Clan/'Tribal' Loyalties: A Hinderance to Unity
Ayinde:
Nakandi, your contribution about the use of the word "tribe" in regards to Africa is greatly appreciated. I am quite aware of its racist connotations, but I am yet to find another word that addresses that specific sub-ethnic grouping among the many ethnic groups on the continent. I hope others come along and help develop this discussion.
I am offering this video extract from "Nuruddin Farah and Binyavanga Wainaina in conversation" as it speaks about some of what we are developing on this thread. I think though that some aspects of what he was saying came over badly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_-EWHEj5J0
Nuruddin Farah Speaks on Africa
Ayinde:
There are some things being said in this video that are useful, depending on one’s view of development and the value of Western ‘development’. I agree that the nature of traditional ethnic loyalties and structures would make progress and unity very difficult to achieve. However, in the video, Nuruddin Farah questions the whereabouts of continental Africans as the west embarked on its feminist crusade. This line of questioning is where I disagree with his possible pro-Western idea of social improvement. Western concepts of feminism pale in comparison to what people can learn if they traverse the more egalitarian cultures in African history whose way of life span over one-hundred thousand years. A study of the Aka or Bayaka and other hunter-gatherer societies give better examples of male/female relations. Of course, I am not saying that we should go back to living as they did (although that would be way better than our current state) but we can traverse the wide and long span of African history for better models of social relations. African history, before Arabic and European slavery and colonization, offers a variety of models of human socialization, some of which can solve present day problems.
Generally speaking, continental Africans seem to have accepted colonial boundaries and political structures as sacrosanct, and to an extent, western culture as superior. I suspect that is the view of many African writers as they examine the problems and conflicts in Africa without a fair assessment of Africa’s history beyond their own ethnic group. People should examine Western concepts of development, but they should also examine African history to evaluate everything, especially social values, before accepting other people’s idea of development.
Mukasa:
For me, a Muganda, of the Kasimba clan, whose totem ..with so many other subsumed subdivisions which trace one's lineage up to the feet of his/her father. Clearly a very patrilineal based system. This means that one belongs to the clan of his father. Yet a certain level of respect is maintained for one's mother's clan.
A muganda cannot marry anyone within their father's clan, though there are exceptions for populous clans like the Ngabi (deer) or Mamba (clan) whose members can marry from subdivisions within their clans other than theirs.
Belonging to a clan bestows upon a Muganda a certain identity, for all newly born children are given a name that denotes the clan they belong to. At some point, occupations to be executed in the court of the Kabaka (the king) evolved to belong to certain tribes, for example, the Nte (Cow) clan is believed to be that of the Blacksmiths for the Kabaka or the Ngonge (Otter) clan is that of the barkcloth makers for the Kabaka (King). These occupations can be seen through the names which to an initiated ear resonate with the occupation of the particular clan.
How these clans came to be the holders of these respective roles, isn't so clear from the available literature. What one can see, however, seems to be conjecture or invented legends/myths, to me.
http://www.buganda.com/ebika.htm
Exogamy isn't prescribed just for one's clan, which is their father's clan, but also for their mother's clan. There is an exception here too. The Kabaka (King) belongs to his mother's clan not his father's just like everyone else. That way, every clan gets to produce a king, as it were. Though there exists a princely clan which he and his progeny belong to at the same time.
Question is, how do these traditions fit into the new changing Ganda/Ugandan/African/world societies or indeed a quickly globalising world?
A couple of years back, two lovebirds belonging to the Ndiga (sheep) clan made known to the female's parents their intentions to marry. Interestingly, they were resident in Botswana.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1145623/clan-wedding-blocked-inside-story
As you can read from that link, Traditions and Custom were up held by the constitution of Uganda. So many years later, in retrospect, I found that court ruling unfair. Unfair because society's desires triumphed over individual desires.
I mean, really, by some degree of separation, belonging to the same clan doesn't necessarily mean such a union would be incestuous. Genetically, surely, if one belongs to a different subclan (essigga), there is enough genetic variation if they mated with another of a different sub-clan to mitigate the challenges of incest.
All that said, those tribes that practise exogamy, to a curious one, present interesting fodder for genetic studies. That is if exogamy presents unique attributes.
Nakandi:
Quote from: Mukasa on February 06, 2017, 05:05:09 PM
Question is, how do these traditions fit into the new changing Ganda/Ugandan/African/world societies or indeed a quickly globalising world?
This paragraph from Ayinde's first comment gives an idea to which direction to take in terms of the question above.
"...our values today, especially since we are no longer entirely dependent on close family ties for our survival, and live among others who are not close family members, should be expanded to appreciate these realities. Loyalty to a clan or 'tribe' that is not respectful of the rights and values of others can only breed strife. Concepts of morality, compassion and most importantly empathy, would not be extended to others; thus people would remain with a distorted perception of justice and would lack social cohesion. This is evident in most societies today."
My experience is that thinking outside a tribal identity is like giving up a personal identity. Even after years of being away from 'my people'. That is why I find this paragraph from the same comment a crucial one;
"When I advocate Conscious Self Development or Conscious Development (same thing really), I am speaking about people taking responsibility as individuals for developing their character among other social skills. I am speaking about individuals, while working among the collective, doing the work to learn and expand their awareness of our extended family so that we can have better relations with all manner of people. This work is about people developing to be the best they can be. Individuals should not wait on group-think to make personal improvements. People need to develop empathy and learn to act in the best interest of all people.(Emphasis mine.) This allows us more tools to address and redress historical wrongs. While respecting the rights of everyone, we cannot embrace all manner of people, including family members, who are not about developing themselves towards addressing historical wrongs like Slavery, Racism, Colorism and Gender inequalities among other ills that plague us today."
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