The Majangir
Ecology and Society of a Southwest Ethiopian People

In this study Dr Stauder examines the various social and spatial groupings of Majang society.

Jack Stauder (Author)

9780521040853, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 September 2007

220 pages
22.9 x 15.3 x 1.2 cm, 0.342 kg

The Majangir live on the thickly forested slopes of the south-western edge of the Ethiopian plateau, between the Anuak of the plains and the Galla of the highlands. Their way of life is markedly different from that of their neighbours, and is well adapted to their habitat. They are agriculturalists and the structure of their society is loose and simple. They have no political leaders, the only individuals of any authority being ritual leaders whose influence is restricted. Domestic groups tend to farm plots adjacent to those of friends or kin, but the settlements remain small and constantly change in composition (as well as in location). In addition to farming, in which the men and women share the work, the men make occasional hunting and fishing trips, as well as spending quite a considerable amount of time tending and making bee hives. Dr Stauder examines the various social and spatial groupings of Majang society and demonstrates the intimate ecological relationship between these groupings and the system of slash and burn cultivation practised by the Majangir.

List of illustrations
Preface
1. Introduction: the Majang tribe
2. Subsistence: secondary sources
3. Subsistence: shifting agriculture
4. The domestic group: labour and property
5. The domestic group: composition and development
6. The domestic group: eating and sleeping
7. The neighbourhood ('the same coffee')
8. The settlement ('the same fields')
9. The community ('the same beer')
10. Mobility
11. Territory
12. Conclusions
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Anthropology [JHM]