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Disadvantages Of Tribalism

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Introduction In the popular imagination, Africans are deeply and uniformly ethnic people. Ask an African “who she is,” most people assume, and you will get an ethnic response: “I am a Yoruba,” “I am a Kikuyu,” “I am a Buganda.” Moreover, ask most people why ethnicity is so salient in Africa and they will tell you that it is because Africans are so “backward.” Once Africans become more educated and urbanized (in short, more “modern”), it is assumed, ethnicity will cease to cause so much conflict, distort so many elections, and pervert so many public policies Merriam Webster’s Dictionary (1983) defines tribalism as the exaltation of ones tribe above others. To be more specific, it is the feeling that ones tribe is superior to some other tribe …show more content…

The word tribalism when mentioned has the connotation of a bad thing. Therefore for purposes of showing the pros or advantages of tribalism the word ethnicity is used. The U.S.A, are a brutal reminder that ethnicity cannot simply be explained away, neither with modernization theories about stubborn but dying relies of pre-modem mentalities nor neo-Marxist concepts of ‘false consciousness’. Self-identification The proof can be drawn from developmental and social identity theories of Erikson (1968), Marcia (1980) and Tajfel (1981), which are underpinned by the belief that ethnic identity is a general phenomenon with elements or components that are common across all ethnic group members. According to Tajfel (1979), groups which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem. The aspect of connectedness This aspect is supported by functionalism theory by Emile Durkheim. When one belongs to a certain group it becomes a sum rather than each part functioning separately. This in turn contributes to the stability of an ethnic group. …show more content…

It further goes on to talk of living as a community, and it is in a community that we are able to manifest the image of God. It is in this regard to acknowledge that human relationship is very important to God and it must serve as an example for us to follow despite our ethnic or tribal differences. This tells us that God in His own wisdom wants us to live as one people without any discrimination. The Bible also stress that we should not oppress any person of a different tribe. This reference is clearly seen in the Book of Exodus where God told the Jewish people not to despise the other tribe for they were once a tribe in Egypt.(Exodus:23:9). This law was given a specific guidance on how we honor God in our relationship with fellow human beings. In the New Testament, the Bible also emphasizes tribalism during the time Jesus Christ commissioned the Apostles in carrying out a mission of reaching the gospel to all people and at the end of the world (Acts 1:8).This expression signifies that Jesus Christ in his message for salvation for mankind, loves all people and wants all nations to receive His word in order to be saved. In the subsequent chapters of the Book of Acts, the Bible asserts that the Jews considered the Samaritans as Gentiles and a mixture of Jews and any their nationality. They regarded them as very lower human beings. On their

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