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ANTH326 Peoples and Cultures of Sub-Saharan
Africa
Meeting 3, September 24, 2007
Business
• Project Plan on October 15– “Pre-write” on October 8– Themes?
• Critical Reviews
• Media Critique
• Online Participation
• Office Hours
Factoids again
•Toward critical thinking
•Consensus opinion from African studies
•Intro. to African Studies
Wikipedia of Africa
•Empowerment
–OLPC
•Portal
•History
•Bantu Languages
In African languages
• 77. Afrikaans: af (8281) (IE)
• 89. Swahili: sw (5982) (Bantu)
• 101. Yoruba: yo (4072) (Benue Congo)
• 113. Amharic: am (2989) (Semitic)
Other African Wikipedias
•147. Lingala: ln (808) (Bantu)
•152. Wolof: wo (444) (Atlantic)
•198. Bambara: bm (138) (Mande)
African Specificity
•Particularism/Universalism
–Anthropology
•Fluidity
–Lack fixed boundaries
–Contacts
–Negotiate identity
“Consensus culture”
•Alternative to votes
•Democracy
•Negotiation
•Argument
•Debate
•«Arbre à palabres» (“Talking Tree”)
Symbiosis
•Ecological concept
•Central/Eastern/Southern (more than North/West)
•Peaceful influence more than invasion
•Intermarriage
Coexistence
•Agriculturalists/foragers
•State/bands
•Widespread religions, local belief systems
Intensification
•Settlements
•Surplus
•Population
•City
•State
•Hierarchy
Technological Evolutionism
•Iron age as if stage
•Civilization (Game)
–Linear evolution (Tech Tree)
–Prerequisites
–Compete
Readings
• Questions?
• What struck you?
• Critical perspective– Author’s approach– Arguments
• Links with other texts
Anthropology's Critique of Colonialism
•Colonial past
•Fanon's critique
•Hegemony
•Egalitarian because Post-Colonial structures?
–Solway and Lee
Lamphear/Falola
Large cultural groups
•Nilotes (Nilo-Saharan)
•Cushitic-speaking (Nilo-Saharan)
•Bantu-speakers (Niger-Congo)
•Mande speakers (Niger-Congo)
•San/Khoisan ("click")
•Sudanic languages (outdated classification)
Language families
•Afro-Asiatic (including Semitic languages)
•Khoisan (including “click” languages)
•Niger-Congo (including Bantu languages)
•Nilo-Saharan (including Songhay, Maasai, Kanuri)
Language families as cultures?
•Ease borrow language
•Trade languages
•Speech communities
•Not inter-communication
Older African studies
•Similar to archeology
•Dark Continent
•Remnants
Identifiable “cultures”
•Sculptures
•Architecture
•Textiles
•Languages
•Social structure
History of states
•Kingdoms/empires
•Forced confederacies
•Loose organisation
Non-State
•Small groups
–Not necessarily connected identity
•Nomadic groups
–Pastoralists (herders)
Social Structure
•Next two weeks
•Age-Sets
•Age-Grades
•Lineages
•Queen Mother
•Artisans
Gellar
Scramble
•Industrial revolution
•Capitalism
•Invasion
Colonial Experience
•Amadou Hampaté Bâ
•Colonials not seeing power
–Even recent
•Experience abroad
Defining groups
•Amselle and M’Bokolo Au coeur de l’ethnie
•Created or reinforced by colonials
•Region
•Trade language
•Community of experience
•Spurious culture?