Defining the word Tribe

Defining the word "Tribe"

By Dee Berry (Traveler)

A 'tribe' is a social division of people sharing some social

relation.

Our culture tends to automatically envision "Native

Americans" whenever

they see or hear the word 'tribe'. That's

understandable if you consider the

Untied States of America has

been dealing directly with Native American's

various tribes in one

form or another for around 500 years now, and

somewhere each day

there is an issue with one of the Native American

tribes discussed in

our newspapers and television shows. However, the

word "tribe" has

a longer and more varied history of usage than how it is

applied to

Native American or any other indigenous peoples.

For the purpose of defining what the Toteg Tribe is, we will

extract

the broader meaning of the word "tribe" and apply it as we are

actually

structured.

Tribes reflect a way of life that predates, and is more "natural",

than

that in modern states. Tribes also privilege primordial social ties,

are

clearly bounded, homogeneous, parochial, and stable. Thus,

many believe

that tribes organize links between families (including

clans and lineages),

and provide them with a social and ideological

basis for solidarity that is in

some way more limited than that of an

"ethnic group" or of a "nation".

In his 1972 study,

The Notion of the Tribe

, Morton Fried provided

numerous examples of tribes the members of which spoke different

languages and practiced different rituals, or that shared languages

and

rituals with members of other tribes. Similarly, he provided

examples of

tribes where people followed different political leaders, or

followed the

same leaders as members of other tribes. He concluded

that tribes in

general are characterized by fluid boundaries and

heterogeneity, are not

parochial, and are dynamic.

A 'tribe' is a society. A society is a group of people that form a

semi-

closed system, in which most interactions are with other

individuals

belonging to the group. A society is a network of

relationships between

people. A society is an interdependent

community. The casual meaning of

society simply refers to a group of

people living together in an ordered

community. Societies are the

main subject of study of the social sciences.

Some social scientists use the term 'tribe' to refer to societies

organized largely on the basis of kinship. The word kinship can refer

broadly to any emotional relationship. This can also refer to

ideas that are

related. In some cultures, the formal establishment of

kinship involves

various customs and obligations.

A clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent. Some

clans are so large and so old that they merely share a "stipulated"

common

ancestor; that is, the clan has no evidence of the ancestor,

and he or she

may be fictional, merely a symbol of the clan's unity. In

certain societies

this ancestor is not even human; he or she is an

animallian totem.