Simple Societies Part 1
Contents
- Introduction
- Economies in Simple Societies
- Hunting and Gathering
- Pastoral
- Shifting Cultivation
- Settled Cultivation
- Systems of Exchange in Simple Societies
- Two Examples
- Markets
Introduction
Simple societies are small-scale societies with a minimal level of technology. In addition to being small in size, such societies have very little environmental control. They have limited room for specialization in the division of labor in small-scale markets.
In terms of their limited technological control over the environment, all tribal societies can be characterized as simple. Their economies are typically built around the mode of production of material goods for survival. The majority of these societies have intriguing exchange systems that stand in between the production and consumption of material goods. Tribal societies around the world offer a startling contrast to our societies due to their unique types of socio-political organizations. tribal groups are numerous. currently enmeshed in the process of acquiring advanced technologies. You can categorize them as "transitional.". The majority of transitional societies have experienced European colonial rule.
Economies in Simple Societies
Simple societies are not restricted to just one or two areas but are found across nearly the entire spectrum of natural environments. They can be found in the thick equatorial and tropical forests, the hot and cold deserts, and the fertile alluvial plains. Additionally, they can be found in savannas, seacoasts, high mountain ranges, and islands that protrude out into the ocean. Because of the diversity of their natural environment, these societies practice a variety of economies. The impact of the natural environment is significant given the crude technology. However, despite having limited technology, simple societies have proven to have an unbreakable spirit when dealing with harsh environments. The following types of economies can be distinguished in simple societies based on the method of producing material goods for subsistence:
- a) Hunting and gathering;
- b) Pastoral;
- c) Shifting cultivation; and
- d) Settled cultivation.
Hunting and Gathering
Hunting both big and small game and gathering a wide range of roots, fruits, and tubers are the two main sources of income for hunting and gathering societies. The hunting and gathering societies differ greatly from one another depending on the habitat and the animals they hunt, despite having similar relationships with nature. All of these hunting and gathering societies reside close to the natural world, but they have learned to adapt to it rather than the other way around. They continue to move around in search of animals, fruits, roots, and tubers while adhering to this principle. Early anthropologists tended to think that communities that depend on hunting and gathering are always on the verge of scarcity, but more recent studies have shown that this is not the case and that these communities actually experience some affluence and abundance.
Pastoral
The primary characteristic of the pastoral stage is animal domestication. Some pastoral communities combine agricultural and pastoral economies. The pastoral communities have to travel from location to location in order to find enough water and pasture land for their animals. Depending on the time of year, some pastoralists only move occasionally, while others move constantly. These people value mobility greatly, so their population size is typically quite small. Among pastoralists, livestock theft is a fairly common occurrence. They are renowned for showing little respect for centralized power and administration. The Gujar (cattle and buffalo herders), the Toda (buffalo herders of the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu), and the Bakenval (sheep and goat herders of Jammu and Kashmir) are three significant pastoral communities in India. Animal products like meat, milk, and blood are a staple of the diets of pastoral communities. Unlike some pastoralists in Africa, the Toda do not mix milk and animal blood. Pastoralists' practices in terms of religion and other behaviors are profoundly influenced by the livestock they raise. For the Toda, raising buffalo, for instance, is a sacred activity.
Shifting Cultivation
In shifting cultivation, the farmer clears new land every few years to plant crops while leaving the older plot to develop naturally. Shifting cultivation practitioners spend a lot more time in one place than pastoralists do. Land is frequently owned by the community in such societies. Shifting cultivation is practiced by a number of tribes, including the Bantu of equatorial Africa, the Garo of Meghalaya, the Baiga and Abujhmar Maria of Madhya Pradesh, and the Saora of Orissa. Shifting cultivation is also practiced by a number of tribes in Arunachal Pradesh.
Settled Cultivation
A disproportionately higher percentage of simple societies engage in settled cultivation, in which the same fields are cultivated year after year. The villages must eventually become permanent settlements as a result of settled cultivation. All around the villages, various gods and deities appear, giving the villages a religious significance. Additionally, the concept of private property becomes more firmly established. Hoe cultivation and plough cultivation are two ways to divide settled agriculture, depending on the technology.
Hoe cultivators make up a large portion of island populations, including those of the Pacific's Trobriaiid Islands. Indian farmers who use a plough are the Munda, Santhal, and Gond. Because they are divided into terraces for cultivation, the hill slopes give rise to yet another type of settled agriculture. Indian tribes known as Nagas are excellent examples of terrace farmers.
Systems of Exchange in Simple Societies
Giving and receiving from one another is a necessary part of daily life and is therefore a crucial component of interpersonal relationships. In this sense, exchange is a concept in economics rather than merely a theme. There is no doubt that many exchanges of goods are commercial in nature. Gift-giving occasions, which are also ceremonial in nature, can also be used to institutionalize relationships between people by expressing long-standing relationships. Keeping good relations between groups and reducing the likelihood of conflict is frequently the goal of trade. For instance, gifts are given and received by both the bride's and groom's sides during Indian wedding ceremonies. Such gifts serve as a symbol of status and put something of a seal or stamp on the new relationship in addition to having some economic value in terms of their use value. Second, such exchanges don't happen just once. They typically take the form of a series of gifts, which fosters goodwill and demonstrates the happy relationships between the two parties. Maintaining a mutual indebtedness is one of the goals of exchange of goods.
In simple societies, gift-exchange relationships of mutual assistance are continually strengthened. Simple societies have been studied by many academics, particularly social anthropologists. They have emphasized some exchanges that are unusual in some cases and have no counterparts in Indian society. We present to you two prime examples of the social and cultural value of gift-exchange in simple societies that go beyond economics.
Two Examples
- The Kula Exchange
Malinowski demonstrated that among the Trobriand Islanders, the members of the Kula ring exchange among themselves ritually and socially valued objects in his study of economic activities known as the Kula ring of the Western Pacific region. The exchange system is controlled by a ring-like structure with two directional movements. The white arm-shells circulate among the Kula ring members in an anti-clockwise direction, while the red shell necklaces rotate in a clockwise direction. Although these items have no intrinsic value, donors and recipients of aid place varying degrees of prestige on them. In search of these economically useless objects, the tribal members embark on lengthy and dangerous sea voyages. The Islanders typically haggle and bargain when buying and selling other items on a daily basis, but they never do so when giving and receiving items in the Kula. - The Potlatch Ceremony
Our second illustration comes from the American North West, where the Kwakiutl and some other tribes in the area organized large-scale feasts. Large amounts of food were consumed and gifts were given to guests during these events, but many items that the hosts considered valuable also ended up being destroyed. These people's custom of feasts, also referred to as the "ilstitution of potlatch," demonstrates how their claims to a higher social status were correlated with their physical destruction of goods in order to give them away. One group gained more prestige as it organized more feasts. Additionally, a group's prestige in the eyes of other groups increased in proportion to the number of invitations to such potlatches and gifts it received. These feasts were always planned by agnatic groups, i.e. e. by those holding brothers-to-brothers relationships with one another. One such group invited other similar groups, and they competed with one another by providing ever-more food to eat, ever-more gifts to take home, and ever-more valuables to destroy.
Markets
Even though markets are where most economic exchanges of goods occur in simple societies, there are some societies where multiple transactions involving various goods happen without a market. The Trobriand Islanders are a good illustration of this kind. Markets are well-known locations for the exchange of goods in some simple societies, such as those in West Africa. They are necessary for the economy of the society to function. However, markets have social significance as gathering places in addition to their economic significance. The markets of the tribes of the Yoruba in Nigeria and the Arusha in Tanzania are well known. Markets are frequently utilized as information hubs and as administrative offices. traditional hubs for the growth of traditional performing arts forms.
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