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

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

Readings

• What struck you?• Critical perspective– Author’s approach– Arguments

• Links with other texts

Lamphear/Falola

Older African studies

•Similar to archeology

•Dark Continent

•Remnants

Identifiable “cultures”

•Sculptures

•Architecture

•Textiles

•Languages

•Social structure

Technological Evolutionism

•Iron age as if stage

•Civilization (Game)

–Linear evolution (Tech Tree)

–Prerequisites

–Compete

History of states

•Kingdoms/empires

•Forced confederacies

•Loose organisation

Non-State

•Small groups

–Not necessarily connected identity

•Nomadic groups

–Pastoralists (herders)

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•Sudanic languages (outdated classification)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

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

Anthropology's Critique of Colonialism

•Colonial past

•Fanon's critique

•Hegemony

•Egalitarian because Post-Colonial structures?

–Solway and Lee

Defining groups

•Created or reinforced by colonials

•Region

•Trade language

•Community of experience

•Spurious?

Associations

•Cosmopolitan networks

•Urban life

•Local

•"Ethnic"

•Schools (Koranic, Missionary, National)

Secret societies

•Initiation societies

•Muslim brotherhoods (sufism)

–Tijaniyya

•Freemasons

Geography

•Environment

•Crops

–Cash crops

–Food crops (subsistence farming)

•Intercontinental contacts