Historical memory as a foundation for peace: Network formation and ethnic identity in North Mara, Tanzania

Abstract

While ethnic identity formulated by historical memory is often understood as the cause of violent conflict in Africa, this qualitative historical study of interethnic relations between Luo and Bantu-speaking communities on the borderlands of Tanzania and western Kenya demonstrates just the opposite. In fact, migration and violent conflicts over land in the late 19th century were the basis for oral traditions that established new microethnic identities. It was only in the colonial era that the modern macroethnicities of Luo and Suba (Bantu), as rigid oppositional identities, began to solidify around land disputes. Historical memory constructs these dynamic microethnic identities around interethnic reciprocal networks that were necessary for gaining security and access to land in the past. During these late 19th-century conflicts, interethnic alliances and marriages were the norm, resulting in many Bantu-speaking communities becoming Luo, to one degree or another. Historical memory, as the central tool for constructing ethnicity, can be used to promote either violence or peace, depending on how it is deployed. In western Kenya, an oppositional Luo identity resulted from the colonial construction of macroethnicity, while in North Mara, Tanzania, a different national narrative has resulted in relative peace. In his collection of oral traditions from North Mara, Zedekia Oloo Siso makes a case for these still salient microethnicities, based on regional networks that cross-cut ethnic boundaries, as the indigenous networks necessary for peace.

Identity as a weapon for peacebuilding : Strategies and practices of the indigenous guard from Northern Cauca, Columbia

“…Moreover, by adapting their identity with nonviolent principles framed as a lesson learnt from past experiences, their historical consciousness becomes a cultural resource that is used as a collective foundation for peacebuilding. These findings connect with former studies that emphasize the use of memory for peacebuilding (Bender Shetler, 2010). Equally, these findings illustrate the importance of everyday conversations and discourses when strategies are being created to mobilize historical memory for peacebuilding.…”

“…This study shows that collective identity construction -based on historical memory -guides Nasa actions when they are dealing with conflicts in an innovative and non-violent way. Therefore, this study supports two conclusions: 1) history, as a tool of the present, confers power (Rappaport, 1988) and 2) historical memory is a cultural resource that could work as a collective foundation for peacebuilding (Bender Shetler, 2010). Equally, the findings in this research illustrate the importance of everyday conversations and discourses when strategies are being created to mobilise historical memory for peacebuilding.…”