article
Grain, cattle, and power: social processes of intensive cultivation and exchange in precolonial western Kenya
Journal of anthropological research • 50 • Published In 1994 • Pages: 249-276
By: Håkansson, Thomas.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The relationship between agricultural production and grain and cattle exchange is examined here in the context of the Lake Victoria basin and the highlands of western Kenya. The societies in this region were patrilineal and acephalous, with polygynous households, and used cattle for large bridewealth payments. The highland Gusii population practiced labor-intensive cultivation, maintained high population densities, and produced sizable grain surpluses for exchange against livestock from the lowland Luo, who produced less grain and experienced periodic famines (p. 249).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Domesticated animals
- Cereal agriculture
- Settlement patterns
- Production and supply
- Exchange transactions
- External trade
- Mode of marriage
- Household
- Family relationships
- Polygamy
- Extended families
- Lineages
- Clans
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Gusii
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Eastern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 2005
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1982-1983, 1985
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1790-1930
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- western Kenya
- NotesAdditional notes
- N. Thomas Håkansson
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-276)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 73645054
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Gusii (African people)