ANTH10400 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Bride Price
28 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Tribal pastoralists in east africa: nuer (sudan, masai (kenya/tanzania, dinka. Social status in these cultures is primarily tied to ownership of animals and success i raiding. Environment tropical savanna ecosystem: abundance of natural resources. The cattle complex: the masai have an exaggerated and personal attachment to their animals, cattle are seen as one"s dearest possessions . Cattle are decorated, have songs and poems written about them, described by their markings, etc: cattle show wealth. In masai culture, the anthropologist is seen as poor has no cattle: utilitarian value. Use all parts of the cow (meat, milk, hide, dung, etc. ) Smearing the roof of your home with cow dung is a sign of prosperity: the poor would own less cattle, and have to mix the dung with mud, complimentary between domesticates, symbiotic relationship with cattle. Conception of wealth: women and children are wealth in themselves, a man"s riches are influenced by the size of his village.
