Becoming Cowardly: War and Self-Determination among the Daasanach

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  • SAGAWA Toru
    Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University

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Other Title
  • 臆病者になる経験
  • 臆病者になる経験--ダサネッチの戦争と自己決定
  • オクビョウシャ ニ ナル ケイケン ダサネッチ ノ センソウ ト ジコ ケッテイ
  • ―ダサネッチの戦争と自己決定―

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Abstract

<p>This study examines the issue of war between the Daasanach and neighboring pastoral groups in the border area of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan from the perspective of the individual. Most previous anthropological studies of war have focused on the relation of war to the ecological setting, social structure, cultural logic, or historical background of a given area, often presupposing that when war breaks out, individuals act in subordination to certain external norms. There are two problems with such an approach. First, studies of the causes and social functions of war have often not considered the actual physical violence that occurs on the battlefield and its influence on the individual. Second, insufficient attention has been paid to individual decision-making processes and choices of action.</p><p>Among the Daasanach, it is adult males who are expected to go to war. Nevertheless, men do not homogeneously mobilize for war. In this paper, I examine (1) the ideology that mobilizes men to go to war, (2) individual experiences of the battlefield and how reflection on those experiences affects an individual's choice of action when the next war arises, and (3) how people accept others' decisions to join or abstain from a war.</p>

Journal

  • Asian and African Area Studies

    Asian and African Area Studies 9 (1), 30-64, 2009-09-30

    Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University

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