightenment was another contributing factor for the
establishment of anthropology as a profession.
• Enlightenment:- was social philosophical movement that focused human
progress, reasoning, logic, science.
• 1870s was very important period for anthropology Anthropology emerged
as a profession.
• The expansion of western colonial powers and better understand the
people living under colonial domination.
• In the 1900s, anthropology focused on the study of social and cultural
differences among human being.
Distinguishing features of Social Anthropology

1. Its Broad Scope:- anthropology study all human

beings (primitive, civilized, rural, urban, etc), social
institutions, marriage, political systems, tools, etc.
2. It has Unique Approaches: In understanding
human cultures, what makes social anthropology
distinct from other social sciences and humanities.
❑It is important to study cultures and communities
holistically, comparatively, and relativistically
(ethnocentrism vs. cultural relativism).
Distinguishing features…..
a) Holistic Perspective:
❖It is concerned with the relationship of one
culture with another
❖For example while studying a given culture, there
will be also its relation with other related culture.
❖b) Comparative Perspective
• anthropologists concerned with the diversity
of the world’s cultures.
• Anthropology helps to understand culture
differences and similarities across time and place.
Distinguishing features….
Relativistic Perspective
• Anthropology tries to study and explain a given
culture in its own context.
• It does not make value judgment, i.e., declaring
that this belief or practice is good’ or ‘that is
bad.’
• It is against, Ethnocentrism (the belief that the
moral standards, manners, attitudes, and so
forth of one’s own culture are superior to those
of other cultures).
Distinguishing features…..
3. Emphasizes on Individuals view
• Anthropology emphasizes on how society
understand about their world.
• How a particular group of people explains about
their env.t.
• Also called as emic perspective.
4. Micro-focus. Anthropology focuses on the study
of small or specific society.
5. Its method of research/study.
Anthropology focuses on qualitative research methods
such as Focus Group Discussions, Key informant
interview, participant observation, etc.
Misconceptions about Anthropology
• It is said that anthropology study primitive societies. But
anthropology also studies modern societies
• It is considered that Anthropology studies rural people &
rural area. But, anthropology studies urban societies.
• It is said that anthropology studies remote & distant
communities, it was true. But, nowadays, there is home
anthropology.
• It is said that the purpose of anthropology is to study in
order to keep and preserve communities far from
development and outdated cultural practices in
museums. Rather, anthropologists’ duties are to support
those communities' capacity to empower themselves in
development processes.
Unit 2: Subfields of Anthropology (4):
• 1. Archaeological anthropology
• It studies the ways of lives of past peoples
by excavating and analyzing the material
culture/physical remains (artifacts, features
and eco-facts) they left behind.
• Artifacts are material remains made & used by
the past peoples tools, ornaments, arrowheads,
coins, & fragments of pottery are examples of
artifacts(man made materials).
Archaeological Anth…
• Features are like artifacts, are made or
modified by past people, but they cannot be
readily carried away from the site.
Ex: houses, ancient buildings, fireplaces, steles, etc
• Eco-facts: are non artifactual materials
• But they are organic & env.tl remains such as
soil, animal bones, & plant (natural remains,
not man made).
Subfields of archaeology(3)
• Prehistoric Archaeology; investigates
human prehistoric cultures, i.e, pre 6000 yrs
(unwritten/non documented history).
• Historical Archaeology: archaeological
findings with written historical documents.
• Ethno-Archaeologists: study material culture
of current societies (e.g., pottery products) to
understand the cultures (life styles) of past
societies.
2. Socio cultural anthropology
Social anthropology (cultural anthropology)
It studies contemporary and historically recent
human societies and cultures.
• The main focus of this subfield is culture, the
customs and beliefs of some human group.
• Socio-cultural anthropologists engage in two
aspects of study:
A)Ethnography-based on field work
• Study of specific society or specific culture, but
in detail.
Socio cultural Anthropology…..

B)Ethnology- based on cross-cultural comparison.

-

• It is examining each society in relation to others, to find

similarities and divergences and account for them.
• It is the comparative study of contemporary
cultures and societies, across time & space
• It examines, interprets, analyzes, and compares
the results of ethnography the data gathered
in different societies.
• It uses such data to compare and contrast and to
make generalizations, develop theory about
society and culture.
Ethnology cont…
• How and why do human groups differ, both
biologically and culturally? ======
Answer:
Their genetic makeup, values, art styles, behaviors,
languages, religions, family lives, political systems
relations with nature, and emotional responses.
3. Linguistic anthropology
❖It studies human language as a cultural
resource &
❖speaking as a cultural practice in its social
& cultural context, across space & time.
❖It is about Humans communicate messages by
sound (speech), by gesture (body language), and
in other visual ways such as writing.
Linguistic anthropology: 4 types
1. Structural Linguistics: it Studies
❖structure of linguistic patterns.
❖grammatical patterns of languages,
❖sound systems, and
❖the meanings attached to words in specific
languages to understand the structure and set of
rules of given language.
2. Ethno-linguistics (cultural linguistics):
It is about how language relate with the
culture, belief, experiences, etc of a given society.
3. Historical linguistics:- deals with the
emergence of language in general and how specific
languages have diverged over time.
4. Socio-linguistics:-
❑It examines how the use of language
defines social groups.
❑It investigates linguistic variation within a given
language.
❑One reason for variation is geography, as in
regional dialects and accents/pronunciations.
4. Physical/biological anthropology
• It studies the evolutionary development of
humans through excavations of fossils
• It is further divided into 3 special fields:
Paleoanthropology, Primatology & Anthropometry.
A) Paleoanthropology: scientific study of fossil
remains from prehistoric times.
• Studies human physical, social and cultural
characteristics in human evolution.
B) Primatology: The study of the biology &
behavior of primates/monkeys, that is, the animals
that most closely resemble human beings.

C) Anthropometry: The study of human

variations within and among different populations in
time & space, human ecology, population genetics, etc
• These physical differences may be in terms of blood
types, skin colors, skull shape, facial shape, hair
texture, etc
• Forensic Anthropology is the identification
of human skeletal remains for medical and
legal purposes.
• Forensic anthropologists work often with other
forensic specialists in aiding criminal
investigations.
• Forensic anthropologists attempt to determine
the sex, age at death, ancestral background, and
stature of the deceased individual.
4.1 Evolutionary & Paleo-anthropological views
on human origin
• There are various arguments regarding the
origin of human being
• Anthropologists today rely on scientific views
of evolution in order to explain human origins.
• Evolution refers to a process and gradual change
in specie over time.
• Evolution is the cumulative effects of three
independent facts….
Evolution …..
a) Replication: duplication- life forms have
offspring;
b)Variation: Each offspring is slightly different from
its parents, & its siblings (brothers/ sisters/ relatives);
c) Selection: not all offspring survive, and those that
do tend to be the ones best suited to their
environment.
• Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is known for his theory
of natural selection in the evolution of species
and the idea of survival of the fittest.
• Evolution is the foundation of the life sciences.
4.2 Anthropological views on racial types & human
physical variation

❑People come in many colors and shapes;

❑Why & How did these variations come about?
❑What do they mean for humanity as a specie?
The answer comes from the study of human biology
by physical anthropologists:
❑ Adaptation to their environments with artifacts and
complex behavior
❑Adaptation can be understood as a process
(behavioral and/or biological) that increases the
likelihood of survival for an organism.
4.3 Human Races: The history of racial typing

❑Race: Biologically, a race is a group of organisms of

the same species, share similar physical (and genetic)
attributes.
❑First records of humans classifying others as
early as 1350BC
❑Eg: Egyptians were red-skinned, people south of
Egypt were black-skinned, etc …read more
❑The concept of Biological determinism about
identification of human types, is problematic.
❑Biological determinism, here, refers to the idea that
physical traits were somehow linked to behavior
❑Ex: traits like intellect, values, and morals were all
products of one‘s race.
❑Biologically we are species in the animal kingdom.
We couldn’t go beyond this.
❑A similar way that everyone, including early
anthropologists, had this idea in the application
of Darwin‘s principles of biological evolution to
societies (an impossible and destructive idea).

❑Social Darwinism. the idea that as societies and

nations evolved and competed, the morally superior
societies would prevail,
❑But the less moral, ―savage societies were weeded out;
4.4 The Grand Illusion/misconception: Race, turns out, is
arbitrary/subjective
❑Various anthropologists have attempted to classify the human
species into d/f races, such as Caucasian (ancient & modern
populations from all or parts of Europe, Western Asia,
Central Asia, South Asia, North Africa, and the Horn of
Africa), Black African, Asian, etc.
❑Studies indicate that -Human racial classification is of no
social value & is subjective, biased & positively destructive
of social and human relations.
❑Today, for most professional anthropologists, human-race is
an outdated concept.
4.5 What Anthropologists can say for sure about Human Races?

❑Do human races exist?, yes.

❑Homo sapiens feature geographically based
differences within the species
❑However, you must consider two very
important points:
First, these genetic differences don‘t mean a lot,
biologically
• Second: cultural behavior isn‘t linked with genetic
& geographical d/fces, Or…
❑Genetic d/fc is not due to the differences in race,
geography or being black/white, rather it is based on
human adaptation, ancestral & cultural differences.
❑however, only very minor visible ones such as
skin color, shape of nose, or hair texture can be
observed.
• It’s culture that really drives behavior, not
the genes.
• The ancient belief that human races
have innate behavioral traits-
industrious Asians or hot-blooded
Mediterranean is simply wrong.
Human socio-cultural & biological diversity & similarities

• What does it mean to be human?

❑Kluckhohn pointed out: "Anthropology holds up a
great mirror to man & lets him look at himself in his
infinite variety.”
❖Anthropology helps human beings to look into
themselves by searching for answers to questions
that challenge us.
❖The question:
✓What are the commonalities among humans
worldwide?
✓What are the variations among humans worldwide.
✓Why do these commonalties and variations
exist in the first place? (why aren't all human
cultures the same?)
✓How does humanity change through time?
✓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?)
❑In order to address these questions:
❑We should rely on key anthropological
concepts of comparative approach (cultural
relativism) and evolution
❑Comparative approach: it examines cultures
on their own unique history and origin
❑Evolution: our distant origin, current stage of
growth, forms of adaptation, and predict future
direction of development.
❑The change of species through time, anthropologists
treat humanity as one of the biological species in
the animal kingdom.
• Anthropologists use the term bio-cultural to
describe the dual nature of human evolution:
both biological and cultural dimensions.

• The use of clothing (itself a cultural artifact)

allows human bodies to survive in environments
they wouldn’t normally survive in.
• Human body: biological
• Heavy coats: cultural
Chapter 3 : Human Culture and Ties That Connect Society

Definition of Culture
• The term culture is not used with consistent
meanings. It is used with various meanings in
common-sense.
• According to E. B. Tylor, Culture is defined as
“that complex whole which includes knowledge,
belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society.”
• Robert Bierstadt says, “Culture is the complex
whole that consists of everything we think and do
and have as members of society.”
Definition…
• Anthropologists understand culture as the learning, or
acquisition of social habits, capabilities, beliefs, techniques,
lifestyles, etc, that exists in a particular society or group.
Main characteristics of culture
1. Culture is learned behavior.
• Culture can be acquired through learning.
• This process of acquiring culture after we born is called
enculturation.
❖ Enculturation:-The process by which an individual learns
the rules and values of one’s culture.
2. Culture Is Shared:
• Members of society communicate, perform, act, and interact,
etc, in their specific area. Culture can be shared between two
or more people.
Characteristic..

3. Culture Is Symbolic:
• Symbolic thought is the human ability to give a thing
or event an arbitrary/random meaning and grasp
and appreciate that meaning Symbols are the central
components of culture.
• Symbols refer to anything to which people attach
meaning and which they use to communicate with
others.
• Symbols are words, objects, gestures, sounds or
images that represent something else rather than
themselves.
Characteristics..
4. Culture Is All-Encompassing
Culture incorporates all aspects of human being
(material and non-material aspects).
Culture is the sum total (technical, artistic, physical,
moral, etc…) of human creation.
5. Culture Is Integrated:
culture should be thought as of integrated wholes, the
parts of which, to some degree, are interconnected
with one another.
It is about how particular culture traits fit into the
whole system &, consequently, how they tend to make
sense within that context.
• For example, 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.
Characteristics..
6. Culture Can be Adaptive & Maladaptive:
• People adapt themselves to the environment
using culture.
• Adaptive behavior may serve for specific
purpose or time; however the adapted culture
may bring negative impact (maladaptive) on the
society after certain time or in certain condition.
Characteristics…
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.
Elements of Culture
• Two of the most basic aspects of culture are material
and non-material culture. These are briefly
explained as follows:
A) Material 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.
B) Non – Material culture
• Non, material culture consists of the words the
people use or the language , beliefs, values and
virtues, habits, rituals and practices and ceremonies.
• It also includes our customs and tastes, attitudes
and outlook, in brief, our ways of acting, feeling and
thinking.
• Some of the aspects of non-material culture are
listed as follows:
Values
• Values are the standards by which members of a
society define what is good or bad, beautiful or ugly.
• Values are a central aspect of the non-material
culture of a society.
• Values can influence the behavior of the members of
a society.
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.
• Values are generalized notions of what is
good and bad; beliefs are more specific and, in
form at least, have more content.
• Norms
• 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.
• Norms vary in terms of their importance to a
culture, these are:
 a) Folkways
• Norms guiding ordinary usages and agreements 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.
• They may result in a person getting a bad look.
b) Mores: Mores are codes of conduct/behavior.
• They are much stronger norms than are 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.
People who violate mores are usually severely
punished, although punishment for the violation of
mores varies from society to society.
Cultural Unity and Variations: Universality,
Generality and Particularity of Culture
1.Culture Universality:
❑Culture found at everywhere, all places
❖Biologically based universals include:
• a long period of infant dependency, year round
(rather than seasonal) sexuality, and a complex brain that
enables us to use symbols, languages, and tools.
❖Psychological universals: humans think, feel, and
process information.
❖Social Universals: All human societies, culture
organize social life and depends on social interactions for
its expression and continuation.
Universality:
❖Family living and food sharing are universals.
❖Among the most significant cultural universals
are exogamy and the incest taboo.
• Exogamy: is marriage or mate selection out of
one’s group.
• Incest taboo: is prohibition of sexual relation
with close members of the group - the violation
of this taboo is incest, which is discouraged and
punished in a variety of ways in different
cultures.
2 Culture Generality:
• Culture found 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.
• For example speaking English in many countries.
3. Culture Particularity
• Culture confined to a single place, culture, or society.
• For example, the practice of attaching a circular piece of
pottery material by incising the lower edges of lip among
Mursi women, the practice of going naked among some
peoples in southwest Ethiopia, etc. .
•
Evaluating cultural differences: Cultural Relativism, Ethnocentrism &
Human Rights

A) Cultural Relativism:
• Culture has to be treated based on its own
context.
• CR rejects judgment & views about the
behavior of people from the perspective of
their own culture.
• Every society has its own unique culture.
• A culture has to be studied in terms of its own
meanings and values.
• It is concerned with respect for cultural
differences rather than condemning others
culture.
Cont…
Respect for cultural differences involves:
• Appreciating cultural diversity; accepting and
respecting other cultures;
• Trying to understand every culture and its
elements in terms of its own context and logic;
• Accepting that each body of custom has inherent
dignity and meaning;
B) Ethnocentrism:
• It refers to the tendency to see one's own culture as the
only right way of living and to judge others by those
standards.
• Being hostile toward other cultures
• It has a concept of cultural universal.
• Others’ cultural traits are often viewed as being not just
different but inferior, less sensible, and even
"unnatural”.
C. Human rights:
❑In today's world, human rights
advocates challenge 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
Ex. What if the people practice slavery,
violence against
women, torture, or genocide?
Human rights…
❑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.
❑include the right to speak freely, to hold religious
beliefs without persecution, and not be
murdered, injured, or enslaved or imprisoned
without charge
Human rights…
❑Anthropologists respect human diversity
❑However, their objectivity, sensitivity and
a cross-cultural perspective got nothing
to do with ignoring international
standards of justice and morality.
Culture Change
• Mechanisms of Culture change :
i. Diffusion
• The process by which cultural elements are
borrowed from another society & incorporated into
the culture of the recipient group .

❖Direct Diffusion: when two cultures trade with,

intermarry among, or wage war on one another.

❖Forced Diffusion: when one culture subjugates

another and imposes its customs on the
dominated group.
ii. Acculturation
• It is the exchange of cultural features by:
❖trade or colonialism
❖When groups have continuous firsthand
contact.
iii. Invention
• Humans innovate; creatively finding
solutions to problems.
• When people face with problems and challenges,
they innovate and change in similar ways.
iv. Globalization (diffusion + acculturation)

• Including diffusion and acculturation, nations

and people are increasingly interlinked and
mutually dependent: culture change
• Through media, communication,…culture can be
changed
Ties That Connect: Marriage, Family and Kinship

1. Marriage
❑Marriage is a permanent legal union
between a man and a woman.
❑Mate Selection: Whom Should You Marry?
a)Exogamy: a rule of marriage
arrangement outside ones own group
b) Endogamy: marriage arrangement
within their own group and forbids them to
marry outside
Marriage ….
c) Preferential Cousin Marriage:
❑Cross Cousins: marriage between
children of siblings of the opposite sex.
Eg: one‘s mother‘s brothers children and
one‘s father‘s sisters children
❑Parallel Cousins: When marriage takes
place between the children of the siblings
of the same sex.
Marriage…
d) The Levirate and Sororate
The levirate- is the custom whereby a
widow is expected to marry the brother (or
some close male relative) of her dead
husband.
The sororate -when a wife dies, and is the
practice of a widower marrying the sister (or
some close female relative) of his deceased
wife
Number of Spouses (wives/husbands)
• Societies have rules regulating whom to/not marry.
• Monogamy: the marriage of one man to one woman at
a time.
• Polygamy: marriage of a man or woman with two or
more mates. Polygamy can be of two types:
• Polygyny: the marriage of a man to two or more
women at a time.
• Polyandry: the marriage of a woman to two or more
men at a time
• Sororal polygyny: Marriage of a man with two or
more sisters at a time. When the co-wives are not sisters,
the marriage is termed as non-sororal polygyny.
Economic consideration of marriage
❑Transactions/businesses related to marriage
b/n the two groups

❑Bride Price/wealth: It is also known as bride

wealth

❑Bride Service: When the groom (the marrying

male) works for his wife‘s family.

❑Dowry: It involves a transfer of goods or money

in the opposite direction, from the bride's
family to the groom‘s (husband) family.
Post-Marital Residence
❑Cultural rules that govern where the newly
married couple lives after the marriage
ritual.
For example:
❑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 (husband’s uncle)
❑Ambilocal/Bilocal Residence: The married
couple have 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:
❑The family is universal institution
❑It’s the most permanent and most
pervasive of all social institutions
❑Cultural anthropologists have identified
two fundamentally different types of
family structure: the nuclear family and
the extended family.
Family…
• The Nuclear Family: Consisting of husband
and wife and their children.
• The Extended Family
• It consist of two or more families that are linked
by blood ties.
• In societies based on extended families, blood
ties are more important than ties of marriage.
Functions of Marriage and Family
1. Biological Function: The institution of
marriage and family serves biological (sexual and
reproductive) function.
2. Economic Function: Marriage brings
economic co-operation between men and women
and ensures survival of individuals in a society.
• In small scale societies, family is a self-contained
economic unit of production, consumption
and distribution.
• 3. Social Function: Marriage creates relationship
between groups, communities, etc….
• 4. Educational and Socialization Function:
The burden of socialization (via processes of
enculturation and education) of new born
infants fall primarily upon the family.
• In addition, children learn an immense amount of
knowledge, culture, values prescribed by society,
before they assume their place as adult members of
a society.
Kinship
❑kinship and family are focal points in
anthropological studies
❑Kinship is the method of calculating
relationship
❑Every adult individual belongs to two
different families in any society:
❑family of orientation-family of born
❑family of procreation-family to which one
establishes relation through marriage and raise
children.
❑Kinship is of two types
❑Consanguinal kinship: The relationship
based on blood ties
❑Affinal kinship: the relationship based on
the desire for reproductions by marriage.
Descent
❑Descent is the social recognition of the
biological relationship that exists between
individuals
❑The rule of descent determines succession
and inheritance
❑There are three important rules of descent:

✓Patrilineal descent
✓Matrilineal descent
✓Cognate descent (non-unilineal or tracing
descent through both parents’ lines)
Culture areas and culture contact:

❑Culture areas refers to a cluster of related

cultures occupying a certain geographical
region
❑Ex: in Ethiopia, there are different culture
areas in relation to subsistence/survival:
✓Plough culture
✓Enset culture area and
✓Pastoral societies‘ culture area
Marginalized, Minorities, and Vulner
Unit 4: Marginalized, Minorities, & Vulnerable Groupses,
and Vulnerable Groups

❑Marginalization is a treatment of a person

or social groups as minor, insignificant or
peripheral

❑It involves exclusion of certain groups

from social interactions, marriage
relations, sharing food/pasture or
drinks/streams, and working and living
together
❑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.

❑Minority groups refers to a small group of

people within a community, region or country

❑Minority group can be explained by race, religion,

ethnicity & language.
 ❑There are different forms of
marginalization.
❑Occupational, age and gender-based:
1. Gender-based marginalization: is
closely related to gender inequality.
❑Example: exclusion of girls and women
from a wide range of opportunities and
social services [education, political
participation…]
2. Marginalization based on occupation:
are the jobs/people engaged in craftworks such
as pottery, tannery (work place for skins &
hides), and iron works in some cultures
❑There are occupationally marginalized groups in
many parts of Ethiopia and hence considered as
impure and excluded from social interactions,
ownership of economic resources (e.g. land), and
participation in associations and public
celebrations.
3. Age-based marginalization: is susceptibility of
people, especially children and the elderly, to
different forms of attack, physical injuries and
emotional harms

❑Religious and ethnic minorities also face different

forms of marginalization in different parts of the
globe

❑All forms of marginalization and discrimination,

however, contradict the universal declaration and
principles of human rights.
❑Anthropologists do not appreciate
customary practices that violate the rights
and wellbeing of individuals and groups.

❑For example, anthropologists do not

support the harmful practices in the name
of cultural relativism— like Female Genital
Mutilation/ Circumcision (FGM/C) & Early
or Child Marriage.
Chapter 5:Inter-Ethnic Relations, Identity and
Multiculturalism in Ethiopia
❑Ethnic Group
❑Various definition of ethnic group:
❑Ethnic group is a unit of population
having unique characteristics in relation
with others, binding with common
language, myth of origin, and history of
ethnic allegiance (Schermerhorn 1996).
5:Inter-Ethnic Relations, Identity…….

❑Hutchinson and Smith (1996) identified Six main

features that the definition of an ethnic group
predominantly consists:
1. A common proper name, to identify and express
the “essence” of the community;

2. 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;

3. Shared historical memories or a shared

memories of common past, 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;

5. A link with a homeland, not necessarily its

physical occupation by the ethnic group, only its
symbolic attachment to the ancestral land, as
with Diasporas and

6. A sense of solidarity on the part of at least

some section of the people of the ethnic group.
 Ethnic Identity

❑Definitions of ethnic identity vary

according to the underlying theory

❑Ethnic identity is an affiliate /connected

construct, where the individuals are
viewed by themselves and by others as
belonging to a particular ethnic or cultural
group.
❑Affiliation can be influenced by racial, birth and
symbolic factors:
❖Racial factors involve the use of physical and
physiognomic [using outward appearance to
discover character] characteristics
❖Natal factors refer to "homeland" (ancestral
home) or origins of individuals, their parents
and kin
❖Symbolic factors include those factors that
typify or exemplify an ethnic group (e.g.,
holidays, foods, clothing, artifacts, etc.)
❑We may distinguish objective and subjective aspects
of ethnic identity

❑Objective aspects refer to observable behavior,

both cultural and social, such as :
(1), speaking an ethnic language, practicing ethnic
traditions,

(2), participation in ethnic personal networks, such as

family and friendships,

(3), participation in ethnic institutional organizations,

such as belief systems, social organizations, etc.
❑The subjective aspects of ethnic identity refers
to share images, ideas, attitudes, and feelings.

❑These, of course, can also be interconnected with

the objective aspects

❑We can distinguish at least three types of

subjective aspects of identity: (1) cognitive, (2)
moral, and (3) affective

❑A third-generation person may retain a higher

degree of subjective aspect of identity than
objectively visible markers
❑Theories of Ethnicity:

❑It refers to the dominant theoretical

approaches in anthropology imagined to
understand the nature and
characteristics of ethnicity, ethnic
identity and ethnic interactions
3 Basic Anthropological descriptions about Ethnicity

Primordialist Approach: Geertz (1963) described it

as deriving mainly from kinship, locality and culture
• Ethnicity is fixed at birth. Ethnic identification is based
on deep, ‘primordial’ attachments to a group or culture.
2. Instrumentalist Approach :Ethnicity created and
used and exploited by leaders and others in the practical
search of their own interests.
• Ethnicity as an instrument of group mobilization for
political and economic purpose.
• Ethnicity is created by political & economic
purposes/advantages by elites.
3. Constructivist Approach
• ethnicity is something that is being negotiated
and constructed in everyday living.
• ethnicity is constructed in the process of
feeding, clothing, sending to school and
conversing with children and others.
Chapter 6: Customary and Local Governance Systems
and Peace Making

❑Indigenous and Local Governance:

❑The role of indigenous governance was

indispensable before the advent of the
modern state system

❑Indigenous systems of governance have

widely been employed to maintain social
order across Ethiopian regions
Customary and Local Governance
Systems….
❑Examples of indigenous systems of
governance include:
❑The Oromoo Gadaa- one of the well-studied
indigenous systems of governance

❑In the Gadaa system, political power is

transferred from one generation set (Lubaa)
to the other in eight years

❑The Gadaa system involves a continuous

process of law making and revision
❑Gumii gaayoo, a law making assembly of the
Booranaa Oromoo, is a good example.

❑Gumii gaayoo is held every eight year aiming

to revising, adapting, making and publicizing
the customary law (seeraa) and custom
(aadaa) of the Oromoo

❑In general, Gadaa is an indigenous system of

governance, conflict resolution and
peacemaking.
❑The Gedeo Baalle: The Gedeo of southern
Ethiopia have an indigenous system of
governance called Baalle.

❑The Baalle and Gadaa have some commonalities.

❑For example, both have grading system and

exercise periodic transfer of power (i.e. every
eight years)

❑The role of religion is also high in these two

indigenous systems of governance
❑Moreover, the customary law of the Gedeo is also
called Seeraa

❑The Yaa‘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 Gadaa,
Roga (traditional leader next to the Abba Gadaa),
and two levels of council of elders known as Hulla
Hayyicha and Songo Hayyicha.
❑Dere Woga of the Gamo:
❑The Gamo people were organized into several
local administrations locally known as deres

❑Most of deres were governed by a ka’o

(king) and halaqa (elected leader)

❑The Gamo indigenous system of governance

embraces the derewoga (customary law) and
the dubusha assemblies.
❑The highest body of the indigenous governance is the
deredubusha.

❑Deredubusha is a general assembly that is responsible

to make and revise customary laws, resolve major
disputes that cannot be solved at lower level

❑The dubushas assembly has three hierarchies:

the deredubusha (at the top), sub-deredubusha (at
the middle), and guta/neighborhood dubusha (at the
village level)
Like the Oromoo Gadaa and the Gedeo Baalle, the
indigenous governance of the Gamo is embedded in
the Gamo belief system
Intra-ethnic conflict resolution
institutions:
❑What’s CONFLICT?
❑Conflicts may arise between individuals,
groups and communities within the same
ethnic group

❑Peoples across Ethiopian regions have

indigenous institutions and mechanisms of
conflict resolution and peacemaking

❑These institutions are part of indigenous

systems of governance
Indigenous justice institutions and mechanisms share several
common aspects including:

❖High involvement of elders at different stages of conflict

resolution and peacemaking processes
Knowledge of customary laws, procedures, norms
and values of the society;
❖ Impartiality, respect for rules and people;
❖ Ability of listening and speaking politely along with
honesty and tolerance
❖ Focus on restoring social relationships, harmony and
peaceful coexistence.
 ❑With some exceptions, customary/indigenous
justice institutions include three major
components:
1. Customary law: 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 derewoga of the

Gamo, the Seeraa Addaa of the Oromoo; Ye Siltie
Sera of the Siltie, Gordena Sera of Kestane-
Gurage are examples of customary laws.
2. 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
❑The institution of council of elders has
different names in various ethnic groups:
❑Yehager Shimagile (among the Amhara),
❑Jaarsaa Biyyaa (among the Oromoo),
❑ Baliqenet (Siltie),
❑Hayyicha (Gedeo),
❑Guurtii (Somali),
❑Dere Cima (Gamo),
❑ Deira Cimma (Wolayita), and
❑ Cimuma (Burji).
3. Customary courts-are public assemblies that
serve two major purposes:
(a) hearing, discussing and settling disputes,
and
(b) revising, adapting, and making laws

❑Among the Siltie people, the customary

courts are called Raga System, the Gamo
use the term Dubusha to refer to
customary courts.
• Strengths and limitations of customary
justice

❑Strengths of customary justice institutions:

❑Requires limited cost in terms of time and

resources/money,
❑Elders do not request payment for their services,
❑fines and compensation are relatively smaller
❑Conflict resolution processes are participatory
❑Decisions are communicated in public
❑Decisions are easily enforced through
community-based sanctions including social
exclusion;
❑Agreement ensured through blessings and
the threat of curses

❑ key to restore 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 of customary justice
institutions:

• Limitation in protecting & safeguarding

women’s right
• Limited to specific society.
• Dominated by men
Women’s role in conflict resolution and
peacemaking:
❑Ethiopian women participate in the process
of dispute settlement in exceptional cases

❑Three examples that illustrate the role of

women in conflict resolution and peacemaking
in Ethiopia includes:
**Women’s peacemaking sticks: Sidama women—
Siqqo, Oromoo women—Sinqee,

**Don Kachel: Agnuak women peacemaking

institution, etc in different parts of the country.
Customary and Local
Governance Systems
Legal pluralism: is the interrelations between customary,
religious and state legal systems.

❑It refers to the existence of two or more legal or

justice systems in a given society or country

❑Legal pluralism is evident in the Ethiopian context as

well

❑Contemporary studies indicate that the relation

between the various legal systems is characterized
by cooperation and competition
Ch.7 Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and
Practices
• IKS is 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.
Indigenous Knowledge (IK)
• IK is a unique local knowledge to a given culture or
society, the international knowledge system.
• Example: 'folk knowledge', 'local knowledge or
wisdom (k/ge)', 'non-formal knowledge', 'culture',
'indigenous technical knowledge', 'traditional
Special Features of Indigenous Knowledge
• 1. Local, in that it is rooted in a particular
community and situated within broader cultural
traditions;
• 2. Tacit knowledge and, therefore, not easily
modifiable.
• 3. Transmitted orally, or through imitation and
demonstration.
• 4. Experiential rather than theoretical
knowledge.
• 5. Learned through repetition: Repetition aids
in the retention and reinforcement of IK.
• 6. Constantly changing, being produced as well
Significance of indigenous knowledge
• Enables for Sustainable production system
• Maintain the earth's genetic diversity
• enable people to develop strategies for handling
household and communal activities.
• local rules to protect important resources such as
useful plants, water bodies, stone terracing, agro-
forestry, watersheds and rivers, food preservations,
conflict management, calendar, fallowing as a soil
regeneration practice, etc.
• IK is a key element of the “social capital” of the poor;
their main asset to invest in the struggle for survival,
to produce food, to provide for shelter or to achieve
control of their own lives.
Indigenous knowledge and development:
❑ it provides cost-effective and sustainable
mechanisms for poverty alleviation that
are locally manageable and meaningful

❑It increases and enhances livelihood

options, revitalize agriculture, increase
food security, improve health and promote
a sense of cultural pride within the
community
❑Indigenous knowledge is used by
communities as the basis for decisions
pertaining to food security, human and
animal health, education, natural resources
management, and other vital activities

❑Indigenous institutions, indigenous

technology, and low-cost approaches can
increase the efficiency of development
programs because IK is a locally owned
and managed resource
Preservation, challenges and limitations of IK:
❑Indigenous knowledge is in danger of being lost
unless it is formally documented and preserved

❑The loss of IK would impoverish society

because, just as the world needs genetic
diversity of species, it needs diversity of
knowledge systems

❑Younger generations underestimate the utility

of IK systems because of the influence of
modem technology and education
❑If IK is not recorded and preserved, it
may be lost and remain inaccessible to
local people as well as to development
workers

❑Since IK is essential to development, it

must be gathered, organized and
disseminated, just like Western
knowledge.
The Erosion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems:
Causes:
❖With rapid population growth;
❖The introduction of market-oriented
agricultural and forestry practices focused on
mono-cropping is associated with losses in IK
and IK practices, through losses in
biodiversity and cultural diversity
❖chemical inputs contributing to the demise of local
varieties.
❖Deforestation of medicinal & cultural plants
❖Loss of Ik due to dis-location, etc