Warfare among tribal societies other topics surrounding warfare, Research Paper

Warfare among tribal societies other topics surrounding warfare, conflict, or aggression - Research Paper Example Discussion Tribal Societies A tribe may be defined as a group of individuals in a barbarous or primitive developmental stage, claiming to have a common ancestor, and pledging their allegiance to a chief. A tribe may also be defined as a social group of individuals united in dialect, having affiliation to a territory, endogamous without specializing in functions, appreciating distance with other tribes and ruled by tribal chiefs (Harrow, 2005). A tribal society on the other hand may be defined as a way of life in such a way that individuals pursue their own activities as independent local communities. These communities are composed of clan and families without states or central governments. Members of tribal societies are related by their districts, to their neighbors according to Harrow, (2005). Smaller groups of tribal societies have their specific customs, local communities and languages and sometimes engage in conflicts with each other. It is for this very reason that anthropologi sts claim that such societies are not capable of defending themselves from outside forces. Majority of the tribal societies know how to deal with their environments and they have ensured their survival through organizing themselves along the lines of kinship and clans. The way the tribal society views and utilizes the environment is entirely based on the strong cultural ethos held by this tribal society (Rose, 2000). These tribal societies are prone to the pressure of nature. However, the pressure is minimized through the formation of clan systems. A clan is described as a group of family responsible for some of the aspects of the tribal life. Allegiance is offered to each of the tribe by the clan and the clan is responsible for some of the functions in the economy, society and religion. This type of diffused responsibility offers a broad-based insurance policy that ensures the survival of the tribe (Champagne, 1999). Cultures that are organized as large states have numerous cultura l concerns such as the emphasis on personal mobility, personal safety, personal freedom, individual effort and the material well-being (Rose, 2000). Chronic disputes are very common in most of the tribal societies but these disputes are usually directed externally. The normal survival of a tribal society was not very much threatened by internal conflict although within these small societies there was no clear definition between internal and external conflicts. These tribal societies lacked government and their form of rule was anarchic. They were also characterized by economic self sufficiency and self rule or freedom (Bodley, 2007). Internal order was well maintained although they lacked formal legal codes, formal political offices, and specialized law enforcement institutions. The maintenance of order by the tribal society is attributed to the cultural and social conditions. In the tribal societies, the individual self interests do not conflict with the interests of the entire soc iety. Theft, excessive conflict, hoarding of resources and the use of force in the tribal society was detrimental and lacked logic because everyone depended on each others’ cooperation and mutual trust. Other than stability and ecological success, the interests of the tribal societies have as maintained the population equilibrium. Conflicts in a low-density tribal society were minimized by extreme flexibility of the group