Urban Dynamics in Black Africa by William J. Hanna

Author:William J. Hanna [Hanna, William J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, Urban, History, Africa, General
ISBN: 9781412840804
Google: kyoJy8K1qXUC
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Published: 2009-01-01T03:28:45+00:00

Variations in Ethnicity

Ethnic perspectives and practices vary according to the personality characteristics of individual townsmen, the sociocultural characteristics of ethnic groups, the situations in which townsmen find themselves, and the structural positions of the relevant townsman. At the level of the individual, there is a wide variety of personality factors that may determine which perspectives are held and practices performed. These are difficult to specify because, for example, the same personality need may lead to such contrasting behavior as rigid retention of traditional ways or their total rejection. Presumably, healthy personalities are not found at either of these extremes, since they prefer selective retention or rejection on the basis of realistic needs.

Perhaps the most important bases of group variance in the quality and quantity of ethnicity are the traditional perspectives and practices that migrants and immigrants bring with them from their home tribe or clan. One useful way of examining traditions, suggested by Linton (1952:86-87), is to distinguish sociocultural systems according to whether they are more or less integrated. It appears that well-integrated systems are likely to undergo significant dislocations as a result of rapid change, whereas the more loosely integrated systems tend to be more receptive to change.7

Another variable is related to a group’s opportunity structure in town. Pons describes two insular groups in Kisangani, the Lokele and the Topoke. The former was quite successful in town and apparently tended “to reject association with other tribes partly on account of their success.” The Topoke, on the other hand, was composed of recent migrants considered by others to be “backward”; they were relatively insular “partly because most other tribes tended to reject them” (1969:98).

It is not the purpose of this section, however, to analyze individual personalities or group characteristics for clues to the relationship between them and the perspectives and practices of their members when living in town. Rather, we shall simply note two major factors operative within an urban system that are likely to affect the quality and quantity of ethnicity: the individual’s relevant situation and his structural position. Both are related to the general social science proposition that human behavior depends upon the individual’s definition of the situation.

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