Simple Society

SIMPLE SOCIETIES The term 'simple societies' refers to small-scale societies with a relatively straightforward technological infrastructure. Not only are such societies small in size, but their control over the environment is also quite limited. With small-scale markets, their specialisation opportunities in the division of labour are limited. In terms of their limited technological control over the environment, all tribal societies can be described as simple. Their economies are generally based on subsistence agriculture. The majority of these societies throughout the world have fascinating systems of exchange that act as a buffer between the production and consumption of material goods. Tribal societies worldwide, with their distinctive sociopolitical organisations, stand in stark contrast to the societies in which we live. Numerous tribal groups are currently enmeshed in the acquisition of advanced technologies. They could be described as 'transitional'. The majority of transitional societies have endured European colonial rule. ECONOMIES OF SIMPLE SOCIETY Simple societies exist in nearly all natural environments and are not confined to a single or two regions. They inhabit dense equatorial and tropical forests, as well as hot and cold deserts and fertile alluvial plains. They are also found in the foothills and high ranges of mountains, savannas, seacoasts, and islands protruding from the open seas. The diversity of their natural environments has resulted in the diversity of their economies. Given the simplicity of the technology, the natural environment has a significant impact. However, even with primitive technology, simple societies have demonstrated an indomitable spirit in the face of harsh nature. Economic systems in simple societies can be classified into the following categories based on the mode of production of material goods for subsistence: a) Hunting and gathering; b) Pastoral agriculture; c) Shifting agriculture; and d) Settled agriculture. Gathering and Hunting Hunting and gathering societies subsist through the capture of large and small game as well as the collection of a diverse array of roots, fruits, and tubers. Despite their similarities in their relationship with nature, hunting and gathering societies vary significantly in their habitats and the animals they hunt. All of these hunting and gathering societies live in close proximity to nature, and rather than adapting to nature, they adapt to nature. They continue to follow this principle, moving from location to location in search of animals, fruits, roots, and tubers. Although early anthropologists believed that hunting and gathering communities lived on the brink of scarcity, recent research has demonstrated that this is not the case and that they actually enjoy a measure of affluence abundance. Pastoral The pastoral stage is characterised by the domestication of animals. Several pastoral communities combine pastoral and agricultural economies. Pastoral communities must relocate in order to obtain sufficient water and pasture land for their animals. While some pastoralists move only seasonally, others are constantly on the move. Due to the importance of movement for these people, their population will always be small. Livestock raiding is quite common among pastoralists. They are notorious for their lack of respect for authority and centralised administration. In India, notable pastoral communities include the Toda (Nilgiri Hills buffalo herders), the Gujar (cattle and buffalo herders), and the Bakenval (sheep and goat herders) of Jammu and Kashmir. The pastoral communities' staple diet consists of animal products such as meat, milk, and blood. The Toda do not mix animal blood with milk, as some pastoralists in Africa do. Pastoralists' religious and other behaviours are profoundly influenced by the livestock they raise. For the Toda, for example, raising buffalo is a sacred activity. Shifting Cultivation In shifting cultivation, the farmer clears new ground for planting crops every few years and leaves the old plot to its natural growth. In comparison to pastoralists, practitioners of shifting cultivation maintain a relatively long residence in one location. In such societies, land is frequently communally owned. Numerous tribes, including the Bantu of equatorial Africa, the Garo of Meghalaya, the Baiga and Abujhmar Maria of Madhya Pradesh, and the Saora of Orissa, practise shifting cultivation. Arunachal Pradesh also has a number of tribes that practise shifting cultivation. Settled Cultivation A disproportionately greater number of simple societies practise settled cultivation, which involves cultivating the same fields year after year. Settled cultivation necessitates the development of villages into permanent settlements. Numerous gods and deities appear all around the villages, endowing them with religious significance. Additionally, the institution of private property becomes more solidified. According to the technology, settled cultivation can be classified into two types: hoe cultivation and plough cultivation. Numerous island communities, such as the Trobriaiid Islanders in the Pacific, cultivate their land with hoes. In India, the Munda, Santhal, and Gond are plough cultivators. The hill slopes give rise to a new type of settled cultivation, as the hill slopes are cut into terraces for cultivation. In India, the Nagas are excellent examples of terrace cultivators. EXCHANGE SYSTEMS IN SIMPLE SOCIETIES Giving and receiving things from one another is a necessary part of our daily lives and thus plays a significant role in interpersonal relations. In this sense, exchange is not merely an economic concept. Numerous exchanges of goods are undoubtedly economic in nature. In other instances, gift-giving occasions, which are also ceremonial in nature, express well-established and thus institutionalised relationships between people. Frequently, the purpose of exchange is to maintain amicable relations between groups in order to minimise the likelihood of conflict. For example, during Indian wedding ceremonies, gifts are exchanged and received by both the bride and groom's families. While such gifts have economic value, they also serve as a symbol of status, serving as a kind of seal or stamp on the new relationship. Second, such transactions are not made only once. They are frequently part of a series of gift-giving that fosters mutual goodwill and expresses the two parties' happy relationships. Exchanging goods serves several purposes, one of which is to maintain a state of mutual indebtedness. In simple societies, face-to-face relationships of mutual assistance are constantly reinforced through the exchange of gifts. Numerous scholars, particularly social anthropologists, have conducted research on simple societies. They have emphasised certain types of exchanges that are unique to certain instances and have no counterparts in Indian society. We present two timeless examples of the noneconomic value of gift exchanges in simple societies. Two Illustrations i)The Kula Mercantile Exchange Malinowski demonstrated in his study of economic activities known as the Kula ring in the Western Pacific region that members of the Kula ring exchange ritually and socially valued objects among themselves among the Trobriand Islanders. The exchange system is governed by a ring with two directions of movement. The red shell necklaces circulate in a counter-clockwise direction, while the white arm-shells circulate among the Kula ring members. Although these objects have no commercial value, they have varying degrees of prestige for donors and recipients. The tribal members embark on lengthy and perilous sea voyages in search of these economically insignificant objects. While Islanders frequently haggle and bargain over the purchase and sale of other goods on a daily basis, the objects given and taken in the Kula are never bargained over. ii)The Ceremony of the Potlatch Our second example comes from the American Northwest, where the Kwakiutl (along with several other tribes in the region) organised large-scale feasts. Not only were enormous quantities of food consumed and gifts given to guests at such occasions, but also numerous articles (considered valuable by them) were destroyed. The practise of feasts (also known as the institution of potlatch) among these people demonstrates how physical destruction of goods was associated with their claims to a higher social status. The more feasts organised by a group, the more prestige it gained. Additionally, the more invitations and gifts a group received to such potlatches, the more prestige the group gained in the eyes of other groups. These feasts were always organised by agnatic groups, that is, by those who were brothers to one another. One such group invited other similar groups and competed to provide ever-increasing amounts of food to eat, ever-increasing amounts of gifts to take home, and everincreasing amounts of valuables to destroy. Markets Although the majority of economic exchange in simple societies occurs in markets, there are some societies in which multiple transactions in various items occur without the use of a market. The Trobriand Islanders are an excellent illustration of this type. Markets are well-established places for the exchange of goods in some simple societies, for example in West Africa. They are necessary for the economic system of a society to function properly. However, markets, in addition to their economic significance, take on a social significance as a gathering place. The markets of Nigeria's Yoruba and Tanzania's Arusha tribes are well-known. Market-places are frequently used as administrative hubs and information dissemination centres. In this regard, traditional centres for the development of folk performing arts forms. IN SIMPLICITY SOCIETIES, SOCIAL ORGANIZATION To provide an overview of simple societies, their social organisation can be broken down into four distinct components: kinship, marriage, religion, and polity. In these societies, kinship roles encompass religious and political activities, and thus it is reasonable to discuss them in the same section. Simple societies, social anthropologists have discovered, have extremely elaborate systems of kinship, religion, economy, and polity. However, in comparison to modern complex societies, simple societies exhibit relatively simpler modes of social organisation. Kinship Given that the majority of simple societies have been studied in relation to tribal social systems, we will discuss the four facets of simple society in similar terms. A tribal group is widely regarded as a model of a simple society. Often, a tribe's language, political and religious organisation are spread across a small territory. Generally, it is divided into two or more sections. Each section is referred to as a moiety when it is divided into only two sections. However, if a tribe is subdivided into more than two segments, each segment is referred to as a phratry. Moieties and phratries are, in general, exogamous groups, which means that members must find spouses outside the groups; they cannot marry within them. Only in a few societies are moieties endogamous, meaning that members must marry within the moiety. The Toda are one such group. Members of a moiety or phratry, clan or lineage are obligated to assist one another. They frequently operate as corporate entities, engaging in a variety of social, economic, political, and religious activities. However, the widespread dispersal of a number of tribal groups in many parts of the world today has weakened their corporate character. Descent In simple societies, common descent or origin is generally traced through lineages and clans. Lineages are those groups that share a common ancestor. Clans are groups of people who regard themselves as related through a common ancestor, even if that ancestor is not traceable with certainty. In other words, clans have legendary forefathers. Within clans, lineages are smaller groups with known ancestors. Clans are larger groups with presumed common ancestors. Generally, descent is traced through either the mother or father. Matrilineal or uterine descent refers to descent through the mother. A man does not inherit his father's lineage or clan in a matrilineal system of descent. He is a member of the same clan and family as his mother and mother's brother. South India's Nayars are an example. In patrilineal descent, the relationship between a group's males and females is traced exclusively through males. The majority of students on the course are likely to be descended from this system. Certain individuals, on the other hand, have double descent systems, in which both matrilineal and patrilineal groups are recognised, but for distinct purposes. For example, among the Yako (Forde, 1950), immovable property is inherited via patrilineal descent, while movable property is inherited via matrilineal descent. Marriage In all societies, including simple societies, the institution of marriage is used to establish social recognition of mating among their members. Monogamy is the most prevalent form of marriage in primitive societies. Several tribal groups also practise polygyny, in which a man may have multiple wives at any given time. More uncommon is polyandry, in which a woman is simultaneously the wife of multiple men. Polyandry is practised by the Kliasa in Uttar Pradesh and the Toda in Tamil Nadu. However, there is a distinction between the two. Among the Khasa, the eldest brother marries, and all of her brothers become husbands to their elder brother's wife simultaneously. This is referred to as adelphic or fraternal polyandry. Among the Toda, the woman's husbands do not have to be brothers. The existence of multiple husbands raises the issue of the child's paternity. The Toda resolve this issue through the 'bow and arrow' ceremony. When a woman becomes pregnant, the husband who performs the 'bow and arrow' ceremony automatically becomes the father of the unborn child. He automatically becomes the father of all children born to her following the ceremony. He is considered the father of his children even after his death if no other husband has performed the 'bow and arrow' ceremony in the interim. This institution demonstrates the Toda's preference for social paternity over biological paternity. Religion Simple societies' inhabitants have very little control over the natural environment due to their primitive technology. They are perpetually intimidated by nature's ferocity. Forest fires, floods, thunder, cloud bursts, earthquakes, and wild animals all have a severe effect on them, and as a result, they are terrified of natural disasters far more than people in more complex societies are. The widespread belief in an impersonal supernatural force is reflected in the widespread belief in'mana,' a supernatural force commonly associated with kings or successful men. Numerous Indian tribes, including the Munda and Ho of Singhbhum, Bihar, believe in this force, which they refer to as 'bonga.' 'Taboo' is another manifestation of an impersonal supernatural force. Taboo is a negative force, and anyone who violates it puts himself in danger of suffering an unnatural punishment. Taboo is a term that refers to social activities that are taboo. Numerous tribal communities place a taboo mark on their field and forest property to deter theft. 'Mana' and 'taboo' are Polynesian terms that have found their way into anthropological/sociological lexicons. They suffer from severe anxiety as a result of their lack of understanding of the environment. As a result, it's unsurprising that primitive societies develop their own theories about the nature and function of their environment. They have developed a theory of causation, which states that supernatural forces are responsible for natural events. Two categories of supernatural forces have been conceptualised: personal forces and impersonal forces. Religion is concerned with personal forces, whereas magic is concerned with impersonal forces. Religion and magic, for the tribal, are thus complementary rather than antagonistic. Religion and enchantment Religion presupposes that particular spirits and deities rule over nature. They must be appeased, appeased, and worshipped in order to receive their blessings. These spirits are capable of transmitting both blessings and curses. Thus, spirits and deities are endowed with a measure of autonomy and the ability to exercise their will. On the other hand, magic is an impersonal force that can be manipulated if performed properly. There is no will in relation to the impersonal force. Magic must be successful. It can only fail due to poor performance of magic or due to the use of more powerful counter-magic. Frazer (1 920) believed that all magic was sympathetic, based on the principle of cause and effect sympathy. He deduced that magic is governed by two laws: the law of similarity and the law of contact. He coined the terms homoeopathic or imitative magic for the magic based on the first law and contagious magic for the magic based on the second law. In homoeopathic magic, the adversary's image is destroyed in order to eliminate the adversary. Contagious magic is performed on the enemy's separated body parts, such as paired nails and hair. However, magic is not always a destructive force. Indeed, it is a purely symbolic act. Magic is the act of enacting an event. It symbolically expresses desires. In summary, religion provides a theory of causation to primitive societies. It instils a sense of trust in nature. Religion is believed to ensure the fertility of fields, herds, women, land, and water. Religion also has some political implications, which we will discuss in greater detail in the following section. You've already noticed how taboo plays a role in maintaining order in certain spheres of tribal life. Polity In all societies, political organisation is preoccupied with the maintenance of order over time. However, different societies approach the issue of order differently. Contemporary state societies, which are structurally differentiated, rely on the differentiated state apparatus to maintain order. Simple societies are defined by their uniform methods of maintaining law and order. The responsibility for order-keeping is delegated to a variety of institutions and structures. Institutions that are manifestly non-political, such as kinship and religion, also perform political functions. Political System Types—Cephalous Simple societies have two types of political systems: cephalous and acephalous. Cephalous political systems are those that have a recognised head, such as a chief or king. Acephalous political systems are those in which there is no recognised head and order is maintained through means other than the state apparatus. Bath cephalous and acephalous political systems are subdivided into numerous subtypes. At least four subtypes of cephalous political systems can be identified. These four types may be represented by the Shilluk, Swazi, Ethiopian Kingdom, and Muslim Emirates of northern Nigeria. Headship is more ceremonial and symbolic than substantive among the Shilluk. Rather than state apparatus, the order is maintained by the principle of lineage. The Swazi and Ethiopian kingdoms are two distinct manifestations of a common system. Kingship is a powerful institution in both systems. In both of these systems, kingship is sanctioned by God. Disobeying the king is not only a violation of political obligations; it is also a violation of religious obligations. In both cases, authority is delegated from the king to his subordinates. The Swazi devolve authority from the king to his close kinsmen. Thus, the king and his close kinsmen rule in this type. Additionally, in the Ethiopian Kingdom, authority is devolved from the King to his subordinates. However, his subordinates are not kin; they are his devoted non-kin dependants. Indeed, in this system, kinsmen are avoided, and there is frequently acrimonious rivalry between the king and his kinsmen. Close kinsmen are frequently imprisoned in order to avoid causing trouble for the ruling chief. Thus, even in this third type of cephalous political system, kinship is significant. Though it should be noted that this type has a negative connotation, as they are consigned to the darkness of prisons rather than basking in the sunshine of their kin. The fourth subtype of cephalous is qualitatively distinct from the preceding three. In all three, the ruler and the ruled are tribal members of one or more ethnic groups. Despite their differences in class and power hierarchy, they share a number of social and political attitudes. This fourth subtype is characterised by a ruler who comes from a different culture and establishes dominance over the tribal culture. Clearly, this is a case of political conquest. The Muslim Emirate of northern Nigeria is our representative of this type. Acephalous Once again, four subtypes of acephalous political systems can be identified. These four subtypes may be represented by the I Central African Bushmen, (ii) Yako of Nigeria, (iii) Masai of east Africa, and (iv) Nuer of Sudan. Bushmen are constantly hunting and gathering people, moving from one location to the next in search of roots, fruits, and tubers, as well as game animals. They are strewn about in small bands. Any conflicts that arise within or between families are resolved by the band's elders. The second subtype is autonomous villages, which have their own councils. Among the Yako, village councils play a role in maintaining order. Membership in the village council is determined by a number of criteria, including genealogical status, economic success, and leadership qualities. The third subtype, exemplified by Masai herders, is quite prevalent in east Africa. In simple societies, the transition from childhood to manhood is not an unnoticed and uneventful process. The majority of them accord this phenomenon ritual recognition. Children undergoing this transition are initiated into the youngest age group among the Masai. With time, the youngest age group becomes the oldest, and it is then charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order. Thus, in this third subtype, age-sets are responsible for maintaining order. The fourth subtype is also quite widespread, with the Nuer tribe of Sudan serving as an example. Balanced opposition is used to maintain order in such societies. The Nuer are classified into lineages based on their agnatic descent. Members of a lineage are obligated to assist one another in times of conflict. Thus, a conflict between two individuals belonging to two distinct lineages quickly escalates into a conflict between two lineages. Each lineage forms a fighting group to assist its members. However, when the two parties in conflict are members of the same lineage, the conflict is contained within that lineage and no one outside of this group is involved.