Enemy's Blood Is Sweet
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20148432 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yukio Miyawaki (Osaka Prefecture University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 2005 |
| Issue | 66 |
| Pages | 13-30 |
| Publication date | 2005-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0065-4140 • E-ISSN: 1884-5533 |
| Publisher | Japan Association for African Studies (PUBLISHER • JP) |
| DOI | 10.11619/africa1964.2005.13 |
| OpenAlex | W2326086710 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
In this paper I show the ideological structure of discourse on warfare among the Hor of southwestern Ethiopia.Among the Hor, killing enemies is not to demolish opponents, but to gain the power of fertility. The Hor assert that enemy's blood is fertile, and that the killer's family and livestock will prosper. The Hor consider this relationship to be reciprocal. Enemies are said to want the blood of the Hor because of its fertility.The activity of killing enemy is surrounded with many rituals and taboos. These rituals consist of exchanges of enemy's power with calves. If a warrior kills an enemy, his genital is severed by the killer's friend. Then the killer buys the genital from him in exchange for a calf. The power of fertility can be transferred to a third person. The person performs a ritual called mee fakin, in which he kills the killer in a mock fight. Then he buys the genital of the enemy in exchange of a calf. Finally the purchaser gives the genital to his mother's brother in exchange for a calf. These rituals transform the hostile relationship between the killer and the enemy into the tabooed relationship between the affines. The structure of these rituals also indicates that relationship of killing and that of exchange are not opposite but continuous. The Hor and enemy seem to have a strong tie to exchange their fertility.This image is a reflection of the relationship among the lineages of the Hor. In wedding a groom buys a bride in exchange for calves. On the day of bridewealth payment, the groom wears killer's costume, and the bride is circumcised and symbolically killed. The groom and brothers of the bride enter into a tabooed relationship called sodo.This ideology of warfare seems to have two functions. It demarcates the boundary between enemies and the Hor. It also enhances ethnic identity by separating us from them. In 19th century, ethnic boundaries of the peoples of this area were interpenetrating. In a society founded on the exchange of women like the Hor, this ideology could have regulated the relationship among these groups by projecting the images of possible hostility to outside groups. Since the end of 19th century, the Hor was conquered and ruled by Ethiopian state. Through the period of the state rule, this ideology could have evoked the memory of authentic tradition by indicating the irregularity of warfare fought by the Hor in 20th century
Adversary · Biology · Brother · Computer security · Power (physics) · Sex organ · Sociology · African history and culture analysis · Anthropology · Computer Science · Genetics
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |