article

Social interaction and the management of Songhay socio-political change

Africa51 (3)Published In 1981 • Pages: 765-780

By: Stoller, Paul.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This book examines the transformation of Songhai social structure during the colonial period. With the end of slavery, the establishment of a colonial government, and the introduction of universal education, alternative paths to prestige and power for ethnic minorities and former slaves undermined traditional Songhai statuses. The expansion of trade and advent of a market economy during the colonial period provided non-Songhai merchants with more wealth and power. The author examines the informal institution of discussion groups—centered on Songhai nobles or non-Songhai merchants—and how they compete for prestige and political power.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Mercantile business
Status, role, and prestige
Ethnic stratification
Classes
Slavery
External relations
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Songhai
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2016
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
article
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; 2016
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1976-1977
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1898-1977
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Mehanna, Tera department, Tillabéri, Niger
NotesAdditional notes
Paul Stoller
Includes bibliographical references (p. 779-780)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
29010790
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Songhai (African people)