Africa Speaks Reasoning Forum

Nomadic Peoples in Africa - Patriarchal?

Posted By: iyah360
Date: Tuesday, 21 September 2004, at 11:14 a.m.

Greetings.

This is a branch off the post "WHO BROUGHT IN THE DOWNPRESSION OF WOMAN PRINCIPLE."

Since it has been mentioned that nomadic peoples seem to have a tendency toward a more patriarchal type of cultural organization - I would like this thread to address what people know about indigenous African groups who are nomadic. Do these groups also tend to reflect the patriarchal model of organization?

The reason I ask is because there seems to be a tendency for ones to conclude that patriarchy is due to outside influences coming into Africa from elsewhere. I feel if we got more information on these indigenous nomadic groups in Africa, we may be able to see how patriarchy may also be an indigenous form in Africa as well.

Hopefully this reasoning will be edifying to all.

In all respect.
Bless and guidance.

Re: WHO BROUGHT IN THE DOWNPRESSION OF WOMAN PRINC

Posted By: franksta
Date: Tuesday, 21 September 2004, at 8:27 a.m.

In Response To: WHO BROUGHT IN THE DOWNPRESSION OF WOMAN PRINCIPLE (PRIEST ASUKILE ADIGUN ADOFO)

The question you ask is an interesting one , but lets first agree that no one has absolutely true answer . What we have are assumptions based on archeological , religious , historical records .

It is believe that early human groupings were based around the mother , for two basic reasons , first because she was the care giver and second because paternity was uncertain . As these family based groupings grew larger , a division of labour based on gender develop . Women tended to be the gatherers and childrearers(men had no attachement to the child so he made a poor father) while men the hunters(it is believe women were not good hunters as they had to carry their young with them) . With men now being able to feed the whole group with the results of his hunt .A small peice of meat will suffice , where normally large amounts of nuts and vegetable matter would be needed(cain & abel sacrifice) .Men began to gain the position of leadership in the tribe .

Up to this point human existence was not classified as civilized . Civilization began with the women who gathered , as they notice a correlationship between the time when they gathered and their menstrual cycle .They develop a basic understanding of the cycles of the heavens and the earth and its relationship to the seasons that govern plants and climate . As a result agriculture was develop and rudimentary herbalology .

Once again women gain the upper hand in these proto-civilize groupings . As farming called for a more sedentary(living in one place) lifestyle . This group of people began to built more permanent living stuctures . A split is believe to have occurred in human development at this junction . In which the more agricultural groups were more female dominated . On the other ,the more nomadic hunter based groups were male based .

So we now have two types of human development , one being nomadic , as they had to follow the prey to survive and survive beeing hunted by the other beasts in return .They needed very mobile living quarters , which left them often times expose to the elements .These people began to understand the ways of animals and were used a harsh type of existence . In which the strong survive and the weak perish-survival of the fittest .

Maternal base groups began what we now know as civilization , as the develop farming and medicine(care-giving experience) they grew in numbers . The surplus of food allow them leisure time to develop other arts , through recreation, chief among them sex for pleasure sake . The stable-permanent dwelling allowing for knowledge to be pass from one generation to the next .In these societies GOD WAS/IS A WOMAN , sex(power over life) and beauty(attraction, enchantment, love) was her attributes .

Within the male dominated societies the constant crisis led to a thining of their numbers and a need to replenish .Here in began the great conflageration , as the man base groups began to raid the woman base groups for personnel(mostly women-one man can impregnate several women-harem). Maternal societies was no match , in
warefare for the paternal soceities ,as all those y centuries of cold callous living made them into better warriors .

The continuation of this type of war of attrition ,led to the civiling of the male based societies as more and more maternal based women were force into subservience . The men not wanting to lose their control use the same type of strategy the used to domesticate animals on the women
Tradition and religious belief is the manner in which this control is still practise and maintained

Of course this is far from complete and propable just as far from accuracy , but that is the understanding gained from history as it is intrepeted today