Tribe

A tribe is a social system where human society is divided into small, roughly independent subgroups. Tribal societies lacked any organizational level beyond that of the local tribe, with each tribe consisting only of a very small, local population. The internal social structure of a tribe can vary greatly from case to case, but, due to the small size of tribes, it is always a relatively simple structure, with few (if any) significant social distinctions between individuals. Some tribes are particularly egalitarian, and most tribes have only a vague notion of private property; many have none at all. A shared sense of identity and kinship encourages the development of kin selection. Tribalism is the very first social system that human beings ever lived in, and it has lasted much longer than any other kind of society to date.

Definition

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states, though some modern theorists hold that "contemporary" tribes can only be understood in terms of their relationship to states.

The actual word, "tribe," is of uncertain origin before the Roman usage. The "tri" part of tribe referred to three tribes or political ethnic divisions (Tities, Ramnes, and Luceres), in the ancient Roman state. Properly, in Latin tribus means "by three." Gregory Nagy, notes that the Umbrian trifu (tribus) is apparently derived from a combination of *tri- and *bhu- where the second element is cognate with the phu- of Greek phule, and that this was subdividing the Greek polis into three phulai.

The term is often loosely used to refer to any non-Western or indigenous society. Many anthropologists use the term to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups (see clan and lineage).

In common modern understanding the word "tribe" is a social division within a traditional society consisting of a group of interlinked families or communities sharing a common culture and dialect. In the contemporary western mind the modern tribe is typically associated with a seat of traditional authority (tribal leader) with whom the representatives of external powers (the governing state or occupying government) interact.

Terminology

A band is the simplest form of human society. A band generally consists of a small kin group, no larger than an extended family or clan. Bands have very informal leadership; the older members of the band generally are looked to for guidance and advice, but there are no written laws and no law enforcement seen typically in more complex societies. Bands' customs are almost always transmitted orally. Formal social institutions are few or non-existent. Religion is generally based on family tradition, individual experience, or counsel from a shaman.

Bands are distinguished from tribes in that tribes are generally larger, consisting of many families. Tribes have more social institutions, such as a "chief," or "elder." Tribes are also more permanent than bands; a band can cease to exist if only a small group walks out. Many tribes are in fact sub-divided into bands; in the United States, some tribes are made up of official bands that live in specific locations.

Considerable debate has taken place over how best to characterize tribes. Some of this debate stems from perceived differences between pre-state tribes and contemporary tribes; some of this debate reflects more general controversy over cultural evolution and colonialism. In the popular imagination, tribes reflect a way of life that predates, and is more "natural," than that in modern states. Tribes also privilege primordial social ties, are clearly bounded, homogeneous, parochial, and stable. Thus, many believed that tribes organize links between families (including clans and lineages), and provide them with a social and ideological basis for solidarity that is in some way more limited than that of an "ethnic group" or of a "nation". Anthropological and ethnohistorical research has challenged this view.

In his 1972 study, The Notion of the Tribe, Morton Fried provided numerous examples of tribes the members of which spoke different languages and practiced different rituals, or that shared languages and rituals with members of other tribes. Similarly, he provided examples of tribes where people followed different political leaders, or followed the same leaders as members of other tribes. He concluded that tribes in general are characterized by fluid boundaries and heterogeneity, are dynamic, and are not parochial.

Proposed Origins of Modern Tribes

Archaeologists have explored the development of pre-state tribes. Their research suggests that tribal structures constituted one type of adaptation to situations providing plentiful yet unpredictable resources. Such structures proved flexible enough to co-ordinate production and distribution of food in times of scarcity, without limiting or constraining people during times of surplus.

Fried, however, proposed that most contemporary tribes do not have their origin in pre-state tribes, but rather in pre-state "bands." Such "secondary" tribes, he suggested, actually came about as modern products of state expansion. Bands comprise small, mobile, and fluid social formations with weak leadership, that do not generate surpluses, pay no taxes and support no standing army. Fried argued that secondary tribes develop in one of two ways.

One possibility is that states could set them up as means to extend administrative and economic influence in their hinterland, where direct political control costs too much. States would encourage (or require) people on their frontiers to form more clearly bounded and centralized polities, because such polities could begin producing surpluses and taxes, and would have a leadership responsive to the needs of neighboring states. The so-called "scheduled" tribes of the United States or of British India provide good examples of this.

Alternatively, bands could form "secondary" tribes as a means to defend themselves against state expansion. Members of bands would form more clearly bounded and centralized groups. These would have a leadership that could coordinate economic production and military activities, and thus could support a standing army that could fight against states encroaching on their territory.

Structure of tribes

Tribal council

A Tribal Council is an association of Native American bands in the United States or First Nations in Canada. They are generally formed along ethnic or linguistic lines.

Several Sovereign American Indian Nations are organized as Tribal Councils. The Navajo Nation, or Dineh, were formally governed by the Navajo Tribal Council, known today as the Navajo Nation Council. The Crow Nation in Montana was once organized as the Crow Tribal Council. Currently, the Crow Nation, after a change in constitution whose legality is disputed, is organized as a three branch government with a ceremonial Crow Tribal General Council.

Tribal councils in the United States and Canada have a somewhat different status. In the United States, the term usually describes the governing body of a tribe, where the tribe is the basic unit of government. In Canada, the Indian band, usually consisting of one main community, is the fundamental unit of government. Bands may unite to form a tribal council, but they need not do so. Bands that do not belong to a tribal council are said to be "independent." Bands may and do withdraw from tribal councils. Furthermore, the authority that bands delegate to their tribal council varies, with some tribal councils serving as a strong, central organization while others are granted limited power by their members.

Tribal chief

The head of a tribal form of self-government is generally known as a "tribal chief."

However, the notion of a "tribal chief" is rather vague and arbitrary; neither chief nor tribe is clearly defined, so in many cases other designations are used for the same institution, such as petty ruler or even headman (in a very small but autonomous community).

The most common types of tribal leadership are the chairman of a council (usually of "elders") and/or a (broader) popular assembly in "parliamentary" cultures, the war chief (can be an alternative or additional post in war time), the hereditary chief, and the politically dominant medicine man (in theocratic cultures). In some cases they merely lead a traditional consultative entity within a larger polity, in other cases tribal autonomy comes closer to statehood.

The term is usually distinct from chiefs at still lower levels, such as village headman (geographically defined) or clan chief (an essentially genealogical notion).

Indigenous peoples

In some countries, such as the United States and India, tribes are indigenous peoples that have been granted legal recognition and limited autonomy by the state. Tribal governments can consist of one supreme ruler, a tribal chief, or some form of a tribal council, which usually consists of a group of elders.

Composition of the tribes

A tribe can be considered to be composed of bands or clans, which are understood to be smaller than a tribe. Thus, the five ancestral clans of the Menominee tribe: the Awaehsaeh (Bear clan), Kene ( Eagle clan), Mahwah (Wolf clan), Otea ciah (Crane clan) and Mos (Moose clan), are examples of the seats of traditional power in the tribe. Conversely, a "nation" can be considered to be composed of tribes. In the US the nations were treated as sovereign; thus the Navajo and Cherokee nations, for example.

Historical cultural differences between tribes

Generally, a tribe or nation are considered to be part of an ethnic group, usually sharing cultural values. For example, the forest-dwelling Chippewa historically built dwellings from the bark of trees, as opposed to the Great Plains-dwelling tribes, who would not have access to trees, except by trade, for example for lodgepoles. Thus the tribes of the Great Plains might typically dwell in skin-covered tipis rather than bark lodges. But some Plains tribes built their lodges of earth, as for example the Pawnee; the Pueblo people built their dwellings of stone and earth.

Political power in a tribe

A chief might be considered to hold political power, say by oratory or by example. But on the North American continent, it was historically possible to evade the political power of another by migration. The Mingos, for example, were Iroquois who migrated further west to the sparsely populated Ohio Country during the 18th century. Two Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois, Hiawatha and the Great Peacemaker, formulated a constitution for the Iroquois Confederation.

The tribes were pacified by units of the US Army in the nineteenth century, and were also subject to forced schooling in the decades afterward. Thus it is uncommon for today's tribes to have a purely Native American cultural background, and today Native Americans are simply another ethnicity of the secular American people. Since education is respected, some like Peter McDonald, a Navajo, left their jobs in the mainstream US economy to become chairman of the tribal council.

Not all tribal leaders need be men; Wilma Mankiller (1945- ) was a well-known Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Also, though the seat of power might be the chief, they were not free to wield power without the consent of a council of elders. For example: Cherokee men were not permitted to go to war without the consent of the council of women.

Tribal government is an official form of government in the United States and in other countries around the world.

Historically the US government treated tribes as seats of political power, and made treaties with the tribes as legal entities. But frequently the territority of the tribes fell under the authority of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as reservations held in trust for the tribes. Citizenship was formerly considered a tribal matter. For example, it was not until 1924 that the Pueblo people were granted US citizenship, and it was not until 1948 that the Puebloans were granted the right to vote in state elections in New Mexico. In Wisconsin, the Menominee Nation has its own county Menominee County, Wisconsin with special car license plates; 87 percent of the county's population is Native American.

Economic power in a tribe

Since the Nations were sovereign, with Treaty rights with the Federal government, the Wisconsin tribes innovated Indian gaming (1988), that is, on-reservation gambling casinos, a 14 billion dollar industry, nationwide. This has been imitated in many of the respective states which still have Native American tribes.

Many of the tribes use professional management for their money. Thus the Mescalero Apache have renovated their Inn of the Mountain Gods to include gambling as well as the previous tourism, lodging, and skiing in the older Inn, as of 2005.

Tribal government around the world

File:Kaiapos.jpeg

Brazilian indian chiefs

Many minority ethnic groups in many countries have founded semi-autonomous regions in their part of the country, such as the Kurds in Iraq. Also, weak governments in Africa usually have no control over far-flung regions with ethnic minorities.

Canada

In 2003, there were 633 Native American tribal entities (First Nations, or formally, Indian Bands) recognized by Canada under the Constitution Act, treaties, statutes and court decisions as "self-governing aboriginal nations within Canada." They have formal government-to-government relations with the Crown, enjoy limited internal self-government and administer their territories, the Indian Reserves.

India

Adivasi in Sanskrit refers to indigenous people in north eastern states of India who are living from ages (Adi meaning first and vasi meaning habitant.) These tribes have "chiefs" and they are referred by various names. The Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the Rigveda are described as semi-nomadic pastoralists, subdivided into villages (vish) and headed by a tribal chief (raja) and administered by a priestly caste.

Oceania

The Solomon Islands have a Local Court Act which empowers chiefs to deal with crimes in their communities

United States

Goyathlay, or Geronimo, Apache chieftain for the Chiricahua

There are distinct differences between the modern day "Chair" of a sovereign Indian Nation's governing body and the role of "Chief". Generally speaking, while each is organized in its own distinct way, there are loose similarities to the British system blending ceremony and government. The individual who "chairs" the governing body is akin to Prime Minister and the "Chief" is more akin to a monarch or spiritual leader.

Many Native American tribes in the United States have formed a leadership council, often called the "Tribal Council", and have a leader of the council who generally carries the title of "Chair" (Chairman, Chairperson, Chairwoman). Some simply appoint a "spokesperson" for the Tribal Council. Generally the leadership position is either elected by popular vote of the tribal membership or appointed/elected from among his/her elected tribal council peers in a more parliamentary type of approach. Many of today's tribal chairs are women.

All too often non-Native Americans naively refer to the individual who chairs the governmental organization as "Chief", incorrectly. Presumably many are familiar with the mystic of a "Chief" as he is often portrayed on film or in literature. That individual is recognized because of birthright or perhaps some spiritual circumstance.

Many Tribes do still recognize the rightful "Chief" as part of ceremonial and culture events in a way somewhat similar to the role of, or difference to, a modern-day British monarch.

There are over 100 tribal governments in the United States.

There are 563 Federally recognized tribal governments in the United States. The United States recognizes the right of these tribes to self-government and supports their tribal sovereignty and self-determination. These tribes possess the right to form their own government, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal), to tax, to establish membership, to license and regulate activities, to zone and to exclude persons from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include the same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money.

According to 2003 United States Census Bureau estimates, a little over one third of the 2,786,652 Native Americans in the United States live in three states: California at 413,382, Arizona at 294,137 and Oklahoma at 279,559.

As of 2000, the largest tribes in the U.S. by population were Navajo, Cherokee, Choctaw, Sioux, Chippewa, Apache, Lumbee, Blackfeet, Iroquois, and Pueblo. In 2000, eight of ten Americans with Native American ancestry were of mixed blood. It is estimated that by 2100 that figure will rise to nine of ten. In addition, there are a number of tribes that are recognized by individual states, but not by the federal government. The rights and benefits associated with state recognition vary from state to state.

India

During the period from 600 B.C.E. to 200 B.C.E., there were many tribes in India. The Tribal Chief, also known as Raja in those times, led the tribe and was generally the oldest and wisest individual.

Ireland

In Gaelic Ireland, up to the sixteenth century, hundreds of families organized as clans like tribes, were ruled by tribal chiefs or taoisigh, titled according to their family name as The O'Neill, The O'Flaherty, and so forth.

Bedouin

The Bedouin were traditionally divided into related tribes. These tribes were organized on several levels- a widely-quoted Bedouin saying is: I against my brothers, I and my brothers against my cousins, I and my brothers and my cousins against the world. The individual family unit (known as a tent or bayt) typically consisted of three or four adults (a married couple plus siblings or parents) and any number of children, and would focus on semi-nomadic pastoralism, migrating throughout the year following water and plant resources. Royal Tribes traditionally herded camels, whilst others herded sheep, and goats.

When resources were plentiful, several tents would travel together as a goum. These groups were sometimes linked by patriarchical lineage but just as likely linked by marriage (new wives were especially likely to have male relatives join them), acquaintance or even no clearly defined relation but a simple shared membership in the tribe.

The next scale of interactions inside tribal groups was the ibn amm or descent group, commonly of 3 or 5 generations. These were often linked to goums, but whereas a goum would generally consist of people all with the same herd type, descent groups were frequently split up over several economic activities (allowing a degree of risk-management: should one group of members of a descent group suffer economically, the other members should be able to support them). Whilst the phrase descent group suggest purely a patriarchical arrangement, in reality these groups were fluid and adapted their genealogies to take in new members.

The largest scale of tribal interactions is obviously the tribe as a whole, led by a Sheikh. The tribe often claims descent from one common ancestor- as above, this appears patrilineal but in reality new groups could have genealogies invented to tie them in to this ancestor. The tribal level is the level that mediated between the Bedouin and the outside governments and organizations.

Twelve Tribes of Israel

1759 map of the tribal allotments of Israel

An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites were the descendants of the sons of Jacob, later known as Israel. His twelve male children were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Gad, Naphtali, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. The twelve sons comprise the Twelve Tribes of Israel. These tribes were recorded on the vestments of the Kohen Gadol (high priest). However, when the land of Israel was apportioned among the tribes in the days of Joshua, the Tribe of Levi, being guardians and priests, did not receive land. Therefore, when the tribes are listed in reference to their receipt of land, as well as to their encampments during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Tribe of Joseph is replaced by the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph by his Egyptian wife Asenath, whom Jacob elevated to the status of full tribes).

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Benveniste, Émile Indo-European Language and Society, translated by Elizabeth Palmer. London: Faber and Faber 1973. ISBN 0870242504.
• Benveniste, Émile Origines de la formation des noms en indo-européen, 1935.
• Fried, Morton H. The Notion of Tribe. Cummings Publishing Company, 1975. ISBN 0846515482
• Nagy, Gregory, Greek Mythology and Poetics, Cornell University Press, 1990. In chapter 12, beginning on p.276, Nagy explores the meaning of the word origin and social context of a tribe in ancient Greece and beyond.

External links

• Death of Andamanese Tribal Chief in India
• WorldStatesmen
• List of Tribal Governments in the United States
• CorPun- passim; here Solomon Islands

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