Book

A pastoral democracy: a study of pastoralism and politics among the northern Somali of the Horn of Africa

Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University PressLondonPublished In 1961 • Pages:

By: Lewis, I. M..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This book is a descriptive analysis of the socio-political structure of the Somali. The bulk of the material is drawn from the former British Protectorate of Somaliland. There pastoralism is of greater importance than to the south where grain cultivation is also practiced. Political life is to a high degree determined by lineage and clan adherence as well as loyalty to the DIA-paying lineage contract group. Political parties, though based upon such grouping, tend now, however, to emphasize national unity. Negation of lineage-and clan affiliation for the sake of a higher unit had been the ideal, though not operating in practice, of the religious Muslim Orders (TAARIQUA). In this case, Muslim brotherhood represented the higher unit. The book concentrates on the developments since the 1930's, but gives due consideration to earlier conditions.
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Somali
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
1997
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
Book
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.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Sigrid Khera ; John Beierle ; 1970-1974
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1955-1957
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
ca. 1930-1955
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Somalia, Djibouti, and southeastern Ethiopia
NotesAdditional notes
by I. M. Lewis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 307-312) and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
62000014
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Somalis