Historical memory as a foundation for peace: Network formation and ethnic identity in North Mara, Tanzania
| Published date | 01 September 2010 |
| Author | Jan Bender Shetler |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343310376441 |
| Date | 01 September 2010 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Historical memory as a foundation for
peace: Network formation and ethnic
identity in North Mara, Tanzania
Jan Bender Shetler
Department of History and Political Science, Goshen College
Abstract
While ethnic identity formulated by historical memory is often understood as the cause of violent conflict in Africa, this
qualitative historical study of interethnic relations between Luo and Bantu-speaking communities on the borderlands of
Tanzania and western Kenya demonstrates just the opposite. In fact, migration and violent conflicts over land in the late
19th century were the basis for oral traditions that established new microethnic identities. It was only in the colonial era that
the modern macroethnicities of Luo and Suba (Bantu), as rigid oppositional identities, began to solidify around land disputes.
Historical memory constructs these dynamic microethnic identities around interethnic reciprocal networks that were necessary
for gaining security and access to land in the past. During these late 19th-century conflicts, interethnic alliances and marriages
were the norm, resulting in many Bantu-speaking communities becoming Luo, to one degree or another. Historical memory, as
the central tool for constructing ethnicity, can be used to promote either violence or peace, depending on how it is deployed.
In western Kenya, an oppositional Luo identity resulted from the colonial construction of macroethnicity, while in North Mara,
Tanzania, a different national narrative has resulted in relative peace. In his collection of oral traditions from North Mara,
Zedekia Oloo Siso makes a case for these still salient microethnicities, based on regional networks that cross-cut ethnic
boundaries, as the indigenous networks necessary for peace.
Keywords
ethnic identity, historical memory, Luo, oral tradition, social networks, Suba
Introduction
After its 2007 elections, Kenya was rocked by devastating riots
and communal violence. Hundreds were killed, hundreds of
thousands displaced, and the false assumptions about ethnicity
and its role in conflict again surfaced en masse. Explanations
from journalists in the immediate aftermath focused on con-
cepts of ethnic cleansing and ancient tribal hatreds. Some
argued that until the past is dealt with, the country is doomed
to replay these events in the next election, while others claimed
that it is better to forget the past and move forward, since reci-
tations of history intensify ethnic identification (Gettleman,
2007; Chanoff, 2008; McCrummen, 2008). Common to
most commentators was the long-standing assumption that
ethnic identity in Africa is inherently problematic and at the
root of interethnic violence. Within the quantitative literature,
the debate still rages over what mechanism accounts for the
correlation between ethnic diversity (on the ethnolinguistic
fractionalization index, ELF) and violent conflict (Fearon,
Kasara & Laitin, 2007; Cederman & Girardin, 2007). This
qualitative study supports Fearon & Laitin’s (2003) findings
that heterogeneity in and of itself is not a predictor of violence.
Less dramatic, but far more common, are incidents and
examples in East Africa where diverse peoples live side by side
and deploy their oral traditions to promote a variety of less
insidious agendas, including interethnic networks and peace.
Just across the Tanzanian border from the recent conflicts in
western Kenya, and preserving similar oral traditions, is an area
in North Mara where Luo also settled among Bantu-speaking
peoples in the late 19th century. This was a time of violent
conflict, as Luo-speakers moved into the area seeking land to
settle, resulting in a high level of ethnolinguistic fractionaliza-
tion. The ubiquitous practice of interethnic alliances and mar-
riages resulted in many Bantu-speaking communities
‘becoming Luo’, to one degree or another. Yet, in spite of its
heterogeneity, North Mara has experienced little Luo–Bantu
conflict in recent years, while in Kenya, the colonial formula-
tion of Luo identity has contributed to violent conflict. As a
result of colonial and post-colonial national differences, these
Corresponding author:
jans@goshen.edu
Journal of Peace Research
47(5) 639–650
ªThe Author(s) 2010
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0022343310376441
jpr.sagepub.com
To continue reading
Request your trial