Oasis Belonging: A Comparative Study

Polygyny and father-son Inheritance are important aspects of the igbo culture although they are only two of many. Polygyny is the practice of having multiple wives, which in the igbo tribe determined your social status. “ There was a wealthy man in Okonkwo’s village who had three huge

Families assembled in spring to angle, in early winter to chase, and in the mid year they isolated to develop singular planting fields. Young men were educated in the method for the forested areas, where a man's aptitude at chasing and capacity to get by under all conditions were imperative to his family's prosperity. Ladies were prepared from their most punctual years to work perseveringly in the fields and around the family wetu, a round or oval house that was intended to be effortlessly disassembled and moved in only a couple of hours. They likewise figured out how to accumulate and handle normal foods grown from the ground, other create from the living space, and their harvests. The creation of sustenance among the Wampanoag was like that of numerous Native American social orders. Nourishment propensities were partitioned along gendered lines. Men and ladies had particular undertakings. Local ladies assumed a dynamic part in a hefty portion of the phases of nourishment creation. Since the Wampanoag depended fundamentally on products gathered from this sort of work, ladies had vital socio-political, financial, and profound parts in their groups. Wampanoag men were for the most part in charge of chasing and angling, while ladies dealt with cultivating and the social event of wild organic products, nuts, berries, shellfish, and so on. Ladies were in charge of up to seventy-five percent of all sustenance

9. “Benin lost their faith in gods, their art deteriorated, and human sacrifice became more common.” (page 330)

Historical studies indicate that the New Guinea was one of the hottest countries, insect infested, and occupied by aggressive people. The Imbonggu community is one of the integral parts of the community. William E. Wormsley drew a special insight into the lives of these people after spending several years with them. In his fascinating book, the author uses an incisive, yet articulate, voice to describe the culture, social structure as well as bride wealth, religion, and magic among these people (Wormsley, 1993). During that period, New Guinea was specially known as a man-eating zone. The local people were reputed as cannibals, nasty and aggressive people. Therefore, as the anthropologist of his time, Wormsley was destined to critically analyze the group on their view of the white man. A study that released results that still struck the world with shock (Wormsley, 1993).

One way pastoral nomads lived a different lifestyle than transhumant herders was through agriculture. First, agriculture was a big part of the nomad’s lifestyle. The earliest sign of agriculture is in Southwest Asia and was their main form of survival which included planting crops and domesticating animals. Agriculture gave people a regular food supply, and eventually was able to produce surpluses of food (pg.7). Thus, surpluses of food allowed for large populations and for labor specialization. Large populations and labor specialization led to social classes which ranked from highest to lowest was: elites (kings, religious leaders), commoners (craftsmen/farmers), and slaves. As wealth and social standings grew, so did the gender gaps. Women were thought of as being the first to begin the systematic care of plants, while men began to capture animals and domesticating them (pg.7). Transhumant herders lived a much different lifestyle than those of the nomads.

The family structure and organization in rural Africa was very different from that of the enslave ones in the plantation society of America. In Africa they were allowed to keep many wives and it was very legal. As, Venture Smith, a slave from Dukandarra in Guinea stated, “My father had three wives. Polygamy want notuncommon….” (170-171). The Africans also had several children with the wives and the family was very closed-nit. However when the Africans were captured by the Europeans and brought to America, it caused disruptions in the family structure. After their arrival, there was a separation of husbands from wives, mothers from children, and sister and brothers and forced in to servitude on plantations. Slaves were not allowed to marry but they were

Both practices pertain to the recognition and potential role that male tribe members are able to assume. Each show value that is seen in becoming a protector of the women or even the village itself. As the crowd held up Okafo and recited their chant, they included the line “Okafo will wrestle for our village.” (Achebe 53) The chant and especially this line support that wrestling is performed for the purpose of finding a strong, male figure to deem as a protector. This is true for the practice of polygamy as well. If an individual is unable to protect or care for his women, Achebe wrote “he was not really a man. He was like the man in the song who had ten and one wives and not enough soup for his foo-foo.” (Achebe 53) The quote means that it is meaningless to have multiple wives if the husband does not care for and protect them all. This shows that the value of having many wives is not to have several objects in one’s home , but it is a symbol of a man’s ability to be a provider and protector. Both ceremonial wrestling and polygamy are both important symbols that represent the theme of

While reading about Mali in Hungry People, I noticed that the people all looked so happy – and healthy! I found it odd, considering their limited diet, consisting of mostly grains, very little meat, and a few vegetables, along with drinking only well water. I guess it is possible to survive, and in their case, thrive, on such a limited diet. In Alaska, where the Eskimos eat a mainly whale blubber, they also do fine. The addition of so many chemicals, preservatives and unknown additives to our food would explain the difference in health when comparing the regions. I did notice their life expectancy is 44/46 years of age, and although they did not mention the reason for a shorter life span than we know, I assume it is from lack of nutritious foods. The concept of plural marriages is not a new one to us, but I respect the fact that the men are limited to four wives, and only if they can support them all, and agree to treat his wives well. The women mentioned that other village co-wives that fought amongst themselves were a result of the men not treating them equally. I recently watched episodes of Sister Wives on Netflix- and while I neither agree nor disagree with their marriage choice, they are fine with it. In one episode, the third wife was giving birth to their child, and he scooted out the door to make out with his fiancé’, his soon-to-be fourth wife. That was a little weird to imagine.

Even the crops were gendered (Okhamafe 127). Coco-yams, beans, and cassava were “women’s crops” (Achebe 23). Yam, the “king of crops”, was “a man’s crop” (Achebe 23). In Umofia, all that is desirable and admired is associated with manliness. Anything that is demeaning or scornful is considered to be womanly.

The Tuareg of Niger and Mali show an interesting difference in how their community influences their aging experience. In the Tuareg, the opposite spectrums of life are treated in ways that are different than the individuals in the middle of their life (Rasmussen, 2012: 131). In this way, the older individuals and the youngest individuals create their own kind of community. Elderly individuals in this society have their own aspect of life that they are supposed to observe. “There are also hints that Tuareg frail elders occupy special, respected status as pre-ancestral, as mediators between humans and ancestors,” (Rasmussen, 2012: 135). In this society, only the oldest and youngest can interact as both spectrums of the life span are seen as being

Yam, the king of crops, was a man’s crop” (Achebe, 1994, p.22-23). This proves that there are gender roles in every aspect of the Igbo culture including the growing of crops. It is a man job to do the yams because yams are the main food staple of the Igbo culture. In this culture is a man’s job to provide for the family. The yams also show masculinity because it shows they're not afraid of hard work. Even if Igbo faction are sophisticated in male/ female jobs and partnership others may argue that Igbo faction are

In an agrarian society such as the one found in Things Fall Apart, life centers around the planting and harvesting of food, as that will dictate the level of comfort the society can expect in the next year. To the present day, the Igbo people of Nigeria hold a yam festival every year at the end of the rainy season, “a

“Remotely Global: Village Modernity in West Africa” by Charles Piot is a book based on the lives of the people of the remote village called Kabre located in Northern Togo. The author discusses the “vernacular modernity” of the people of Kabre village that has been influenced by a long tradition of encounters with outsiders that included the colonialists. The author provides an in-depth analysis with ethnographic details about the Kabre people as the author discusses a wide range of their culture and history that included houses and the structure of homestead, gender ideology, ritual like initiations, exchange system, and social relations (Piot 178).

The tradition Gbandi social order is fundamentally based on polygyny and prior to the influence of western culture, most man aimed for attained control over several wives, large house hold with many wife and children established the social foundation for man to assume the prestigious status of big house hold and economic basis for controlling substantial productive operation. With these assets, man establishes himself as important member or leader in the community.