Political Organization of Konso, Southern Ethiopia
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE HISTORY AND SOCIO- POLITICAL ORGANIZATION OF KONSO, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA By BIRGITTA K. KIMURA A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2004 Copyright 2004 by Birgitta K. Kimura This document is dedicated to the memory of my husband, Arthur Kimura. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of numerous people. In particular, I am grateful to the Konso people whose interest and friendship made my fieldwork an exceptional experience. Among the Konso people I would like to specifically thank the following individuals. Dinote Kusia Shenkere and Sagoya Robia from the Cultural Bureau in Konso woreda, whose help with the research and their willingness to share their knowledge of Konso organization were invaluable. The excavations would not have been possible without the competent aid of Kusiya Shakayto, Kuse Beresha, Gelgelo Orkaydo, Kuse Orkaydo, and Gurasho Gumacho. I am also thankful to Markus Olata Challe and Gelsimo Dinote Guchano for sharing their knowledge of the history of Konso. I am deeply indebted to Aylito Orkaydo and Giloya Lemita Otto for their friendship, support and encouragement. The assistance from the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) at the Ministry of Information and Culture in Ethiopia made the research possible. I am particularly grateful to Jara Haile Mariam (ARCCH director), Yonas Bayene, Tesfaye Hailu, Hasen Said and Mamitu Yilma for their support and assistance. I also greatly appreciate the support of Awoke Amzaye from the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional Government’s Bureau of Culture and Information. My dissertation committee has been helpful and encouraging throughout my studies and field work. Steven Brandt, chair of my committee, first introduced me to the iv wonders of Southern Ethiopia, and supported my interests in the socio-political organization of Konso. The thoughtful comments and the encouragement of Michael Heckenberger, Michael Mosely and William Hauswirth are greatly appreciated. I also thank Ken Sassaman for his helpful suggestions. In addition, I am thankful to Alyssa Peck and Melanie Brandt for their aid with illustration, and Erich Fisher and Kevin Fortin for helping me with GIS and other computer related aspects of the dissertation. The assistance of the staff in anthropology, Karen Jones, Patricia Gaither, Lee Ann Martin, and Salena Robinson, throughout my studies is also greatly appreciated. This work would not have been possible without the support of my family and friends. My mother, Kajsa Stenstrom, first sparked my interest in archaeology and she and my sister, Ulla Johansson, have given continuous support. My friends, Pat Cadena, Ann Garren, Rose-Marie and Ernie Gonzales and Betty Hewitt, kept me motivated and encouraged me in my studies. I am also deeply grateful to Ian Phillips, my former employer, for his longstanding support and encouragement. My field research was funded by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Abroad Fellowship, and I would like to thank them for the opportunity to do this research. The fellowship was handled by the Center for African Studies at the University of Florida and the American Embassy in Addis Ababa, and I thank them as well. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Threadgill Dissertation Fellowship enabled me to concentrate on writing the dissertation, and the Charles H. Fairbanks Award helped defray costs. Both are greatly appreciated. v TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiii ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................... xvii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Hypotheses....................................................................................................................3 Organization of Dissertation.........................................................................................5 2 THEORY ......................................................................................................................8 Political Organization ...................................................................................................8 Coercive Models....................................................................................................8 Integrative Models.................................................................................................9 Heterarchical Models...........................................................................................11 Resistance to Hierarchy.......................................................................................12 Factors Influencing Formation of Stratified Societies................................................14 Intensification of Agriculture ..............................................................................14 Warfare................................................................................................................16 Archaeological Visibility............................................................................................17 Regional Scale.....................................................................................................17 Settlement Scale ..................................................................................................20 Archaeological Correlates of Intensive Agriculture............................................21 Initial Settlements................................................................................................22 Expectations for This Study........................................................................................23 3 KONSO.......................................................................................................................28 Study Area ..................................................................................................................28 Prior Ethnographic Research in Konso.......................................................................30 Recent Research..........................................................................................................33 Primogeniture ......................................................................................................34 vi Hereditary Positions ............................................................................................35 Poqalla Mogula............................................................................................35 Poqalla Tuma ...............................................................................................36 Restricted Positions in Society ............................................................................39 Nama Dawra and Apa Dawra......................................................................39 Apa Timba ....................................................................................................40 Saara ............................................................................................................40 Nonrestricted Positions........................................................................................41 Elders............................................................................................................41 Generation leaders........................................................................................41 Heroes...........................................................................................................43 Division of Power................................................................................................43 Ritual power .................................................................................................43 Economic power...........................................................................................43 Judicial power ..............................................................................................45 Coercive power ............................................................................................45 Warfare .......................................................................................................................45 Warfare within Konso .........................................................................................46 Warfare with Neighboring Groups......................................................................47 Cohesive Forces in Konso ..........................................................................................49 Comparisons with Other Ethnic Groups.....................................................................50 Oromo..................................................................................................................50 Eastern Cushitic Speaking Neighbors of Konso .................................................53 Other Eastern Cushitic Speaking Groups in Southern Ethiopia..........................55 Socio-political