essay

Economic spheres in Darfur

Themes in economic anthropologyPublished In 1967 • Pages: 149-174

By: Barth, Fredrik.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study describes salient features of traditional subsistence and exchange among Fur farmers living in dense villages on the slopes of the Jebel Marra. Using the concept of “economic spheres,” the author provides generalizations about determinants of market values and the cultural desirability of certain assets (e.g. land, cash, labor) and agricultural products (e.g. grain, fruits and vegetables). Fur farmers are found to be not just rational profit-seeking individuals but also culturally-bound actors who must distinguish what is morally permissible. Examples of this concern with morality include communal norms restricting the availability of agricultural and domestic labor, and of local beer in the cash economy sphere.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Tillage
Cereal agriculture
Arboriculture
Special crops
Exchange transactions
Medium of exchange
Buying and selling
Internal trade
Real property
Labor supply and employment
Alcoholic beverages
Mutual aid
Division of labor by gender
Household
Family relationships
Ethics
Individual enterprise
Production and supply
Income and demand
Saving and investment
Price and value
Retail marketing
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Fur
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
essay
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; 2020
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1964
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1964
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Jebel Marra massif, Central and North Darfur states, Darfur region, Sudan
NotesAdditional notes
Fredrik Barth
Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-174)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
68098218
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Darfur (Sudan)