article

Reciprocity, redistribution and the male life cycle: variations in Middle River Tonga social organization

African social research (2) • Published In 1967 • Pages: 139-157

By: Lancaster, Chet S., University of Zambia. Institute for Social Research.

Abstract
This paper is based on the 1962-1963 field notes of Elizabeth Colson. It examines male status and social networks among Gwembe Tonga communities in the post-Kariba Dam era. Resettlement disrupted the traditional institutional structure based on matrilineal residence and control of land. In the resettlement area, men turned to a strategy of actualizing extensive personal and kinship networks in a wider region as a way to amass wealth and prestige, undermining traditional solidarities. The author considers the potential for social conflict wrought by such changes.
Subjects
Real property
Status, role, and prestige
Age stratification
Social relationships and groups
Kin relationships
Lineages
Community structure
Spirits and gods
Magic
culture
Tonga
HRAF PubDate
2014
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Southern Africa
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard; 2012
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
1956-1963
Coverage Place
eastern Southern province, Zambia
Notes
C. S. Lancaster
Published on behalf of the Institute for African Studies, University of Zambia by the Manchester University Press; Distributed in the USA by Humanities Press, New York
Includes bibliographical references (p. 157)
LCCN
72013521
LCSH
Tonga (Zambezi people)