Field and river

20th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (ICES20)
Mekelle University, Ethiopia

"Regional and Global Ethiopia - Interconnections and Identities"
1-5 October, 2018

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POLITICS AND POLITIES IN SOUTH OMO: DYNAMICS OF RECOGNITION [Abstract ID: 1215-03]

Felix GIRKE, University of Konstanz, Germany

This paper explores the complex cultural and political dynamics of the South Omo region. Rather than presuming the existence of distinct 'ethnic groups', I argue that we can get a better understanding of the cultural neighborhood (encompassing Mursi, Hamar, Nyangatom, Kara, Dassanech, Arbore and others) by attending to the way the different populations communicate with each other, and how each engage in political struggles to achieve recognition - in the sense of an acknowledged right to exist as an autonomous actor in their interactions with the other polities. Material culture, conflict, exchange, intermarriage, education and several other arenas allow these polities to assert their distinctiveness, which – while ostensibly directed outward – is also a central mechanism in providing one’s own population with a sense of coherence and collective belonging. Ethnicity here is an outcome of these dynamics, rather than its basis.