African ethnography

An examination of the difficulties faced within identification of African body modification in the archaeological record. Looking specifically at how we as archaeologists can acknowledge these problems and adapt to further explore the realms of body modification within African archaeology. The article examines the material world of through ethnographical and theoretical exploration of the social world.

Artisans in Kiffa and several other towns in southern Mauritania have produced a unique kind of powdered-glass bead for several generations. Commonly called "Kiffa beads," they generally copy the designs and forms of ancient beads, as well as more recent European examples. This article discusses their history, manufacture and relevance in Mauritanian culture. While production of the beads recently ceased for a time, several women have again begun to make them though the new varieties are not as inspiring as their predecessors.

The portrayal of Ethiopians in early Christian literature has been interpreted in scholarship in various ways, including severe accusations of racism. Even the Desert Fathers have been blamed of "rather abrasive racism." This paper examines the Apophthegmata patrum and related ascetical sources regarding their approach to Ethiopians, the symbol of black Africans. The author argues that metaphorical expressions and mystical visions have been over-interpreted and misused, due to their having been read through the lenses of modern Western racism and its counter-reactions. In the Egyptian desert, the basic approach to actual Ethiopians seems to have been neutral or positive, as it had been already in the pre-Christian Greek Antiquity.

THIS VERSION LACKS THE VERY LAST EDITS, SO PLEASE ENJOY A FEW TYPING ERRORS. :)

Dix entrées dans le Petit dictionnaire des peuples (Bemba (p.49), Kaonde (p.150), Luba du Kasaï (p.182), Luba du Katanga (p.183), Mongo (p.219), Ndembu (pp. 230-1), Ruund (p.276), Suku (p.298), Yaka (pp. 345-6), Yeke (pp. 349-50)), édité par Jean-Christophe Tamisier. Paris : Larousse, 1998.

Attempts are often made to link ethnographic information with animal remains from archaeological sites. This is
often productive where the sites excavated have historical, traditional, and/or oral links with modern populations.
Even so, the analyst must proceed with care. Such links become much more tenuous farther back in time and are
problematic to say the least. In this paper, we illustrate the uses and problems associated with ethnographic information
by way of four topics: the Central Cattle Pattern, substitute burials, divining bones and food taboos. We
compare ethnographic information with material excavated and assess the value of this information against time
and place. We demonstrate both the usefulness of ethnographic information, but also the problems associated with
applying ethnographic information to the distant and not so distant past.

Beads are objects of infinite diversity among the Mina-Guen of southern Togo. They accompany the people in all the material and spiritual aspects of their existence. However, while the beads serve such varied functions as ornaments, currency, and emblems of wealth and prestige, they find their principal use in voodoo. Translated from the original French by Pierre Nadon.

Mutokolwe is located in the northern part of South Africa. The site was occupied by Venda-speaking farmers during the Late Iron Age. One of the most unusual aspects from this faunal assemblage is the presence of complete metapodia of cattle and sheep. No other faunal assemblage from farming sites in southern Africa contains as many complete specimens, including long bones, as that from Mutokolwe. Skeletal completeness is one of the signatures which signal feasting activities from the archaeological record. Feasting has been recognised in different parts of the world, including Africa. Based on ethnographic
accounts, feasting was also common amongst Bantu-speaking farmers of southern Africa, and in particular, Venda-speakers. Taking into account limitations posed by archaeological, ethnography and early historical descriptions, we suggest that the complete long bones of livestock signal feasting activities at Mutokolwe. The faunal assemblage from the site contains an unusual high percentage of identifiable remains, indicating that it was likely subjected to biased sampling. Moreover, few wild animals are present in the assemblage, which suggests, sampling biases aside, that domestic animals were favoured in feasts possibly due to their association with people and ancestors.

Mutokolwe is located in the northern part of South Africa. The site was occupied by Venda-speaking farmers during the Late Iron Age. One of the most unusual aspects from this faunal assemblage is the presence of complete metapodia of cattle and sheep. No other faunal assemblage from farming sites in southern Africa contains as many complete specimens, including long bones, as that from Mutokolwe. Skeletal completeness is one of the signatures which signal feasting activities from the archaeological record. Feasting has been recognised in different parts of the world, including Africa. Based on ethnographic accounts, feasting was also common amongst Bantu-speaking farmers of southern Africa, and in particular, Venda-speakers. Taking into account limitations posed by archaeological, ethnography and early historical descriptions, we suggest that the complete long bones of livestock signal feasting activities at Mutokolwe. The faunal assemblage from the site contains an unusual high percentage of identifiable remains, indicating that it was likely subjected to biased sampling. Moreover, few wild animals are present in the assemblage, which suggests, sampling biases aside, that domestic animals were favoured in feasts possibly due to their association with people and ancestors.

ABSTRACT & RÉSUMÉ:
The political economy of occult belief in Africa can highlight hidden social and political conflict in times of transition which remain otherwise undetected. This has been demonstrated in taking the development of witchcraft accusations over time as indicator, and the Nupe of Northern Nigeria as an example. A tentative long-term study on the growth of the Nupe state since pre-colonial times points towards a close relationship between the content and form of witchcraft accusations and the mode of production under which the stakeholders used to life and work. Over time, witchcraft accusations among the Nupe apparently served different, even antagonistic ends, depending on the mode of production in which they were embedded. Much confusion in literature on the apparent contradiction between ‘emancipating’ and ‘oppressive’ functions of witchcraft beliefs could be avoided by considering this articulation between modes of production, witchcraft accusations, and the underlying vested interests of the ruling powers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
RÉSUMÉ:  [ Sur l'articulation de la sorcellerie et de modes de production parmi les Nupe, dans le nord du Nigéria ] - L'économie politique de la croyance occulte en Afrique peut mettre en évidence des conflits sociales et politiques cachés en période de transition qui restent autrement inaperçus. Cela a été démontré à prendre le développement des accusations de sorcellerie au fil du temps comme indicateur, et les Nupe du Nigeria du Nord comme un exemple. Une étude préliminaire à long terme sur la croissance de l'État Nupe depuis l'époque précoloniale pointe vers une relation étroite entre le contenu et la forme des accusations de sorcellerie et le mode de production en vertu de laquelle les parties prenantes ont travaillés. Au fil du temps, les accusations de sorcellerie parmi les Nupe ont apparemment servis différents, voire antagonistes objectives, selon le mode de production dans lequel ils ont été intégrés. Beaucoup de confusion dans la littérature sur la contradiction apparente entre des croyances de sorcellerie « émancipateur » et des fonctions plutôt « oppressives » pourrait être évité en prenant en compte cette articulation entre les modes de production, les accusations de sorcellerie, et les intérêts sous-jacents des puissances dominantes.

Les recherches polonaises sur les peuples et les cultures de Kordofan – l’histoire et les résultats les plus récents ::: RÉSUMÉ ::: Les auteurs présentent l’histoire des recherches polonaises réalisées sur le territoire du Kordofan à partir de la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle jusqu’au présent. Il y a deux grandes parties. Dans la première d’entre eux, nous avons présenté les silhouettes des scientifiques polonais (de ceux qui sont très connus et de ceux – moins connus) et leurs réalisations scientifiques dans le domaine d’ethnographie, archéologie, anthropologie et de démographie de Kordofan. Dans la deuxième partie nous avons présenté les résultats de la reconnaissance effectuée par l’équipe interdisciplinaire des chercheurs polonais et soudanais au Kordofan du Nord en 2010. Les auteurs qui ont participé dans cette entreprise (les représentants de l’Université d’Adam Mickiewicz à Poznań et de National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of the Sudan), ils décrivent les résultats de leurs recherches concernant le patrimoine culturel de la région et ils montrent les possibilités de l’utiliser dans la promotion de la fréquentation touristique dans la région.

Very little data exist on shoulder heights of cattle from archaeological contexts in eastern, central and southern Africa, in no small part due to the virtual absence of complete long bones. We report on complete metapodia of cattle from Mutokolwe, a Late Iron Age site in South Africa that was occupied by Venda-speakers. The shoulder height of cattle from Mutokolwe ranges between 106.90 and 129.49cm indicating the presence of a small breed of cattle. We present shoulder heights for a number of cattle breeds from eastern, central and southern Africa to show that indigenous, unimproved cattle from this region are often small in stature, well within the range for that recorded at Mutokolwe. Dwarf cattle have previously been reported from Nyanga in eastern Zimbabwe dating from the Late Iron Age. The size of cattle at Nyanga, although small, is within the range of other indigenous cattle from the subcontinent.

Gender attitudes and its factors continue to be debated in an era where gender equality remains a priority to countries in the world. Modernization theorists have assumed a predictable positive pattern of the influence of economic development on gender attitudes, thereby arguing that higher levels of economic development such as GDP per Capita, increases support for gender equality across countries. Whereas this has been proven in European and Western countries, it is difficult to generalize the results to African countries as the phenomenon is understudied on the continent. Using data from the 5 th round of the Afrobarometer survey and multiple regres-sion/multi-level analysis, this study investigated the influence of economic development , in addition to other socio-cultural factors, on gender attitudes in 34 African countries. The study revealed that a) among countries in Africa, economic development , in this case GDP per Capita, does not significantly influence attitudes towards gender equality; b) people's ethnic background influences their attitudes towards gender equality; and c) Gender attitudes are strongly influenced by education, employment status and religious denomination.

This paper describes three cases of homicide compensation in a local farming community of the Îgembe, one of nine sub-groups of the Kîmîîrû-speaking people in the Kenyan central highlands. These cases were observed from 2001 to 2015. According to Îgembe indigenous law, the clan is the primary entity for transacting matters related to homicide compensation. In these cases, the agnatic Athimba clan was involved as a party in various ways. The Athimba people organised a compensation process during inter-clan negotiations with their counterpart clan, and in cooperation with the other two indigenous institutions of the Amîîrû community: the îchiaro brotherhood and the Njûriîncheke council of elders. While all three cases were discontinued without reaching a conclusion, the Athimba clan has accumulated knowledge of Îgembe indigenous law from its experiences with homicide compensation; at the same time, the Athimba have developed a sense of clanship over the past fifteen years. Their fifteen years of experiences were informed by a widely shared structural history, and the regional politics of the Îgembe community. While their situations required that they take action as a clan, their unity was not something already given, but something that had yet to be achieved and was often disputed.

Animals are often attracted to the cultivated gardens of farmers, who would hunt these pests to protect their crops from damage. This is known as garden hunting. Since the concept of garden hunting was first described more than three decades ago, a number of anthropological studies have been undertaken in different parts of the world on hunting practices of farmers in their fields. Ethnographies from southern Africa also indicate that Bantu-speaking farmers spend a considerable amount of time and energy protecting their gardens from small, medium and even large animals. Archaeologists have also applied the concept of garden hunting to faunal samples in various parts of the world, but not yet in southern Africa. In an effort to highlight the potential archaeological significance of garden hunting in Africa, we investigate faunas from the Limpopo Valley and surrounding regions. While we could not find any conclusive evidence for garden hunting, based on circumstantial evidence we nonetheless suggest that it must have been a regular activity.

This paper focuses on clan revival movements in local farming communities of the Îgembe, one of nine sub-groups of the Kîmîîrû-speaking people or the Amîîrû (Ameru) in the Kenyan central highlands. As this paper describes, the significance of clan organisation in local contexts was rediscovered to meet local needs for a peaceful life and social unity, while, at the same time, accommodating the Kenyan government’s introduction of a community-policing programme in 2013. The two collective cursing meetings I observed in August 2016 and describe in this paper were organised by the two agnatic clans of the Antûambui and Akachiû, respectively. The meetings were aimed at removing unidentified sorcerers from their neighbourhoods, and reorganising their groups into more active clans under the new leadership of the Mîrîti age group. The revival of clanships in the two communities was consonant with the community-policing programme initiated by the government, which was aimed at enhancing security at the grass roots, and also contributed to the rise of political autonomy in local communities. The socio-political power that is being achieved in the process, however, is decentralised in the local context.

This essay traces the intertwined topics of collaboration and multisited ethnography in the writings of anthropologist Sondra Hale on Sudanese artists and art. Hale’s trajectories and movements in and out of Sudan traverse parallel, sometimes overlapping tracks with the artists she studied, championed, and curated. Studying Sudan and its artists may have begun in Khartoum during Hale’s first three-year period there from 1961 to 1964; however, this essay analyzes Hale’s subsequent writings based on the places where she encountered artists, residing abroad and in exile, in Cairo, Asmara, Addis Ababa, Oxford, the Hales’ Los Angeles home, as well as in American venues for meetings of the Sudan Studies Association.

Animals are often attracted to the cultivated gardens of farmers, who would hunt these pests to protect their crops from damage. This is known as garden hunting. Since the concept of garden hunting was first described more than three decades ago, a number of anthropological studies have been undertaken in different parts of the world on hunting practices of farmers in their fields. Ethnographies from southern Africa also indicate that Bantu-speaking farmers spend a considerable amount of time and energy protecting their gardens from small, medium and even large animals. Archaeologists have also applied the concept of garden hunting to faunal samples in various parts of the world, but not yet in southern Africa. In an effort to highlight the potential archaeological significance of garden hunting in Africa, we investigate faunas from the Limpopo Valley and surrounding regions. While we could not find any conclusive evidence for garden hunting, based on circumstantial evidence we none...

Animals are often attracted to the cultivated gardens of farmers, who would hunt these pests to protect their crops from damage. This is known as garden hunting. Since the concept of garden hunting was first described more than three decades ago, a number of anthropological studies have been undertaken in different parts of the world on hunting practices of farmers in their fields. Ethnographies from southern Africa also indicate that Bantu-speaking farmers spend a considerable amount of time and energy protecting their gardens from small, medium and even large animals. Archaeologists have also applied the concept of garden hunting to faunal samples in various parts of the world, but not yet in southern Africa. In an effort to highlight the potential archaeological significance of garden hunting in Africa, we investigate faunas from the Limpopo Valley and surrounding regions. While we could not find any conclusive evidence for garden hunting, based on circumstantial evidence we none...