Diversity and Ethnicity

Colonialism
1. Ethnicity = social construction
  1. not an absolute
  2. way of gaining control
    1. used to establish African identity
    2. means of gaining authority
  3. emphasised tribal affiliation and ethnic identity as highly important
  4. Formation of the state
    1. related to power structures
2. Ethnicity and Conflict
  1. Debates over whether ethnicity = root of conflict
    1. i.e. Rwanda
    2. Ethnic identity in itself doesn't cause any problems
Concepts of Ethnicity
1. Primordialism
  1. FIXED
  2. traditional, fundamental, static identity
  3. view during colonial period
2. Constructivism
  1. FLUID
  2. relational concept
  3. people have multiple identities
  4. not absolute
    1. about how use identity
3. balance needed between understanding importance of ethnicity and becoming obsessed with it
4. Instrumental Approach
  1. Useful in bringing people together
    1. may be unimportant on day-to-day basis
      1. different identities used at different times
    2. confront oppression
    3. Wilmsen (1996)
      1. "confirm collective status of identity in the face of threatening economic, political or social forces"
    4. may not always be about ethnicity
      1. Liberia
        clashes between ethnic groups
        violence
        different politicians from different ethnic groups
        about political dynamics
        ethnicity is easy way of organising it
      2. ethnicity = broad label - doesn't mean much
      3. other identities
Indigenous
1. Saugestad (2008)
  1. "with the ... diversity of the African continent,... it may seem futile to single out some ethnic groups as being more indigenous than others"
2. All Africans are indigenous
  1. why is there the notion of some being more so?
    1. lighter skin --> queries about ethnicity
    2. considered indigenous if..
      1. descendants of those living in area before colonization
      2. maintained own institutions since colonization
        social
        economic
        cultural
        politicall
        maintained culture and still here
        may be under threat now
3. Indigenous have moral superiority
  1. got there first
  2. embedded in issues of racism/resource use
4. Indigenous Movements
  1. some use title to improve rights and gain recognition
    1. redress marginalisation/discrimination
    2. remove discriminatory laws/practices
  2. embedded in global movements; not national
    1. 1990s - UN - Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
    2. African organisations
      1. challenging notions
        work to transmit knowledge, values, skills to younger generations
5. Being indigenous in today's world
  1. Is development good for these people?
    1. development > change
      1. can they still be indigenous?
      2. depends on extent of change
  2. Kaunga (2008)
    1. "ability to draw on both modern and indigenous skills"
  3. combination of both
    1. interact
    2. not one or the other
  4. Literacy
    1. much of modern world = literate
      1. needed
    2. indigenous societies have oral traditions
      1. these need keeping up too
      2. communicate with illiterate family members
6. Marginalisation and Exclusion
  1. alienated and made vulnerable by colonialism/post-colonialism
  2. lot of conflict in past over resources
  3. Kaunga (2008)
    1. recognises himself as indigenous
    2. injustices need recognising
      1. displacement
      2. dispossession
      3. oppression
      4. domination
      5. social exclusion
  4. Botswana
    1. Indigenous Mobilization
      1. language of 'first peoples'
    2. Background
      1. 1966 Constitution
        Khoisan /San
        hunter/gatherer livelihoods
        seen as 'backward'
        many living on handouts in townships
        refuses to recognise cultures/traditions/languages
        50 000 people
        displacement and assimilation
        majority set
Pastoralism
1. Between 17 and 50 million in SSA
  1. varying estimates
    1. census = difficult
  2. contribute 10% to Africa's GDP
2. Indigenous
  1. don't see themselves as so
    1. not always part of movement
3. Masai of Ngorongoro
  1. lobby for active participation in development
  2. political empowerment
    1. shedding discriminatory stereotypes
      1. contradiction
        tourism = important for economy in area
        tourism relies on stereotypes
    2. recognise knowledge, language, practices
      1. right to participate
      2. language under threat
        Swahili not taught in schools
        not written
  3. women and girls live in villages
    1. go to school etc
    2. boys and men go off to hunt
  4. more restrictions
    1. pastoralists are 'disturbing the habitat'
4. Colonialism
  1. territorial boundaries establishes which ignored pastoralists
    1. irrigated cultivation expanded onto land they used
  2. pastoralists seen as racially inferior
    1. pacification policies
      1. bring under state control
  3. seen as yielding little or no revenue for colony
  4. low quality land; leave them to it
    1. changed minds
      1. do they need all that land?
5. Forms of Pastoralism
  1. Diversified way of living
  2. Pastoral Systems
    1. Transhumant
      1. Nomadic; Transhumant
        moving around
      2. Transfer of livestock from one grazing ground to another, as from lowlands to highlands, with the changing of seasons.
      3. Transhumant; Sedentary
        staying in one place
    2. Agro-Pastoral
  3. various ways of adapting to changes in environment
  4. changing attitudes to pastoralism
6. Discrimination
  1. Continuation of earlier politics of assimilation and isolation
  2. Political and Economic Marginalisation
    1. seen as outmoded way of life
    2. traditional land rights under threat
    3. lack of basic services
      1. slow to get access
      2. static - don't move with them
  3. Conflict
    1. political resistance movements
  4. Sacking of Land
    1. land taken away
      1. Eviction
        Conservation
        Hunting Reserves
7. Discourses
  1. Davies (2008)
    1. "becoming easier to demonstrate success in pastoral development"
    2. "pastoralism is compatible with and indispensible to sustainable development
  2. Rass (2006)
    1. questions whether it is better to invest in pastoral development or design ways out for pastoralists
  3. Markakis (2004)
    1. "more than a mode of production"
    2. way of life
    3. If just see it as a way of surviving we are missing out a lot

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	Created by Hannah Fillier over 11 years ago