essay
Social stratification in Bornu
Social stratification in Africa • New York • Published In 1970 • Pages: 225-267
By: Cohen, Ronald.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article, Cohen examines the multiple factors, such as ethnicity, occupation, lineage, gender, class, and material wealth, which influence Kanuri status distinctions. Traditionally, Kanuri society was divided between a noble class, who resided in the capital where they served in the central bureaucracy, and a commoner class of farmers, craftsmen and merchants, who catered to the needs of the upper class. In rural areas high status was based on wealth, household size and social proximity to powerful leaders. Nobility and commoners alike had slaves. Ethnic groups were ranked into three categories: fellow Moslims who shared the same status as the Kanuri, eg., Arabs, Hausa and Shuwa. A second category of non-Moslims who were internally ranked according to occupation. A low status group of tribal peoples included the Tuareg, Tiv and Cameroons. Cohen also discusses class differencs in custom and dress, social mobility, and the importance of a Western education.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Occupational specialization
- Status, role, and prestige
- Ethnic stratification
- Classes
- Form and rules of government
- 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
- 1955-57; summers 1964-66
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1955 - 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
- By Ronald Cohen
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 267)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 78091223
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kanuri (African people)