This thesis is an ethnographic study of the Hor (Arbore) who live at the north-eastern end of the Limo river delta on Lake Stephanie in Southern Ethiopia. In the thesis the Hor belief in the link between warfare and fertility is described and analysed. The Hor do not go to war against all their neighbours. Instead they have categories of those whom they fight and whose shed blood is believed to be beneficial to the Hor and those whom they do not fight and whose shed blood is believed to be dangerous to the Hor. From the former they sometimes take wives and raid cattle while from the latter they neither take wives nor raid domestic animals. From a specific group in the first category known as Maale (and formerly from other groups) the Hor kill male victims whose genitals and bush knives they bring home as trophies. These outsider items are crucial in rituals for the reproduction of their society and culture and also for the reproduction of the societies and cultures of certain of their neighbours. The thesis discusses the link between fertility and various aspects of Hor life. Hor Qawots (ritual leaders) are empowered by the genitals brought from the exterior and it is mainly this empowerment that is believed to enable them to be effective in their political and religious roles in Hor country and among Hor neighbours. The study shows how strictly ranked senior and junior Qawots who are members of the braceletwearing clans, as well as metaphorically gendered age sets and ranked settlements, shape the br social and cultural world and the world of their neighbours. It also shows the crucial role of the outside both as a source of fertility and as a source of essential tools of production and ritual items.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:325325 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Tadesse, Wolde Gossa |
| Publisher | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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