Political Leadership in Yanomamo Bushman and Rural South India, Research Paper Example

The San Bushmen are to a larger extent hunter gathers indigenous population in theKalahari Desert of southern Africa with their territory extending to a number of countries Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe  Angola as well as South Africa. They have a profound attachment to their land as well as being intimately knowledgeable on the natural world. Their also maintain a delicate balance with their environment. They have a kinship system that is their basis traditionally interdependence foraging bands. They also have similar terms as the European cultures with age rule as well as rule being predominant. The responsibility of the gate rule is resolution of possible confusion that may be attributed to the kinship terms with the older people making decisions on what to term the younger. There is a circulation of about 35 names in each sex and a child is commonly named after a relative such as a grandfather. No special social role is reserved for the children apart from playing and all age groups consider leisure as being very crucial (Henn, Gignoux& Jobin, 2011). Most of their time is consumed in music, sacred dances and music, joking as well as conversation. Women are given an exceptionally high status with great respect and assigned leadership roles in the family groups of the San Bushmen community. They are entrusted with crucial decisions affecting the groups as well as the family and there are the owners of the foraging areas as well as water holes. Their main duty is food gathering although at times they participate in hunting. Water is highly valued in the San Bushmen community because of the prolonged droughts that they commonly encounter. This community is to a larger degree egalitarian as a tradition. They have hierarchy chiefs but with limited authority. Major decision affecting the San Bushmen community is arrived at by means of consensus whereby women are treated with equality. The economy of the San Bushmen community is a gift economy where people regularly exchange gifts instead of trading through goods as well as services (Barnard, 2007).

The Yanomamo tribe in the Amazonian jungles of central South America

The Yanomamo tribe in the Amazonian jungles of central South America is a self-sufficient as well as sustainable Bushmen society with their survival based on gathering as well as hunting. This indigenous group of people comprising of about 35, 000 populace live in 200 to 250 villages that are located in the boundary of Brazil and Venezuela in Amazon rainforest. The life of Yanomamo is threatened by chaos associated with health care, ranching as well as mining. Though they have subsisted in the South American rainforest for many years, the government has failed in offering them protection against attacks, criminal invasions as well as diseases (Kottak, 2004).

The Yanomamo do not have a strong bond of a united group but the association that binds them is attributed to their villages that are politically autonomous. The similarity in the linguistic background and the culture of the Yanomamo is the crucial factor in grouping them together. The communities are also interwoven by militaristic coalitions, marriage as well as kinships (Kottak, 2004).

The religious outhority of the Yanomamo is vested on mature men. A headman called tuxawa leads a village in the Yanomamo community but there is no overall leader in the community. The political power of the tuxawa is attributed to ability of demonstrating skills in dispute resolution within their village as well as the neighboring communities (Early, 2000). Any action that pertains to the entire community is decided through consensus by the mature males. The villages in the Yanomamo have extended families and their children. The community is largely communal living under Shabono, oval shape common roof with an open central ground of about 91 meters (Early, 2000).

The Yanomamo depends on the resources of the rainforest for their horticultural activities involving growth and gathering of fruits such as bananas, and they also hunt fish and other animals. At times they practice shifting cultivation to evade overused areas. Young children stay with their mothers for childrearing purposes. True polygamy, with polygamy as well as polyandry is a notable feature among the Yanomamo community. However, monogamous unions are also prevalent.

The economic activities of Yanomamo community entail hunting, fishing and horticulture with women playing the greater role of cultivating their major crops of cassava, grubs and plantains. The heavier duties involving forest and garden clearing is a preserve for men. During harvest, several rituals are commonly practiced involving heavy eating, singing and dancing (Kottak, 2004).

Hindu town in rural South India

In the ancient Hindu town in rural South India has its origin from empires and dynasties that dates back to the Iron Age of 1200 BCE to 24 BCE up to the 14^th century of CE. There were occasional fights among the dynasties and against external aggression by Muslims armies. The culture in the rural South India  is characterized by casts that are heavily entangled in the rural community driven development activities in the rural South India, such developments puts a lot of emphasis on ‘community spokespersons’ as well as ‘local resource persons’ which are novel sources of patronage as well as brokerage within the villages while offering chances for interaction among the forms of authority as well as community that are attributed to intra-caste headmanship as well as caste identity. This has translated into some network structures with strong friendship ties. The castes have been pivotal in shaping the community structures as well as leadership in the rural South India although the influence is varied based on particular communities.

The fluidity of the influence of castes on the network structures in the community results to the distinctive and partially overlapping forces in cultural political system of rural South India community. These entail sharedness that can be attributed to the caste identity as well as inequality and differences manifested in rural development. The cultural idioms of hierarchy, community and leadership are attributed to castes and their interconnectedness to the culture of  rural development activities that are community-driven including consistency, brokerage as well as patronage in rural South India villages. Caste offers an illustrative case of coexistence of disparity and sharedness in the context of perpetual tension which is a live force characteristic in the politics and culture in rural South India (Satyanarayana, 2014). These then is a source of sturdy cultural influence in the politico-economic order in rural South India.

The single caste communities in rural South India exhibits intercaste dominance with a ell developed hierarchy as well as leadership manifested as caste headmen. They are responsible for shaping the social networks in the community. They have regional as well as national political processes responsible for castes consolidation hence influencing the cultures of the caste at village levels. The people based at the village levels make use of the awareness of the regional as well as national political and religious movements for achievement of their dignity and recognition. Deliberations are also enhanced by the democratic governance in the multi-caste system (Rao & Sanyal, 2010) that entails consultation amongst the leaders in various castes, especially in the use of development funds to benefit various castes in the village. The castes are fundamental units in fair entitlement as well as enfranchisement in diverse groups in the rural South India. Leadership is based om patronage and developmental brokerage, lineage, occupation, headmanship, landownership, expertise and potentials for offering credits to the rural South India community. Ownership of huge pieces of land and the class interest play a crucial role in leadership but they never go above lineage and caste in terms of priority in leadership. However, some forms of patronage have surfaced which are attributed to the proximity to institutions of development.

People without government

The San Bushmen hunters and gatherers in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa, the Yanomamo tribe in the Amazonian jungles of central South America, and an ancient Hindu town in rural South India are perfect examples of societies without government. They have a band-type political organization, with hunting and gathering being a notable feature. They are also characterized by gender hierarchy. An understanding of gender in these societies can be attributed to the differences between men and women in regard of musculature, reproductive physiology and stature. This is an important difference that is associated with these human societies who are both prehistoric forager as well as hunter-gatherers giving rise to the concept of division of labor (Brian, M., (2007). The hunter gatherer societies were specialists in weapon making which apart from being used in hunting, could also cause injury and death to humans. The division of labor on the basis of gender roles was complementary and the gender relations are egalitarian especially as regards to decision making. Higher autonomy was accorded to the women in these societies. Men however are accorded imperative edge against the women. The political as well as social community is organized around people living in groups within a predetermined territory with full control of the resources within their territory. Kinship and marriage are important elements in membership in the groups. Any group in the community has the rights of exploiting the resources that exist within their territory (Brian, M., (2007).

Discussions play a crucial role in determining the decisions that affects the members in the community with the adult members and the highly placed in the community taking the upper hand in the process of decision making. The discussions are largely informal commonly conducted through public debates. The public debates offer a suitable platform for addressing any arguments as well as disputes which is commonly executed indirectly. Direct confrontation is not advocated for since they are perceived as a potential cause of breaching their etiquette. Political processes are integrative which must withhold the household autonomy as this is an important aspect in the survival of the community.

References

Barnard, A., (2007). Anthropology and the Bushman. Oxford.

Brian, M., (2007). People Without Government. “Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed” #63. Spring/Summer, 2007, Vol. 24., No. 2.

Early, J., (2000). The Xilixana Yanomami of the Amazon: History, Social Structure, and Population Dynamics. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. p. 4.

Henn, B., Gignoux, C. R. & Jobin, M., (2011). “Hunter-gatherer genomic diversity suggests a southern African origin for modern humans”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (National Academy of Sciences) 108 (13): 5154–62.

Kottak, C. P., (2004). Anthropology: the exploration of human diversity, 10th ed., p. 464, New York: McGraw-Hill.

Rao V., Sanyal P. (2010). Dignity through discourse: Poverty and the culture of deliberation in Indian village democracies. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and   Social Science, 629, 146-172.

Satyanarayana K.  (2014). Dalit reconfiguration of caste: Representation, identity and    politics. Critical Quarterly, 56, 46-61.