Cultural & Ethnic Studies

Tribe a Socio-Political Analysis
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Authors Reasons to Object the Use of the Word ‘’Tribe’’ When Alluding to Africans
The authors object the use of ‘tribe’ because it has pejorative and derogatory connotations that are mostly associated with people of the non-European origin. Also, the authors are reluctant to apply the word ‘‘tribe’’ because it is used or applied arbitrary or erratically rather than systematically (Fuehr et al. 1976). The authors note that tribe is not a suitable word to explain the origin of Africans and to discuss their social behavior since the word projects as an insult and is not sufficiently an identifier of the people of African origin. Another author Mafeje discusses the colonial system which first postulated the word tribe. And, therefore, the whites referred to Africans as tribal societies hence failing to address the true origin and social behavior of the Africans.
Comparing and Contrasting Mafeje and Fluhr’s Objection of the word ‘’Tribe’’
While Fuhrer sees ‘’tribe’’ as a derogatory term and one that is used arbitrary to people of the African origin, Mafeje mentions that the social behavior of the African people is so fluid and diverse that it is impossible to treat it with consistency. However, Mafeje is of the opinion that the problem with Africa is not because of its highly diverse social behavior. Rather, it is a problem of ideology. He makes a reference to Karl Marx ideology of class or ‘’Marxism’’ which states that the society is segmented into classes depending on household income and social class.

The economists control the means of mental production through advertisements and in turn influence economic production when people produce and later sell the products. In his evaluation, Mafeje further notes that the European colonialism came up with major reconstructions among them the tendency of terming African societies as primarily tribal. As a result, the author objects to the use of ‘’tribal’’ since it is a colonial perception and one that does not necessarily reflect the African realities (Mafeje, 2013). Hence, it is evident that Fuehr and Mafeje view the term tribe as an imposed identity and one that does not reflect or subscribe to the experiences and socio-political nature of the African people.
References
Fuehr, C. Lobban, R and Zangari, L. (1976). Tribe: A Socio-Political Analysis. Pg. 1 – Pg. 23.
Mafeje, A. (2013). The Ideology of Tribalism. The Cambridge University Press. Vol. 9. No. 2, pp. 253 – 261.