Chapter 10

Law, Order, and WarIn

Non-State Societies

Law and Order in Band and Village Societies Hunter/Gatherer Societies

Enjoy high degree of personal security without having any rulers or law-and-order specialists

The Subsistence Economy vs. the Political Economy

The reason for these differences is that band and village societies are primarily embedded in the Subsistence Economy and have the following characteristics:

Egalitarian Society: lacks

formalized differentiation in access to and power over basic resources among its members

Small size means that everyone knows everyone else personally

Stingy, aggressive and disruptive behavior can be exposed to the pressures of public opinion

Communities are small in size

Domestic groups and kinships are central importance

There is relative equity in access to resources and technology

Each household is similar and self-sufficient

Households produce all their needs by means of division of labor by age and sex

The centrality of domestic group and kinship relations means that reciprocity can be the chief mode of exchange and that members

of the domestic group have personal incentives to uphold collective interests.

Political Economy: regulates the flow of goods in large multifamily settings and supports existing power relationships

Subsistence Economy: “Theoretically, no surplus is produced beyond a security margin – what may be needed if things turn bad. The overriding goal is to fulfill the household’s needs at the lowest cost that affords security.”

Subsistence Economy: essentially the household economy is organized at the level to meet basic needs, such as food, clothing, housing, defense, and technology.

Consistent with evolutionary change, the feedback between population growth and technological development results in the growth of the subsistence economy through intensification.

As territories become more crowded, there is constant potential for competition over resources

An economy geared toward intensification and maximization of production requires greater managerial oversight and leadership

Among small band and village societies, all adults usually have

access to the rivers, lakes, beaches, and oceans; to all the plants and animals; and to the soil and the subsoil. **these are basic to the extraction of life-sustaining energy and materials, they are communal property** !Kung San – waterholes and hunting-and-gathering

territories are said to be “owned” by the residential core of particular bands Neighbors who ask for permission to exploit particular resources

are seldom refused Even people who come from distant bands and who lack close

kin ties with the hosts are usually given permission to stay, especially for short periods, because all parties understand that the hosts may return the visit at some future date

Everyone among the !Kung San is recognized as entitled to the necessities of life by right of being a member of society

Primitive Communism

Primitive Communism?

Contd.

Among those things considered to be “private property” are: Weapons Clothing Containers Ornaments Tools Other personal effects should

not be taken away or used without permission by the “owner”

The chance is remote that theft or misappropriation of such objects will lead to serious conflict. Why? Accumulation of material possessions is

rigidly limited Most utilitarian items may be borrowed

without difficulty when the owner is not using them

Easy access to the raw materials and mastery of the requisite skills provide the have-nots with the chance of making their own

Among societies having no more than a few hundred people, thieves cannot be anonymous

If stealing becomes habitual, a coalition of injured parties will eventually take action

Band level societies have no regular market at which such items can be exchanged for food

Mobilizing Public Opinion

When disputes occur in small egalitarian societies, the disputants rely on the backing

of their kin groups for support.

In the absence of law-and-order institutions, people seek the support of kin as they press their claims against other members of the community

Public opinion influences the support disputants can expect from their kin

Often what matters is not who is right or wrong; the important thing is to mobilize public opinion on one side or the other decisively enough to prevent the outbreak of large-scale feuding

Shamans and Public Opinion In small, egalitarian societies,

shamans play an important role in mobilizing public opinion and in eliminating persistent sources of conflict.

Shamans: are part-time practitioners of magico-religious rights of divination and curing, skilled in slight of hand, and the techniques of trance and possessions

Most cultures reject the idea that misfortune results from natural causes It is usually the cause of witchcraft It is the shaman’s job to find out

the culprit, using divination or clairvoyance

To the extent that political leadership can be said to exist at all

among small societies, it is exercised by “headmen” or, less commonly, “headwomen”

A Headman: unlike such a specialist as a king, president, or dictator, is a relatively powerless figure, incapable of compelling obedience

When a headman gives a command, he is never certain of being able to punish physically those who disobey

If he wants to remain in “office”, he gives few direct commands. Political Power of:

Genuine rulers: depends on their ability to expel or exterminate any readily foreseeable combination of nonconforming individuals and groups

Genuine rulers: control access to basic resources and to the tools and weapons for hurting or killing people, whereas a Headman has an achieved status that requires him to lead by example and persuasion

Headmanship

Headmanship, cont’d.

Achieved Status: is acquired through talents, efforts, and accomplishments, rather than ascription

There are no mechanisms for forcing people in band and village societies to do what they do not want to do because they can simply move to another location

The headman must set an example not only for hard work but also for generosity

The headman motivates individuals to avoid conflict and restrain violence

Without political authority to enforce rules against violence, the headman must rely on interpersonal skills to motivate people to avoid confrontations

THE LEOPARD SKIN CHIEF

Mechanisms for preventing a homicide from flaring into a protracted feud include the transfer of substantial amounts of prized possessions from the slayer’s kin group to the victim’s kin group

This practice is especially common and effective among pastoral peoples, whose animals are a concentrated form of material wealth and for whom bride price is a regular aspect of kin group exogamy

The Leopard Skin Chief: is an outside mediator, believed to have supernatural powers, who is called on to resolve disputes between kin groups and prevent the escalation of hostilities

The Leopard Skin Chief is the only one who can ritually cleanse a murderer

A common form of

sodality is the exclusive men’s or women’s club

These usually involve men or women who partake in public or sectet performances that reinforce regional solidarity through ritual

Age-grade associations, or age-sets, are another common form of solidality

Non-kin Associations: Sodalities

Sodalities: are non-kinship based groups that span several villages and serve widely different functions, include:

economic military religious recreational

Warfare among Hunter and Gatherers

War: is armed combat between groups of people who constitute separate territorial teams or political communities