Initiating Change in Highland Ethiopia: Causes and Consequences of Cultural Transformation

by Dena Freeman

Overview

There are two types of rituals performed by the same people in a rural community in Southern Ethiopia. One appears to be remarkably stable, while the other has undergone massive transformations over the years. Focusing on new ethnographical and historical data from the Gamo Highlands of Southern Ethiopia, Dena Freeman analyzes these rituals and provides fascinating insight into the cultural transformations of a little-known region of the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521818544
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/17/2002
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.55(d)
Lexile:	1350L (what's this?)

About the Author

Dena Freeman is Research Fellow of Queens' College at the University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Select glossary; 1. Introduction: theorising change; 2. The recent history of the Gamo Highlands; 3. Production and reproduction; 4. The sacrificial system; 5. The initiatory system; 6. Experiencing change; 7. Assemblies and incremental cultural change; 8. Transformation versus devolution: the organisational dynamics of change; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"This is an elegant account of an extended rural community in southern Ethiopia." African Studies Review

From the Publisher