Universität zu Köln

Kempen, Jonathan H. M. (2016). "Sharing is over!": a case study on sharing norms in the Namibian resettlement projects of Skoonheid and Drimiopsis. Masters thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

One very popular field of investigation in hunter-gatherer research is normative sharing as a means to sustain egalitarian structures within hunting and gathering societies. It has been hypothesized that such sharing practices may inhibit economic development in these societies as they are based on immediate-return strategies. In a world that is increasingly based on delayed-return subsistence and long-term planning the sharing norms that are widely associated with the San groups of Southern Africa may be an obstacle to their economic performance. However, it remains to be evaluated to what extent such norms are still a part of their daily life and whether their sedentarization together with other groups has caused a change in their sharing behavior. Looking at two Namibian resettlements with a considerably large number of San, this case study evaluates the role of sharing among former hunter-gathers in relation to neighboring ‘Non-San’ groups. It finds that there is no substantial difference in the performance and likeliness of sharing between San and ‘Non-San’ in Skoonheid and Drimiopsis, but it continues to play a strong discursive role in both fractions. This dissonance between the absence of normative sharing practices and the continuity of sharing as a discursive tool reveals the actual dilemma.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Kempen, Jonathan H. M. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
Corporate Contributors:	Cologne African Studies Centre
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-79716
Series Name at the University of Cologne:	Culture and Environment in Africa Series
Volume:	8
Date:	2016
ISSN:	2194-1556
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 4: Außereuropäische Sprachen, Kulturen und Gesellschaften > Institut für Ethnologie
Subjects:	Customs, etiquette, folklore
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Namibia, Hunter-Gatherer, Norms, Economic Behaviour, Sharing, MA thesis English Namibia, Jäger und Sammler, Normen, Ökonomisches Verhalten, Teilen, Magisterarbeit German
Date of oral exam:	2016
Referee:	Name Academic Title Bollig, Michael Prof. Dr.
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/7971