article
Success and failure: the breakdown of traditional drought coping institutions among the pastoral Turkana of Kenya
Journal of Asian and African studies • 25 (3-4) • Published In 1990 • Pages: 146-160
By: McCabe, J. Terrence.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article contrasts the traditional drought coping institutions of two Turkana communities from two contrasting locations (one in the north, the other in the south). It shows indigenous drought coping institutions of northern Turkana had begun to break down, while those of the southern Turkana remained viable. This contrast is attributed to northern Turkana's subjection to a combination of stresses arising from inter-ethnic conflict, raiding, political instability, national boundary restrictions and the famine relief effort itself. The document concludes that the maintenance of indigenous drought coping institutions, based on a system of social relations and the redistribution of surplus, is critical for long term survival in this drought prone area of the world; and that these institutions have been made recently vulnerable to stresses beyond the control of the local people.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Disasters
- Functional and adaptational interpretations
- Pastoral activities
- Domesticated animals
- Settlement patterns
- Real property
- Inter-community relations
- Inter-ethnic relations
- Mutual aid
- Poverty
- Aftermath of combat
- Research and development
- Instigation of war
- Environmental quality
- Gift giving
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Turkana
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2010
- 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.
- Anthropologist
- 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
- Teferi Abate Adem; 2009
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1980-1986
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1980-1990
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Turkana, Kenya
- NotesAdditional notes
- J. Terrence McCabe
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 158-160)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 75001539
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Turkana (African people)