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Social effects of colonialism in africa
Social effects of colonialism in africa
Relevance of modernization theory in Africa
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From Spiritual Leader to English Milk Maid: Colonialism and Maasai Women
Before Western imposition of the nation "state," Maasai men and women maintained overlapping positions of power and social prestige among varying age groups. For centuries, "there was no clear, gendered distinction between the "domestic" and the "public/political" domains, or among social, economic and political activities" (36). Yet with the new colonial "parameters of male Maasai power" beget from Western social systems, the Maasai embraced "new modes of control and authority, becoming something that might be called "patriarchal" "(16). In this new pastoralist system, ethnic variances were disregarded, capitalistic profit drove foreign-native relations and Maasai women lost the place of honor and authority within Maasai conceptions of being Maasai.
Prior to colonial contact, married women were significantly more influential than commonly supposed. In terms of wealth and economy, married women kept a sizeable crop of her own cattle with exclusive rights to milk and byproducts of her herd and "maintained links with neighboring agricultural groups, trading surplus milk, hides, smallstock and even donkeys for the needed grain and food stuffs" (30). Women traditionally "traveled to markets and trading settlements", visited "friends and relatives at neighboring homesteads" (27) and were free to take lovers prior to and after marriage, so long as traditional household duties were not neglected (31). Moreover, women were able to lobby judicial proceedings and mediate relationships between Maasai and God, thus expressing "moral authority" and power (33).
However, beginning in 1890, Western colonialism reshaped the Maasai's perception of who they should be. Though the German colonialism was "uneven" and "limited," it weakened the Maasai through disease, and established the practice of "state rule" (37). Conforming the Maasai "to colonial, and then national, agendas of progress", the "assertion and expansion of state power" reordered Maasai lives and livelihoods to suit Western needs (275). Subsequent British rule in the 1900s "expanded" on state authority with tribal relocations and new heads of households, enforcing "neat alignments of ethnic identity with territorial identity" on a mobile and nomadic people. Frustrated Westerners created a "political hierarchy of Africans" to ruled through co-optation (61) and instituted colonial taxes upon the men, disrupting cattle ownership among men and women (69).
Even in the 1960s, continuing "a potentially lucrative source of state revenue", foreign organizations spent millions of dollars on the development of Maasai "productivity", yet the programs held no cultural sensitivity and flopped.
To understand the significant change in the role of the women is to understand its roots. Traditionally, women in colonial America were limited in the roles they played or limited in their "spheres of influence." Women were once seen as only needed to bear children and care for them. Their only role was domestic; related to activities such as cooking and cleaning. A married woman shared her husband's status and often lived with his family. The woman was denied any legal control over her possession, land, money, or even her own children after a divorce. In a sense, she was the possession of her husband after marriage. She "... was a legal incompetent, as children, idiots, and criminals were under English law. As feme covert she was stripped of all property; once married, the clothes on her back, her personal possessions--whether valuable, mutable or merely sentimental--and even her body became her husband's, to direct, to manage, and to use. Once a child was born to the couple, her land, too, came under his control." (Berkin 14)
The French offered protection from neighboring enemies while the Indigenous people offered resources such as fur trade, and education of European settlers on how to use the land. In creating this mutual alliance, the differences between the two cultures of people led to a natural formation of gender and power relationships. To better understand the meaning of these gender and power relationships, we can look at Joan Scott’s definition. Scotts states that “Gender is a constitutive element of social relationships based on perceived differences between the sexes and gender is a primary way of signifying relationships of power (SCOTT, 1067).” By incorporating these two ideas from Scott, we can better understand the different perceptions of social relationships between the French and the Indigenous people and how the misunderstood conflicts created a hierarchy and struggle for
The contrast between the two groups of women was tremendous. Haudenosaunee women held prominent, decision-making positions in their matriarchal political system. They had the power to choose their clan’s chief, and their authority as clan mothers was respected by Haudenosaunee law. Spiritually, these women were viewed as being connected to Mother Earth and were responsible for leading various religious ceremonies, alongside of men. Haudenosaunee women also shared agricultural work with men, dealing with the work load on a communal basis. Not only did they have control of their own property, but women also had authority over their own bodies, including the responsibility of childbearing. This authority was developed in the Haudenosaunee matriarchal system of family in which children were considered members of the mother’s clan and husbands were brought into the wife’s longhouse upon marriage. Women had final domestic control; violence against women and children was not tolerated because wives had the power to kick their husbands out, ordering them to “pick up [their] blanket and budge” (Wagner, p. 47).
Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen predatory individuals living in
Fitts, Alexandra, and University of Alaska. "Sandra Cisneros's Modern Malinche: A Reconsideration of Feminine Archetypes in Woman Hollering Creek." Sandra Cisneros's Modern Malinche: A Reconsideration of Feminine Archetypes in Woman Hollering Creek 29 (2002): n. pag. 2002. Web
“A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. . . . And that is why we say that mother is supreme” (p.134). In Achebe’s 1959 “Things Fall Apart”, female figures appear to have minor domesticated roles; however with these words Achebe calls attention to female strength within the tribe. Feminine power is recognized within the tribe, and fear of this power provides the foundation for the male obsession with displays of masculinity. Achebe highlights significant female goddesses, displays a solid feminine role in education, fully develops strong-minded female characters, and demonstrates masculine catastrophes, therefore establishes female as the stronger gender in the tribe.
According to Smith, sexual violence “is not simply a tool of patriarchy, but also a tool of colonialism and racism” (Smith 2005, 8). As a result, women are being forced to suffer abuse, which damages their identity. Because of colonialism, Native women often find themselves forced into silence around sexual and domestic violence in their communities. By staying silent about sexual and domestic violence, Native communities are “able to maintain a united front against racism” (Smith 2005, 1). Accordingly, Native women are constantly being marginalized in patriarchal discourses regarding racism, colonialism, and white supremacy discourses. Historically, it is mentioned that sexism is the inability of both patriarchy and white supremacy discourses,
The Yoruba Cosmological Myth accounts for lots of gender based practices and beliefs in the contemporary African culture. They have for long prescribed the level of cultural interaction between the males and females as well as their relationships when it comes to family and leadership. The cosmological narrative defines the inability of the women to access powers, either in religion or in politics. The sixteen primordial divinities excluded Osun, a woman when it came to decision making. This reflected in the contemporary African culture, where...
The ant most mistaken for a termite is the carpenter ant. That’s because they’re both found in wood. Carpenter ants tunnel through wood to make their nests. They don’t eat the wood, and you can find debris outside their
In the Maasai society, genital cutting is a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, and both men and women go through the process of circumcision. As society ages, opinions on cultural norms change. This is true for the Maasai society, where the views on female circumcision have and are changing. Female circumcision is classified into three categories, and defined by the World Health Organization, Type I is the removal of the foreskin on the vagina, Type II is the removal of the clitoris, and Type III is the removal of all external genitalia with the stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening (“New Study”). Traditionally in the Maasai society, women underwent Type II or Type III circumcision. Written in 1988, “The Initiation of a Maasai Warrior,” by Tepilit Ole Saitoi, and is an autobiographical story of Saitoti’s circumcision in his initiation to a warrior. Though his story mainly focuses on the male circumcision part of the Maasai society, women’s circumcision and other basic traditions are discussed. Throughout the short story, the topic of circumcision and the rite of passage, both long- standing traditions in the Maasai society, are central themes.
Mama Beatrice and Aunty Ifeoma represent different women in post-colonial Nigerian society. Nevertheless, they both show the empowerment and subjugation in the domestic position they serve. From the time Nigerian women had an equal purpose in their tribe as men in pre- colonial Nigeria to the after math of colonialism in 1960, it is clear that colonialism disrupted the traditional system of indigenous Nigerian societies. Nigeria’s women have continuously evolved, but their persistent spirit they always possessed never changed.
Maasai have a relatively complex culture and traditions. In fact, for many years they were
Zhang, S., Zhang, Y. and K. Ma. 2012. Disruption of ant-aphid mutualism in canopy enhances the abundance of beetles on the forest floor. PLoS ONE 7(4):1-5.
Throughout the centuries, the roles of Nigerian women have continuously evolved. During the pre- colonial era, women in Nigerian tribes were not only child bearers and wives, but also free adults. They played critical roles in food preparation, weaving, pottery, and the economy. However, the impact of British rule in Nigeria made a significant shift from the pre-colonial to the post- colonial era. The influence of the Catholic Church, Western style education, patriarchal government and modern ways of making money took a major toll in a woman’s role in society. As demonstrated in the history and literature of Nigeria, society can clearly witness the setbacks and growths of Nigerian women experienced. This literary paper’s purpose is to analyze how these women came to be, what exactly caused to evolve, and where they stand in today’s society.
Buchi Emecheta’s literary terrain is the domestic experience of the female characters, and the way in which these characters try to turn the table against the second-class and slavish status to which they are subjected either by their husbands or the male-oriented traditions. Reading Buchi Emecheta informs us of the ways fiction, especially women’s writing, plays a role in constructing a world in which women can live complete lives; a world that may provide women with opportunities for freedom, creativity, self-expression, friendship and love. Welesley Brown Lloyd believes that; “of all women writers in contemporary African literature Buchi Emecheta of Nigeria has been the most sustained and vigorous voice of direct feminist protest” (35)