Culprits, culpability, and crime: stocktheft and other cattle maneuvers among the Ila of Zambia

Cutshall, Charles R.

article

Culprits, culpability, and crime: stocktheft and other cattle maneuvers among the Ila of Zambia

African studies review • 25 (1) • Published In 1982 • Pages: 1-26

By: Cutshall, Charles R..

Abstract
This article is an examination of livestock theft, cattle rustlers, and responses of the involved parties within the broader context of overt and covert manipulation of cattle wealth among the Ila. The focus is on the parameters of individual and group decision-making that led to changing concepts of behavior meriting praise or esteem and of behavior meriting blame or condemnation in cattle transactions. Drawing on the perspectives of legal pluralism and interactionist labeling theories of crime and deviance, the author views the legal definition of a behavior as a matter of competition for power between individuals or groups.

Cultural identity and pride

Sex and marital offenses

Ethics

Ethos

Functional and adaptational interpretations