Ethnic patriotism and markets in African history

Abstract

Use and dissemination of these working papers are encouraged; however, the JI CA Research Institute requests due acknowledgement and a copy of any publication for which these working p apers have provided input. The views expressed in the se papers are those of t he author(s) and do n ot necessar ily represent the officia l positions of either the JICA Research Institute or JICA.

Explaining inter‐ethnic marriage in Sub‐Saharan Africa

“…Africa's high level of ethnic diversity has contributed to a long history of inter‐ethnic marriages between groups as a means of developing extensive kinship ties and political alliances while still maintaining group identities, such as in Cameroon, the eastern Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria (Forrest, 2004, pp. 38–41; Lonsdale, 2012, pp. 93–94).…”

“…93–94). Although inter‐ethnic marriage was discouraged in colonial Africa as colonial officials attempted to define tribes as distinct units (Lonsdale, 2012, p. 102)—and in apartheid South Africa white/non‐white marriage was actually banned—there is nonetheless evidence that inter‐ethnic marriage rates were 30% or higher in colonial towns in Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zambia (Banton, 1957; Hellmann, 1948; Wilson, 1942). Moreover, anecdotal evidence exists that inter‐ethnic marriage continued to remain high in post‐colonial Botswana (Werbner, 2002), Ghana (Schildkrout, 1973) and Tanzania (Arens & Arens, 1978).…”

Have tropicalAfrica's nationalisms continued imperialism's world revolution by other means?

“…That is only because ethnic identity and practice are always in flux, as all solidarities must be, in response to changing social contexts. Ethnic cultural difference is universal; it socialises us by expecting our self‐conduct to obey a code of honour peculiar to our disputable moral economy of obligation (Iliffe ; Lonsdale ). This adaptive, protective, ethnicity is but one of several layers of identity – such as gender, religion, occupation, age, language and nationality – each of which may indicate who are ‘we’ and ‘they’, according to context.…”