Characteristics of Segmentary Societies.

These were political units organized on clan basis:  the clan as the basic unit of social. political and economical organization   these societies are also referred to as Egalitarian or stateless societies.  Examples of such societies in pre-colonial Africa include the Kikuyu. the Iteso. Bagisu, Karamajong,  lbo,  Tiv.  Khor etc. A general survey m such societies   is in the 2nd half of the 19th century revealed common political. Social and economic features as below:
I.    Politically non-centralized   societies did not have a central authority at the top of their leadership. The clan leadership was the basic political unit in segmentary societies"
2    Political  Power was distributed   amongst  many  political  players.  an aspect that   made  It difficult to recognize  and detect who actually has  more authorities   than the other  in a given stateless     society      Power  laid in the hands of clan heads who were   democratically elected depending on merit.
3.     The  Egalitarian societies head strong  participatory  democracy ie every one had right  to
participate in decision making that was  affecting the whole society
4.        Duties In this society concerning  defence and security, communal  work. consultation etc. were generally  carried  out through  the guidance  of the elders who was the leaders of the given society. The elders provided  leadership because they were believed to be custodians of  knowledge  as compared  to the young and experienced  youth who were recognized  as such in the field of defence and police   this was true of the Ibo. Kikuyu and Iteso.
5.    These  societies  didn't  have  standing  armies  as found  in most  centralised  societies.  The defence of the clan was the responsibility   of all adult able-bodied   men. The military in these societies was not professional in nature unlike in most centralised societies.
6.    The lack of standing army didn't mean that these societies were militarily weak. The 11- year Nandi resistance   against   the imposition   of  British   colonial   rule  in  Kenya   is  a testimony  to this fact.
The history  of Iteso  in Uganda  with  such  galant  men such  as Ogutu  also  illustrates  the case in point.
7.       It should also be noted that wars involving  these segmentary  societies were not common.
There were minor conflicts involving different clans over cattle, trade and land but not for territorial  expansion as the case was in the centralised  societies.
8.    In the Judicial  organisations,  these  societies  had no laws  and rules  recorded  down  to be followed  by the society  as the case was for the centralised  society.  But this didn't  mean that they were politically unstable.  Disputes were first solved on clan basis and in case of a failure  at this, the matter was  forwarded  to village  assembly  where  the criminal  had  the right  to defend  himself  and to be defended  by members  of general  assembly.  The  final decision was taken after the vote unlike in the centralised  socieues  where the king took the decision over the judgement  in the given case.
9.    Crime also minimised  by society sanctions,  which were used to punish the uncooperative members and criminals in society in order for them to realise their mistakes.
10.    Unity  and  cohesion   was  not  absent  in pre-colonial   stateless   societies,   as  Eurocentric scholars   claim  clan  kingship,   Inter  clan,  Intermarriage    as  well  as  other  social   ties, enhanced  unity  among  these  societies.  This  particular  aspect  is comparable  to the royal regalia  in Buganda  and the part played by state ceremonies  in forging unity. Marriage  ties were very important.                                              
11.    Socially, the clan head wasn't  the overall  religious  leader but in every family,  the family head  was  the  leader.  Clans  were  united  by  language  and  culture.  Therefore they  were brought  together  by their African  traditional  strings or attachment.  They recognised  their African traditional  religious leaders as their creators and respected their ancestors  to whom they sacrificed through their mediators.
12.    Members  of each clan were considered  to be close relatives  and were not allowed to inter- marry otherwise  the inter clan marriages  were strongly encouraged  to enhance unity  in the society.
13.    Economically,    the  segmentary   societies   did  not  have  the  centralised   control   of  the economy.  Land  was communally  owned  and production  was based on the family.  Each family was expected  to be self sufficient  in terms of food production  and in provision  of
other needs, for example, everybody  was free to participate  in major items of trade such as gold, salt and ivory:
14.    Economically,  communal  work and working  together  in provision  of labour services  was common  among  these  societies.   This  was  not  a sign  of  primitivity   but  the  nature  of economic  development   in the  given  societies.  Work  ~fls not  for earning  but rather  for glorification  of the whole  stateless  society.  One worked  for the other  in expectation  of a return in a related labour service  to him or her if need arose in future, for example,  among the Iteso, peasants were helping one another in the harvests  of millet, sorghum, etc.
15.    Contrary to the view that these societies had neither trade nor markets to talk of, trade was a very important economic  activity.  Commerce  was recognised.  The wealthy people were influential  in social, economic,  political and other affairs. The story of Aro clan among the Ibo people  in owning  most  of the Ibo wealth and influencing  Tho politics can justify  this assertion.  The Akamba traders  were also a force to reckon  with as they could even afford private  armies.  The trend  of affairs  can partly justify  that wealth  breeds power,  ambition and influence.
16.    It should also be noted that pre-colonial  Africa segmetary  societies were not pre-industrial, true there were no extensive  industrial  undertakings  like the contemporary   Europe but this doesn't  erase the fact that Africans were industrial.  The Tho e.g. had bronze  works, cotton weaving    Iron working  and  pottery  while  the  Iteso  carried  out black  smithing.   One  can safely  urge  that  Africans   were  undergoing   indigenous    industralisation    at the  dawn  of European colonisation  of the continent.
17.    Agriculture was another  important  economical activity.  This involved both cultivation  and pastoralism.  The lbo  e.g. grew palm  oil and yams while  the Kikuyu  are remembered  for cultivating  a variety of foods.  The Karamajongs  were pastoralists  while the Iteso and the Nandi  were mixed  farmers. It should  however be noted  that agriculture  was primarily  for subsistance.
18.    Raiding was the most important  economic  activity. Neighbouring   societies were raided in search of trade items such as gold, slave, Ivory and cattle.
It has been pointed  out that non centralized  societies  unlike  the centralized  and European capitalist  ones were  limited  in social  stratification  as people  were largely  individualistic, competitive   and  believed   in  equality.   No  wonder   it  has  been  generalized   that  non- centralized  societies were democratic  rather with some bit of exaggeration.  What is true is that although these societies were largely Egalitarian,  the elders, influential youths and the wealth held some important  social positions  and enjoyed  higher esteem e.g. the Arochuku people  of Chuku among  the Ibo were  wealthy  and influential  which  contributed  to their Oracle  (achievement)   being  recognized   as the  most  Important.  Equally  so elders  were respected  because of their age and priestly functions.
Thus  in the  above  treatise   the  author  has  laboured   to highlight   the  major  distinctive features of pre-colonial  African  segjjaentary  and centralized  societies. It can be concluded that in as much  as there were differences  between  the two,  they were more mythical  than real.
Revision Question I)   Do  you subscribe  to the view  that  the differences  between  segimentary   and centralized societies were more mythical than real? Draw examples from any named African region. 2)   How different were the features of a centralized  kingdom from a ·segimentary society?