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No anthropologist with valid field experience advocates the use of the term tribe anymore- it just doesn’t describe any specific form of social/political organisation. It’s profoundly anchored in 19th and 20th Century evolutionist thinking about ‘primitive’ others that were commonly contrasted with the ‘civilised’ west. I would go as far as to say that the use of the term today is in itself racist.It is true that in many indigenous cosmologies around the world (especially in the Amazon for example), humanity is thought to conincide with one’s own social group, and everyone beyond that is a barbarian. I would however say that the kind of racism We are talking about in the context of BLM, the racism that underpins empire and colonialisation, is clearly a fairly modern western invention and unparalleled in the ethnographic record.
Also the ‘tribes’ in Ghana and Nigeria that you know, I would be interested to know how the colonial experience has reconfigured relations between them, especially in Ghana and Nigeria where the British used indirect rule very effectively.
plantasia-
No anthropologist with valid field experience advocates the use of the term tribe anymore
Way over my head. I just know that during the 15 or so years I've co-owned businesses in West Africa, my friends and business partners often ask people they've just met which tribe they are from and use the word tribe extensively. People seem to be very proud to talk of their tribal ancestry.
Hadn't crossed my mind that it might not be acceptable to use that word. What is the correct word to use to describe a tribe now? Is it more that a white person shouldn't use tribe?
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The problem post independence is that whatever European power had control would use a divide and rule 1st implemented by the English in Ireland over a 1000 years ago and then rolled out all over the world. The issue between ethnic groups in Africa is that all sharing space formed along European borders
Stonehedge
chokalateboywonder
Definitely a human problem. You can find racism everywhere. One area I have a little personal knowledge is the level of racism between tribes in Nigeria and Ghana. I really do believe that you will find racism everywhere. I think @hats has given us some examples from China also.