1st Edition

The Sonjo of Tanganyika An Anthropological Study of an Irrigation-based Society

By Robert F. Gray Copyright 1963
    208 Pages
    by Routledge

    208 Pages
    by Routledge

    Originally published in 1963, this was the first monograph concerning an African people in which an irrigation-based society was studied in detail and its implications explored. The Sonjo, a Bantu-speaking people isolated among cattle pastoralists of what was Northern Tanganyika, are remarkable for their complex irrigation system and political organization. The inter-connections between the irrigation system, the religious cult of a culture hero, and the special features of their social organization are at the core of this analysis.

    1. Introduction

    2. Geographical Setting of Villages

    3. Economic Basis of Society

    4. The Irrigation System

    5. Family and Marriage

    6. Age-Grades

    7. Religion

    8. Political Constitution

    9. Conclusion

    Biography

    Robert F. Gray