The Samburu: A Study in Geocentracy

Samburu society is a gerontocracy in which power rests with the older men; men under thirty may not marry or otherwise assert their personal independence. The author spent more than two years during the 1960s among the Samburu, and as an adopted member of one of their clans, he perceived how their values and attitudes are closely interwoven with a social system that resists change.

Paul Spencer is Honorary Director of the International African Institute and Emeritus Professor of African Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies in the UK.

Preface to New Edition

xiii

Acknowledgements

xix

Introduction

xxv

The Pastoral Economy

1

(24)

Livestock

2

(3)

The Ownership of Land and Water

5

(1)

The Pattern of Nomadism

6

(3)

The Division of Labour

9

(3)

The Composition of the Homestead

12

(3)

The Settlement

15

(5)

The Local Clan Group

20

(1)

Summary and Conclusion

21

(4)

Clanship and Exogamy

25

(28)

Stock Friends

27

(2)

The Clan and Marriage

29

(1)

Marriage Negotiations

29

(3)

The Husband's Clan

32

(3)

The Wife's Clan

35

(2)

The Mother's Clan

37

(5)

Forced Marriages

42

(4)

Divorce and Remarriage

46

(4)

Recruitment into the Clan

50

(1)

Summary

51

(2)

The Family and the Herd

53

(18)

The Wife's Allotted Herd

53

(5)

Inheritance and Building up a Herd

58

(7)

The Husband's Residual Herd and Polygamy

65

(4)

Summary

69

(2)

The Structure of Samburu Society

71

(31)

The Segmentary Descent System

71

(6)

Inter-segmentary Ties

77

(3)

The Age-set System

80

(5)

Age Grades and the Maturation of the Male

85

(6)

Three Types of Seniority

91

(4)

The Structural Implications of Polygamy

95

(4)

The Moran and the Bush

99

(2)

Summary

101

(1)

The Moran

102

(31)

Honour and the Family

103

(4)

Honour and Prestige

107

(4)

Moran and Their Mistresses

111

(2)

Affrays Between Clubs

113

(5)

Strains Between Sub-age-sets

118

(2)

Singing and Dancing

120

(7)

Internal Control Among the Moran

127

(4)

Summary

131

(2)

The Moran and the Total Society

133

(40)

A Sense of Respect: Nkanyit

134

(2)

The Developing Strains of Moranhood

136

(3)

The Attitude of the Elders Towards the Moran

139

(5)

The Attitude of the Moran Towards the Elders

144

(5)

The Firestick Relationship

149

(5)

Case Examples

154

(7)

The Social Condition of the Moran and Ilmugit Ceremonies

161

(6)

Similarities Between Alternate Age-sets

167

(5)

Summary

172

(1)

Elderhood and the Curse

173

(38)

The Transition from Moranhood to Elderhood

173

(2)

The Discussion: Nkiguena

175

(5)

Power and Social Values

180

(4)

The Belief in the Curse

184

(9)

Public Opinion and the Curse

193

(13)

The Clan and the Curse

206

(3)

Summary

209

(2)

The Status of Women

211

(22)

Girlhood, Marriage, and the Father's Clan

211

(7)

A Woman and Her Husband's Clan

218

(7)

Reciprocity Among Women

225

(6)

Summary

231

(2)

Social Attitudes and Ceremony

233

(43)

Darapul's Second Marriage

233

(12)

Analysis of Darapul's Marriage

245

(9)

Boys' Circumcision and Ilmugit Ceremonies

254

(6)

Dancing

260

(3)

Shaking

263

(7)

The Discussion

270

(1)

Misfortune and Beliefs in the Supernatural

271

(3)

Summary

274

(2)

The Samburu and Some Neighbouring Tribes: a Comparison

276

(29)

The Turkana

276

(5)

The Dorobo

281

(1)

The Suiei Dorobo

282

(4)

The Samburu-Dorobo

286

(5)

The Rendille

291

(8)

The Gerontocratic Index

299

(3)

Appraisal and Summary

302

(3)

Conclusion: the Gerontocratic Society

305

(12)

Summary

312

(5)

Appendix: Census Techniques and Data

317

(8)

Bibliography

325

(4)

Index

329

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The Samburu: A Study in Geocentracy

Summary

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The Samburu: A Study in Geocentracy

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

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