Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Tribalism is still with us


I see that tribal conflict, and (dumb) reasons for it, are both alive and well in more primitive parts of the world.  Emirates 24/7 reports:

Fifteen people were killed or injured in tribal fighting in Yemen after a male donkey chased an ass and raped it just near the house of its owner.

Newspapers in Yemen said the owner of the ass got mad after he saw the donkey attacking his animal, prompting him to chase the donkey and hit it.

The attack infuriated the donkey owner, who called his armed tribe men and asked them to take revenge.


There's more at the link.

The report makes me feel quite nostalgic for Zululand (today part of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa).  It was frequently said of Zulu clans and sub-clans that they'd fight any enemy that was available - and if no enemy was available, they'd fight each other.  It was also said (with justification) that they'd fight at the drop of a hat, and drop it themselves if no-one else did so!  Some of the inter-clan conflicts go back decades, even centuries.  There's frequently little or no logic involved, either . . . for example:  "Your great-great-great-grandfather stole my great-great-great-grandmother's cow, so I'm going to beat up your son!"  Now and again a wise and influential chieftain may be able to resolve such ancient conflicts, but in all too many cases, they'll drag on for many more decades to come.

*Sigh*

Peter

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Them there Zulus seem a feisty bunch. Where's Micheal Caine when ya need 'em? JohninMd(help)

perlhaqr said...

I dunno, sounds like Israel v. Palestine, or Ireland v. England to me.

Robert Hewes said...

If you associate with your tribe more than with your nation it's a pretty good indication that you're a savage.

Larry said...

Huh. I didn't know Zulu had any Irish ancestry in them. Learn something new every day.

trailbee said...

I don't think these tribal members are so very different from us. Please take a look at the Krips and the Bloods, or any of the Hispanic gangs in CA. Even in prison, they have to be separated, and we, the taxpayers, are paying the shot for separate accommodations. It's a universal condition.