anthropology

Section A

According to the Kabre society Ikpature refers to the formation of lifelong relationships among individuals. The Kabre society views children as gender undifferentiated thus they work to develop this differences especially by incorporating rituals. The ritual ceremonies such as initiation are not restricted to the household only and play a significant role in the diaspora by bringing together a great number of people back to the north thus enhancing meaningful relationships. The initiation ceremonies in the Kabre society also have an influence in politics because the president pauses all the government operations for two weeks while he travels to the north to watch the Sothern massif male initiates wrestling matches. This in turn enables the president to interact with those who have attended the matches thus fostering lifelong relationships.

A new born in the society is considered a stranger because no one can tell why the baby came into this world. A week after the baby is born, elders from both the fathers and mothers side come to examine the new born with an aim of determining the relationships it had with the unseen world which will help them understand its desires in this world. Through coddling, the society hopes that it is able to dismantle the relationships that the baby had in the previous world thus increase the appetite of the baby for the things in the current world thus forming a lifelong relationship with individuals in it. For the children in the society to develop a single sex, girls perform tasks that are meant for them while boys do the same (Piot). Young girls grow up performing tasks such as taking care of the younger siblings and cooking because they are associated with the female gender. Young boys follow their fathers to the fields and when they reach the puberty stage they begin cultivating in groups. Through this, lifelong interactions are fostered between the young boys and their fathers and the young girls and their mothers.

Through initiation ceremonies, a boy is supposed to have self-discipline and self-control. He must evaluate his actions and should not indiscriminately eat or speak in the public. He must also learn to respect those who are him such as the in laws and the elders. The initiation ceremonies enable those who left for the diaspora reaffirm that they have not forgotten about the relationships they have with those in the north. The president in such ceremonies enhances his relationship with the society by projecting an image to the whole nation that the state supports local culture. Initiates are divided based on their dancing abilities and whether they have power or not. Power entails doing extraordinary things such as jumping over walls (Ferguson 168). This is referred to as Hama and is not talked about thus stays hidden.

The initiations which are done every June and July after a period of five years bring together the northerners and southerners thus creating lifelong relationships. The southerners who do not attend these ceremonies are evoke the wrath of the ancestors and spirits who punish the individuals. The spread of Kabre to the Diaspora has affected the initiation system in a manner that the southerners are not willing to return for most of the ceremonies. Even the those who permanently live in the north view the kennaa and afalaa ceremonies as the most important to perform thus making others ceremonies irrelevant. During the ceremonies young women and men gather to watch and judge the performances of one another by indicating their strengths and weakness, their marriage readiness and their personality. Initiation for a girl is meant to make her a grown woman and is conducted between the age of fifteen and eighteen. Initiation is also meant to prepare the young woman for marriage. A man who is interested in the girl has to convince the family of the girl that she will be treated well and in case the family is satisfied, a lifelong relationship between the two is developed.

According to the Kabre society Ikpature refers to the formation of lifelong relationships among individuals. The relationships are developed in various instances in one’s life. Ritual ceremonies provide a chance for individuals to create lifelong relationships. The ceremonies bring together the southerners and the northers and the president also attends the initiation ceremonies and wrestling matches and associates with the people who are there. Through interactions in these ceremonies, lifelong relationships are established and the president is able to reaffirm his support for the local culture. A new born in the society is considered a stranger because no one can tell why the baby came into this world. Coddling is therefore meant to dismantle the relationships that the baby had with the unseen world and increase its appetite in forming lifelong relationships with the individuals in the current world. The spread of Kabre to the Diaspora has affected the initiation system in a manner that the southerners are not willing to return for most of the ceremonies. Mjority of the ceremonies in the north havetherefore lost their value and the main ceremonies observed are the kennaa and afalaa.

Section B (C)

Kabre diaspora has had a significant impact on marketing and cultivation, gender relations and ancestral rituals of the northerners. This has influenced the southerners because the north is an ongoing presence there. Kabre diaspora came into existence in Southern Togo because of the colonials. In the ninetieth century, the mountain was considered superior and those who lived there were associated with a lot of wealth. The individuals owned large herds of cattle. Colonial administrators moved some of the main markets which were situated in the mountains to the plains which in turn made the communities living on the plains richer compared to those on the mountains. Colonial administrators also carried out cash crop experiments in the plains. Some of them failed but others such as cotton succeeded and played a significant role in enhancing the wealth on the plain communities.

As the plain communities gained more access to wealth, mountain communities upheld their rituals and ceremonies some of which entailed the symbolic allocation of peripheral wealth. However, the plain communities illustrated a new definition of wealth which they displayed by buying clothes, radios and cars. The new culture about wealth captured the attention of many individuals. The French relocated some people of the Kabre society to Southern Togo where northern immigrants were also carried. The south was associated with wealth and cash-cropping which were used to support those who resided there and those in the north. During the dry season, the northerners used to go to the south in search of money to sustain their families and to help conduct their ceremonies which were yet to come (Burton).

The movement of people from the north to the south in search of money also led to the formation of Kabre diaspora. The southern communities have many similarities compared to the northern communities. They also imitate northern social aspects such as the southern men cultivate in small groups just as the northern men. Southern communities have rituals that are similar to northern communities. The rituals mainly revolve around gendering and naming. Despite the formation of the Kabre diaspora due to the movements of the northerners to the south, most of the rituals of the northerners are still prevalent in the Kabre diaspora. Individuals from the south tend to marry girls from the villages of their origin in the north. Members of the Kabre diaspora maintain their ties to the north by attending various ceremonies in the north. The major ceremonies that are attended by the southerners are initiation and wrestling matches. The president also attends these ceremonies to indicate his support for the local culture. Initiation ceremonies are done in June and July after five years and act as a good opportunity for the southerners and the northerners to interact. This fosters lifelong relationships between the two and those from the diaspora are able to reaffirm that they have not forgotten about the relationships they have with those from the north (Harms 365).

Kabre diaspora has had a significant impact on the marketing and cultivation, gender relations and ancestral rituals of the northerners. It was formed through the movement of the northers to the south in search of money. It was also formed by colonialists who made the southern communities have a greater access of wealth when compared to the mountain communities. Despite the formation of the Kabre diaspora, most of the rituals of the northerners are still prevalent in the Kabre diaspora. Those in the Kabre diaspora maintain their ties to the north by attending various ceremonies in the north. The major ceremonies that are attended by the southerners are initiation and wrestling matches.

Work cited

Burton, Antoinette. "Not even remotely global? Method and scale in world history." History Workshop Journal. Vol. 64. No. 1. Oxford University Press, 2007.

Ferguson, James. "Decomposing modernity: history and hierarchy after development." Postcolonial studies and beyond (2005): 166-181.

Harms, Erik, et al. "Remote and edgy: New takes on old anthropological themes." HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 4.1 (2014): 361-381.

Piot, Charles. Remotely global: village modernity in West Africa. University of Chicago Press, 1999.