Book

Social facts and fabrications: 'customary' law on Kilimanjaro, 1880-1980

Cambridge University PressCambridge [Cambridgeshire] • Published In 1986 • Pages: xvi, 397

By: Moore, Sally Falk.

Abstract
This book discusses the transformation of the way of life of the Chagga peoples of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Combining information from ethnographic fieldwork and court files, the book illuminates changes that have occurred in Chagga “customary laws” relating to land tenure, family life and social organization since the advent of colonial powers in the last decade of the nineteenth century. The discussion is framed with a conceptualization of “pre-colonial Chagga legal system as having two dimensions.” One includes all that came under the immediate direction of government and administration, the other the residual part left to the Chagga to administer. While the later provided for what became known as “customary law”, it did not represent the entire Chagga legal system. Furthermore, changes in the broad political order and related non-legal aspects of Chagga life had far reaching consequences for what was recognized as “customary law.” The book discusses the many consequences of these changes especially at the family and lineage levels. When many Chagga men began earning cash income from coffee selling and employment opportunities, for example, they used the money in ways that transformed previously functioning customs. These included strategically 'fabricating' customs associated with the buying and selling of cattle and land, bride wealth payment, inheritance, court fees, religious dues, etc.
Subjects
Legal norms
Judicial authority
Litigation
Initiation of judicial proceedings
Legal and judicial personnel
Real property
External relations
Community structure
Lineages
Community heads
Status, role, and prestige
Cultural identity and pride
Missions
Avoidance and taboo
Revelation and divination
Ingroup antagonisms
Family relationships
Territorial hierarchy
Districts
Buying and selling
Gender status
Cult of the dead
culture
Chagga
HRAF PubDate
2010
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Eastern Africa
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Anthropologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Teferi Abate Adem; 2010
Field Date
1968-1984
Coverage Date
1886-1984
Coverage Place
Chagga country, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Notes
Sally Falk Moore
Includes bibliographical references (p. 376-384) and index
LCCN
85007897
LCSH
Law, Chaga
Customary law--Tanzania--Kilimanjaro
Chaga (African people)--Social life and customs