Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Maps, Figures and Tables
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Pax Borana
- 2 Non-Proto-Rendille-Somali Elements of Modern Ethnic Groups
- 3 Modern Trends
- 4 Ecology and Politics
- 5 The Impact of War on Ethnic and Religious Identification in Southern Ethiopa in the Early 1990s (with ABDULLAHI A. SHONGOLO)
- References
- Index
- Eastern African Studies
2 - Non-Proto-Rendille-Somali Elements of Modern Ethnic Groups
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Maps, Figures and Tables
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Pax Borana
- 2 Non-Proto-Rendille-Somali Elements of Modern Ethnic Groups
- 3 Modern Trends
- 4 Ecology and Politics
- 5 The Impact of War on Ethnic and Religious Identification in Southern Ethiopa in the Early 1990s (with ABDULLAHI A. SHONGOLO)
- References
- Index
- Eastern African Studies
Summary
The term ‘non-Proto-Rendille-Somali elements’ can have a variety of meanings. In the case of the killer complex, which is shared by all Proto-Rendille-Somali (PRS)-derived ethnic cultures, it means ‘not particularly PRS’, because it has a much wider distribution in the area. The same applies to the subject of the section below, the calendric cycles of seven. These are shared by all ex-PRS groups and distinguish them from some of their neighbours but, of course, they have a much wider distribution. There is no need to tell an English-speaking audience that in the European cultures, among others, we also find weeks which are made up of seven days.
Other elements, like those of the Boran political system or the Samburu youth culture, are non-PRS in the sense of not having been part of the early PRS-complex of cultural features. They may be old elsewhere, but among the Cushitic speaking camel pastoralists of northern Kenya there are accretions which are younger than the PRS features they all share. They stem from neighbouring cultures just outside the PRS area and have affected different ex-PRS groups in various degrees.
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- Information
- Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2012