INTRODUCTION PART 2

TAXONOMIC COMPARISON OF ETHNIC

COMMUNITIES
THREE [3] SUBSYSTEMS
1. Indigenous communities- hinterlands
2. Rural Villages
3. Urban Centers - Urbanites
Level of Sociological Integration
National

Village

Neighborhood

fFamily complex

intermediate

simple
Aim: to acquire a holistic picture and understanding of ethnic life
ways.
Structures:
1.] Simple social organization [family]
-characterized by relatively few and homogenous social units and
less elaborate cultural forms.
2.] intermediate groups –between the two extremes
Ex. neighborhood
- Made of amorphous [not definite] aggregate of persons who may
not be related to each other.
3.] Complex social organization
-Characterized by greater internal heterogeneity of social units and
more elaborate cultural forms.
- Integration is suprafamilial
 Basic Features of Simple Structure [Family –
Campsite]
1. Small groups
2. Absence of stratification
3. Absence of specialization
4. No political center
5. Family as focal point of activities
 Basic Features of Intermediate Structure
[ Neighborhood – Settlement]
1. Medium groups
2. Emerging stratification
3. Presence of semi- specialization
4. Loose political center
5. Neighborhood as focal point of activities
 Basic Features of Complex Structure
[Village – District]
1. Large groups
2. Marked stratification
3. Institutionalized specialization
4. Defined political center
5. Village as focal point of activities
Criteria for Taxonomic Comparison
1. Settlement Patterns – size of territory, village
structure, residence type
2. Social Structure – size of population, social
stratification, kinship and family system
3. Economic criterion – food quest, production,
distribution and consumption
Criteria for Taxonomic Comparison
4. Socio political criterion – allocation of power,
network of influence, administration of
authority, alliance system
5. Religion and Art – idea of cosmos, ceremony,
ritual behavior, prescription of moral values
and the expression of these in art forms
6. Warfare – head taking, feuds and conflicts,
resolution – peace pacts and custom laws.
“Head-taking” is more appropriate than “head-
hunting.” The people do not go around
hunting for heads; only the enemies’ heads
are taken as symbols of success in warfare or
as “testimonies of manhood” in the male rite
of passage from puberty to adolescence.
• Humans have practiced capital punishment by beheading
for millennia. The Narmer Palette (c. 3000 BCE) shows the
first known depiction of decapitated corpses. The terms
"capital offence", "capital crime", "capital punishment",
derive from the Latin caput, "head", referring to the
punishment for serious offences involving the forfeiture of
the head; i.e. death by beheading.
• Some cultures, such as ancient Rome and Greece
regarded decapitation as the most honorable form of
death. Many European nations continued to reserve the
method only for nobles and royalty. In France, the 
French Revolution made it the only legal method of
execution for all criminals regardless of class, one of the
period's many symbolic changes
• The British Empire used beheading and display of severed
heads and other body parts on pikes, etc., as a method to
support conquest, territorial expansion, pillage and looting.
Heads were displayed to terrify various peoples into
submission, such as enslaved Africans and Chinese.
• Historically, beheading was typically used for noblemen, while
commoners would be hanged; eventually, hanging was adopted
as the standard means of non-military executions. The last
actual execution by beheading was of Simon Fraser, 11th Lord
Lovat on 9 April 1747, while a number of convicts (typically
traitors sentenced to drawing and quartering, a method which
had already been discontinued) were beheaded posthumously
up to the early 19th century. Beheading was degraded to a
secondary means of execution, including for treason, with the
abolition of drawing and quartering in 1870 and finally
abolished by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973.
https://minorityrights.org/minorities/indigenous
-peoples-6/
Indigenous peoples - Minority Rights Group
 10 THINGS WE ALL SHOULD KNOW ABOUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
United Nations Development Programme
By UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME AUGUST
9TH, 2017

Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique

cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment. Here
are 10 things we all should know about indigenous people.
1. WHEREVER WE LIVE, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ARE OUR
NEIGHBOURS.
• There are an estimated 370 million indigenous people in the
world, living across 90 countries. Indigenous communities are
present in all geographic regions and represent 5,000 different
cultures.
2. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE SPEAK AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY
OF THE WORLD'S 7,000 LANGUAGES.
• Indigenous languages are not only methods of communication,
but also extensive and complex systems of knowledge.
Indigenous languages are central to the identity of indigenous
peoples, the preservation of their cultures, worldviews and
visions and an expression of self-determination.
• Many indigenous languages are under threat of disappearing. It
is estimated that one indigenous language dies every two
weeks. Indigenous languages are critical markers of the cultural
health of indigenous peoples. When indigenous languages are
under threat, so too are indigenous peoples themselves.
3. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ARE AMONG THE MOST
DISADVANTAGED AND VULNERABLE GROUPS OF
PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.
• While they make up less than 5 percent of the
world's population, indigenous people account for
15 percent of the poorest. Indigenous peoples are
more likely to suffer from malnutrition and often
lack adequate access to social protection systems
and economic resources. The international
community now recognizes that special measures
are required to protect their rights and maintain
their distinct cultures and way of life.
• 4. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE LIVE SHORTER LIVES.
• The life expectancy of indigenous peoples is as
much as 20 years lower than that of their non-
indigenous counterparts. Often lacking
adequate access to health services and
information, indigenous peoples have higher
levels of diseases such as malaria and
tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS.
5. INDIGENOUS WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO
SUFFER DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE.
• More than one in three indigenous women are
sexually assaulted during their lifetime, and
they also hive higher rates of maternal
mortality, teen pregnancy and sexually
transmitted diseases. The 
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
 draws attention to the needs and rights of
indigenous women and calls for action to
protect them from violence.
• 6. THE WORLD INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ GAMES
BRING TOGETHER ATHLETES FROM AROUND THE
WORLD TO CELEBRATE INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS.
• Athletes from 566 aboriginal communities all over
the world took part in the first 
World Games of Indigenous Peoples, held in 2015
in Brazil. The aim of the games is not only to
compete but also to share knowledge and cultures.
7. INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES ARE LEADERS ON
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT.
• Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of
unique cultures and ways of relating to the
environment. Nearly 70 million indigenous women
and men worldwide depend on forests for their
livelihoods, while many others depend on activities
such as farming, hunting and gathering or pastoralism.
• These communities thrive by living in harmony with
their surroundings. Research shows that where
indigenous groups have control of the land, forest
cover is sustained and biodiversity flourishes.
8. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ARE FIGHTING CLIMATE
CHANGE EVERY DAY.
• Indigenous communities’ contribution to climate
change mitigation are far greater than previously
thought. Their forestlands store at least one quarter
of all above-ground tropical forest carbon – about
55 trillion metric tonnes. This is equivalent to four
times the total global carbon emissions in 2014.
Given that data isn’t available for all the lands
native communities manage around the world, the
actual impact is far greater than what we know.
9. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ARE KEY PLAYERS IN
THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT.
• From protecting the environment tacking
inequality to ensuring peace and security, the 
Sustainable Development Goals won’t be
achieved without the participation of
indigenous peoples. The General Assembly
has encouraged Member States to give due
consideration indigenous peoples’ rights when
implementing the 2030 Agenda.
10. THE UN DECLARATION IS A MAJOR MILESTONE, BUT
IT WON’T SUCCEED WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF
PEOPLE EVERYWHERE.
• The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
 is a major milestone in solidarity between indigenous
peoples and the global community. However, there are
significant gaps between the formal recognition of
indigenous rights and realities on the ground. Since the
adoption of the Declaration in 2007, several countries,
particularly in Latin America, have taken steps to
recognize the identity and rights of indigenous peoples,
but we have much more to do.