essay

Incorporation in Bornu

From Tribe to nation in Africa : studies in incorporation processesScrantonPublished In 1970 • Pages: 150-174

By: Cohen, Ronald.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Cohen examines the process of incorporation of (1) ethnic groups into the Bornu state and (2) the Bornu kingdom into Nigeria. The former is the historically older and longer process and varied according to whether the groups were internal or external, sedentary or nomadic. Settled peoples became part of the Bornu feudal tenure system, their rights to land based on patron-client ties to Kanuri nobility. Nomadic groups also became clients to individual noblemen who could offer them the state's protection and arbitrate their internal disputes. The Kanuri offered protection to outside groups, as well, in exchange for tribute, and often interferred in their dynastic struggles, but held no juridical powers over them. In the twentieth century, the British transformed the fiefs into administrative districts. Bornu became further incorporated into the Nigerian nation as individual Kanuri received a western education and moved up the ranks of the state's bureaucracy.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
External migration
Real property
Routes
Ethnic stratification
Territorial hierarchy
External relations
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Kanuri
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
1998
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Western 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.
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
Ian Skoggard ; 1996
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
not specified
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1901 - 1966
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Borno State, Nigeria
NotesAdditional notes
Ronald Cohen
Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-174)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
75079188
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Kanuri (African people)