The Pastoral Continuum
The Marginalization of Tradition in East Africa
Series: Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology;
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Product details:
- Publisher OUP Oxford
- Date of Publication 29 January 1998
- ISBN 9780198233756
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages320 pages
- Size 243x164x22 mm
- Weight 620 g
- Language English
- Illustrations line figures, maps, tables 0
Categories
Short description:
Paul Spencer presents the definitive study of the ways of life of the cattle-herding peoples of East Africa, drawing on many years of research. This region has offered a prime example of a traditional culture resisting the inevitability of change; it provides the best-known and most extensive instance both of cattle-pastoralist society and of social organization based primarily on age. The Pastoral Continuum examines the richness and resilience of the culture of these peoples, illuminates the role of indigenous practices and institutions in adaptation and survival, and offers a unique view of the place of pastoralism in the modern world and its prospects for the future.
MoreLong description:
Paul Spencer presents the definitive study of the ways of life of the cattle-herding peoples of East Africa, drawing on many years of research. This region has offered a prime example of a traditional culture resisting the inevitability of change; it provides the best-known and most extensive instance both of cattle-pastoralist society and of social organization based primarily on age. Pastoral peoples were once dominant in the East African interior, but development of the market economy has progressively polarized the region and forced them into the most marginal, drought-ridden areas; in this ecological trap they have become a peripheral underclass. The Pastoral Continuum examines the richness and resilience of their cultures and illuminates the role of indigenous practices and institutions in adaptation and survival. The pastoralists' systems of age organization in particular are notable for their resilience: it is demonstrated that these are bound up with problems of growth and succession in family enterprises, and that marriage is a critical link in the web of alliance that governs the problematic relations between old and young.
Spencer's exploration of the development of the pastoralist phenomenon yields a unique view of its place in the modern world and its prospects for the future. This landmark work by a leading authority will be of lasting value to any reader interested in traditional social systems of this kind.
The author's statistical analyses provide valuable insights that will be of particular interest to more specialised readers. Spencer's study is neither overly romantic nor unduly pessimistic. He ends on a note of hope for the future of pastoralism as a way of life in eastern Africa./ Aneesa Kassam, lecturer in anthropology, Durham University, THES, 21/05/99.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
PART I: THE PASTORAL COMMITMENT AND THE LOGIC OF TRADITION
Pastoralists and the Spirit of Enterprise
Polygyny and the Manifestations of Inequality
The Dynamics of Age Systems in East Africa
PART II: THE HISTORICAL CONTINUUM AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PASTORALIST IDEALS
The Chamus Tradition of Pre-Pastoral Origins
The Thrust of Pastoral Innovations in Chamus.
The Emergence of Individualism and New Forms of Inequality
PART III: PASTORALISM AND THE THRUST OF CHANGE
Population Growth, Development, and the Malthusian Dilemma
Pastoralists and the Threshold of Change
The Extension of the Continuum and the Spread of the Desert
References. Index.
