‘umlllllllllllllll‘ ......._...-.-.. ‘ " . 31293010602893 R-iichig'm 321:3: [Itinerary ”‘9' mfg-MW” " -9 'm. ‘r ~'~*‘ \ This is to certify that the thesis entitled "Ideology Local and National: Continuation and Accommodation (Comparisons and Relationships between Bemba Proverbs and Zambian Humanism)." presented by J.A. Fernard Girard has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph . D . degree in Homology Major professor Date August 5, 1981 0'7639 'bviss RETURNING MATERIALS: 1.) P1ace in book drop to LIBRARIES remove this checkout from .—,—. your record. FINES win be charged if book is returned after the date stamped below. Cepyright by Joseph Antonin Fernand Girard 1981 IDEOLOGY LOCAL AND NATIONAL: CONTINUATION AND ACCOMMODATION (COMPARISONS AND RELATIONS HIPS 331mm 13mm Paovmns AND ZAMBIAN HUMANISM) By Joseph Antonin Fernand Girard A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements fer the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Anthropology 1981 Han A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS My studies and research were made possible with the encour- agement and financial help of my parents, sisters and brothers to whom I owe my most profound gratitude. The Bemba people who have helped me have been many indeed, from the school children who tried to teach me Bemba in the win- ter of 1958 to the Ndola Convent girls with whom I discussed proverbs in 1973, dozens of people have helped me understand their mind and heart a little better. Very particularly, I express my gratitude to Messrs Maximo Chimpempe, Anthony Ndalama, Mikaela. Shikamushile, Paulo Mpepo and Miss Bernadette NJoni who have been friends and consultants for over ten years. I am very grateful to Dr. William Derman, the chairman of my committee, for his patience and many enlightening comments which led me to more reading and reflection in order to improve and re-structure my argumentation; if this dissertation has any internal value, it is mainly due to the advice and prodding of Dr. Derman. I express my thanks to my other committee mem- bers, Dr. Nancy Bonvillain and Dr. Lawrence Robbins who have helped me in every occasion. I am also grateful to the late Dr. Terrell Phenice and Dr. Ralph Nicholas who have encouraged me at the beginning of this research. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Ms. Nancy Buffenbar- ger, Ms. Dianne L. Coin and Ms. Rolande Trudeau for their help, suggestions and corrections. Finally, I sincerely thank Fr. Louis-Philippe Girard, a very special friend who had the patience of sending me news- paper clippings and other publications since 1973. ii cw.-- Va: 5‘4 CHMUPTER I - CHAJ?IER A. B. C. D. E. II A. B. C. D. H be TABLE OF CONTENTS PRESENTATION OF THE STUDY . . Statement of Purpose . . . . . Rationale of Study . . . . . . Limitations of Study . . . . . Motivation and Interest . MathOdOlosy e e e e e e e e e e e e 0 TERMS AND CONCEPTS . . . . . . . . Zambia e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e Bemba Speaking Peoples e e e e e e e Orality (Oral Literature). . . . . . a. Importance e e e e e e e e e b. Description and Components . c. Different Kinds of Orality . d. Orality and Traditionality . 6e Fifild ”CIR e e e e e e e e e f. Orality and Anthr0pologists . . . . . Proverbs and Sayings e e e e e e e e e e e e o a. Imprecise Terminology . . . . . . . . be Definitions e e e e e e e e e e e e e Ce Content and Meanings e e e e e e e e e do Ebrm and Structure e e e e e e e e e e 0. Personal Definition e e e e e e e e e f. Creation, Acceptance, Re-creation. . . g. Situations and Circumstances. Usages . he Functions 0: Proverbs e e e e e e e e 1. Collection and Translation . J. Proverbs in Bemba . . . . . . . . . . IdOOlOSY e e e e e e e e e e e e e e a. Basic Themes e e e e e e e e b. Marxism and Ideology . . . . c. Scientific Knowledge . . . . de Theory and MOShOdOlOcy e e e 9e Rationality e e e e e e e e e e e e e fe Intuition e e e e e e e e e e e e e e 3. Rational and Emotional e e e e e e e e h. Paradigm, Rationality, Science, Intui- tion, Methods e e e e e e e e e e e 1. Ideology e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e 111 Page U|#!UIQF‘ 0 12 21 22 26 25 27 29 31 33 35 36 38 40 42 46 48 52 55 57 62 67 73 76 79 83 84 87 thj“: «.3 out w. - .337; mo. 1 .3 . "A CHAPTERIII-ZADIBIANHWNISMeeeeee.000.00..91 A. B. CHAPTER IV - A. B. C. D. E. F. G. 3. CHAPTER V - A. B. c. D. E._ F. o. H. I. J. CONCLUSION SUMMARY. . ZAMBIAN HUMANISM ACCORDING TO KAUNDA AND OTHER ZAMBIANS O O O O O O O 0 O O O O O O O O I O O O 91 8. 31311011631 NOD35 on Zambia. e e e e o O O o 91 be Kaunda e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e 97 Ce Constraints e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e100 d. Zambian Humanism of Kaunde and Others . . . 103 CRITIQUE 0F ZAMBIAN HUMANISM . . . . . . . . .. 120 Re Problems e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e 120 b. Suggestions and Alternatives . . . . . . . 147 c. Zambian Humanism as Ideology. Extent and Limitation................156 d. Zambian Humanism: must not be Capitalism; should be Socialism; could be Humanism. . 164 BEMBA PROVERBS CLASSIFIED AND EXPLAINED. . . . 172 THE SPIRITUAL LIFE 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O 172 PADSILY LIFE 0 O O O O O O 0 O O 0 O O O O O O O 179 SOCIAL LIFE 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 213 ECOI‘OMIC LIFE 0 O O O O 0 O O O O O O O O O O O 249 POLITICAL LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 MORAL VALUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 TRADITIONAL THOUGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 SUMMARY (RECAPITULATION) 0F BEMBA PROVERBS AND SAYIN$ o 0 O 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 386 COMPARISONS AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PROVERBS AND ZAMBIAN HUMAHISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371 CONTINUATION AND ACCOMMODATION. . . . . . . . . 372 PROVERBS AND IDEOLOGIES (Their MOOSE Of Being and. Existing) e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e 375 CIVILISATION OF ORALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 FORM AND STRUCTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 CONTENT e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e 385 FUNCTIONS AND PURPOSES . . . . . . . . . . . e 390 ORIGIN AND CREATION . . . . . . e . e . e e . . 393 ACCEPTANCE e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e 396 REULTSe e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e 0 399 PROVERBS, IDEOLOGIES AND LANGUAGE . . . . . . e 404 O O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 411 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O ‘20 BlanmPHY O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 O O O O 422 iv CHAPTER I PRESENTATION OF THE STUDY A. Statement of Purpose The aim of this dissertation is to examine the possible rela- tionships between a 'national' ideology and ideological statements of a 'tribal' group. More specifically, this study describes Zam- bian Humanism, presents a collection of Bemba proverbs and inves- tigates the similarities and links between these two ideological forms. This dissertation originates from an intuitive perception: humanistic pronouncements appeared to be similar in content to some Bemba sayings; the Zambian ideology, which has its roots in the world-views of local groups, represents fundamental beliefs and values which can function to unify the people and make them proud of their personality as Zambians. If indeed, there is con- tinuation, Humanism could be more agreeable and acceptable to the people, and might be more successful than a completely new ideol- ogy. Zambian Humanism is made up of affirmations proposed by Pres- ident Kaunda as early as 1964. The doctrine arose as a reaction against colonialism, fereign influence and exploitation, and from the need to create a united nation and improve the spiritual and moral conditions of Zambians. It stresses the primacy of the 'Man-centred society', promotes collective work, sharing, self- sufficiency and equality. It states the rights and duties of every Zambian in an accepting society where individual interests are set aside for the well-being of the community. (Cf. Kaunda 2 :L96733—7; Kandeke 1977:10-15, 25-29). Proverbs and sayings contain direct and concrete information Tabout people and their world, along with their thoughts, feelings, comments and opinions about every facet of daily life. A fairly complete presentation of Bemba proverbs is necessary to give an objective knowledge of their content as a whole. Behind all the discussions, lie questions about ideologies, what they are, how they are created and how they could be made successful. B. Rationale of Study The problems raised in this research are discussed in such varied disciplines as political science, linguistics, oral tradi- tion and history, but mostly in cognitive anthropology. Exam- ining and relating one form of orality to a national ideology is fundamentally a study of the system of cognition of a people. So- cieties have given themselves cultural features which character- ise their social institutions and which must be perceived as sen- sible and acceptable by the majority of the members. People's ideas are expressed not only in artifacts, political organisations and economic productions, but also in predictions, plans, ideol- ogies and priorities; in fact, there must be some kind of order as "tout classement est supérieur au chaos" (Levi-Strauss 1962: 24). When 'chaos' and disorder exist, they are often caused by conflicting forces from inside or outside; most of the timew they arise as reactions to powers which invade and destroy. Op- position to conquests or political domination may assume such dif- ferent forms of rebellion as war, new religions, passive resist- ance, amorphy and even disparition. Zambia. had been a colony gov» erned from and, in many ways, exploited by Cape Town, London and Salisbury for nearly a century. Consequently, one of the goals of Humanism is a search for national identity and the need for 3 :re-establishing control and order over their cognitive and affect- :ive worlds. (Cf. Spindler 1968:332-347; wallace 1966:25-51). Proverbs are a reliable source of information in the study of cognition systems; they are not theoretical after-thoughts or eye- tematisations, but like myths and legends, they are collective un- derstanding and knowledge about the proper manner of conducting hu- man affairs. Their general meanings are not influenced by circump stantial.emotions like shyness, fear or mistrust, and the possible biases of the observers; they can be heard, asked about and ana- lysed. Proverbs are not easily identified as such by foreigners; that is, proverbs said in a language other than one's mother tongue are difficult to recognise. On the other hand, native speakers have this ability of identifying a proverb qua proverb and, most of the time, making some sense of it. This 'as-innate' knowledge of proverbs is similar to the 'as innate' comprehension of the cog- nitive system that most members of a community have. The study of proverbs might help us to describe cognitive and affective systems of societies fairly objectively, if only by quoting their stereo- typed remarks about living, loving and believing. C. Limitations of Study This dissertation is concerned only about the Bemba speaking groups of Zambia and excludes the Bemba speakers of Zaire even though they are closely related to the Lunda of chief Kazembe and the Risa of the Mansa region, because I have never lived among them. Many other groups of Zambians are not considered directly. Bemp be is only one of several languages in Zambia, and even though it is important and the mother tongue of President Kaunda, it is not the only national language of Zambia and should not be equated with Zambia. (Cf. Kay 1967:45; Kaunda 1962:6). This is not a comparative study because I do not speak any other African languages and the many important collections of 4 proverbs would be approached in a very different perspective. (Cf. Jahn 1968). I am not a Bemba speaker by birth and although I lived in Zkunbia fer eleven years and spent a few hours a day learning the language, I am still a student. It is quite possible to question ‘the validity of some of the explanations and interpretations I pro- pose. Many other peeple have been collecting and writing about Bem- ba proverbs—Labrecque, Guillerme, Hoch, Mpashi, Paul, Mushindo— and nobody can claim a superior collection and exhaustive cemen- ‘tary on meanings. I am mainly concerned about the theoretical aspects of Zamp ‘bian Humanism as the essential part of the ideology. Discussions about the success or failure of the practical implementations of ,programmes which are presented as the material application of Hu- manism are not developed to any degree; technical and economic programmes and implimentations are not seen as belonging to the ideal-spiritual-normative which is the domain of ideology. D. Motivation and Interest My interest in Bemba proverbs goes back as far as 1958. While visiting teachers in the Samfya district on Lake Bangweulu and trying to learn Bemba, I could notice that on occasion something was said with special effect, causing laughter, the clapping of hands, or a more spirited conversation. A teacher at Mundubi's told me that proverbs were the cause of such animation. In one instance, a young boy had fallen off his bicycle; his right leg was bleeding and he was bent over blowing on the wound. A fisherman saw him and casually said: umulume wa mbwa /’tafwa ku kulu (male of dog does not die at leg), meaning that a strong young man would recover pretty fast from a leg wound and should ignore it. It took me long explanations before I could understand. In that case, the proverb had been used literally, but it could be utilised for many other instances. (Cf. no. 395). That was my first contact '--e Monk 6 'l .. ~ 3" Q 8' 5 or should I say, conscious contact with proverbs. From then on, I collected and studied proverbial expressions from people as well as from books at every Opportunity. In 1965, I published a mimeo- graphed booklet containing 800 proverbs for students of the Bemba . language. There were no references to the socio-cultural system of the Bemba peoples. It was a translation with grammatical explana- tions. Around 1964 to 1966, the theory of Humanism was being developed and some ideas were mentioned during the campaign for independence that later became expressed in tenets and policies which were adopted as the national philosophy of Zambia in April 1967 (Kaunda 1967; Kandeke 1977:1, 10-16). A person acquainted with Bemba proverbs can perceive similarities to several assertions of Humanism, without being able to enumerate a series of proverbs to confirm the ideas. Proverbs are used individually in response to a circumstance; they are not known globally as a treatise on special topics, that is, people would not cite proverbs about marriage; they would quote one at a certain behaviour of a son-in-law. The comparison between proverbs and Humanism requires a collection and classification of proverbs to combine several of them under certain headings. My in- tention is to present Zambian Humanism as accurately as possible comparing and relating it to topics under which proverbs are clas- sified. The chapter on Bemba proverbs could be of use and interest to Bemba speakers themselves. The general discussion on proverbs and ideologies is an attempt at elucidating the making, functions and success of national ideologies in the hope of finding out ele- ments which contribute to make them more acceptable and successful. E. Methodology During the first ten years I lived nIZambia, from 1958 to .1968, I collected proverbs at every occasion from school meetings, 1finnily reunions, catechists' training, political meetings to beer Ilarties. At the same time, I tried to obtain collections of sayings -—'-, umfi I —- h — $ 1’) E‘ KL. ' ’1 A4- 6 :in.order to inquire about them. Father Labrecque prepared a col- llection called Neoselo (sayings) which was ready for publication in.1946 but never published. By chance, in the boxes of Father Marsan, I found a copy-book with some 500 proverbs explained by an elder from Malole's, Marcello Cangwa (circa 1940). Mpashi's Icibemba cesu na mano zaciko (1964) contains about 600 expressions listed alphabetically; it is a most valuable and interesting book. The White Fathers Bemba-English Dictionary (Chilubula 1947: Lusaka 1954) gives translations and explanations of many proverbs and sayings. In chapter IV, I refer frequently to the last two books fer further or different explanations. I have discussed the mean- ings of all the proverbs I quote with people old and young, and I used many of them in conversation and speeches. From September 1972 to August 1973 on a return trip to Zambia, I tried to discover more information about the knowledge and use of proverbs. There is no scientific or standard manner to study proverbs. One cannot start with a diagramme as in inquiring about a person's relatives; one cannot visit a village and ask people to quote proverbs. Either one lives with the people for several years and hears proverbs on occasion, or one initiates proverb use by quoting an appropriate saying. In ordinary conversations, days and weeks can pass without hearing proverbs. Moreover, there are instances, like garden chores, intimate conversations, fishing at night, arguments between close relatives which are rarely witnessed by missionaries, linguists and anthropologists. To elicit those expressions, direct questioning is necessary. On the other hand, there are legal argumentations, political gatherings, chief's visits and other assemblies which are a fecund source of proverbs. However, in order to know how much people knew about proverbs, I asked them directly. I termed groups of discussants in three villages and in the Manse and Ndola .secondary schools. There were about forty sessions during which proverbs were elicited and discussed. Fer instance, the Ndola school girls recognised these OXpressions as proverbs, grinned or smiled at everyone of them, and gave some very strange explanations. 7 ‘0n the contrary, teachers and catechists at Mbabala Island and Lu- ‘bushi's would often answer with other sayings which often confused the; I had to start writing and questioning. In most places, there are local proverb 'specialists' and there is the temptation of spending lots of time with them; but other people have also some Iknowledge and might represent the 'normal' general attitude towards .proverbs. I also tried to follow Arrewa and Dundee' recommendation about situations and circumstances (1964). It proved impractical and nnfeasible because I was dealing with a few hundreds proverbs, and because there were too many opportunities and Occasions for ‘using them. Furthermore, I came to be known as the man of proverbs (uwa mapinda) and there is no doubt that several people cited proverbs to impress me, please me or see if I knew them. In spite of that, I am convinced that I was able to obtain a good number of proverbial expressions with their meanings and the extent of their influence on the people's world-views and values. InfOrmation about Zambian Humanism was gathered through Gov- ernment publications, books and articles, in short newspaper edi- torials, posters and leaflets, and in conversation with ordinary citizens. I did not use interviews or questionnaires which might have been interpreted as meddling with politics. I attended rallies and political meetings especially during Humanism week and other holidays like Heroes and Unity day and Independence Day. There were frequent reminders of what a humanist is,on television, the radio and during public speeches and meetings. Many people are wary about speaking on Humanism; I was not doing any missionary work; I was s.little suspect, because people did not know exactly what I was trying to do. With strangers, my fluency in Bemba would surprise; they would asked if I was an informer. In spite of all that, I think that there is general agreement about theoretical values such as cooperation, sharing, honesty, hard work, unity of Zambians and equality. Everybody I talked with spoke very highly of President Kaunda, even in Barotseland. However, many people would criticise 8 bitterly the uneven application Of 'sharing', because some Zambians are much better off than other; miners think that they are the on- ly ones doing the sharing. Some political leaders use the ideas about national unity and the pride of being Zambians to arise the people against 'enemies', mostly some unidentified Whites and South Africa; but they cannot motivate for the important and necessary changes required in the internal development of Zambia. Zambians seem united against 'outsiders' and divided 'against' one another. Material and technical plans are announced with fanfare nearly every year. But the same problems continue and will endure unless there is some significant Spiritual and moral reconstruction. CHAPTER II TER‘IS AND CONCEPTS This chapter deals with five subjects which are treated in or- der to facilitate the understanding of the main issues at stake. First, there is a short paragraph on the geography and prehis- tcry of Zambia. Secondly, the Bemba speaking peoples are intro- duced mainly in relation to beliefs and customs referred to in proverbs. For instance, some sayings mention chiefs and council- lors (w and bakabilo) whose positions and roles depend now on decisions of the Government and/or the Party. They may be given authority, relegated to figure-heads, eliminated, or glorified ac- cording to the political climate. The selection of officers is manipulated in several cases. However, at times, the candidate is nominated according to the traditional system of succession and appointment. The ethnographic descriptions presented here come from personal notes and from books written by White Fathers Since 1910. I am not sure of the sources of my assertions, since most of them belong to some common knowledge from study, observa- tion and discussions over a period of several years. It is a description of 'what used to be' or 'what should be'. Presently, it would be very difficult to generalise about any of those customs. In the third and fourth paragraphs, the definitions, structures, and roles of orality (oral literature) and proverbs are presented. The last paragraph consists of a short discussion on ideology simply to reach conclusions—which are only propositions or suggestions—- concerning its origin, functions and purposes, in order to indicate the value and importance of a doctrine like Zambian Humanism; it is not a critique of any theory, hypothesis or ideology in particular. 10 A. Zambia Zambia with an area of 288,139 Square miles (732,514 kmz; France: 212,659 sq. mi.; Texas: 267,339 sq. mi.) is situated in the centre of the Great Central African Plateau, at a height of about 3,500 to 5,000 feet (1,200 to 1,600 m.),with a few exceptional mountains of over 7,000 feet (2,300 m.). The country lies between latitudes 8° and 18° South and between longitudes 22° and 34° East. Rivers form natural borders of Zambia in four places; the Zambezi flows between Zambia, South West Africa (the Caprivi Strip) and Zimbabwe; the Lwangwa separates Zambia from Mozambique for some 55 miles; the Lwapula divides Zambia and Zaire from the 'ped- icle' to lake Mweru; to the South West, the Cuando flows between Zambia and Angola for about 150 miles. However, the geography of Zambia is largely the result of European colonial policies at the time of the 'scramble for Africa'. Involved in the conflict about Central Africa were the Belgians in the East, the Portuguese in the West and East, the British in the South, and finally the Germans to the North. In 1894, Cecil Rhodes and the British South Africa Com- pany were granted, from Whitehall itself, the power to administer the territories north of the Zambezi, with the exception of Barot- Beland, and this without the consultation of the African peoples. In 1911, Northern Rhodesia became a political entity under the aauthority Of the British South Africa Company; in 1924, it was declared a British Territory. From 1953 to 1963, Northern Rhodesia ‘nas an integral part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland ‘flhich was abrogated at the end of 1963. Zambia officially became ‘31: independent country on the 24th of October 1964. Kenneth David I{caunda was elected Prime Minister, later on President, a position lice has filled until the present, that is, 1981. In December 1972, 2-’--Eiunbia became a 'One-Party Participatory Democracy', and the u'lzlited National Independent Party was established as the only of- 1:=Lcia1 political party. I w :35 1 54 L' s O .2915 L . ‘1 h. ‘ nth“ elm. 11 Zambia is placed across the main South-North migration routes and the West-East trading directions. Migrations from Zaire and pos- sibly Angola, as well as from the South, are fairly well ascertained. Trade routes from the East are also being discovered from archeolo- gical findings and northern influences are being traced with the study of ancient pottery. (Cf. Fagan 1968: 1-10). As far as we know from oral tradition and some recent archeo- logical discoveries, the Bemba-speaking peoples came from the Luba and Lunda empires of Zaire and possibly from Angola. The Lunda re- mained in close contact with their eastern cousins and never cut themselves off from the great Mwata Yambo and his successors. 0n the countrary, the Bemba, Bias and other peoples who had settled in and around the Bangweulu lake and swamps seceded from their Luban rela- tives in order to start on their own. There are many statements from several authors about the migrations of these peoples from legendary and historical sources which are not yet firmly established. (Cf. Tweedie, A. in Stokes and Brown 1966:197-224). Among those disputed ‘ Questions, the following can be recalled: (I) the common origin of Bemba speakers from Mwata Yambo (Brelsford 1965:23), (2) the presence or absence of inhabitants prior to the Lunda-Luba occupation, and (3) the dispersion of the Lube group after some quarreling. (Cf. Richards in Colson and Gluckman 1969:1615 and 167). Extensive lin- matic and archeological studies and researches would no doubt b1“-118 light to these issues. What is of interest and quite certain is that peeples who came from a fairly homogeneous environment known as Kola country (cf. di- m“. in Brelsford 1965:5) arrived in Zambia, established dif- ferent political entities especially in the North-Western regions and beSéln to share a language which is called Cibemba and is now spoleen by several ethnic groups, with different political systems and diverse modes of adaptation according to varied environments, 33 is explained in the following section. 12 B. Bemba Speaking Peoples Bemba speaking peoples occupy the Northern and North-Western regions of Zambia and South-Eastern parts of Zaire; there are also many Bemba speakers who live and work in the Copperbelt area. Brels- ford Joins the area linguistically in what he called the "Bemba, La- la and Lamba group" (1965: Tribal and Linguistic Map of Zambia; at the end of book). Bemba speakers are divided into three groups: the Bemba of Chitimukulu, the Lwapula peoples, and the Bisha, Ushi-Kap bends, Nghumbo-Unga groups. These peoples differ historically and in some cultural practices such as the importance and succession of chiefs, village organisation and means of subsistence. The Bemba of Chitimukulu These people lived in a strong centralised form of 'chiefdom': "The main feature of Bemba rule is a strongly organised chief- tainship involving a common allegiance to the Paramount... Where there was a Bemba chief there was effective rule. The polit- ical system is highly complex, there is a definite series of lines, one of them leading to the Paramouncy. A newly ap- pointed chief knows in which direction lies his line of advance- ment to bigger chieftainships and equally clearly in what direc- tion he cannot go" (Brelsford 1965:41). In fact, the territory is divided into a number of chieftainships Bone of which are ruled by sons of previous paramount chiefs and their matrilineal descendants. Close kinsmen of the Paramount chief move through the minor chieftainships on the way to paramouncy. Chi- timmmmlu is chosen between Mwamba, Nkolemfumu or Shimumbi. Chikwan- d3 can become Nkula. Mubanga moves on to Makasa. A niece of Chiti- muknlu or Mwamaba becomes Chandamukulu. Chitimukulu as well as subordinate chiefs used to possess some religious power and func- tions; for instance, the productivity of the land depended upon the tutelary deities of the chief's matrilineal ancestors. In 1973, it"as reported that some chiefs were offering flour (hangs) to deities for the fertility of the fields in Lubemba. The beliefs that the spirits of the chiefs' ancestors were able to control the C" ‘1. 13 productivity of the land through rainfalls, pests and plagues were very strong and nobody can ascertain their disappearance.' Moreover, the chief and the land were one; the chief had the power to grant cultivation rights, directly or through the village head-men and the power to withdraw such rights. There existed also some officials in the administration: the bakabilo (kabgo, sing.), translated as "councillors". Some people were bakabilo through heredity, while others were chosen and appointed because of their knowledge and wisdom. The wore special feather head- dresses and received marks of respect as the partakers in the chiefs' authority and duties. The Bemba in the villages are mixed horticulturists of the citemege type. Those who cultivate on the subsistence level, that is not ,comercially, will plant finger millet during the first year; in the third the second year, they plant beans, maize and pumpkins; The sowing year they plant sorghum, sweet potatoes and cassava. and planting are done on mounds, small and round onss called imputa Before (sing. luputa) and long ones called bamelwa (sing. molwa). the exodus of men to the urban centres, both men and women participa- ted in the agricultural chores in a rather rigid division of labour: the women would put the lapping of trees was done by men (ukutema); before the rains, the men the branches into heaps (W); then, the men had would burn the heaps of branches (ukoca makula); to make bush fences around the gardens (ukupindila); Men and women, with their alternap reaping (uku- 223) was and is a woman's job. 1331-115 Jobs, were held in a situation of cooperation through which neither men nor women could live alone. (Cf. Koch 1963:13). The kinship system of the Bemba is ruled by matrilineal descent and. by matrilocal marriage residence which must actually take place at least for some time. There remains a large degree of freedom of choice in selecting the relatives with whom or around whom to live. As a last note, the Bemba were slave trading middlemen and “triers. "In fact, before the coming of the white man at the end or the century, it seems that the Chitimukulu held sway over the “Ole of the district between the four great lakes, Tanganyika, l4 Nyasa, Bangweulu and Mweru, and South into the present Lala and Lam- ba country"- (Brelsford 1965:40). Rarely, were there permanent phy- sical occupations of villages; there were excursions to obtain food and at times slaves. The Bemba were known as raiders stealing cows and harvests from their neighbours. There was also the establishment of small Bemba villages in Cishi Island and in the Lwapula valley; there are also Bisa villages in Bemba territory. These two facts—- the Bemba military excursions and the movement of people from region to region—brought about a homogeneity of language and customs which gave rise to similar values disseminated throughout the area. The Bena Lwapula (Bena Lunda or Bena Kazembe) The Bena Lwapula are living on the shores of the Lwapula river and on the eastern side of lake Mweru. They include the Bena Lunda who form the nucleus of authority and are also called Bena Kazembe (people of chief Kazembe). They comprise the BaShila and the Ba- Bwilile of lake Mweru who have no other original territory outside the region and no other allegiance, as opposed to all the others Who claim to have come from some other places and maintain ties with chiefs from other regions, such as Bisa, Bemba, Nghumbo, Ci- shinga and Unga. The land of the Bena Lwapula is made up of rather good soil and swamps. The river shores are inundated every year and people can plant on the same plot year after year. The men spend about 80% of their working time fishing. There is always enough fish for local consumption. Fish marketing has been variable for the last ‘00 years due to the fluctuation in the amount of fish, rain storms Which make the roads impassable, political problems with the Zai- Pean authority and the crossing of the pedicle, and the state of the ferry boats across the Lwapula river at Mokambo. Cassava is the stable food of the people who also cultivate maize, ground- ,huts, sweet potatoes, bananas, and some finger-millet to brew their beer. 15 The question of kinship succession and descent is complicated as can be seen by Cunnison's description: "The king and most of the aristocratic Lunda names are inher- ited patrilineally, while everyone else belongs to matrilineal descent groups... As there are three main groups present-—Western Lunda, Luala- bans, and the Eastern peoples-—so there are three kinds of descent to be reckoned with. Lunda say they themselves were patrilineal at Kola in the west. The Lualaba peoples whom they defeated and made Lunda had alternative modes of succes- sion. The people whom they found on the Lwapula were all mat- rilineal... All Lunda take their clans from their mothers, at birth..." (1967:161-163). Slaski observed that "the patrilineal reckoning of descent intro- duced and established by the Lunda, as well as their tribal hetero- ‘geneity, mark the valley peoples off from the matrilineal and eth- .ndcally homogeneous neighbouring tribes" (1950:78). In fact, the ILunda of Kazembe are patrilineal as far as the Kazembe's succession :Ls concerned and in a few Lunda aristocratic families; even then, 'the mother's kin are highly respected and mothers' clan names are retained for many occasions; the rest of the pepulation has matri- JLineal descent. The Kazembe is succeeded patrilineally by one of 1113 sons chosen by Lunda aristocrats; but any of the dead Kazemp loe's brothers could have become chief and still can, along with 111s sons, which makes.that several people are eligible. This often ccauses rivalry among the Kazembe's brothers and sons as well as élmong the Lunda aristocrats in charge of the selection. Although the Lunda have retained some Lunda words and names :Ln some official ceremonies, cina Lunda of the present is quite <=lose to the Bemba spoken by the Bemba of Chitimukulu. (Cf. p. 19). The Bena Lunda are from many regions and share different alle- Siances, various histories and beliefs about their origin; but they <=0nsider themselves Bena Lwapula which refers more to a geographical area than to an ethnic group. However, the central and unifying fig- Iare remains Kazembe, paramount chief of the Lunda. 16 The Bisa, Ushi-Kabende, Nghumbo-Unga Groups Most people in these groups live on the shores, islands or swamps of lake Bangweulu. The Be Ushi and some Ba Bisa live in the interior, on lands similar to those of Bembaland. The great majority live on fish and cassava, very much like the Bena Lwapula. The shores of the lake and the islands are quite fertile and suitable for many different crops: "The economy of the Bangweulu basin is based upon fishing and agriculture and most settlements are located so that they may easily participate in both activities. In most areas, extraor- dinarily high population densities occur; pressure on favour- able building sites is intense and villages are crowded one on to another... Chronic and occasional shortages of essential commodities in various parts of the area have led to the devel- opment of an exchange economy in which the export of dried fish plays a vital role... The flood plains, lakes and swamps all provide fish but the swamps are the major fishing grounds... People like living amongst the crowds with their kinsfolk, they like the open views, they like the water." (Kay 1967:67). The food shortages are caused by too much or not enough rain fall. Usually there is enough cassava, but it cannot be eaten alone and fish is needed. As a consequence of the fairly high population density, fire-wood, rafters and poles are scarce and people may have to walk up to five miles to get fire-wood and many more miles to Obtain or buy poles for the roofs. All those groups have localised chiefs and no paramount chief like Chitimukulu or Kazembe. The succession to chieftainships goes from brother to brother or to sister's son or sister's daughter's son. GPOups may be organised under a senior chief; for instance, among the Bena Nghumbo there are five chiefs, Chitembo, Mwewa, Mwansa Kombe, mmflLu and Mulongwe. At the present, chief’Mwewa is the acknowledged a”filler chief even if some people maintain that Chitembo should have that title according to tradition. The senior chief as well as other chiefs have little power outside land usage, local Justice and some a'dl'MLnistrative duties. The people are often familiar with their chiefs and do not show the respect found among the Lunda and among the Bemba. 17 All these Bemba speaking groups belong to some forty clans. A clan is made up of people claiming common descent from some ancestor (usually mythical) and sharing a clan name. The common bond of clanship is in reality the clan name called mukowa, and is inher- ited from the mother. These clan names are names of animals, plants and such natural phenomena as rain, ant-hills, trees, grass, etc. Each clan has an opposite or complementary clan with which hospi- tality, Joking friendliness and special services are exchanged. The reasons for the relationships between paired clans are not al- ways understood, but some explanations are offered; for instance, the bena nkalamo (people of the lion) are paired with the bena nama (of the animals), because lions can survive only by eating animals; the bena bowa (people of the mushroom) are linked with the 2232, gglg,(people of the ant-hill) because mushrooms often grow around and on ant-hills. Opposite clan peOple are called banungwe (sing. munungwe) and so the bena nkalamo are banunggg to the bena nama. There is supposed to be a hierarchy among clans but the system of precedence has never been established except for the chief's clan in respective chieftainships. All through the area, the duty of hospitality is required and offered to people sharing the same clan names or having opposite clan names even if they come from a dis- tant region. Where the purification ceremonies at the occasion of death are still being held, the members of the opposite clan will be in charge; the banungge are believed to be immune from the re- venge of the dead person's spirit since during his/her life, these people could insult one another without any consequence. Names of clans often use words which are obsolete or of unknown origin, like pghgggg,(crocodile) for the royal clan of the Chitimukulu (while the Bemba word is nghwena) and pgg,(leopard; Bemba is mbwili). (Cf. Hoch 1963:16-20). Differences exist between urban, Lwapula, Bangweulu and 18 Chitimukulu Bemba, in words, expressions, grammar and tonality. Richardson (1961 and 1963) and Lehmann (1969) published articles about town or Copperbelt Bemba. I am not aware of any publication concerning the differences between the spoken Bemba of the Lwapula valley, the Bangweulu region and the Kasama district or Lubemba. People themselves will make the distinction between the true or correct Bemba, the language of the Lubemba (Cibemba nkonko = true Bemba and Cibemba ca ku Lubemba = Bemba of the Lubemba) and the other Bemba, the Cina Lunda of the Lwapula valley and CiBisa, CAnshi and Gina Lungs of lake Banbweulu and Mansa dis- trict. Copperbelt Bemba includes several English words and expres- sions which are 'bembaised', especially in the fields of mining, auto mechanics, electricity and technical sciences. The use of numerals is disappearing and many people knowomly the first five digits which take concord prefixes. In towns, English is widely spoken and since it is the official language of Zambia, it is used for Government agencies and departments. As soon as they leave their Job, people speak their own language. Zambian languages are being given more importance with more radio stations and T.V. programmes. People desire to hear and use what they call 'good' Bemba, with the right expressions and exact words; they complain about the way the young generation disfigures Bemba with many foreign words mainly from English. Bem- ba is spoken and understood by about 40 % of the population of Zam- bia. Whatever is said about different 'dialects' of Bemba, people speaking some form of Bemba will be understood everywhere, and most people will know two or three different words for the same concept or object. Bemba is certainly no more diverse than French in the different regions of France. 0n the next page, I give a few examples of the differences between what I call Bemba of Bembaland and some other local vap rieties, mostly Bisa, Gina Nghumbo and CAushi; many of these words are understood everywhere except in Bembaland prOper, that is the Lubemba of Chitimukulu. cinshi?. finshi? na ins ins; iwe lisabi limo limo VERBAL EXPRESSIONS: 19 nindo? findo? nandibo nebo; webo lisabi linono Bemba of Bembaland. Others. ’ English Translation. mulume mwata husband hwato bwanJe boat; canoe lukasu luse hoe kalundwe tute cassava; manioc nyanJe mataba maize; corn fikansa fitala troubles; noises; arguments mpanga conde forest matamba maba waves ADJEOTIVES AND PRONOUNS: nshi? ndo? nindo? what? which? ifwe bonse fwense all of us ni pi? ni kwi? pesa? kwisa? where? mpanga yonse monse everywhere what? what's the matter? me too I; you a little fish nshiishibe ntaishiba, nte- I don't know ishibile nshifwaya ntafwaya I don't want kukanabomba kutabomba not to work pembelako panono leka ngale wait a little twali natupwa tulipwile we Just finished muntu ushibomba muntu utabomba a man who does not work ndeya ndekuya I am going tuleya tukoya we are going ndebomba nkobomba I am working ‘ 9 Others that is mainly Rise and the people around lake Bangweulu. Some of those words and expressions are used or understood in the Lwapula valley. 20 It might be useful to point out that it is very difficult in- deed to trace the origin of certain words and expressions in order to discover which group has influenced which other group. For ins- tance, Cunnison says that the word ggpg,(Cibemba = kalundwe; maize) is of Lunda origin, and that it is widely used in the Lwapula valley (1967:16). How could he explain that the same word is used by the Nghumbo, Unga, Kabende, Ushi and many Bisa who are of Luba descent and not at all Lunda? Moreover, it is more or less accepted that even the Lunda of Kazembe were 'lubaised' during their migrations, because their royal praises and songs are not in Lunda but in Luba (Chiwala 1962). Before it can be stated where one word like §g§g_ (maize) comes from, and of course many others, many more studies and comparisons will be required. The proverb icalo: te ca kwikila meno luse (the country is not to fix the teeth into as a handle to a hoe; no. 249), uses the word lggg,which is the word for 'hoe' used by the Bisa, Ushi, Nghumbo and Kabende, but not by the Bemba of Chitimukulu who use lukasu for hos; lugg,means mercy for everybody. This does not prove that this proverb is, for instance, of Kabende origin; it may be that some words seem to be more ancient and have not followed the changes and develOpments which occurred in Bemba as spoken in Lubemba of the Chitimukulu. To sum up, there are several groups among Bemba speakers where Various social and political systems can be found, slightly different economies and, in some cases, varieties of words, expressions, tenses and tonality, which allow for diversities in people sharing the same language and many traditions. There are signs that a kind of inter-group Bemba, strongly in- fluenced by Copperbelt Bemba, is spreading, especially in schools and businesses as well as on the radio; it might become a fairly uniform language, a semi-national Bemba, in the years to come. C. U. W in. d‘ AV \ee c. Orality (Oral Literature) The term orality is substituted for oral literature as a better word to describe the verbal arts. "The term 'literature', presup- posing the use of letters, assumes that verbal works of the imagina- tion are transmitted by means of writing and reading. The eXpres- sion 'oral literature' is obviously a contradition in terms" (Levin in Lord 1960 :zLii). Orality would comprise all the different modes of verbal communication transmitted vocally and receive aurally, mythical, historical, moral, mystical or practical in content, in verse or prose forms, sanctioned by the community, and handed down with or without adaptation and change from one generation to the next or accepted as new compositions. (Cf. Vansina 1971:1944). a. Importance "In the beginning was 'the Word'" (John 1:1). 'The Word' in the Gospel according to Saint John refers to the wisdom of God which ousted at the beginning of time. For Vansina (1971:442), that ex- pression means that the spoken word is of primordial importance be~ cause of its relation to the gods and their wisdom. The spoken word, used by humans for thousands of years, has not been supplanted by the 'ritten word, despite wonders of transmission of the latter. Even in actual usages, the force of the spoken word is not well understood. The power and influence of speeches of leaders like Hitler, Mussolini, de Gaulle and President Kennedy are not satisfactorily explained. The famous 'Ich bin sin Berliner' in front of the crowds could not have been replaced by a telegramme. Saying that these people un- derstood mass movements and reactions does not explain the mechanisms Of the power of the spoken word. Political campaigns are not waged Primarily by written materials. Studies on oral communication and arts have not fully analysed the elements which form the cognitive, emotional and artistic aspects of the spoken word and the relation- ships between the transmitter, the medium and the receptor. About 22 this shortcoming, the EncyclOpaedia Britannica says that "in short, at present, a communication expert is likely to be oriented to any of a number of disciplines in a field of inquiry that has, as yet, neither drawn for itself a conclusive roster of subject matter nor agreed upon specific methodologies of analysis" (heyclopaedia Britannica 4 197‘31005)e In the Western world, it is only recently that the written word has taken precedence over the spoken word; for instance, a written document will have more legal force than a spoken declaration which must be supported by some written document or a signature. Testimonies, declarations and even confessions must be made on some written documents like the Bible which is supposedly the word of God in the first place. In many societies of Africa, even though the legal attitudes and proce- dures of the West are slowly being adopted, the spoken word is still Primordial in court cases, official declarations and in public and pri- vate affirmations. In Zambia, many can read and write but few have access to written materials. find books and news-papers, but the importance of oral communications and proclamations at public meetings, official gatherings and ordinary Many Zambians love to read when they can °°nversations has not diminished and remains of primary importance. 1" Description and Components Orality is a form of comunication using spoken words; the trans- mitter is the human vocal apparatus in conjunction with the whole body; “1° receiver is first and foremost the ear, with the eyes playing a sec- 021:1eg role. It is not a series of gestures or a mime, although there 18 lll:|.xne in orality. Marcel Marceaux's act is not orality, but orality 0‘?th uses some of Marceaux's gestures and facial expressions. It is 11% an actual performance, the transmission of a creation, or the re- .nac tment of a known piece, with spoken words as the basic medium of c on‘m‘unication. It can be a new poem recited for the first time, a well known funeral song with a few adaptations, an old legend or a public a p”¢h. In each case, it is a live» performance, the transmission of a InQasage by a person (persons) using primarily the voice and 23 secondly the body. For Finnegan, the most basic characteristic of orality is the actual performance, "the expressiveness of tone, ges- ture, facial expression, dramatic use of pause and rhythm, the inter- play of passion, dignity, or humour, receptivity to the reactions of the audience" (Finnegan l970:3). The face-to-face confrontation (cf. Finnegan 1970:10), the human physical presence, in an actual exchange of words, is an essential element of orality, while it is not required in written communication. There must always be a listener or an audience whether in a simple conversation or a .rite such as a funeral, partaking of the ideas and emotions of the speaker (s). (Cf. Long 1974:68 and 69). To sum up, the components of orality would comprise the fol- lowing: l. The transmission is verbal using spoken words. 'It excludes technical reproductions in records, cassettes, etc. 2. The message is directly transmitted to an audience present at the moment of transmission. 3. The transmission or delivery is a performance and not simply a repetition, utilising the personal thoughts and emotions expressed in the distinctive characteristics of every human voice and body. 4. The content of the message and its delivery are preserved and 1Ila-:Lmtained by memory for genres already created, and by imagination for new pieces as well as for adaptations, changes and interpre- tations. The memory is the most important faculty for mam] genres °f Orality. (or. Houis 1971:53). 5. The use of the memory should not give the impression that 01-33. performances are repetitive. Even for texts like rituals which ““31: be recited without error, there is always the personal invol- ve'nert and interpretation of the performer. Shakespeare's Hamlet and vgrdi's Simon Boccanegra are always the same play and opera, but there is the distinctive personality of the actors and singers with (111’ 1' arent tones of voices, their movements and gestures, comprehen- 3 1°11 and emphasis, etc. N . P ‘fe 24 c. Different Kinds of Orality Orality assumes different forms according to the recognition by the group of the form and content of the genre, and also ac- cording to the persons(s) transmitting the 'message'; orality can be: 1. oral composition; new stories and songs (for weddings, funerals) are created by talented persons and appreciated by the audience; 2. oral narration; the content is known in its broad outlines and is approved by the group even though there are different versions and personal adaptations, as in historical accounts and legends; 3. oral formula; the content and form are sanctioned and conse- crated with little or no possibility of variation, as in proverbs, rituals, praises. As can be seen, the role of the performer passes from being acrea- tor to a narrator and finally to a simple user, at least in theory. It does not mean that oral formulae are eternal and unchanging; creativity is at work everywhere, and new formulae are produced while older or insignificant ones vanish. It is clear that the hu- man memory plays an eminent role in retaining and transmitting oral genres which contain and preserve social customs and ethical values. ‘People are never simple 'repeaters'; they impart their style and personality; most of the time they are adapters and occasionally creators: "A comparatively large proportion of Bantu, men or women, old or young, are potential creators of literature, a still lar- ger proportion are adapters or declaimers of it, and the lit- erature produced and propagated soon becomes the common pos- session of the people as a whole" (Lestrade 1987:297). Iflsr Houis, orality is not only fixation or tradition; it is actual life represented and renewed: "Il serait donc erroné de croire que la preeminence de la mé- moire implique l'absence de la creativité et d'inspiration. Le travail de la memoirs n'est pas qu'une mise en dépat... D'ail- leurs les thEmes des textes ne sont pas uniquement accrochés an passe; ils ls sont tout autant aux faits de l'actualité et 11 n'est pas exagéré de voir dans les diseurs africains comme les agents d'un immense service d'information. A travers les textes de style oral, c'est toute la vie de la société qui s'exprime. C'est pourquoi nous voyons une restriction de leur champ quand on en fait uniquement l'expression de traditions et d'une histoire passes. Ils sont cela, mais ccazim 3?! see Math the so. 25 aussi beaucoup plus que cel‘a". (Bouis 1971:53). At this point, it is useful to point out what is meant here by tra- dition. d. Orality and Traditionality As with many other discussions, the lack of definitions of words like tradition and derivatives like traditional, tradition- alist and traditionality, may lead to disagreement and incompre- hension of arguments. For some, tradition means repetition, stability, passivity, continuity, even monotony and fossilisation. Traditional societies are seen as being enmeshed in a tranquil determinism made up of su- perstitions, mythologies, unchanging values wrapped in the cloud of the so-called unconscious mind of the group. According to Balandier, marzists consider tradition like a force slowing down development: ”1a tradition y reste vue comme une grands force retardatrice, elle occulte st affaiblit les facteurs de changement. Elle n'est pas roconnue comme pouvant 3tre réactivée, operante et modernisante" (Balandier 1974:175). French sociologists look for the mental ca- tegories of the collective unconscious in which stability is va- lourised: "les permanences et les invariants sont valorisés, et leur assise recherchée dans les categories fondamentales de l'es- Prit, et dans l'inconscient collectif operant touJours en longue durée" (Balandisr 1976:179). Balandier himself understands tradi- tions like the revitalisation of the past: "la place preponderante ac cordée a. la mémorisation et a la transmission orale fait que le Passe est constamment actualisé, et le present interprets dans ls langage de la 'tradition' (Balandier 1974:207). There is no doubt that considering societies in a state of equi—librium and arrest and calling them traditional is a defama- t10n not only of reality but of the word traditional. Tradition- 3111;: does not have to be associated with the negative, the illiter- ate. the under-developed, the pre-technical and so on. It does not 11°¢°Bsarily means antiquated, derelict, passing and 'passé'. In fact, ,. 26 it is opposed to modernity in its foreign aspects. "Il faut manier le terms traditionnel avec prudence car 11 n'a de sens qu'opposé a celui de moderne. Le moderne en l'occurrence est tout ce qui est "imports" de l'Occident depuis la technologie Jusqu‘aux systemes de valeur" (Copans, in Copans and Godelier 1971:165). Traditional means also specific, distinct, personal, true, authentic, valued. When one speaks ofa traditional French Canadian dish, it does not mean stale, old and frozen; on the other hand, it is not a ham- burger. It could be pork and beans, including all that is special for that particular dish, the container, the source of energy, the time of cooking, the ingredients, etc. Morever, that traditional dish is changing: the amount of lard in the pork has diminished and more condiments are used. I do not affirm that the traditional dish is better or worse than a Heinz recipe. What I say is that it Its a traditional dish which has been handed down from generation to generation, while being adapted to suit the changing taste and satisfy the creativity of the cook. Traditional here means par- ticular, authentic and adapted. Moreover, traditional often means non-White, non-European, but local. In Quebec, what is traditional can be French and non-English, 1thile in Guinea it could be 'Guinéen' and non-French. A traditional <1amce in Zambia will mean an African dance, national or local; in Jhmerica, a traditional dance could be a square dance or a fox-trot. ll traditional doctor in Zambia would be one using medicinal herbs Or someone practising incantations to learn from the spirits. A traditional doctor in America would be a general practitioner do:Lng house-calls and offering a diagnosis without blood tests. “firuaditional in those instances does not mean fixed and unchanging, but typical, particular, localised and very often more human by b°1ng nearer to or more concerned with people. Traditionality means different things when used in a society ha“ring more or less one and the same common culture; it is quite Possible then, that tradition will be opposed to modern and will bfi considered as established values of some time past. On the 27 contrary, in multi-cultural societies, traditional will refer to ethnic, specific, special, different from the 'dominant' culture, if there is one. In this study, traditionality means specific, authentic, real, Zambian, African, (or what is belimnd to be so) as opposed to western, White and English. Traditional may be old or new. For instance,the kalela dance of lake Bangweulu is quite recent but is traditional in the sense that it is not European. That dance changes from island to island and is also different in the Copper-belt. Traditional is also related to people, to human presence and personal care as opposed to modern which appears materialistic, technical, productive at what- ever cost. (Cf. Balandier’1969:186-Zl7; 1974:215—263). e. Field work There are no easy methods of studying, recording, explaining and appreciating oral arts as Evans-Pritchard remarked: "He (the anthropologist) learns the language, can say what he wants to say in it, and can understand what he hears; but then he begins to wonder whether he has really understood when he sees how often Azande themselves take it for granted that what is said means something other than what is said, and when he cannot be sure, and even they cannot be sure, whether the words do have a nuance or someone imagines that they do, or wants to think thay they do. One cannot know what is going on in- side a man" (.1956:180). ‘“klthout indulging in the complications of'double talk, evasive ans- "!lrs, comparisons and metaphors, the language of proverbs, rituals, 3LGitgends and myths is often embellished with rare names of animals, ‘ttiards and trees, along with old or borrowed terms used for the ben- 6:11; of rhythm, rhyme and other poetic'reasons. It would normally r°quire several years of language and culture immersion to be ca- pa ble of understanding and transcribing songs, plays, proverbs, etc. 01» course, advances in technology have helped considerably in the collection of oral arts. Tape recorders of any style, and espe- <:::-<3JLly battery operated cassette recorders are very useful and at times indispensable; the voice of the speaker with the intonations, 3"- ‘\ 28 pauses, emphasis along with the vocal reactions of the listener(s), all is there. However, tapes do not capture gestures, facial expres- sions and the mimicry of certain genres. (Cf. Macdonald 1972:417- 420). The observer/anthropologist is a member of the audience living the face-to-face situation, witnessing the reactions of the listeners who approve, disapprove, correct, add, clap hands, laugh, cry in an ambiance which is far more emotional than intellectual. And that is why the reporting is so difficult and incomplete. Studies in verbal arts are reproduced in written texts which may appeal to the intelligence and possibly bring knowledge and some emotional res- ponses. Most verbal arts are meant to interest, motivate, touch and move the listener(s); they are rarely intended to impress him (them)intellectually. It is evident that a written text cannot account for all those subtle suggestions, appeals to sentiments, and at times efforts to arise passions. The text of an oral per- formance is comparable to the libretto of an opera: it reproduces the words, the notes to sing and play and even some indications for :interpretation; but it cannot communicate the human presence and «existence of an actual creative performance. Finally, there will always remain the problem of translations ‘Imich.may limit the proper intellectual transmission and comprehen- sion of the message, even if the translator is no traitor: "Traditions should be recorded in the language in which they were transmitted... In a translation the linguistic "markers", the exact shadings or nuances, the multiple meanings of the original narration, the whole literary climate of the perfor- mance is lost. With that loss, the impact of the language on the content of the tradition will remain largely undetected" (vansina 1971:452). vansina (1971:452) gives, as an example, the translation of the title of a well-known book: La pensée sauvage, translated into English as ~2E2;3_§gzggg_§ig§, vansina does not suggest any better translation. .VI‘ensée' in French means a thought as well as the active faculty ‘3'1? thinking; 'sauvage' means savage, but also uncontrolled and tree. A more realistic translation would be The Wild Mind. This 29 exercice will suffice to demonstrate the challenge the translator must face. f. Orality and Anthropologists Some authors have criticised AnthrOpologists for their lack of interest in the studies of orality: "the interest of anthropologists was turned away from the systematic collection or analysis of detailed literary texts and concentrated on generalized theory... The result is that over the last generation or so, practically no collections or analyses of oral literature have been made by British scholars" (Finnegan 1970:37 and 38; cf. Arewa 1971:125). Elsewhere, she faults the authors who cared for content and disregarded the form: "Different as the theories are in other respects, they all share the characteristics of playing down interest in the detailed study of particular oral literatures and, where such forms are not ignored altogether, emphasize the bare outline of content without reference to the more subtle literary and personal qualities. In many cases, the main stress is on the 'trap ditional' and supposed static forms, above all on prose rather than poetry. The detailed and systematic study of oral liter- ature in its social and literary context has thus languished for much of this century" (Finnegan 1970:40). In truth, there are some studies in oral arts and a few good ones about proverbs (Cf. Bascom in Dundee 1965:25-34; Brandes 1974:167- 186; Evans-Pritchard 1956:161-180; 1963: 4-7 and 190-112; Firth 1928: 184-153 and 245-270; 1966:1-17). Dundee (1965), Dorson (1972) and Jacobs (1966) have written excellent articles, but that is not enough 13¢) inspire students for more research and our knowledge is limited: "Jfislklore still tells almost nothing about the riches in non-Western .lpdsoples'¢nel expressions, available for the asking during a few de- ches to come. It has not begun to translate these treasures so ' ‘tlhuit others can read and understand them. It has shown virtually 11° interest in adding to systematic theory about them " (Jacobs 1966: (’20). What Jacobs forgets to mention, is that before 'systematic “;Jblttten communicated, at least in part, in foreign languages. t1Infortunately, until better methods for studying verbal arts ‘EIZPe found, anthropologists will have to work with specific research- °° which, often, lack general theoretical bases. SUMMARY Orality comprises all forms of oral arts and traditions with mythical, historical, moral, legal and ideological contents presen- ‘1: 9d in several genres, transmitted by word of. mouth in face-to- :- ‘5‘“<=1s situations and which may be new creations, adaptations or 31 thematically fixed versions transmitted from generation to generation. The main elements are the re-enactment or creation of the actual performance, the reactions of the audience, the role of the human me- mory and the voice-ear-eyes complex. It is difficult to report verbal arts in general, because even with good texts, translations and explanations, the total performance with the gestures, mimicry, scenery, reactions of audience, in a word the ambiance, cannot be reproduced. The term traditional means not only well established practices and customs originating in the past, but also local, authentic, spe- cific, ethnic and true as opposed to foreign and imported. The study of orality must deal with aspects of humanity like the roles of emotions and passions, intuition, the capacity to move and motivate, etc., which are not treated easily in social sciences. D. Proverbs and Sayings Some Anthropologists have studied proverbs, but, as admits Evans- Pritchard, far too few in view of the importance of the subject: "Speaking here only of proverbs, one may say that nothing gives one, once their meaning has been understood, a better entry into a people's thought about how things should be and how they are than this pithy way of speech; yet anthrOpologists have in the last decades very largely ignored them in the publication of their researches. This further paper on Zande proverbs is writ- ten partly in the hope that greater attention may be paid to the subject, so that comparative studies may be made and some general conclusions reached" (Evans-Pritchard 1963 b:109; cf. 1964:1). 8Since this dissertation comprises an important section of proverbs, it 51L£3 absolutely necessary to discuss the major problems of definitions, contents, forms, usages, situations, functions, collections and trans- lations which surround the subject. a..- Imprecise Terminology It is easier to recognise a proverb than to define one. Most bgcple can identify a proverb when there is one: "an incommunicable 32 quality tells us this sentence is proverbial and that one is not" Taylor 1962:3). For instance, the English proverb out of sight, out of migd (in French: loin des yeux, loin du occur) is felt as a proverb by most English speaking persons. Expressions like far egg: and forgotten and gone away and lost forever are not proverbs and are not perceived as such. The terminology about proverbs and related forms is vague. The Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines a proverb as "a brief epigrammatic saying that is a popular byword: an oft- repeated pithy and ingeniously turned maxim; 'marry in haste, repent at leisure'". In this definition, three terms, that is, saying, maxim and epigram, are not 'definientia' at all, but near synonymic. Discourse about proverbs will usually mingle several terms indis- criminately: gpigggg: "a terse, sage, or witty often paradoxical saying". "Aphorism; apophthegm". "It is often satirical". ggzigg: "a wise or witty statement attributed to a specific usu. well-known person; a commonly repeated statement; adage, proverb". w: "a general truth, fundamental principle or rule of conduct esp. when expressed in contentious form; a saying of prover- bial nature". M: "a saying typically embodying common experience or observa- tion often in metaphorical form". sggigg: "a preposition, principle, rule, or maxim that has found gen- neral acceptance or is thought worthy thereof whether by vir- tue of a claim to intrinsic merit or on the basis of an appeal to selfbevidence". ~23- horism: "a terse and often ingenious formulation of a truth or sen- timent usu. in a single sentence; a concise statement of a principle". W or amphtneg: "a short, pointed, and instructive saying; a terse aphorism; a short usu. pointedly concise formulation of a truth or precept". 33 sentenge: "a short or pithy saying usu. conveying moral instruction. Axiom, maxim, saw". 33!: "a traditional saying; maxim, proverb". (From Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, 1971). It would seem that an epigram is often paradoxical and satirical; an axiom is a self-evident principle which does not admit discussion; adage, aphorism, apothegn, maxim and sentence are apparently related because of their contents which are practical, juridical, philoso- phical and moral assertions and rules of behaviour. A saw and a saying would be more general expressions. However, in all those terms, the same attributes surface: popular, oft-used, common ex- perience, metaphorical, general acceptance, terse and concise, instructive, sage, paradoxical and witty. The French dictionaries are not more precise; for instance Le Petit Robert (Dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue francaise. 1972) confuses "adage, épigramme, maxime, axiome, sentence, aphorisme, apophtegme, dicton". Only the definition of "proverbs" is somewhat different: "vérité d'expérience, ou conseil de sagesse pratique et populaire commun a tout un groupe social, ex- Prime en une formule elliptique généralement images et figures" (a truth of experience or a piece of advice based on popular and prac- tical wisdom, common to a whole social group, expressed in an ellip- tical form, generally picturesque and figurative). From the preceding definitions or synonymic descriptions, it appears that ‘a proverb has a more precise meaning especially as regards its form which is "ingeniously turned" (Webster's), figur- ative and elliptical. b - Definitions Anthropologists and Folklorists have given definitions and des- criptions of proverbs. Richard Chenevix Trench and Archer Taylor are ta"axially referred to as pioneers and authorities on the subject. Z§~oxich describes a proverb after commenting on the often quoted r». .5, '1’ a4 remarks which-states that "three things go to the making of a proverb, shortness, sense, and salt". Then, he adds that "a proverb should not only be short, but concise; it must have sense; it must be pungent, with a sting in it; the most impor- tant characteristic is popularity, the consent of the people; it must have wisdom, 'the wit of one, and the wisdom of many'; finally, there must be a certain form, with brevity, rhyme and alliteration" (1853:15 and 16). On his part, Taylor who probably wrote the best book on proverbs, :refuses to give a definition stating that "the definition of a prov- erb is too difficult to repay the undertaking; and should we fortu- nately combine in a single definition all the essential elements and give each the proper emphasis, we should not even then have a touch- stone" (1962:3) . As examples, I quote a few of what I consider the best descrip- tions of a proverb. Firth : "A proverb is a concise and expressive, often figurative, saying in common use, which acts as a conveniently formulated means of expression, charged with emotional significance, to indicate and transmit the facts of experience, or to point out by injunc- tion or prohibition an ideal of social conduct and behaviour" (1925:265 and 266). ‘Ehwauns-Pritchard: "I will only say that of the many endeavours to state where are the defining characteristics of the proverb-brevity, wit, conciseness, right feeling, wisdom, concreteness, commonsense, salt, imagination, metaphor, hyperbole, etc.-... the most es- sential common feature of all true proverbs is their popular- ity. Through their acceptance by a whole people they have become a collective expression of that people (although they may be used differently by different individuals in different situas tions)"(1964:l). c>lafiir¢3cidhma: "Proverbs are the kernels which contain the wisdom of the peOple. ‘They are usually philosophical or moral exposition shrunk to a few words and form a mnemonic device in societies in which every- ‘thing worth knowing and relevant to the day to day life of the gpeople has to be committed to memory" (1967:148 and 149). 'L‘alflhqgan: ‘”It is a saying in more or less fixed form marked by 'shortness, sense and salt' and distinguished by the popular acceptance of 35 the truth tersely expressed in it" (1970:393). McKenna: "The proverb can be of interest in itself as a literary work, both for its ideas and its form: novelty, ingeniousness, ar— chaic flavor, paradox, antithesis, hyperbole, parallel struc- ture, balance, concision, ellipsis, allusiveness, alliteration, repetition, geniality, humor, play on words, similes, metaphors, concreteness, rhyme, and various sentence forms are employed to achieve its 'shortness, sense and salt'" (1974:377 and 378). Seitel: "Proverbs as strategic use of metaphor, that is, as manifestap tion in traditional, artistic, and relatively short form of metaphorical reasoning, used in interactional context to serve certain purposes" (1976:125). From these authors it is possible to conclude that proverbs are popular, accepted by the people, made up of commonsense and wisdom, and in a form which is short, figurative and pithy. c. Content and Meanings. From the preceding quotations, it is evident that the content of proverbs is very important. For Firth, "the essential thing about a proverb is its meaning... It is by nature not a literary product; it is a saying of the people, forged by a happy thought, tempered by everyday use in the intimacy of the home or the contact of work or play" (1926:134). Trench acknowledges that the contents of some prove erbs are similar all over the world; but some are made up of "the in- terior history, the manners, the opinions, the beliefs, the customs of the people among whom they have had their course" (1962:36 and 51). Lestrade indicates the wide range of contents "from the most con- crete to the most abstract" and the most philosophical to "the most platitudinous truisms" (1937:293). Dua brings a new dimension to the content of proverbs which would be reflexions on a people's en- ‘Vironment: “Proverbs... sum up in short and pithy sayings the attributes and characteristics of the different aspects of the ecological phenomena that people of a culture have minutely observed in relation to their relevance for their behaviour" (1974:302). 36 The content of proverbs is very important for many authors because it expresses the common-sense and wisdom of a society as well as reflec- tions on the feelings, ideas and ideals of its members. d. Form and Structure Houis raises the question as to which is more important in oral- ity, the content or the form; he pretends that both are irrevocably linked in one existential state: a proverb cannot exist without a certain content and a special form. He goes on explaining that the particular form is essential for memorisation: "La structure rythmée est condition do la mémorisation et de l'au- dition. Nous sommes persuades qu'il s'agit 1a d'un trait fonda- mental a toutes lee cultures qui évoluent dans une civilisation de l'oralité... Le rythme s'inscrit dans une expression sociale ou ordre, répétition, harmonie sont des references constantes du langage et les principes d'énergie des mouvements corporels" (1971:63 and 64). Several writers stress (1) the form: the phonological features in- cluding alliteration, assonance, rhyme and repetition; grammatical constructions like ellipses; figures of speech like metaphors and hyperbole; (2) the balanced structure. 1e Form Dua: "First, the form of proverbs involves such features as rhyme, al- literation, assonance, etc., which have rarely been studied be- yond their stylistic implications in poetry. Secondly, such devices as hyperbole, paradox, irony, etc. which form an essen- tial feature of the metaphorical and suggestive meanings con- veyed by proverbs have neither been studied beyond literature nor have they been adequately treated in semantic theories cur- rently formulated" (1974:300 and 301; of. page 308). Finnegan: "... by similes; by various types of metaphor (often compar- isons with animals or with one particular case suggesting a generalization); and by hyperbole and paradox" (1970:399; cf. Geertz 1973:213 at note 30). 37 "The question, therefore, of the actual style of proverbs appears to demand further research. Whatever the details, however, it is clear that some sort of heightened speech, in one form or another, is commonly used in proverbs; and that this serves to set them apart from ordinary speech" (1970: 403). (or. Firth 1926:263; Dua 1974:301 and cos; Bergsma 1970:152 and 153.). 2. Balanced Structure Another characteristic of proverbs is their structured form which is balanced parallelism. Taylor: "A rhetorical trait which is found in the simplest proverbs, even in those simple aphorisms which do not rise to the digu. gnity of a metaphor, is parallelism of structure with its al- most inevitable accompaniment, contrast. Parallelism and con- trast are found in words, structure, and thought" (1962:143). JFirth: "In general, they are distinguished by their balanced and anti- thetical nature"(1926:263). "This illustrates a typical form of the Maori proverb,-the distich, the two phrases being similar in grammatical form, rhythmically balanced, and presenting a certain antithesis in their meaning" (1926:264).(Cf. Levin 1968:180 and 181). JLbrahams: "It is primarily the pronounced effect of balance that produces the witty effect of the proverb, and this balance arises most notably from a binary (two-part) composition. The proverb is generally a sentence that is perceptibly broken in the middle" (197231”) e Biilner: "I want to suggest that the most important characteristic of a traditional saying is the symmetrical structure of its form and content... In its most typical (though not necessarily its statistically most common) forms-a traditional saying consists of a statement in four parts... The four quarters of a saying are grouped in two "halves" (major segments) which match and balance each other, and are selfbcontained" (1969:199 and 200). Iirom these quotations, it is evident that several writers consider the form and structural balance of proverbs as being another ex- tremely important characteristic. 38 e. Personal Definition The lack of precision in defining proverbs and related terms engenders confusion: "Why do we have so many terms, with so much overlap and imprecise definition: dictum, adage, saying, slogan, motto, maxim, idiom, precept, parable, epigram, aphorism, apothegm, allegory“ (Milner 1969:199)? A definition, in providing for a clearer terminology, will elucidate the problem, especially if it accounts for the main characteristics of proverbs. The core of the question lies in the relationships between content and form. If some proverbs are witty and philosOphical (gems, others are ordinary comments which could have been said in :Ln any friendly conversation. It is probable that profound asser- 'tions are exchanged in daily conversation, and they will not be- «some proverbial expressions. Whether plain observations, wise Icemarks or thoughts of wisdom, they must be accepted by the come munity before being turned into proverbs. Before being received and popularised, they must be noticed, remembered and repeated, due to a happy alliance between content and form. As a rule, the content is opportune and pertinent and expressed in figures of speech like metaphors and hyperbole to attract attention; the Special form is then achieved by phonological features such as al- Jaiteration, assonance, rhymes and correlatives; the structure comes from two or more segments Which are in balanced symmetry. Milner 13111111“ that the particular structure of proverbs may "throw new light on the deep structure of the mind... It has long been known from the writings of Jung that quadripartite structures are of spe- cidtl interest for the study of the deep structure of the mind" (1969: 199 and 202; cf. Time, March 14, 1969, Language). Before delving 1tho the unconscious, the deep structure and the universality of the human mind, it would seem easier to study the qualities of the human ear and the universality of human rhythm. In many soci- ‘ties, the information needed for the continued enstence of the Eroup had to be entrusted to memory directly. Mnemotechnic devices 39 from the relationships of certain sounds co-ordinated in some kind of symmetry or balance exist throughout the world and are found in nursery rhymes, children's songs, fables, catechisms, political slo- gans, etc. What those mnemotechnic devices have in common is a certain rhythm (particular to each language) which comes from the ordering and value of the sounds making their emission appear easy, and their reception in the human ear for memorisation effortless. For instance, the expression out of sight, out of mind is made up of two equal parts of three syllables each and beginning by the same correlative 'out of'. Considering 'out of' as one word, the quadripartite elements are balanced in a dual pattern, to use Mil- ner's terminology. The saying absence makes the heart grow fender lacks the balanced harmony and other phonological features to be 'catchy' and easily memorised. The proverb a stich in time saves nine is a bi-partite statement which acquires its form no“ rhyme and an assonance; saying a stitch in time saves eight would not change the meaning but would destroy the rhyme. Proverbs like all is well that ends well and there's many a slip between cup and lip are built in a balance symmetry and often with assonance. In summary, it can be said that: 1. the importance of the content and meanings of proverbial expres- sions can vary considerably from the matter-of-fact to the profound; many societies use similar ideas and feelings and the differences stem from their particular environment, history, social organisa- tions, economic and political conditions, etc.; 2. the content is enveloped in metaphors, hyperbole, alliteration, rhymes and parallelism of structure; a. many societies need to memorize what is said and nothing seems more appropriate and more efficient than mnemonic devices made up of a special rhythm and value of sounds along with a balanced struc- ture; I». it might be useful to distinguish most proverbial expressions according to sounds and contents; a proverb would be a structured and balanced statement, a sentence would be a dogmatic or literary 40 thought, and a maxim a moral rule, etc. Some more confusion comes from the fact that many sayings in western societies are literary gems not really suited for memorisation but appreciated and popular- .ised for their wisdom, paradox or satire. I define a proverb as - a concise statement (comment, assertion, obser- vation) - about some moral, philosophical, common-sensical, emotional fact (situation, idea, feeling) - having some general or specific value for the people who have accepted and popularised it - and tending to be arranged in a certain form of harmony of sounds and balanced symmetry which serves as mnemonic devices and makes the statement immediately perceived as a communal expression and not a personal phrase. f. Creation, Acceptance, Re-creation Because proverbial expressions appear as in a state of complete- ness, it is difficult to discover their origins. There is no doubt that in a moment in time, one individual coined the expression, or a part of it which could be expanded or shortened, corrected, im- proved upon, repeated again and again, before being accepted by members of the group as a common phrase. The theory of communal mind or group authorship cannot be proved. At the beginning of a proverb there is a person who verbalises a happy sentence which strikes the audience as remarkable and will be repeated as such or with corrections or variations. (Cf. Taylor 1962:35). The idea of the communal authorship is rejected by Finnegan as a stratagem of the early evolutionist and diffusionist schools of Anthropology; those non-literate and 'unlike-ours' societies lacked individually inspired artists and innovators; there was no originality and lit- tle creation, since everything was "communal" as in some revealed forms. (Cf. Finnegan 1970:35 and 36). Proverbs were invented by 41 individuals who may have been talented artists, singers or 'recitors' or simply good talkers, but certainly not proverb-makers. People do not go around with the intention of formulating proverbs. They are coined unvoluntarily or by chance, possibly after some reflexion. Still, these expressions must be accepted by the group which must adopt them as special utterances repeated often and then transmit- ted to the next generation. (Cf. Trench 1853:16; Evans-Pritchard 196631; Firth 1926:263). Saying a proverb is not only repeating a proverb; it is a re- creation, that is the resorbence and assumption for one's purpose of a fortunate expression which happens to suit the circumstances and accommodates the intentions of the speaker, or; as Bouis says: "A vrai dire, de tels textes sont bien au-dela de la mesure des traditions. Ils les englobent st 1es dépassent, car, meme lore- qu'ils sont une reference stricte au passé, chaque nouvelle pro- fération est en quelque sorts une re-recréation... Qu'ils n'aient plus ou peu de credit n'enleve d'ailleurs rien a la richesse de leur témoignage et Justifie au contraire qu'on se hate de les fixer" (1971:68). (Cf. Trench 1853:22). Moreover, in spite of the progress of writing and the fact that it is not necessary to entrust to memory customs and rules, new pro- verbial expressions are constantly being made either under the form of proverb strictly speaking or under the form of popular sentences. Taylor gives several examples,from the English language, of newly created expressions "to show how erroneous is Tyler's notion (Cf. Primitive Culture, I, ch. III, 89-90) that the age of proverb- making is past" (Taylor 1962:11). In fact, "folklore has been, is, and will continue to be a dynamic aspect of African cultures" (Fer- .nandez 1962:4). Orality, as a technique of communication, has lost (Stound to writing, but continues to exist in many societies, and ltight even flourish in others through new electronic techniques lasing the voice, ear and eye complex. (Cf. Lestrade 1937:297; Tay- lor 1962:151; Houis 1971:48 and 53). 42 g. Situations and Circumstances. Usages- When are proverbs used, or what are the circumstances surround- ding the use of proverbs? Some authors maintain that proverbs are used in particular situations which must be described as accurately as possible. Others believe that: proverbs may be used by so many people and in so many different cases, that it would be impossible to report on them all. Arewa and Dundee (1964:70-73) argue that Anthropologists should not only collect and translate proverbs, but should describe the con- text, situations and other important details surrounding their use. For Seitel (1976:128 to 132), all the relevant circumstances must be noted, because the essential element in a proverb is its meaning. All the circumstantial features must be portrayed, the age, social status, sex, intention, and of course types of occasion, ceremonial, formal reception of visitors, village meeting, informal discussion, etc. dees, according to Seitel, three kinds of situations should be reported: (1) interaction situation (person, group, status, sex, etc.); (2) the proverb situation (what word or words brought up that proverb); (3) the context situation (what was the subject of discus- sion). There must also be 'correlation', that is "the manner in which the speaker 'matches up' the terms in the proverb with the people in the context situation and possibly in the interaction situation" (1976:1313 cf. also pages 123 to 134; Firth 1926:137). All these authors assume that the essential characteristic of proverb is its meaning, the content and message. How would situa. tions alter the message? Because they would be application or ex- tension of the meaning? This seems very hard to defend. For ins- tance, we can examine the Bemba proverb tuli samfwefl tumenena ukubola (we are little mush-rooms; we grow to rot; no. 504); I lmeard it said by women and men, young and old, in places like fu- nerals, beer halls, school meetings, over a putrefied wound, etc. qflhe fact that a proverb is used by a certain person in such a si- tuation does not make that proverb different than it was before 43 twith a meaning that it did not possess antecedently. In other veords, the actual usage of a proverb is not a determinant of its Ixignificance. The proverb precedes the usage as an entity and :Lts meaning is adapted to many different situations,which only demonstrates its vast possibility. It is possible to notice xiew situations in which a proverb is used and this will expand :Lts meanings, but circumstances of persons, times, places and oc- casions will not essentially affect its general meaning. The us- age of proverbs depenamore on the imagination of speakers than on any circumstance. In fact, it is absolutely impossible to start imagining all the circumstances in which proverbs can 'be used as confirmed by Finnegan: "we can, then, sum up the various ways in which proverbs are used in African societies by saying that they really occur on all occasions when language is used for communication either as art or as a tool, i.e. on every sort of occasion imaginable" (1970:418). Cf. Evans-Pritchard 1956:166). In fact, the uses of proverbs seem limitless: "in spite of the ‘tremendous number of texts that have been assembled, we still know ILittle of why and how people use proverbs, or anything of the range <>f social uses and cultural situations in which they are encoun- tered" (Abrahams 1972:119). As can be noted in the quotations which :tollow, proverbs are seen as efficient tools of social control, capable of removing the hidden tension between individuals, for solving social conflicts, for face saving, etc. Bascom: "Because of the high regard in which they are held, and because ,they are considered especially appropriate to adult life, Afri- can proverbs are highly effective instruments of social con- trol. Because they express the morals and ethics of a society, they are convenient standards for appraising behaviour in terms of the approved norms. And because they are pungently, sen- tentiously and wittily stated, they are ideally suited for com- menting on the behaviour of others. Proverbs are used to express social approval and disapproval, praise for those who conform to accepted social conventions and criticism or ridicule for those who deviate; warning, defiance or derision of a rival or enemy, and advice, counsel or warning to a friend when either 44 contemplates action which may lead to social friction, open hostilities or direct punishment by society" (1965c:471; same quotation in 1965c:295). Issrgsma: "Proverbs are employed in a variety of situations: to control activities without the use of force, as devices for shaming, for getting out of a difficult situation without losing face, as a means of praise, in prophetic utterances, and as general explanations for that sphere of Tiv environment which is beyond comprehension, especially illness or 'acts of God'"(l970:151). Messenger: "Proverbs... are used in all manner of situations-as a means of amusement, in educating the young, to sanction institu- tionalized behavior, as a method of gaining favor in court, in performing religious rituals and association ceremonies, and to give point and add color to ordinary conversation" (1965: 299). (Cf. also Finnegan 1970:412 and 418; McKenna 1974:384; Seitel 1976:132 and 133). In general, proverbs are used to make a point, recall a norm, terminate a discussion, influence people, impress listeners and bring interest to the discussion. Positively, they are used as gen- eral statements, fer praise, encouragement, advice, counsel and warning. Negatively, they are utilised to ridicule, shame and condemn, as camouflage, save-face, as a way of hiding behind the group and simply when one does not know what to say. Using proverbs can be a form of amusement, a verbal game between two or more peo- ple. This can happen around a calabash of beer, at meetings, during a meal; a person will cite a proverb which will be answered by another proverb of similar or opposite meaning, and from then on, the conversation will become a tissue of proverbs as well as a per- formance in which speakers try to upstage one another. Finally, proverbs are also used for their poetic value: "The thesis I would like to develop is that native speakers are sensitive to the poetic value of proverbs whether or not these contain a moral truth. Further, the varied emotional and intellectual reactions shown by native speakers to proverbs are conditioned more evidently by the aesthetic value of these proverbs-the quality of the imagery and of the wit-than by their moral content or truth value" (Baodi 1972:185; cf. ‘Finnegan 1970:418). 45 It can be asked, how proverbs do all those things? Even though there is no complete answer to that question, it can be suggested that proverbs, being stereotyped expressions, carry with them to power of words as in ritualistic formulae. There is the same aura of author- ity which comes from the words themselves which, of necessity, must be pronounced correctly to carry automatic results. Of course, if a person forgets or mispronounces a syllable or a word, the re- sult is annulled, and ridicule or laughter may ensue. A second reason is the ambivalence of proverbs towards the individual and collective, personal and impersonal, and the 'parole' and 'langue'. Proverbs are both personal and impersonal assuming "a personal cir- cumstance and embodying it in impersonal and witty form" (Abrahams .1972:1l9). Abrahams explains further: "Proverbs work, in other words, because they seem to embody the wisdom of the past. 'Seem' is emphasized because it is the appear- ance of collective wisdom that is the most important of the per- suasive characteristics of proverbs. Proverbs work because they make the problem seem less personal, by showing that situations like this have occurred before. This impersonalization is achieved not only by the casting of the description in witty and traditional terms, but by using what seems to be an objec- tive frame of reference" (1972:122). It is a personal utterance when the words coming to mind are so si- milar to those of the proverb that the speaker has the impression that he could have coined the proverb. In that case, proverbs are 'parole'. When a proverb is used to make a general comment, con- demn someone in the name of the group or get out of an impasse, it is impersonal and would belong to that aspect of language called '1angue'. These two general reasons, that is the power of stereotyped and exact formulae and also the possibility of expressing the personal as well as the collective would help explain, to a certain extent, the numerous uses of proverbs. P“ 46 h. Functions of Proverbs As mentioned earlier, it is probable to imagine remarks, com- ments, observations, and reflexions said in the middle of conver- sation which are witty, profound and accurate but which are not preserved by the listeners because, among several possible reasons, these sentences lack the proper form which would make them catchy and more easily transmitted. We don't know why proverbs are made and accepted in a certain society: "Why did the Incas, the Mayans and nearly all the Indian tribes of North America produce such a meager crop of proverbs, when the Spaniards, the Samoans, the Arabs and the Chinese were minting them by the thousands? (Time, Harch l4, 1969:Language). Societies have different oral genres and while some Amerindians were composing thousands of legends, Africans of many societies were producing fables and proverbs. It is not contended that societies which have few proverbial expressions will be dis- advantaged in any way; they will have other institutions to per- form the same and similar roles. Here are some of the roles of proverbs: l. The formulation of the group's norms and common values. A society which possesses hundreds or even thousands of provh erbs has at its disposal a wealth of statements which have been received and popularised as true beliefs, correct practices, exact observations and appropriate comments. That society has given it- self information and direction which can operate at every level of social interaction, from conversation to court of Justice. In that capacity, proverbs are also a source of social control and cohesion. (Cf. Bascom 1965b:295) 2. To educate and instill cultural values. There is no better way to transmit precepts and practices than proverbs which may be used forcefully or casually and with an ap- proved terminolcg as Dua explains: "In the study of the function of the proverbs, the educational value seems to be obviously striking. As the proverbs express 42 conventionally acceptable and culturally appropriate truths about human nature, man's relation to man and environment, they may be used for the purposes of instruction, guidance, and reg- ulation of the conduct of Life" (Kua 1974:310; cf. Bascom 1965c:470; Firth 1926:254). 3. To influence people. People who use proverbs appear knowledgeable and in control of the situation, probably because of "the sense of verbal stability that seems to be transferred to the social situation that is being named and commented upon by the proverb" (Abrahams 1972:121). Nobody can be entirely indifferent to a proverb; a proverb says what 'all the ‘people are thinking or supposed to think'; so the proverb user has the community with him or her. The only way of answering a proverb is ‘by quoting another proverb which contradicts the first one, emphasi- ases another out-look or changes the issue. It is possible to mani- jpulate situations by using proverbs which can terminate a heated.ar- gument. Any 'decent' public speaker will use a few proverbs, not <>n1y to interest and convince people, but also to demonstrate knowledge and credibility. Peeple will say: "that person knows". 4. When nothing better can be said. In many cases, a proverb will work better than the speaker's own words and may help in getting out of a delicate predicament. IProverbs might not even be totally to the point, but since they have such wide range of meanings, listeners will be wary in case they have missed something and do not wish to contradict the whole com- munity. 5. Using proverbs sounds good and makes one feel good. Quite often, the person who has Just used a proverb will smile, nod, make some facial expressions of contentment. It may be the feeling of having remembered an eXpresseion learned or heard some time ago, or the pleasant sounds of the words. The listeners will also react by nodding their agreement and showing pleasure. Proverbs bring charm, satisfaction and enjoyment. They release tension and even when directed against someone, they do not cause anger but 48 acquiescence if not compliance. Baodi claims that using proverbs is also a poetic display: "Yet a speaker often selects a particular proverb or striking metaphor because he wishes to embellish or elevate his message with a poetic dimension, or demonstrate to his opponent his superior sophistication, education, eloquence, or sensitivity in the use of his language (1972:183). Bascom summarises some of the important functions of oral arts: "In addition to the obvious function of entertainment or amu- sement, folklore serves to sanction the established beliefs, attitudes, and institutions, both sacred and secular, and it plays a vital role in education in non-literate societies... In addition to its role in transmitting culture from one gener- ation to another, and to providing ready rationalizations when beliefs or attitudes are called into question, folklore is used in some societies to apply social pressure to those who would deviate from the accepted norms" (1965a:33). 1. Collection and Translation. Gray, in his article on NyanJa proverbs, warned that: "The collecting of proverbs, however, presents some difficulty. The ideal way therefore-though it is a very slow oneu-is to be constantly on the alert for their cropping up in the course of ordinary conversation, when the circumstances in which they are used can also be noted" (1944:101). In fact, there are no precise performance during which proverbs are recited, like songs and prayers for funerals, initiation rites and other rituals, like fables and myths. Proverbs 'emerge' often when least expected. It is also more difficult to 'corner' specialists in proverbs than other artists, because the fictionalization of provb erbs, as opposed to initiation songs, prayers and legends, is nearly impossible. People cannot enumerate proverbs at will or on command; they need a conversation, a topic, some occasion. All they can do is explain, give interpretations, and probably quote a few related proverbs. The "to be constantly on the alert" of Gray is easier said than done, especially if time is a factor, because weeks can pass by without hearing one proverb. Proverbs collectors and experts usually have to spend years with the same people to have as many chances 49 as possible to be in proverb situations, become familiarised with proverb contexts and be acknowledged as interested in proverbs. Bem- ba speakers either will no use proverbs because they know that most Whites do not understand them, or they will use lots of proverbs so that Whites will not understand at all. Native speakers are usually willing to repeat an expression and explain it in detail, which allows the observers to write down useful notes for further reference. Once a few hundred proverbs have been accumulated, the problem of classification will arise. It is feasible to list a few dozen proverbs and describe the diverse situations and circumstances of their use. But as the list expands, some order is needed. Proverbs could be grouped according to their form or their bi- or tri-par- tite structure. They could also be categorised according to func- tions, concepts and usages. Firth proposes a classification by functions: first, the general aspects of life, religious, social, moral and economic; second, sub-divisions of these main titles; social life would comprise kinship, war, games, etc.; finally, these sub-divisions are again dissected. Most classifications hinge upon the generic components of a cultural system, from material adaptap tion to supernatural institutions, with the ever-present danger of forcing meanings upon a few proverbs to make them agree to the pre- determined categories (Firth 1926:269-270). An accurate translation I111 reduce the risk of debatable grouping by rendering the meaning as affected by and rooted in local conditions; there is, of course, no adequate manner to reproduce the meaning and feeling transmitted ‘through assonance, alliteration and figures of Speech and no exp Planation will convey that sensation. The mere comprehension of the content needs attention and study; for instance, one must know a «little history, mythology and religion to appreciate that one does net take "coals to New Castle", "owls to Athens" and "Indulgences 1”-0 Rome". The exact translation would not suffice in these cases, and explanations will be necessary; the local circumstances convey the meaning. Proverbs and sayings from various languages may be SO expressed so differently that it is difficult to realise that the same ideas are conveyed; the proverb once bitten, twice sh; is also expressed as a scalded dog fears cold water; in French, it is chat échaudé craint l'eau froide (a scalded cat fears cold water) and in Italian it is cui serpe mozzica, lucerta teme (he who has been bitten by a serpent fears a lizard). There is lit- tle difference between the English and French versions,but the Italian formulation may confuse people who have never seen ser- pents and lizards. It is usually impossible to communicate the form of a proverb in a translation, like the assonance "chat échau- d6" of the French proverb cited above. But the important meaning(s) can be provided to make proverbs understandable, by giving expla- nations of words, practices and beliefs. If the word ngoshe (p1. banggshe) is used (cf. proverb 350), it is correct to trans— late it by 'black mamba' and proceed to explain that it is an ex- tremely dangerous and often deadly snake believed to be solitary,self- re-productive, and living in or around ant-hills. The feeling of'fear experienced by most Zambians is not communicable, but the general meaning will be conveyed to make the proverb compre- hensible. (Cf. Trench 1853:51-59; Taylor 1962:43; Vansina 1971: 452). EHIHHARY 1«» The terminology used to define proverbial expressions, sayings, aPhorisms and other similar terms is uncertain. In this disser- tation, I-will use two words, proverb and saying; a proverb would have a more distinctive structure as explained later (cf. p. 51); 3%g includes other proverbial expressions. 2° The content of proverbs comprises witty, wise, matter-of-fact °°naiderations, observations and pieces of advice related to the experience of the group and based on its ideal norms. 51 3. Proverbs are composed in a typical form which is concise, 'catchy' and often framed in a certain balanced structure to fa- cilitate enunciation and memorisation. 4. Proverbs are accepted, popularised and made into sanctioned statements. 5. Proverbs are used for enjoyment, educative purposes, social control; they condemn, praise, encourage, recall a rule or a prac- tice, or simply state the right conduct. They are used in daily conversation, at political and religious gatherings, in courts, in fact, everywhere people talk. 6. Proverbs express important statements about the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and customs of a group, and for that reason, they are constructed in a special language made easier for retention and transmission. Moreover, in a society where accusations are pros- cribed, where insults are extremely grave, where harsh talkers are called witches, approved sayings, by eliminating personal respon- sibility, fulfil a role of direction and control that individuals could never assume. It may not be possible 'to throw the book at someone', but it is rather easy to state the rule, to judge and condemn by quoting a proverb. At times, the saying will be pre- ceded by the expression mu Cibemba, balesosa (in Bemba, it is said). For example, a Bemba person may not be able to criticize an adulterer Openly in his or hr own words; but it is possible to affirm: ubucende mafi: tupésa ukutali (adultery is shit: we throw it far away; no. 110), which is quite clear. Proverbs are employed as commentators and controllers, checking, praising, encouraging and making observations in a form which makes them easily memorised and transmitted. 52 j. Proverbs in Bemba The word for proverb in Bemba is lipinda (pl. mapinda) and agrees with the definition given above (p. 40): it is a concise statement, about some moral, philosophical, common-sensical or emotional issue, having general and specific value for the Bemba who have ratified it; it tends to be arranged in a certain form of harmony of sounds and balanced symmetry; the form serves as a mnemonic device and enables the statement to be immediately per- ceived as a communal eXpression and not a personal phrase. The word nsoselo would indicate a proverbial expression lacking the form and structure, or at least not modeled after the bi-partite symmetry. The differences between mapinda (proverbs) and nsoselo (sayings) would not come from their meaning and content, but from their forms. A Bemba proverb would be made up of two parts of equal or unequal length; quite often, only the first part is said, while the rest is either completedfiby the interlocutor(s) or implied. The following expressions would be mapinda (proverbs): - Isembe talitwa: icitwa mutima (the hoe is not sharp; what is sharp is the heart; no. 392). - Cikolwe ne ngale: cikolwe ne milandu (ancestor with the plumes; ancestor with the cases; no. 360). On the other hand, a nsoselo (saying) would not have a special struc- ture or the bi-partite balance: - Umulandu taubola (a case does not rot; no. 183). - Umuléle ulashisha méno (laziness reddens the teeth; no. 275). The people questioned about the structural distinction between mapinda and nsoselo did not formulate that difference theoretically; but they thought it made sense. The transcription of the Bemba language poses a few difficulties. First, the consonant‘[9‘/, a voiced velar nasal (Kakoshi 1967:7), des- cribed as g or 355’ and found in words line inghwena (crocodile), will be transcribed here as 252 or £555; it is not very satisfac- tory, but practical since it can be written on any typewriter. 53 Secondly, there is the problem of long and short vowels (Kakoshi 1968:13—17; Sims 1959:11 and 12). Most books written in Bemba do not indicate the length of vowels because Bemba speakers and readers know and feel the differences. A practice which is spreading mostly in language books is to write the same vowel twice when it is long, as in ukupeepg (to smoke) to distinguish it from ukupepg (to adore). In the White Fathers' Bemba English Dictionary, the French circump flex accent (‘) is used on long vowels. In Sims's grammar, a dash is used over the long vowel as in ukupspa (to smoke). There is no doubt that writing the vowel twice is confusing; if it makes sense to write amaano (brains) because it comes from agg,+ 223, it is misleading to write tukeesha when it is made up of 32,+ kg_+ esha. The expression parkargp£3§,umulandu which is pronounced tuk8mfw6 mulandu could hardly be written as tukoomfwoo mulandu. Should a long vocoid be analysed and written as a long vowel, with some so- cent.or as a sequence of identical vowels,or with a mixing of dif- ferent vowels? In this dissertation, double vowels will be trans- cribed with the French circumflex accent (‘) on top of the long vocoid, (1) when the long vowel alters the meaning of the words, and (2) in contractions. Long vowels will not be indicated in cases of elisions between words which are very irregular and depend on the delivery of the sentence, special effects, etc. Finally, there is the question of tones in Bemba: "In Chibemba many words are distinguished from each other by tone, but this is a real difficulty which so far no European has completely mas- tered" (Lammond 1957:4). Kakoshi who is Zambian concurs: "Due to the limited nature of the data and consequently the type of frames used in this study, the following statements relating to the pitch contrasts in Bemba are only tentative, pending a more detailed investigation of this aspect of the phonology of the language" (1968:9 and 10). The relations between different pitches in Bemba words have been studied also by Sharman and Meeussen (1955, 1956) and by Oger (1963). They examine the problem of tone with its pitches or levels low, middle and high. However, none of their findings and assertions 54 are absolutely sure for one area and still less for other regions. For instance, Oger claims that the tone of verbs starts with the preposition uk2.(to) which is used for every verb; the 353, is the infinitive concord or prefix for every verb. How this con- cord could be different in pitches from one gkg_to the next, un- less it accounts for the melody or tonality of the whole phrase is difficult to accept. Oger (1963:21) uses the verbs gkpiimpg ukwimba (to dig and to sing) as examples and ukwimba with pitches low - mid - mid would be 'to dig’; while having; with pitches high - mid - low would mean'to sing& I disagree and think that the only difference is between the 22; the pg,of 'to dig' is on a lower pitch, and the pg of 'to sing' is on a higher pitch. Moreover, as cautions Sims "all natives do not pronounce exactly alike; different districts have different ways of pronouncing; much of the difficulty of writing is on account of the slurring that is heard between two words in rapid speech" (1959:l). Sims could have added a note concerning the variety of tones and pitches according to different styles of speech. Before the length of vowels with the tonality of pitches and stresses can be reproduced accurately, other studies must be pursued. In this thesis, there is no indication of these differences. In this dissertation, the Bemba proverb or saying is given in full and underlined; then, a. there is a word-by-word translation; b. a literal translation is given; c. meanings and explanations are given when deemed necessary; d. some lexical and grammatical explanations are added; e. reference is made to Stephen Mpashi's Icibemba cesu na mane ya ciko as 'SM' and to The White Fathers' Bemba English Dictionary as 'WF' , with the page number and in the case of 'WF', the gggg,where the proverb is to be found. If any of these items is superfluous, it is omitted. 55 E. Ideology Zambian Humanism is regarded as an ideology by Zambians theme selves and observers (Martin 1972:99—112; Pettman 1974:69—75; Mar- tin l972:99-120; Shaw 1976a:15-20; Tordoff 1974:385-399; Kaunda 1967:3, 5; 1968:4; Kandeke 1977:11). It is therefore imperative to try to explain what ideologies are. At the same time, it is diffi- cult to clarify a topic which is bathed in controversy, for the good reason that what is a sound hypothesis or a.verifiable theory for some- one may be seen, by someone else, as another ideology, unfounded and biased. Ideologies are associated with beliefs, credulity and par- tisanship more often than with rationalisations. Few people admit to having ideologies; they are for others. Most people like to think that their lives and actions are enlightened and directed by objective principles while Opponents and neighbours grope in ideolo- gies and prejudices. Still, as Apter points out, scientific theories and empirical discoveries are rare: "It is simply not true that we use terms that have exact empir- ical referents. It is not true that our concepts derive from bundles of events in which the process of abstraction can be made explicit, i.e. from events to classes of events, and from classes to universalized processes. It is not true that our abstractions lead to many discoveries" (1973:viii). At the same time, the study of ideologies cannot be brushed aside as so many elucubrations and mental vagaries unrelated to any reality. On the contrary, as shown by a special issue of the French review L'Homme (Tome XVIII, nos 3—4, 1978), the study of ideologies may help a great deal in a better understanding of society as alluded to by Terray and Béteille: "Car comme Maurice Godelier l'a indiqué a plusieurs reprises, 1e problems de l'idéologie, de son statut et de son r619 dans la totalité sociale, présente dans la conjonctm'e actuelle un caractere etratégique; c'est sur leur aptitude a le réeoudre que eeront jugéee en dernier reesort lee diversee tendances qui s'affrontent au sein de l'anthropologie contemporaine" (Terray 1978:123). 56 "... the preoccupation with ideologies is a characteristic feature of modern times" (Béteille 1978:48). This paragraph presents considerations and reflections on ideol- ogy and related subjects. It is not at all an elaborate study of the problems surrounding ideologies and the literature about them, which is outside the scope of the present investigation. It is not a his- tory or critique of ideologies a la Lichtheim (1967:3-46), nor an at- tempt at a synthesis of the questions connected with the understand- ing and explanations of the mechanisms, processes and operations of the human mind, intelligence and will, in the formulation of ideas and systems of values. The human intelligence is of course at work in every cultural action, but the question of ideology deals with the work of the human mind in creating conceptions, explanations, comprehensions and representations which can be tied to reality as well as transcend it. I have been influenced by the writings of Apter (1964, 1973, 1977), Augé(1978, 1979), Geertz (1973), Godelier (1973, 1974, 1977, 1978a, 1978b), Althusser (1974), Sahlins (1976), Salzman (1978) and Shils (1968); it does not ensue that these au-' there are interpreted correctly here. What follows is a succinct description of ideologies, their functions and their goals. Connate concepts and themes like scientific theory, science, knowledge, ra- tionality, methodology and theory, paradigms and premissse,emotions and intuition are discussed briefly. The conclusion is that all human knowledge is based on faith; although the methodology may differ, all-from scientific doctrine to ideologyh-is molded, in- fluenced and at times determined by current paradigms and actual premisees. In other words: "Culture patterns-religious, philosophical, aesthetic, scien- tific, ideological-are 'programs'; they provide a template or blueprint for the organization of social and psychological pro- cesses, much as genetic systems provide such a template for the organization of organic processes" (Geertz 1973:216). 57 a. Basic Themes So much is written on ideologies, their descriptions, func- tion and necessity, that only what seems relevant to this research is surveyed and quoted here. 1. Descriptions Ideologies are often treated as scientifically irrelevant and unreliable; they are regarded as misleading, deformed, contam- inated, falsified and alienative; they do not explain; they con- vince through anxiety and fear; they flourish on bias and hate (Cf. Geertz 1973:195-199). These qualifyers- are applied to Fascism, Nazism and McCarthyism by those who are not followers of these movements. It is not asserted that Germans, Italians and Americans who were (or are) Nazis, Fascists and McCarthyists were untruthful and dangerous. But, their Opponents will say that these people were blinded by ideas and programmes of action which de- rived from distorted theoretical reasoning. In fact, except for cases of fulgurating evidence and synderesis, most theories and doctrines are seen as incomplete and misleading by some people somewhere. It is also pointed out that the dedicated pursuit of truth is not among the aims of ideologists: "no ideology has even regarded the disciplined pursuit of truthp-by scientific procedures and in the mood characteristic of modern science-as part of its obliga- tions" (Shils 1968:72). Ideologies could be best defined as 'appearancee', the make believe of truth, acceptability and de- sirability: "Touts ideologie systématise (formalise) un ensemble d'illu- sions, de representations mutilées et déformées, qui conser- vent cependant avec le 'réel' (la praxie) un rapport suffisant pour apparaitre vraies, pour s'insérer dans ce réel, pour se vivre. Faute de quoi, il n'y a pas d'idéologie, mais duperie grossiere" (Lefebvre 1974:104). $8 I; all ideologies were to be treated as 'mutilation and deformation', there could hardly be any constructive discussion. (Cf. Béteille 1978:51). Moreover, it cannot be demonstrated that there are evil and deceitful intentions in the presentation of an ideology: "Ce serait donc toujours a d'autres que les representations idéologiques apparaitraient comme telles, c'est-d-dire des in- terprétations fausses mais qui restent méconnuee comme telles. On peut écarter d'emblée l'idée étroite répandue au XVIIIe siicle que la religion n'est que mensonges inventés par des pretree qui n'y ont jamais cru pour tromper 1e bon peuple igno- rant et le soumettre a as domination (Cf. Condorcet)" (Godelier 1978a:l75). (Cf. Edelman 1964:20; 1971:70). Positively, ideologies may be seen as summaries of ideas, ideals, opinions and sentiments, in a word, configurations of thoughts which present a coherent world of values and a convincing and agreeable set of arguments, logically and psychologically acceptable because they promise to fulfil expectations, needs and hepes: "An ideology is that set of ideas and beliefs which seeks to articulate the basic values of a group of people-what they cherish for themselves and for others-—to the distribution of power in society. An ideology is not a systematic theory al- though it has systematic properties and it often strives to be a theory" (Béteille 1978:53). (Cf. Shils 1968:66; Pouillon 1978:? and 10; Gellner 1978:69). For Althusser, ideologies are systems’of representations of nostalgia and hepe which may or may not describe reality: "Una idéologie est un systems (possédant sa logique et sa ri- gueur propres) de representation (images, mythes, idées ou concepts selon 1e cas) doué d'une existence at d'un role his- toriques au sein d'une société donnée... L'idéologie est bien un syetéme de representations; mais cee representations n'ont 1a plupart du temps des images, parfois dee concepts, mais c'est avant tout comme structures qu'ellee s'imposent a l'ims mense majorité des hommes, sans passer par leur conscience... Dans l'idéologie 1e rapport réel est inévitablement investi dans le rapport imaginaire: rapport qui exprime plus une volonté (conservatrice, conformiste, reformiste ou révolutionnaire) voire une espérance ou une nostalgic, qu'il ne decrit une reap lite" (Althusser 1973:238, 239-240). (Cf. Converse 1964:207- 210; Bendix 1964:296). Finally, ideologies are often described as "cognitive and emotive 59 maps", blue-prints, directions, programmes in a search "for iden- tity and the attempt to reestablish cognitive control" (Spindler 1968:326; cf. p. 335): "An ideology is the product of man's need for imposing intel- lectual order on the world. The need for an ideology is an intensification of the need for a cognitive and moral map of the universe, which in a less intense and more intermittent form is a fundamental, although unequally distributed, dispo- sition of man" (Shils 1968:69). "Whatever else ideologies may be-projections of unacknowl- edged fears, disguises for ulterior motives, phatic expressions of group solidarityh-they are, most distinctively, maps of problematic social reality and matrices for the creation of collective conscience" (Geertz 1973:220). (Cf. Apter 1973: 191 and 210; Godelier 1978b:766). 2. Functions and Goals Apter, with several other authors, acknowledges that ideologies have social and individual functions including building solidarity, identity and motivation: "I am inclined to the view that ideology helps to perform two main functions; one directly social, binding the community to- gether, and the other individual, organizing the role personal- ities of the maturing individual. These functions combine to legitimize authority" (Apter 1964:18; also 19-20). Althusser contends that ideologies have primarily practice-social functions: "l'idéologie comme systems do representation se distin- gue de la science en ce que la fonction practico-eociale l'emporte en elle sur la fonction théorique ou fonction de connaissance" (Althusser 1973:238). Ideologies are mostly made up of represen- tations which articultate expectations of and needs for better con- ditions of living and being especially in situations of deprivation and disorientation (Cf. Geertz 1973:218 and 219). Ideology does not deal only with stress (anxiety and strain), but also with in- terest, advantage and motivation. As such, ideologies are 'goal- oriented'; they are not formed primarily for the sake of having a composite set of ideas and sentiments offered in an abstract manner to ho meditated on (although this may be recommended and prescribed); 60 they exist with "reference to some political and cultural plans... Ideology is a type of goal-orientation, a special aspect of the teleology that is characteristic of all human action" (Bendix 1964: 296 and 297). Béteille is more specific: "An ideology is more than merely a theory about the relations between the values of a society and its distribution of power. It seeks not only to describe or to analyse, but also to inter- vene. It takes for granted neither the prevailing values nor the existing distribution of power. Marx spoke for all ide- ologues when he said: 'philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the problem is to change it' -or, for those with a different inclination, to prevent its being changed" (Beteille 1978:65; no reference of Marx' phrase given). Briefly, the finality of ideology is to provide a society with a structuredsystem of intellectual, emotional and practical consi- derations and guide-lines which replaces, renews or revives the former set of beliefs and prepositions in view of spiritual and material improvements. 3. Necessity In fact, whether conscious or not, conceded or denied, people and societies have ideologies: "No society can exist without a cognitive moral and expressive culture. Standards of truth, beauty, and goodness are inherent in the structure of human action... Every society has a complex set of orientations toward man, society and the universe in which ethical and metaphysical propositions, aesthetic judgments, and scientific knowledge will be present... The potentiality for ideology seems to bee permanent part of the human consti- tution... As long as there is a discrepancy between the ideal and the actual, a strong impetus for ideologies will exist" (Shils 1968:75). Althusser concurs and states that ideologies are vital for every society: "L'idéologie n'est donc pas une aberration ou une excrois- sance contingente de l'Histoire; elle est une structure es- sentielle a la vie historique des sociétes. Seules, d'ail- leurs, l'existence et la reconnaissance de sa necessité peuvent permettre d'agir eur l'idéologie et de transformer l'idéologie en instrument d'action réfléchi sur l'Histoire... 61 Le materialisme historique ne peut concevoir qu'une société communists elle-meme puisse jamais se passer d'idéologie, qu'il s'agisse de morale, d'art, ou de 'représentations du monde'... L'idéologie comme systems do representations de masse, est indispensable a toute société pour former 1es hommes, 1es transformer et les mettre en état de repondre aux exigences de leurs conditions d'existence" (Althusser 1973:239 and 242). Having in mind Indonesia, Geertz affirms that newly independent nations need ideologies as prime inspirational forces to continue to exist as nations: "Yet, at the same time, that Indonesia (or, I should imagine, any new nation) can find her way through this forest of problems without any ideological guidance at all seems impossible. The motivation to seek (and, even more important, to use) technical skill and knowledge, the emotional resilience to support the necessary patience and resolution, and the moral strength to sustain selfbsacrifice and incorruptibility must come from somewhere, from some vision of public purpose anchored in a compelling image of social reality" (1973:229). To sum up, it can be said that ideologies are seen as symbolic representations to nourish the cognitive and expressive faculties in humans, especially in time of disorganieation, confusion and de- privation. People cannot live in chaos as in a situation of perv petual disarray (Levi-Strauss 1962:24), and a system of some co- herence which brings order in the perception, knowledge and emotions of the people is absolutely necessary for the continued existence and development of that society. In spite of occasional declara- tion to the contrary, every society possesses ideologies which are nothing else than the particular representations of thoughts, values and hopes of that society, displayed in a singular pattern of cir- cumstantial characteristics, which make sense to the people involved and often attractively so, whether disguised under the polyvalent cloak of alleged scientific theories, or proposed as flamboyant re- forms, or again simply existing as subjacent forces to inspire the motivation and direct the actions of the people (Cf. Salzman 1978: 623; Godelier 1978a:173). 62 b. Marxism and Ideology The debate over ideology has been somewhat exacerbated by the contention of marxists and communists who maintain that Marx has discovered a scientific theory or a science of history: "Le Capital est un systéme harmonieux de categories scienti- fiques qui refletent avec justesee lee phénoménes visibles ou cachés du systems économique capitalists... L'esprit de parti du Capital est synonyms et forms superieure de l'objectivite scientifique" (L'Institut du Marxisme-Léninisme 1978:459; cf. 468-469). Marx's writings are believed by marxists to describe a scientific process based on empirical data. Marxists, in general, will cone tend that Marx has explicated laws of history, not merely a method of research: "just as Darwin discovered the law of development of organic nature, so Marx discovered the law of development of human history" (Engels quoted in Elliott 1970:46). For non-marxists, Marxism is regarded either as a method of study, a theory, or an ideology (Geertz 1973:195; Berger 1974:26 and 27). 1. Marxists and Ideologies For several marxists, ideologies (and many theories on the development of societies) are false representations or mis-repre- eentations of reality which consequently deform or diminish the truth; they are masks covering what is and should be seen and known; they are not only interpretations, but extrapolations, i1- lusione, mystifications, and mutilations (Lefebvrs 1974:57-72). More- over, ideologies are believed to originate from some dominant group which wants to foster its interests and concoct that "mise en scene... un instrument privilégié du pouvoir institutionalisé sous forme étatique" (Copans 1971:140). Since ideologies are false conscious- ness, they must be unmasked: "1es elucubrations dee idéologues bour- geois eont refutées par la marche du développement historique et de la connaiseance ecientifique" (L'Inetitut du Marxisme-Léninisme 1978: 697). Marxism would be a 'theory of ideology' able to circumscribe the real behind the apparent, in order to identify and redress false consciousness. The comprehension of the real, perceived in its true 63 being and not under the appearances of perception, would lead to a theory of meaning and knowledge, through scientific research and logical necessity. (Cf. Lichtheim 1967:11-22). Lefevre sees in Marxism the end of ideology, philosophy and moral doctrine; it cul- minates in the only reality which is action: "Ls marxisme selon Marx n'est plus une idéologie; 11 en mar- que et en precipite la fin. Il n'est plus une philosophic, puisqu'il 1a dépasse et la realise. Il n'est pas une morale, mais une théorie des morales. Il n'est pas uns esthétique, mais contient une théorie des oeuvres, de leurs conditions, de leur naissance et de leur disparition. Il dévoile, non par 1e pouvoir de la pensée 'pure', mais dans l‘action (1a praxis revolutionnaire) 1es conditions des ideologies et plus généra- lement dee oeuvres, des cultures, de la civilisation" (Le- febvrs 1974:77). If,for Hegel,thought was reality, for Marx reality can become idea. (Cf. Marx, Capital, Postface. Pléiade I:558; also Introduction Gene- rale a la critique de l'économie politique. Pléiade 1:254-256). However, Marx does not show how the movement of thoughts from real- ity perceived to reality conceived is realised in the mind. Marx's innovation would lie in the elimination of mysticism in favour of materialism, later labeled by Engels as 'historical materialism' (April 1892, in Marx, La Pléiade I:1602). 2. Marxism as Scientific For several marxist writers, Marxism is a scientific method which demonstrates the laws of the development of human societies: "Nous ne connaissons qu'une seule science, la science de l'his- toire a écrit Marx dans 1‘Idéologie allemande (1845)... Elle (cette science) affirms que l'histoire est une science fonda- mentale: la science de l'étre humain... Le terms 'matérialisme historique' désigne non pas une philosophie de l'histoire, mais la geneee de l'homme total, objet de toute science de la réalip té humaine st objectif de l'action" (Lefebvre 1974:18 and 20). Coletti summarises the position of some marxists in the following argument: "Marxism is a theory of the laws of deve10pment of human society"; those laws are economic and objective; but, they have been discovered by Marx; consequently, Marxism is scientific. Althus- ser is no less categorical: "Le marxisme... non seulement est une doctrine politique, une 64 'méthode' d'analyse st d'action, mais aussi, en tant que science, le domaine théorique d'une recherche fondemantale, indispensable au développement non eeulement de la science des eociétés et des diversee 'sciences humaines', mais aussi des sciences de la nature at de la philosophic" (1973:16). Furthermore, marxism is revolutionary ideology: "... as well as being a science, Marxism is revolutionary ide- ology. It is the analysis of reality from the viewpoint of the working class. This in its turn means that the working class cannot constitute itself as a class without taking possession of the scientific analysis of Capital" (Coletti 1973:376-377). 3. Comments on Marxism For Lichtheim, Marx never attempted to establish scientific laws, "let alone a universal law"; the "relentless onward march of civilisation" (Comte), "history as the unfolding of a metaphys- ical substance" (Hegel), and the "discovery of laws of development governing the course of human history" (Saint-Simon), are not marx- ian; what Marx discovered was "a theory of the bourgeois revolu- tion" (1970: 28-31) . If Marxism was some form of definitive science, there would be, in theory, only one School of Marxism with one presentation and one interpretation. However, one can observe a Marxist wing who call himself 'scientific' while dubbing the others 'revisionists', 'ideologists', 'mentaliste' and 'metaphysicians'. First of all, there is the condemnation of the so-called Soviet official Marxism accused, by many continental Marxists, of being dogmatic and monolithic in thought: "Le marxisme official adopts une attitude empiriste et posi- tiviste, sous couvert d'une phraséologis philosophiqus. Il accords pleine et entiére confiancs aux sciences et aux tech- niques (plut6t aux sciences de la nature qu'a celles de la - réalité humaine). Il risque ainsi de couvrir et de justifier sous la marxisme ideologies une praxis technocratique" (Le- febvre 1974:32-33). Secondly, several authors like Godelier, reject the 'vulgar and pedestrian' Marxism which is interested in physical and material objects, at the exclusion of the 'idéel' and ideological: "Le plus souvent, on a affairs a un materialisme 'réducteur' 65 en ce sens qu'il réduit l'économie a la technologie et aux échanges biologiques et énergétiques des hommes avec la nature qui les environne et qu'il réduit la signification des rapports de parenté ou des rapports politico-idéologiques a atre avant tout celle des moyens fenctionnellement nécessaires a cette adaptation biologico-écologique et offrant divers avantages sélectifs... Nous reconnaissons la le materialisme vulgaire, 'l'économisme', qui réduit tous les rapports sociaux au step tut d'épiphénomenes accompagnant des rapports économiques eux-memes réduits a une technique d'adaptation a un environne- ment natural et biologique" (Godelier 1974:315; 319 and 320). Among marxists themselves, there is a certain amount of squab- bling and name-calling at the detriment of the search for truth. For instance, Badiou and Balmés declare that there are three invar- iants or three sovereign principles of Marxism: (l) egalitarianism, (2) anti-ownership, and (3) anti-state; in other words they hold (1) to a supposed absolute 'philosophy' of the party, (2) the supremacy of the proletariat, and (3) the dictatorship of the party. (1976: 16 and 17). After having condemned and excommunicated Althusser for his errors and his weak retraction of heresies, they label him "arrogant, idéaliste, irresponsable, hypocrite et métaphysique" (22). Capans mentions divergences of ideological, political and theoret- . ical nature in the writings of Althusser, Godelier, Bettelheim, Suret-Canale, Torrey and Meillassoux (1974:103). The problem seems to emerge from Marx himself. He wrote during a period of over for- ty years, and the many sources utilised and the conditions of the time are difficult to appreciate and understand. Marx was per- fecting his works all the time. "Non seulement l'oeuvre de Marx est inachevee, mais elle est incomplete et les exposes insuffisants jusque dans les secteurs les plus élaborée. Ce qui n'a pas peu con- tribué aux malentendus ultérieurs" (Lefebvre 1974:34). But the difb ficulty remains: are Marx's writings a definite source and an abso- lute document of the laws of history, or simply a scientific theory which must be completed and refined at the comprehension of new events and causes of events? Are there some 'official' commentators and 'expanders' like Engels, Lenin and Mac, while others would be 66 distorters and heretics like Trostky, Kautsky, Sorel, Stalin, etc.? Who has the power to denounce Stalin as a non-marxist and a monster whoznconstructed for his profit the passages in Marx which suited his ambitions? How could a serious philosopher like Merleau-Ponty ab- solve Stalin in 1947 and condemn him in 1955? New Philosophers contend that as Marx studied reality, they must do the same and un- mask every ideology and falsehood. Glucksman for one calls a goulag,goulag, persecution of dissidents, persecution, and work camps, prisons: "3t pourtant I Dieu est Dieu. Rt l'exploitation, l'exploita- tion. Touts dictature, une dictature. Un camp, un camp. Aprés cent ans de prouesses spéculatives, il est bon d'en revenir 1: et de se laisser 'dépasser' définitivement par la dialectiqus. Tout n'est pas dans tout, on le mérite de specifier ces tauto- logies meprisées; en meme temps, elles renvoient a des expe- riences, mais Jamais au monologue du gros malin qui sait tout" (Glucksman 1977:222). Since praxis is being and knowing and acting, who will say when actions and consequently the truth are deformed and used for personal benefit? Whatever the solution, one thing is certain; since there is no monop- oly of scientific knowledge and truth in human facts and events, intolerance will continue to exist; a few powerful people will call themselves orthodox and declare infallibly, while others will be termed heretics, revisionists and 'metaphysicians'which resembles strangely some religion, and demonstrates that all is faith. In fact, like every other doctrine and body of knowledge, Marx- ism is in a state of 'inélaboration' and must be developed and per- fected (Althusser 1973:21). Marx himself wrote and hoped to have time to demonstrate his dialectical method. (Cf. Lefebvre 1974: 84 and 80). Much remains to be done especially in regards to what is called the function of the super-structure, which is not only an appendice, a vague ray or reflection because it is transformed at the same rhythm as the other organisations. (Cf. W 7 137). Marxists and others must study all the symbolic forms.of r. V [ \1‘9) ‘J ,3 ”N K 67 social institutions and the relationships between one another. (Cf. Godelier 1974:329). Marx has established the method of reaching for the reality behind appearances in every human action and event as Levi-Strauss confirms: "c'est d'avoir introduit dans les sciences humaines une attitude d'esprit qui, jusqu'alors, avait été reserves aux sciences phyb siques et naturelles: cette idée fondamentale que, pour la re- cherche scientifique, ce qui a valeur explicative n'est pas ce qui est donne d'emblée a la perception ou ce qu'on croit appre- hender" (Levi-Strauss, with Godelier and Augé 1975:177; cf. pp. 178 and 185). c. Scientific Knowledge The observation of human actions and events in the hope of dis- covering their true being by knowing them as they are in themselves and in what they accomplish in relation to one another, is the cons- tant quest of the human mind, not only that of the Marxist mind. The search for meanings, essences and substances in all beings, persons, facts and events has been pursued by philosophers and social scien- tists of all tendencies. Merleau-Ponty, for example, explains the attempts made by phenomenologists: "One may say indeed that psychological knowledge is reflection but that it is at the same time an experience. According to the phenomenologists (Husserl), it is a "material a priori". Psychological reflection is a 'constatation' (a finding). Its task is to discover the meaning of behavior through an effec- tive contact with my own behavior and that of others. Phenome- nological psychology is therefore a search for essence, or meaning, but not apart from the facts. Finally this essence is accessible only in and through the individual situation in which it appears. When pushed to the limit, eidetic psychology becomes analytic-existential" (Merleau-Ponty 1964:95). The first problem centres around the objects to be circumscribed and studied, whether physical, biological, human personal, or social. (Cf. White 1949:15). The objects are man, and the products of man, actions, history, merchandise, government, ideology, in short, everything which affects man's existence. Studies concerned with data are also interested in causality and laws; that is, objects 68 must be isolated and explained, their causes, if any, analysed and their relationships, determined. Differences between human and natural sciences are not only between methods and experiences, but mostly between the kinds of data: "La faculté d'expérimenter, que ce soit a priori ou a poste- riori, tient essentiellement a la maniere de définir et d'i- soler ce que l'on sera convenu d'entendre par fait scientifi- que? Si les sciences physiques définissaient leurs faits scientifiques avec la mime fantaisie et la meme insouciance dent font preuve la plupart des sciences humaines, elles aussi seraient prisonnieres d'un present qui ne se reproduirait jamais" (Levi-Strauss 1973:345). The ideal procedure of all social sciences would lie in the rigour borrowed from natural sciences, particularly physics, where "con- jectures must be subject to confirmation or at least be deducted or inducted by confirmed laws and be subject to verification" (Read and LeBlanc 1978:308). There can be attempts at imitation of the natural sciences, but differences remain not only because there are no or very few confirmed laws, but because the ultimate tests of verification, falsification and confirmation are not possible. Contrary to many experiments in physics, the same conditions with the same events producing the same results, at least hypothetically, cannot be reduplicated with human facts which are historically ir- reducible as Levi-Strauss remarks: "Tel evenement s'est produit aurait pu ne pas se produire; c'est cela que j'appelle la contingence irreductible de l'histoire... Nous pouvons comprendre apres coup, mais nous ne pouvons pas découvrir une loi, c'est-apdire nous assurer que, les condi- tions étant 1es memes, la meme chose se reproduirait ailleurs" (Levi-Strauss 1975:183 and 184). (Cf. White 1949:11-14 and 230). Even in the field of physics, it is difficult to determine the reality of data such as the proton and electron.Th686 traditional simple items may have no existence of their own, because they may exist only in relation to others as Michlovic explains: “These objects owe their existence not so much to constituent particles as to the relationship between forces; in a sense, one might say, existence depends on structure... The central 69 idea appears to be that in the physical universe particles of any magnitude exist only as parts of larger wholes, or only in relation to other objects, yet these other objects are also relationships. Objects on the subatomic scale will ultimately be understood in terms of relationships, or in terms of their positions in larger structures" (1978:380). Data in the social sciences would resemble those in physics which might also have to be studied in a structure, in a sort of balance of forces, and not in their apparent independent existence (Cf. Toulmin 1967:363 and 864). Still, their specification and deter- mination remains the major problem: "On constatera en effet que celles parmi nos disciplines, qui se rapprochent le plus d'un idéal proprement scientifique, sont aussi celles qui savent 1e mieux se restreindre a la conside- ration d'un objet facile a isoler, aux contours bien délimités, et dont les différents états, révélés par l'observation, peuvent ttre analyses on recourant a quelques variables seulement" (Levi-Strauss 1973:3533 also 1974:185). It is easy to recommend that a researcher work with easily defined and precise objects, but difficult indeed to find such objects. To start with, "an object is not a datum, but a form construed by the sensitive and intelligent organ, a form which is at once an expe- rienced individual thing and a symbol for the concept of it, for this sort of thing" (Langer 1951:83). For instance, what is a his- torical fact? Is it an action, an actor, a result, a form of action, a phenomenon, the result of an ideology, or a series of events with intertwined connexions? What is something called 'feudalism'? Who can define and isolate a historical process like feudalism? From the very start, the object will be presented and represented under different symbolic forms dependent on the cognitive and emo- tive configuration of every observer. Historical facts happen due to various origins and sources, are acted out by numerous actors and my have many different effects; they can be whimsical or pre- meditated, but they are still circumstantial. How, then, can a cir- cumstantial evemtbecome an essential link in a scientific law? That law would be constituted of circumstantial and irreducible events which, by definition, occur without law. Otherwise, it would become 7O necessary to admit that those circumstances and haphazard events possess an internal logic which is akin to a force directing events, an idea hinted at by Merleau-Ponty: "A philosophy of history presupposes, in effect, that human history is not simply a collection of juxtaposed facts-indi- vidual decisions and happenings, ideas, interests, institu- tions-but that there is in the present and in the succession of happenings a totality which is moving toward a privileged state which gives the whole its meaning... History has a meaning only if there is, as it were, a logic of human coexist- ence, which does not make any eXperience impossible but which at least, as if by natural selection, eliminates in the long run those experiences which diverge from the permanent needs of men" (Merleau-Ponty 1964:218 and 214). The search for internal logic in evolution and history is the domain of philosophers and theologians. For social scientists, events come about without any demonstrable plan and organisation: "1es hommes font la société et l'histoire, mais sans savoir comment dans un melange ambigu de connaiseance et d'ignorance, d'action consciente et d'aveuglement" (Marx, in 18 Brumaire de Louis Bona- parte, quoted in Lefebvre 1974:46). But if those sequential events which are later called laws are noticeable only a posteriori by the same humans who live and act in foggish ignorance, whence would be that capability of deciphering laws of history when it is impos- sible to live and act with the same conscious knowledge from the very beginning, unless unknown forces determine and move humans. Leslie White describes sciencing as "a way of interpreting reality" (1949:5 and 6). The problem, here, centres around the existence and essence of reality: before interpreting, one has to know what is reality and of what kind. White's categories are in fact mainly about aspects of reality, not reality itself. (Cf. White 1949:15-20). That reality must be determined in facts. But, as already mentioned, facts are irreducible in history (cf. Levi-Strauss 1975:182-185), and they happen, not because they have to happen, but because they happen to happen. Facts to come from laws would have to happen necessarily, otherwise, regularity could not 'be', rather irregularity, chance and chaos would rule. 71 Because Capitalism appeared, it is not demonstrated that it had to come about, or that no other alternative was feasible. (Cf. Go- delier 1973:106-115; Levi-Strauss 1973:845 and 353). And if it is only possible to understand the meaning of a series of events when the last one occurs, then, there is no knowledge of intrinsic regu- larities but information about stages. If it takes the anatomy of man to explain the anatomy of the monkey, it is to admit the imp possibility of foreseeing the following anatomy. (Cf. Marx, La Pléiade 1:260: "l'anatomie de l'homme est une clé pour l'ana- tomie du singe". Modern Bourgeoisie may be the key to the under- standing of Feudalism, but without any demonstration of causality between the two, nor any necessary relationships. White can state that "we can predict the course of evolution but not of his-~ tory" (1949:230), because that kind of prediction is more like prophecy and of no practical consequence. Moreover, those formal "processes, reversible as well as repetitive" (1949:18) which can be announced, are anticipated only in the abstract. The ice which thaws (White 1949:13) cannot be announced as the ice which will thaw in a certain river in the Ukraine to prevent a certain conquenn' from moving. This is reality which cannot be foretold. But ice does not thaw in abstraction; its thawing co-exists with other circumstances which make it irreversible, non-repetitive, non causal and unpredictable. Laws are either (1) regularities of processes or (2) conti- nuity in origin and development through cause and effect or some unknown force. Moreover, there must be some other origin or prin- ciple that makes, produces and reproduces laws. Is it an inner mechanism in the events themselves or some other force making laws and. actualising them? Whatever the source of laws, it is either an inner force or an exterior one. Even then,it is assumed that laws are immutable and that no source could produce another distinct set of laws. It is, of course, impossible to demonstrate that laws cannot be otherwise and that they necessarily exist in an immutable 72 system in a ‘fixism' which denies the possibility of changes. Even if it could be proved that laws of history exist and have been dis- covered, it would still be necessary to demonstrate that the system is immutable and cannot be replaced by another system. It is im- possible to deny the existence of a force capable of generating new systems of laws. Real dialectic requires the negation of dialectic which is the dialectic of dialectic. (Cf. Marx, Le Capital. La Ple- iade 1:1240; also notes pp.l708-l709). It may be a more humble task to try and relate events to other events in an association of rapports: "1a notion de causalité en derniére instance, de primat des infrastructures, renvoie a l‘existence d'une hiérarchie de fonctions et non a une hierarchie d'institution... C'est un systems do rapports entre les hommes, rapports hiérarchisés selon 1a nature de leurs fonctions, fonctions qui determinent 1e poids respectif de chacune de leurs activités sur la pro- duction de la société" (Godelier 1978:157). Function is not cause and can be at best only a part of a cause. Function refers to actions rather than beings and does not include finality: "Pour déjouer les piéges du finalisme en conservant l'idée de fonction, il suffit alors de caractériser celle-ci de facon asses générale et abstraite pour qu'on ne puisse pas 1a monay- er en autant de causes finales qu'il y a d'institutions a ex- pliquer" (Terray 1978:125). In most cases, it is not possible to treat directly with causality which remains unknown; origin, priority, logical and functional simultaneity which avoid the pretentious of laws and causes, are really the objects of human studies. In the written record of humanity, there is evidence that the scientific method has been pursued since the era of the Greek phi- losophers. Every method, hypothesis and theory is one more at- tempt at defining, explaining and understanding reality. From the earliest philosophers to the empirichfls, marxists and struc- turalists, it is the same quest for knowledge of the reality, essence and existence, of human actions and social institutions. 73 Those who pretend that the goal has been reached and that they have attained scientific knowledge are believers: they believe in their system. d. Theory and MethodolOgy. Jarvis believes that Anthropology is in trouble because, among other things, of the poverty of its methods, the lack of guidance in the appraisal of its theories, and its scientism; he adds that: "Moreover, all the examples we have givenr-classical economics, Marx's theory of society, evolutionism, diffusionism, and func- tionalism-have it in common that in all precise versions they are false, known to be false, and have been known to be false for a long time; in all vague, imprecise, qualified, or other- wise hedged versions, they are irrefutably metaphysical" (1975: 255). Jarvie does not demonstrate how these theories are false or believed to be false and does not say what is wrong with being metaphysical. Being false could mean that no theory contains and encompasses the whole reality and complete truth. Anthropology is constantly looking for new and better methods and theories. Fabian suggests the utilisation of philosophical and metaphysical ingredients to discover or re-discover the unity of man- kind and then, proceed on some well founded bases. (Cf. Fabian 1971, quoted in Jarvis l975:256-260). That sounds more like philosOphy than social science. Rubinstein suggests that there should be a "disci- plined integration of theoretical-empirical considerations and phi- losophical reflection" (1977:359). Theories come from empirical observations and explanations made explicit by a bio-psycho-socio- logical analysis: "when science operates at its optimum, it does so by the continual refinement of its theoretical models, as we have said, through an alternation of induction and deduction" (Rubinstein 1977:460). The deduction-induction distinction is, in fact, a du- bious one. The simple fact of choosing some data instead of others, presupposes ideas, intentions, hypotheses, and so, data collecting 74 is deductive; after collecting data and having noticed charac- teristics leading the observer to some sort of categorisation or regularity, the process becomes induction but post deduction. Another recent method is based on the hermeneutics of Schleierma- cher (1768-1834) and requires descriptive, contextual, co-associa- tional, co-variational, causal and predictive statements to begin the research. It also demands an accurate knowledge of the context and the use of the right questions, called 'dialectical questioning'. It seems that someone has to know and understand the people and the problem exceedingly well before undertaking the study. Fabian presents another method adopted by Fabian in his study of the Shaban Jana. (Cf. Jarvis 1975:257 and Fabian 1971:19-47). The study would proceed with 'intersubjectivity', that is, seeing as the actors see, being encompassed and subsumed in the acts, language, feelings, ideals, that is by the reality as it is being enacted by the people through the language of communicative interaction. This method is very mentalist because the attainment of intersubjectivity would presuppose some form of abstraction from oneself and immersion into the others. The best observer is and remains distinct with his/her baggage of ideas and impressions. This method could be better utilised by researchers doing extra-sensory psychic experiments. Another question which can be raised at this point deals with the dichotomies such as implicit/explicit, conscious/unconscious, manifest/latent, intentional/hnintentional, emic/etic, apparent/real, even if these opposite and antithetical concepts are differentiated according to the authors who make use of them (Cf. Harris 1975: 454; 1968:568-592). These related and contrasted qualities and entities may be epistemological postulates or strategies to attain and describe truthfuuy realities as they are supposed to be, and not as shown, said, felt, acted out, etc. Personal actions depend on forces and influences like social pressure, habits, education, beliefs and even food,and are not the exclusive responsibility of the actors. But these actions and events exist also in the minds 75 and bodies of the actors. To assume and contend that these actions and passions are really not what the actors think they are and think they do and have would require a total knowledge of what actually goes on in the actors'minds. The knowledge of etic entities resides in the mind of the observer who perceives a reality which is supposed to be unknown or only unconsciously known by the actors and arrived at by all possible sources of information. Moreover, what could seem etic for an observer, could become emic for an observer of the first observer. Dutton points out that a Zuni dance for rain becomes a ceremony fostering social cohesion according to some Anthropologists; it is still supposed to be performed to bring rain for the Zuni. In fact,there might be many reasons which are not declared and pub- licised, but certainly recognised as existing by the Zuni, because their admission would be improper, unimportant, evident or useless. (It could be established etically that their dance is really a form of jogging needed to burn up excess calories!) "The difficulty is that people have many ways of doing what they do, and literally countless reasons for acting as they do" (Dutton 1977:394). The whole exercise could become an attempt to demonstrate the special faculties of observation and distinction with which the anthropol- ogist is endowed and which, of course, elude the uncritical actor: "The blundering Yoruba carver, the confused and uncritical Pueblo potter whose creations arise from unconscious and nonrational mental processes, or the nameless primitive whose perceptions of work are so removed from ours that whatever artistic merit we feel we see is no more 'inherently there' in the object than it is in pretty driftwood, not to mention the misguided Hopi rain dancer-all of these characterizations contribute to an overall picture of the savage as dull, plodding, or semiconscious" (Button 1977:392 and 393). No Anthropologist can ascertain that his etic view of other people's actions is not antecedently emic in the mind of the people, or exist as a function, a componential cause or a concomitant effect. Then, the Hopi dance for rain, because there is cohesion and solidarity in their society. It is possible that the persons who appoint 76 themselves independent observers able to qualify and explain human phenomena in the clarity of a reality distinct from the one of the actors, may be psychoanalysts of the social or interpreters of their own ideologies in need of confirmation. In this study, a theory is seen as a proposition or a set of statements rationally and empirically established which can serve as guides in the discussion and analysis of the data and hypotheses under scrutiny. A method is the procedure made up of the different stages to examine the hypotheses and data to arrive at some conclu- sions and determine whether these conclusions conform or not to the general statements. More simply, "methods are ways of organizing theories for application to data" (Apter 1977:31). The assertions and actions of the Zambians will be accepted as what they are supposed to be and mean for the informants, unless proofs to the contrary can be established. e. Rationality In addition to the suggestion that they lack scientific theo- ries and methods, ideologies are frequently denounced for their lack of rationality (Cf. Shils 1968:72; Geertz 1973:196-200). What is that quality which is believed to be absent from ideologies? There are few concepts as difficult to define as rationality; how can rationality be approached 'objectively'? In theory, rap tionality refers to cognitive processes expressed in discursive lan- guage; it is associated with the logic of thought and to the science- oriented modes of thinking. (Cf. Horton-Finnegan 1973:17-20). Ra- tionality, reasoning, cogitation and thinking are among several operations of the human intelligence; they are common processus of the human mind which cannot be appraised rigorously. There seems to be no consensus about the universality or locality of rationality; in other words, can it be evaluated universally or only locally? For instance, Western and Chinese rationalities can confront each 77 other explaining their respective rationality concerning surgical operations and acupuncture as a well known example. Both proce- dures arose from observation, experimentation and reflection; both are performed rationally based on different assumptions and deduc- tions to reach diverse conclusions. Rationality is associated with logic; still, logic has its rules because 'free'reasoning is dangerous; every School of Phi- losophy prescribes rules of logics to differentiate syllogism from sophism and preserve ‘its truth'. Rationality depends not only on the rules of logic, but also on the veracity of the premisses, the- orems, axioms, postulates or simply the ideas a person has. A conclusion is not truer that its premisees. The ability to deduce in a certain manner before reaching a conclusion favours discursive logic and the proper use of words, so that it can be affirmed that rules of logic as well as the use of words influence rationality. In fact, one's culture determines one's rationality: "They (Nuer) reason excellently in the idiom of their beliefs, but they cannot reason outside, or against, their beliefs be- cause they have no other idiom in which to express their thoughts" (Evans-Pritchard 1937:337-338). This observation is valid for all humans who are coralled in their idiom and in the beliefs contained and expressed in their idiom. For instance, the rationality of a Jesuit theologian is expressed differently than the rationality of an atheist-existentialist phi- losopher. Furthermore, the same mind which operates rationally and dis- cursively functions expressively under the influence of emotions, passions and feelings. There are too many human actions like games, arts, festivities and rituals, u>restrict mental activities worth studying to discursive processes only. Whether constructing theo- ries or planning a ritual, the same mind is at work through symp bols. Symbols are arranged logically but follow different logical laws for different mental processes. Philosophers and scientists choose to structure such a versatile faculty by dividing it into two parts, the rational-logical-discursive on one side, and the emotive- 78 intuitive-expressive on the other, and will usually work with and use the former part only. This is done more by way of limitation, where a clear view of one segment will be attained at the expense of truth in its totality. At the same time, parts of reality and consequently of truth are left out and forsaken for the sake of elaborating rational theories. In reality, the two sides or parts of the human personality, the rational and emotional, are so entwined that it is hardly im- possible to separate them except for analytical reasons. Is it at all possible to find human activities which are based exclu— sively on rationality? What historic fact could be singled out as having been rational? What is rational in American, Iranian, Russian politics? Rational in human affairs can mean calculating, prudent, wise and heartless according to situations. For instance, a child who has a rational father may have everything supposedly good for him with or without love and affection. The position taken here is that every human action, every theory, every attempt at rationality is influenced by assumptions and emotions which impregnate analytical descriptions based on discursive reasoning. Moreover, it is not certain at all that people mean the same thing when using the same words like rational, logical, demons- trated, true, etc. Neodham (1972) needs some 250 pages to explain that the expressions 'I belive' and 'people believe in' are very different in meanings not only between societies but even between persons of the same culture. 'To believe' is an intricate acti- vity of the intelligence and will which involves inner states, col- lective representations and cultural institutions, enmeshed in intuitive apprehension, spiritual and material experiences, infor- mation, opinions and knowledge, which are all present at one time or another in the process of believing. Is 'I believe' an intel- lectual agreement to 'something' or rather a volitive adhesion to something? To expand on the complexity of belief, Lonergan as- serts that "'known to be true' and 'believed to be true' are quite 79 distinct, and it follows that one will be inviting fallacy if one ignores the distinction and speaks without qualification of what is 'true'"(l957:718). Needham, fbr his part, concludes his book by conceding that "in any event, the overriding conclusion is that more than two hundred years of masterly philosophical application have provided no clear and substantial understanding of the notion of belief" (1972:61). Many other words and expressions are in the same predicament as 'I believe' and 'I believe it is true' which may diverge in meaning from people to people and language to lan- guage. In spite of the evident tendency in the West to favour ration- ality over emotivity, the cognitive and discursive over the affective and expressive, it is certain that there is more to the human mind that cognition, thinking, conceptualisation, rationalisation and logical analysis; there is also intuition, insight, volition and affection. Ideas and emotions cohabit in the same mind without the possibility of isolation except through fictitious efforts which expose only certain aspects of reality. Every observer and scien- tist understand and rationalise facts and events as perceived and symbolised under a mixed process which does not distinguish between the rational and the emotional; or, as Geertz explains: "Whatever their other differences, both so-called 'cognitive' and so-called 'expressive' symbols or symbol-systems have, then, at least one thing in common: they are extrinsic sources of information in terms of which human life can be patterned-extra- personal mechanism for the perception, understanding, judgment, and manipulation of the world" (1973:216). (Cf. Langer 1951:49- 50). f. Intuition. Firth prefers to use the words intelligence /'sentiment to ex- press the dichotomies rational /'emotional, thinking‘/ feeling. (1966a: 15). Levi-Strauss distinguishes 'pensee sauvage' from 'pensée ou esprit scientifique'. Milner compares Levi-Strauss'terminology, to 80 Bergson's: "Where Levi-Strauss sees primitive man as an intense and dedi- cated observer and experimenter, and the resulting data stored in mnemonically-designed classification and communication systems, Bergson sees intuition. Where Levi-Strauss sees the scientific method applied to an understanding of the physical world, Berg- son sees intelligence" (Milner l969:9). Milner goes on saying that in English, intuition has a strange conno- tation and is used mainly to signify feminine intuition; a better word would be 'hunch'. Personally, I think that intuition is more than a hunch; it is not only the feeling or indication that you may be right, on the verge of discovering something new or about to comprehend some obscure problem; it includes a participation, an affiliation with the problem, a perception of reality which seems intense and personal without being explicit, delineated and clear. Intuition is an intelligent and emotional indication and sensation that something is right or wrong, true or false, will work or will not work which is not based on instinct and feeling alone but on some previous experience and contact with similar problems or parts of the question. It is a pro-sentiment of the possession of some idea or hypothesis not yet organised or systematised and which cannot be expressed logically or even in clear terminology. Some intuitions are never made public because no discursive language is found for them; they seem fixed in a level of reasoning and feeling before and over words and the structure of logical thought. Intuition seems to belong to a stage of operation of the mind before words, where concepts are generated and formalised, but must wait for symbols to be expressed. As an example of intuition, Milner presents the case of J.D. Watson in the discovery of the double helix in the structure of the DNA, which is certainly not a poetical or sentimental innovation. Milner goes on to suggest that intuition is somewhat peripheral to intelligence, as occupying a place between the unconscious and the subconscious, where data, diffuse impressions, information, ideals, suspicions, all slowly commingle and blend them- selves as in a churning vat of mental activities. Maybe there has been too much emphasis on the departmentalisation of the human mind 81 into the subconscious, the unconscious, the conscious, the intel- ligence, insight, intuition, etc. Intuition is a complex human process which is much richer than the skeletal apprehension of an empirical truth, because it seems to involve the whole person, that is the intelligence, the emotions, the passions and some mys- tic perception which are mixing data, reflexions and sensations, with the impression that something, a solution, a proposition, a discovery of some sort will take form and be revealed in compre- hensible language. Milner understands intuition as both distinct and integrative of the intellectual and emotional data: "I wish to suggest with Bergson that intuitional data (as distinct on the one hand from emotional data and on the other from intellectual data) make sense aesthetically before, and apart from the fact that, they are apprehended by the intellect. Intuitional data, that is to say, are perceived as true because they achieve a release of tension which is directly attribut- able to the close integration of emotion and intellect and to the fact that, whatever belief or conclusion has been reached, it is acceptable at all levels of the personality, conscious, subconsious and perhaps unconscious also" (1969:21). For Levi-Strauss, intuition appears to be that faculty of 'ruminating' over a problem until some solution is found: "Cette 'pensee sauvage' qui n'est pas, pour nous, la pensee des sauvages, ni cells d'une humanité primitive ou archaique, mais la pensee a l'état sauvage, distincte de la pensée cultivee ou domestiquee en vue d'obtenir un rendement" (1962:289). Whatever place it occupies in the mind, between the unconscious, the subconscious and the conscious, whatever role it has, peripheral, data-intuitional and intellectual-central, the intuitional process is not distinguished primarily from the intellectual, but from the discursive and rational-logical. It is that capacity to feel and grasp a point without the capability of expressing it adequately; it is reviewed, thought over again, corrected and perhaps talked about until it either disappears or becomes clear and expressible. It is like a confused intellectual impression that there is something which makes sense about an idea, some observations, a theory, a solution to a problem, but for lack of information, arrangement or relationship,(as if the internal circuits were not connected 82 to assure a good line of communication), the resolution cannot be possessed and circumscribed with any precision. Kuhn gives an in- teresting description of the phenomenon: "Scientists then often speak of the 'scale falling from the eyes' or of the 'lightning flash' that 'inundates' a pre- viously obscure puzzle, enabling its components to be seen in a new way that for the first time permits its solution. On other occasions the relevant illumination comes in sleep. No ordinary sense of the term 'interpretation' fits these flashes of intuition through which a new paradigm is born. Though such intuitions depend upon the experience, both anom- alous and congruent, gained with the old paradigm, they are not logically or piecemeal linked to particular items of that experience as an interpretation would be. Instead, they gather up large portions of that experience and transform them to the rather different bundle of experience that will thereafter be linked piecemeal to the new paradigm but not to the old" (1970:122-123). ' Many scientists must have had that kind of experience where they are presented with some impression, doubt, inspiration, pre- sentiment, probability, or a point which appears to make sense but remains vague, unorganised, unordered and imprecise. Before it can be formed and expressed, it must be checked and explored. Not only is it suggested that many 'discoveries' start this way, but it is probable that it is the normal state of affairs at the origin of all kinds of creation: "A great many-perhaps most-of the new ideas about politics are not the result of scientific inquiry at all. There is something about the human mind which, when confronted by a problem, enables it to ruminate onward without being partic- ularly conscious of the problem" (Apter 1977:35; Cf. Langer 1952:85-91; Read and Leblanc 1978:307-321 on Archeology and intuition) e It could even be suggested that Marx, after much reading, research and personal thinking, intuitively felt his ideas on the histor- ical evolution of societies which were adumbrated in the Manifesto, clarified in the General Introduction to Political Economy, before being fully elaborated in The Capital. Whatever the case with in- dividual examples, intuition, as a first feeling and apprehension of a problem or question, with its frequent and persistent returns 83 for elucidation and more clarification to arrive at a solution, is an important mental process in the work of scientists, philos- ophers, artists and proponents of ideologies. g. Rational and Emotional As is the case for scientific and ideological, it is not rare to brand some writers as unreasonable, illogical and sophistic, while others are called sentimentalists, intuitional, emotional or 'shovelers of clouds'. That kind of terminology is illustrated by Lukes: "In so far as primitive magico-religious beliefs are logical and follow methodologically sound procedures, they are so far, rational; in so far as they are, partially or wholly, false, they are not... In so far as 'mystical' and 'prelogical' can be interpreted as false and invalid, primitive (and analogous modern) beliefs are irrational" (1970:210 and 211). With what ease words are chosen without precision: logical, method- ological, irrational, false; for whom and when, one could ask. Logic is like a taxation system, strewed with loopholes which allow the logician to prove and disprove with the manipulation of the same rules. 7 What is rational for a person is simply worthless for the next as Jar- vie admits: "my position has been that savage ignorance is just as ra- tional as civilized knowledge" (1975:61). Rational and logical methods may be devised and carefully delineated, but their utilisation and ap- plication will reveal the mixture of rationality and emotivity, reality and fiction, practicality and dream, fear and hope which is the lot of every human predicament and situation. Or, as Wilson explains: "The social sciences seek to order knowledge systematically in value-free, emotionally-neutral, abstract propositions. Such value-freedom—-in the degree to which it is ever attainable- contradicts the value-commitment that an empathic understanding of society demands. Emotional involvement in and evaluation of persons, objects and activities are precisely the first or- der experience common in all societies: they are practically the totality of experience in most societies" (1970:xii and xiii). Striving to eliminate one aspect in a human fact will result in a depletion of its fullness and will diminish the comprehension of real- ity. Besides, even if theoretically important differences of method, 84 form and content exist between scientific doctrines and ideologies, it might not be easy to distinguish the rational from the emotional, the 'idéel' from the ideal, not only because of their integration in human actions and events, but also because the same symbolic language is used to establish rationally, demonstrate logically and prove co- gently as well as convince passionately and mislead adroitly. h. Paradigm, Rationality, Science, Intuition, Methods Kuhn (1970) has tried to clarify the problems of rationality, understanding, the science of knowledge and the knowledge of science. Surprisingly, there is some confusion about the meaning of key terms. For instance, a paradigm is variously a model (10), a pattern (23), a theory (77), a disciplinary matrix (182),a.judicial decision (23), and a world view (111). In any of these capacities, paradigms can be viewed as accepted achievements (10, 23) which define the legitimate problems and methods of a research "field for succeeding generations of practitioners" (10). A paradigm simultaneously solves old problems (23), defines new ones (76), guarantees that the new problems will have solutions (37), provides the tools needed to find the solutions (76) and restricts the range of solutions which will be admissible (6) and can be provided by intuition (122 and 123). Moreover, preponents of different paradigms live in different worlds (150), belong to difb ferent language communities as well (202); if they agree on one par- adigm, the ensuing conversion experience (150) must be preceded by translation (202) and by some agreement on a set of values (157). Often, when there are similar gducational background; (201), it is possible to convince someone of another paradigm; however, even after the persuasion and agreement to adopt the new paradigm, there is no guarantee that the conversion will last (203 and 204). One may lack "the constellation of mental sets which future members of the community will acquire through education" (204). It follows that a change to some new paradigm is a matter of persuasion rather than proof of its value, and the choice of competing paradigms 85 depends on a decision of faith rather than reason (158). (Inspired from a paper written by Dianne L. Coin, Dept. of Philosophy, M.S.U. circa 1971). This will suffice to show that the discussion about rationality, knowledge and ideology is not facilitated by such imp precision in the terminology. Actually, it seems that it is not so much the content of scien- tific knowledge and ideology which differs; it is mostly the method and the strategy, from the inquiry into empirical data to the con~ clusions: "the differentiae of science and ideology as cultural system are to be sought in the sorts of symbolic strategy for emcom- passing situations that they respectively represent" (Geertz 1973: 230). The dialectic of theory and practice is like the staging of a production, "mise on scene des concepts, des résultats et aussi mise en scéne, c'est-a-dire processus de production de connaiseances" (Copans 1974:87 and 88). The differences consist mainly in the 'staging', in the phases of the development of the theory, the em- phasis on the exactness of the facts reported, the objectivity in commenting and estimating, and the correct analysis of the relation- ships. The postulates and premisses which are the foundation of per- sonal knowledge, depend on social influences, educational training and personal formation, studies, information and inclination. The process of edifying a scientific theory is characterised by (1) pre- cise planning and accurate preparation to find and follow rigorous ways to observe, collect, classify, evaluate and compare the data, information, or facts concerning the problem under study, in the most objective and impartial manner possible; (2) consideration and re- flection to understand the relationships between the different data, facts, activities, ideas dealth with; (3) rational analysis to see if the different parts make sense and can be brought about in some scheme or series of affirmationsconfirming or negating the initial hypothesis or topic under study; (4) finally, there can be an at- tempt at erecting a synthesis which would combine the discoveries and results, and possibly link the conclusions with other hypotheses ‘J ‘1‘1 (. we: 1 (I 1 86 and theories. Social theories must also be verified constantly by the original exponent and other researchers who must assess the ve- racity of their logical assertions and evaluate their validity in relation to changes and new circumstances. Moreover, many scien- tists are endowed with imagination and intuition which predispose them to the apprehension of new situations and problems. Ideologies may or may not proceed according to the same stages of development; usually, the emphasis is not on the precise obser- vation and analysis of facts and events to ream.scientific conclu- sions. The facts are perceived and compared with objectives to attain. Scientific theories do not have to be goal-oriented; often they are not. Ideologies are constructed to achieve certain goals, at least as some moral and spiritual aims. They do not claim to be scientific in most cases. However, 'scientific' is a very popular term which is often abused and is replacing the old epithet ‘in- fallible'. 'Scientific'means outside any other research and ques- tioning; it finalises an assertion which is not only true as far as present conditions are concerned, but in absolute terms akin to dogma. "The term 'scientific socialism' thus designates the common ambition to have one's cake and eat it too" (Berger 1974:27; Geertz 1973:195). Social scientists should not try to be theologians of the social, jurists of the human condition and engineers of a promised paradise. 'Scientific', as used in the studies of social facts, refers much more to the exactitude and precision of the»meth~ eds employed than to the establishement of definite and uncondi- tional proofs as Lonergan explains: "When it comes to the study of life, of the psychological depths of human institutions, of the history of nations, cultures, and religions, then diversity multiplies, differences become ir- reconcilable, and the name of science can be invoked with plau- sibility only by introducing methodological conventions that exclude from scientific consideration the heart of the mat- ter" (1958:714). The description of ideology which follows comprises elements found in the 'proposer' and in the 'receiver', since at a certain moment, both share similar experiences, privations, and desires. 87 i. Ideology I describe ideology as a system of knowledge and beliefs, about a 'social fact', which are composed of experiences, ideas, emotions and solutions, proposed or accepted, in view of achieving certain goals mostly spiritual and moral. 1. Knowledge and beliefs It is a collection of thoughts, opinions and values, either re- ceived more or less unconsciously, or accepted after study, obser- vation, conviction or propaganda. They form a core of information and directions which are perceived as correct, true and good. The propositions which are the object of belief have been 're-vealed', that is un-covered, unravelled, proven true by someone who could be a prophet, a genius, a philosopher, a politician, a social scien- tist, etc. The system is believed to be true: "Truth is independent of belief, since anything that is be- lieved can be false. But belief is not independent of truth, for what is believed must be either true or false, and even if it happens to be false it is still believed to be true" (Need- ham 1972:60). 2. About a 'social fact' ('autour d'un fait social') The object of ideology can be an issue, problem or situation af- fecting humans, societies and their world in general concerns of their spiritual, social, economic and political life. 3. Ideas, experiences and emotions Knowledge and beliefs are the products of intuition, observation, reflection and emotional involvement, with or without strict methods of research, reaching conclusions and solutions of general interest. 4. Proposed and accepted, in view of certain goals Those 'truths', once perceived, expressed, propagated and accepted become the basis for conviction, motivation and action. Ideologies are not primarily sources of abstract considerations, but goal-or- iented; they appeal to reason and passions to accomplish spiritual and normative changes viewed as essential improvements. 88 There are other important points and characteristics of ideologies in themselves or in relation to theories and scientific methods. 1. Methodology A scientific theory is a set of assumptions or hypotheses made up of some conclusions and propositions arrived at after careful thought, methodical research, logical deduction-induction analysis, in view of understanding issues and concepts and defining some characteris- tics of human situations and problems. On the other hand, ideolo- gies are often arrived at without precise methodology and research; they are elaborated from reflection and immediate apprehension of problems; they are then constructed in a body of assertions and propositions capable of convincing and leading to action. If there is a logical and precise methodology, it is not primarily for the sake of rationality or exactness, but to describe more clearly the situation and the aims in view. 2. The Present Ideologies do not study the present for itself; the present is per- ceived and endured as unsatisfactory and in need of change, either by recourse to what was good in a past which is often embellished, or by instituting new directions for the betterment of life. 3. Intuition Ideologies are aften arrived at after experiencing some failure or deprivation and envisioning solutions to improve the conditions. (or. Apter 1977:35). 4. Particular Moment in Time Ideologies are apt to arise during periods of low achievement for a people; such low achievement is often the result of conquest, defeat, seizure of land, limitations of rights, and so forth. 5. Goal Directed Ideologies include some kinds of accomplishment;from spiritual re- newal to alcohol prohibition and family life restoration, a wide range of norms and practices are demanded. 89 6. Demonstration and Evidence Ideologies state facts as they are perceived, felt and envisioned. They are not affected or contradicted by the success and evidence of scientific demonstrations. They run their course and will dwindle and disappear, not necessarily because they are proved false, but because they have ceased to inspire people who do not need them any longer. 7. Progaganda Proposals for change originating from considerations about the conditions of society must be communicated adroitly, so that they are internalised and assented to wholeheartedly. Attempts are also made to impose ideologies on people who are indifferent, recalcitrant or antagonistic, and the propaganda might be logical, persuasive, subtle and tyrannical. 8. Form The validity, influence, acceptance and success of an ideology depend, to a large extent, on its structure, form, style, appeal, internal force and some captivating symbolic representations. The language must be convincing and striking. There can be some non- verbal symbols like posters, clothes (caps, ties, arm-bands), flags, dances, music and parades. The whole process must be deftly orches- trated and staged to conquer the mind and control the feelings and passions of as many people as possible while calming or scaring the rest. 9. Spiritual and Material Ideologies, in their totality, are often made up of two unequal parts: (1) the spiritual-normative aspects which deal with world- views and values, states of heart and mind, ideas about Man and Na- ture, morality in society, traditions, etc.; and (2) the material- physical which consists of applications of particularimplementations like males participating in agricultural chores, active partici- pation in industrial development, etc. . With little or no relation- ship with the spiritual-normative domain. 10. General and Specific A specific ideology is concerned with one aspect of human life, like religion for instance; Lutheran and Mennonites views about the Eucha- rist are specific ideologies even if they could engender strifes and riots. 0n the other hand, national ideologies are usually general, because they affect every social institution. The Gaiwiio of Hand- some Lake may have seemed primarily religious but touched the total- ity of Iroiquois life (Wallace 1969:239-302). ll. Ideology and Scientific Theory Occasionally, proponents of ideologies will believe and try to dem- onstrate that their ideas are not a simple and temporary aggregate of reflections and recommendations, but a true scientific theory. One can recall the attempts made by the Nazis to prove the super- iority of the Aryans. People who are not convinced by those argu- ments and do not share in the imposed affirmations and ideals might be isolated and eliminated; they may also contradict that so-called scientific ideology by contrary proofs and evidence. There is no intention of solving all the problems concerning ideologies, theories false and true, illusions, prejudices and be- liefs; the dispute between evolutionists and creationists illus- trates the dilemma and the discussion between Brace, R. Leaky and Washburn on Origins demonstrates the difficulty (American Anthro- pologist. Vol. 82, No. 2. June 1980:392-395). Ideologies, hypoth- eses, theories, illusions, propositions are often crisscrossing the same paths which are made distinguishable by different positions of familiarity or antagonism. To sum up, a national ideology is an endeavour to rehabilitate a society andimprove its spiritual, moral and material conditions in a vision for a better life for all; it is often based on the intuitive comprehension and analysis of the present conditions which must be changed, and formulated to convince and motivate; it should build a new consciousness and awareness of local values by giving meaning to life, where meaning has been lost. CHAPTER III ZAMBIAN HUMANISM . This chapter is made up of two parts; the first one deals with Zambian Humanism as proposed by Kenneth Kaunda and explained by other Zambians; the second part contains observations and commentaries about the Zambian ideology. A. ZAMBIAN HUMANISM ACCORDING TO KAUNDA AND OTHER ZAMBIANS Before describing the Zambian doctrine, a few points must be discussed briefly so as to situate and elucidate the question; they are historical notes on Zambia, a short profile of Kenneth Kaunda and constraints facing Zambia. a. Historical Notes on Zambia "La 'fabrique' sociale et culturelle africains n'a jamais ete inactive, elle a constamment en a produire les societes et les cultures negres en traitant, a la fois, les dynamismes internes et ceux resultant du rapport a l'environnement" (Balandier 1974: 189). Countries and regions are always changing, being formed and re-formed, and enduring inequalities, conquests, competition between groups and individuals (Balandier 1974:184-189). Zambia is no exception to that law of dynamic process. Every ethnic group has narratives and legends about migrations, wars, occupations and the origins of its institutions and customs. In pre-colonial Zambia, there were some fairly large groups like the Lozi in the south west, the Ngoni in the south east, the Bemba in the north and the Lunda of Kazembe in the north west. These people were centralised sovereign powers in their area. There were attempts at expansion and conquest. These 91 92 larger tribes had some control, though no direct domination, over the smaller groups adjoining them. For instance, there were cons- tant interactions between the more powerful Bemba and the Bisa, K8! bende, Aushi, Chishinga, Mukulu, Nghumbo, Unga and Shils. Further- more, the Bemba traded with the Arabs who were established on the East African Coast, and provided them with slaves for economic rea- sons and to gain technical advantages over their enemies the Ngoni. The Bemba fought those same Arabs when the reciprocal obligations were not fulfilled (Tweedie 1966:197 and 219; Gann 1965:49-51). The frequency and results of wars, conquests, and confrontations as well as the attempts at alliances and peaceful settlements are not confirmed conclusively because of the variation in oral his- tory; what the Bemba narrate differs from the traditions of the Bisa for instance. (Cf. Fagan 1968). By the end of the nineteenth century, another force had come into the area. As a result of wars, threats and promises, the re- gions inhabited by the Lozi, Tonga, Lunda, Bemba, Ngoni and several other groups, came under the control of Cecil Rhodes and the British South Africa Company (B.S.A.C.). The official aim was the estab- lishment of a series of possessions under the British crown, from Cape Town to Cairo, in order to curtail the activities of the Por- tuguese, Belgians and Germans in Africa. A more practical purpose was the occupation of large territories with anticipated wealth. Once the Lozi had been bribed, the Ngoni defeated and the Bemba sub- dued and forced to compromise, small administrative centres sprung up from Mongu to Chienge; there were 30 of them by 1900. In 1911, the Territory of Northern Rhodesia was established; its revenues then, were 395,000 (British pounds) and its expenses £149,000. This trend continued and, by 1925, the total deficit had grown to about fll,500,000. The Company's shareholders were not pleased with that state of affairs because, in spite of the proclaimed purpose of serving the crown, the Territory was more a company's investment than a Queen's Protectorate, and deficits were unacceptable. This might explain the readiness of the B.S.A.Company to hand over the 93 responsibility of governing and administering the Territory to the Colonial Office in 1924. The Company kept all the mineral rights, revenues and royalties, if any, in perpetuity. That 'perpetuity' ended in 1964 with compensation of £2,000,000 each from Zambia and Great Britain. The Company's royalties were then evaluated at 38,500,000. (Cf. Hall 1967:87-116; Dresang 1975:210-211). It is worth remembering that the operations of the Chartered Company were strictly economic; there was no intention of govern- ing a country for the good of its people, or of trying to blend the different groups into one nation with plans for development. The few white officers were supposed to ensure law and order. But, roads were paths; schools and dispensaries were in the hands of mis- sionaries and not subsidised. A white commissioner would visit a chief to collect the poll tax and obtain workers for the mines. When copper was found in exploitative form in 1923, the Company was only too happy to divest itself of all administrative obligations to de- vote itself to mining Operations and money making. For many years, little help came from the Colonial Office outside of providing workers, and the mining companies had to organise rudimentary social and political institutions, courts and a police force. (Cf. Hall 1967:139-144). European farmers started to settle in Northern Rhodesia in 1928; they soon became very important and, in 1936, the Maize Con- trol Baard was established, to subsidise, market and regulate farm produce (quota and price), often to the disadvantage of Africans (Dresang 1975:194 and 195). The protected Europeans expanded great- ly and by 1941, large commercial farms with numerous African lap bourers were producing food for local consumption and export. Around 1930, Asiatics arrived in the Territory and established retail stores in many villages. In 1964, there were about 10,000 people of Asian descent, mostly traders, businessmen and shop keep- ers who had put together a network of small stores throughout rural Zambia which were connected with larger stores and depots in the mining towns and other centres. 94 On the eve of Independence, there were about 70,000 Europeans in the Government administration and in the direction of the mines, industries, companies, commercial farming and professions. The Asi- atics controlled most of the retail business. The 4,000,000 Zambians had no political control and only minor roles in the civil service as in the direction of the economy. The Zambian infrastructure was constituted for the well being of the Whites and for urban life. Except for a handful of Asians, the professionals were white as were most of the skilled workers; they had their special schools, hos- pitals and shops; the roads where they lived and played were all- season tarred roads. In fact, the white sector, having reaped the wealth of the mining industry,was modernised and urbanised to a degree comparable in services, facilities and salaries, to any sim- ilar area in the world. Northern Rhodesia, having evolved from a Territory of the Brit- ish South Africa Company to a Protectorate of the Colonial Office and finally to an unwilling partner in the Federation of the Rho- desias and Nyassaland, had never existed as a unified country; it was an aggregate of some seventy ethnic groups with little polit- ical representation, a powerful elite of Europeans, several thou- sand Asians, wealthy urban areas and depressed rural regions. The different groups coexisted without bonds of common interests and without shared goals of national belonging and identity. In 1963, 19% of the population was already living in urban areas as compared to 9% in Kenya, T% in Uganda and only 5% in Tanzania. Africans were becoming more dependent on urban incomes to supplement their subsistence or as a way of life. Except for commercial farms owned and run by Whites, Zambian agriculture was in bad shape. The de- pendence on cepper was nearly complete, as it constituted 90% of the country's exports and 60%>of the Government revenues. Machi- nery, explosives, tools and coal were imported from South Africa and Southeanhodesia to the tune of 70% of Zambia's needs. The mines were run by an army of 7,000 Whites who were well experienced, many of them with ten years or more of service. Only 400 Zambians, 95 out of a force of 40,000 miners, could claim ‘white' Jobs. In 1964, only one fully accredited Secondary School could grant (through London) the Cambridge Leaving Certificate. The 'colour bar' had Just been officially removed. For instance, Blacks and Whites could now enter a butcher's shop through the same door; still, Whites would line up on one side to buy 'European' meat and Blacks would stay on the other side to buy 'African' meat, because none could afford the choice cuts; there were a few Blacks in the 'Eu- ropean’ line buying meat for their 'bwana'. (Cf. Hall 1967:268- 283p Sklar 1973:29-61). In spite of the lack of official political representation and power, several organisations to promote the improvement of Zambians existed. As early as 1923, the Mwenzo Welfare Association was created, followed by the Livingstone Native Welfare Association in 1930 and by the United African Welfare Association of Northern Rho- desia in 1933. Moreover, there were various local associations and societies. In 1946, the Federation of African Societies was founded by Daudi Yamba and George Kaluwa to counteract the efforts of the Whites who sought to impose closer links with and dominance by South- ern Rhodesia. This organisation is cited as the predecessor of the African National Congress of 1951 with Harry Nkumbula as president; this political party fought against the Federation, for independence and, after independence, against the one-party Democracy. In 1958, Kaunda, Kapwepwe, Sipalo and some other leaders branched off the African National Congress to form the Zambia African National Con- ‘gress which was more vocal and more active; officially, these leaders preached non-violence while warning that violencevas unavoid- able in front of repeated provocations. In 1959, several leaders were imprisoned and their party banned; an atmosphere of insurrec- tion was felt everywhere; soldiers, police mobile units would sur- prise villagers at dawn. The prospect of another Congo-Katanga was used to scare people and induce them to remain in the Federation. While Kaunda was in prison, a new party emerged U.N.I.P. the United National Independence Party with Mainza Chona as interim president. 96 As can be seen, Zambia had a tradition of local leaders and re- gional politicians for nearly forty years before independence. Quite a few national politicians had learned the liberal arguments about the rights of the individual, equality and freedom as championed by Britishers mostly for Britishers. But they could demand the same privileges for Zambianssince those principles formed the basis of democracy. (or. Kaunda 1962:98, 88-96, 153-159; Hall 1964:20-41). The last period of struggle for selfbrule and independence lasted no more than three years. Disturbances under the form of strikes and destructions of public properties were few; they were called cha cha cha. They occurred in three provinces: Northern, Lwa- pula and Copperbelt; they reached their climax in the summer of 1961. Schools, dispensaries, post offices, bridges and roads in the Northern and Lwapula Provinces were burnt, destroyed or damaged. There were no assaults on life by the activits. It is true that a few British officers were wounded while arresting African leaders; several Africans were killed or wounded and one European woman was killed near Ndola. In the Mansa-Samfya-Lubwe area of the Lwapula Province, at least fourteen people were shot. The police had in mind to kill one person from every village "to teach them a lesson". The burning and damaging of Government properties were termed 'violence', but salaries below the poverty line, restriction of movement and rights because of colour, the absence of health services are not termed 'violence' but 'administrative failures'. The British Colonial Sec- retary called up a Conference for October of 1962; from then on, independence was assured and declared officially on October the 24th, 1964. (Cf. Hall 1967:191-227; Dresang 1975:196-204; Mac- Pherson 1974:228-262). If Zambia, at Independence, profited by the experience of sev- eral leaders in the political field, it was not the case in the econ- omic arena. Very few Africans could occupy important administrative and technical positions. Several other problems were crucial; na- tional unity, man-power shortage, dependence on expatriate experts, 97 unreliability of some Europeans, colonial institutions, segregated policies in the mining and private sectors, "ill-feeling between certain ministers", "rising eXpectations of urban dwellers", the absence of an efficient and devoted bureaucracy, and the enmity of the southern neighbours (Tordoff 1974:14 and 15; cf. 14-19). In- dependence was probably achieved sooner than expected because of the chaI cha, cha. The Lwapula and Northern Provinces were dis- rupted and would have been in a state of rebellion with the coming of the rains; the central Government either did not want to or could not pursue its former policies of repression and killings. (Cf. Harvey 1976:136-141; MacPherson 1974:340-351). b. Kaunda It is impossible to know what Zambia would have accomplished with a president other than Kenneth Kaunda; determinists would argue that similar conditions would exist without him, since the man was and is of his time and the product of historical circum- stances. In order to understand Zambian Humanism better, it is important to consider the life and thoughts of its principal author and propagandist, who influenced the character of Zambia's policies. Kaunda received a Christian education and was trained as a teacher at Munali. Like most youngsters, he was confronted with racial discrimination and injustices. In his early twenties (around 1945), he was associated with politicians, was Jailed a few times, and greatly influenced by Gandhi's non-violence and respect for man. It is in prison that he became convinced that no humiliation and sufb fering could impede the march towards freedom and indepence. During the last years of the struggle for Independence (1958-1964), the doc- trinal foundation of Humanism appeared with the importance of Man in society, the rejection of all forms of exploitation, and the belief in the possibility of achieving spiritual and moral development through dedication and hard work. In 1962, Kaunda was elected Pri- me Minister of Northern Rhodesia and in 1964, became President of Zambia. 98 Fundamentally, Kaunda rejects both the inequity of the cap- italists and the coercion of the marxists and favours the building of a new society based on the traditional values of cooperation and sharing to bring about growth with equity and development with equal- ity: "Kaunda himself has been putting his faith in the power of common humanity against technology and accumulated wealth Operating in what he sees as a profoundly unjust society. The faith has been capable, at times, of providing inspirations" (Martin 1973:13; cf. Apter 1977:461). Hatch sees Kaunda as a 'charismatic leader'; "one man, more or less in charge of a large share of the well-being of people", "in- mersed in party and international problems", working "by trial and error", desiring "social justice and moral behaviour amongst his people", and finally "preaching for a belief in his beliefs" (1976: 208-217). Whether charisma is a desirable quality in a political leader or not is an open question related to symbolic power, moral influence, and efficiency in governing. Balandier affirms that pres- idents in Africa should represent the image of the traditional chief, who is (or was) charismatic and revered by being chief: "Le chef charismatique, disposant d'une relation privilégiée avec le peuple, 1e pays, le systems des forces qui régissent la fécondité et la prospérité. Le pouvoir est encore concu sous ce triple aspect de la puissance, de l'arbitrage et du sacré" (1969:207-208). On the other hand, welch questions the utility of charisma: "Charisma may indeed facilitate the establishment of unity at the level of the state; ... structures on the transient nature of charisma... should make clear that national unity requires more than the emergence of a messianic leader... The utility of charisma in modernization still remains open to scholarly skep- ticism" (1967:86). Nobody holds that charisma alone would suffice in re-building a nation; but it may be an essential quality in a leader. For many people in Zambia, in spite of failures like shortages of food and lack of jobs, Kaunda is the leader to trust and most problems are blamed on other politicians, foreign profiteers and enemies of the country. Obser- vers consider him an honest persons doing a good job in very difficult circumstances: 99 "Its executive president, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, was a remarkable persons-sensitive, humane, hard-working, committed to change, and politically skilful" (Tordoff 1974:14). "He (Kaunda) continually stresses the need to compromise,.the role of the party, the top priority of organisation in politics. His conception of his own key position as the unifying focus for national unity leads him to regard his continuance in office as essential for the good of the nation... A less widespread image of Kaunda, but one shared by many of those closest to him, is that of the superpolitician who is Zambia, who is the govern- ment and the power of the country. There is much evidence for this view... Something akin to a personality cult of Kaunda has developed among some sections of the Zambian public“ (Pettman: 1974:41). There are also other views of Kaunda. It has been suggested that he is only a pawn in the hands of manipulators, a figurehead behind some powerful advisors of the mining and industrial sectors. On the contrary, others contend that Kaunda is a strict discipli- narian and a dictator who will not stand opposition in any form and will use power whenever needed for his own good or the good of the country. They recall the brutal quelling of the Lumps Church dis- turbances, and the imprisonment of former Vice-President and child- hood friend Simon Kapwepwe. (Cf. Tordoff 1974:234; Hall 1967:230). Shaw is rather critical of Haunda's political ability: "President Kaunda has evolved from an advocate of tradition- alists, consensual Humanism to a more radical variety. He has abandoned pluralism in his quest for social order, development and justice. He maintains a distance from the ruling class to enhance his status and to insure his political longevity through ethnic bargaining and reshuffles within the elite" (1976b:47-48). The real character of Kaunda is difficult to discern; judging his motivation and purposes might become a subjective appreciation. For nearly twenty years, Kaunda has been the undisputed leader of Zambia. He is the principal creator of the ideals of Humanism which are based on Christian teachings, inspired by Gandhi's writings and influenced by many friends and advisors, Colin Morris, John Papworth, J. B. Zu- lu, Henry Meebelo, Timothy Kandeke and Simon Kapwepwe. Kaunda hopes to improve the total condition of Man in Zambia by convincing argu- ments, encouragement and personal devotion to the ideals of Humanism. It is possible that Kaunda will have to become more coercive to force the implementation of Humanism on some people, particularly the elite. 100 In that case, Kaunda would have to use methods repudiated by Humanism to bring about Humanism. c. Constraints. National independence can be achieved through different pro- cesses like rebellion, revolution, political confrontation and elec- tion. Forces and motives like national unity, solidarity, human dignity, the end of exploitation and the right to be a nation can spur the movement and maintain the intensity of emotions during the struggle. Zambians wanted to be able to run their own affairs and the Whites from London or Southern Rhodesia could go or stay and obey Kaunda. Spiritual, intellectual and aesthetic motivations do not appear to have had a prime influence in Zambia's pursuit of in- dependence as it is for Zionists and Quebecois. It was a general feeling and strong desire: Zambia for Zambians. The energy to endure and suffer is maintained as long as there is a positive ob- jective like fighting the enemies and expecting immediate results. Independence was acquired (not given) and Whites could go away. The objective had been reached. But the euphoria of the first months of freedom and the elation of being in charge passed quickly. Soon, Zambians were faced with many problems requiring sacrifices and radical changes to turn their dreams of wealth and well-being into reality. Indeed, the obstacles on the road to prosperity were very serious indeed. l. A shortage of trained Zambians to run an efficient civil ser- vice. Once the political positions such as cabinet ministers, am- bassadors and governors were filled, there were too few skilled Zambians to take charge of the direction and operation of Government agencies, private and semi-private commercial enterprises. There was an insufficient knowledgeable, devoted, adaptable and creative bureaucracy responsible to the country's leaders and the nation's ideals. 2. The lack of integration among tribes; there was little national consciousness, no unifying norms, common beliefs and symbols. Instead, 101 tribalism, regionalism and sectionalism predominated. 3. The infrastructure based on copper was controlled by two large foreign companies. Even if the old royalties were no longer paid to the British South Africa Company, the anticipated revenues did not increase as expected; the production and price of copper along with the development of new mines depended on the same two companies and other multinationals. Still, copper remains the main export and, on occasion, the sole source of government revenues. 4. The need to keep expatriate miners and other experts, at inter- national salaries and benefits, fer the mines and other industries. The dependence on South Africa for machinery, spare parts, explo- sives and chemicals, on Rhodesia for coal and electricity, and on Europe for luxury goods for these expatriates and Zambian elite. 5. The debility of the agricultural sector which was not corrected; getting rid of several huge commercial farming establishments, con- trolled by Whites, was easy. All the efforts to help small commer- cial and cash farmers with loans, fertilisers, implements, cooper- atives, proved to be a near total failure due to ignorance, indif- ference and cupidity. Since the humiliation of 1971, when 1,500,000 bags of maize had to be imported from Southern Rhodesia, hardly a year has passed without the threat of starvation and the necessity of importing food. 6. The demands for jobs, houses, running water, electricity, bridg- es, roads, health cares and higher pay for all workers never abated. Instead, people had to continue paying taxes, digging latrines and being unemployed. Independence was touted as the starting point for a better life with good clothes, cars, motor-boats, brick houses, hos- pitals and schools, tar-roads, even tennis courts. 7. The urbanisation of Zambia increased rapidly during the years following independence and should attain 40% of the population in 1980. No dissuasion or threat could step the flow. The new comers prefer hope in town to deepair in the bush. 8. The lack of reality in the planning and implementation of the selfbhelp and self-reliance schemes for the rural areas. Self- 102 sufficiency has not been and is not possible, except for villages close to the line of rail; the absence of markets and year round roads aggravated by the exodus of nearly 50% of the male population in many places cause additional difficulties. The self-reliance of rural dwellers became a bureaucratic strategy promising imme- diate results; it was not only impossible to accomplish but proved to be detrimental to the good-will and hOpes of many. 9. The geography of Zambia was not favourable. The country was sur- rounded by enemies and unreliable friends; only President Nyerere of Tanzania could be called a trusted ally. Zambia had to find new means of transport for her exports and imports. The economy had been dependent on the south and changes were slow and expensive. 10. Finally, there was a diminution of the importance of tribal identity by the destruction of many beliefs, customs and ceremonies during the colonial experience. Christian beliefs, British laws with political and economic power were imposed and suppressed the local institutions and values. At independence, a mwina Nghumbo was only partially what he/she claimed to be; but he/she could not know what should be a mwina Zambia, even if it is what they claim to be. (Mwina = person from, of, or belonging to a tribe or group). Many other constraints could be listed, including the behap viour of the elite and the pervasive idea that Zambia is rich and can live on copper. People are not convinced that agriculture is important and that they have to work hard. Many Zambians suffer from what was called the 'copper mentality', the belief that mines can be Opened everywhere and that everybody could find a job and receive a salary at the end of the month. The Zambianisation of the economic sector was erratic and not always conducted with efb ficiency in mind. It appears that if Zambian Humanism did not exist, similar principles would have to be invented to inspire, encourage and motivate all Zambians. 103 d. Zambian Humanism of Kaunda and Other Zambians This section is concerned with Zambian Humanism as created and presented by Kenneth Kaunda, commented upon and expanded by Zambians. There is no questioning of the accuracy of their sta- tements, and no detailed critique of the veracity of their affir- mations or the validity of their propositions. This dissertation studies primarily the ideal-spiritual-nor- mative elements of ideology; that is, the observations, reflec- tions, rules, moral Obligations, ideals and beliefs about Man, Man in his relations with other men, society and nature, Man and the supra-natural and his economic and political institutions. It is in the domain Of rules, customs and values. There is no detailed description of the physical applications of those rules. When the technical-material is mentioned, it is by way of con- comitant applications or corollaries and not as essential re- lationships. Fer instance, proverbs advise to work hard (gpg;;_ umunwe: e Bali ibala; where there is a finger, there is a garden; proverb 246); they do not indicate what to do in the specific and material circumstances of the daily life of a certain person. Zambian Humanism proclaims: "Humanists declare that a willingness to work hard is of prime importance. Without it nothing can be done anywhere" (Kaunda 1974:80). With its idealistic norms, Zamp bian Humanism links guidelines, instructions and practical appli- cations, such as "an egg a day by 1980" (Kaunda 1968:33) and the planting of rice in Samfya (Kaunda 1967:45). I believe that log- ical relationships do not necessarily exist between ideological- normative pronouncements and practical applications. Nor can it be demonstrated that spiritual-normative propositions are the conse- quences of practical realisations which must be sanctioned and ac- credited by some idealistic configuration. The "guide to the imp plementation" of Zambian Humanism is really a series Of technical and physical recommendations to improve the economic and material 104 life of Zambians. (Cf. Kaunda 1967:36-48; 1968a; 1974:89-95). Again, the ideal-normative assertion of 'hard work' may be asso- ciated with the obligation to produce forty bags of ground-nuts per person in the Mwansa Kombe area; however, this is a conclusion which has no essential logical relationship between principle and application. It follows that the lack of accomplishments will not invalidate the value of the idealistic declarations. In truth, the 'economic-material' and the 'idcal-spiritual-normative should develop concomitantly in a society through the same dynamic process which causes continuity and change. Generally speaking, Zambian Humanism is an ideology made up of reflexions and propositions which originated in traditional values and customs, evolved from the colonial experience and were elaborated with the resolute desire Of building a nation based on the dignity and preeminence of Man as a member of a mutual-aid society. 1. Zambian Humanism is a body of ideas and beliefs about Man, na- ture and society; "it is a doctrine, a cause, a theory, practice or process regarding an all-round development of 'MAN' in Zambia" (Kandeke 1977:1); "it is basically a social ideological philoso- phy" (Kandeke 1977:xi); "it is a statement of philosophical theory in the meaning Of human existence" (Kaunda 1974:l). 2. Zambian Humanism may be a reaction "to a colonialist and oppres- sive government" (Kaunda 1974:x); but it is more than that; it is trying to establish an egalitarian society based on past values as inspiration and encouragement for actual obligations and accom- plishments: "The ideology of nationalism has undone much Of the harm caused by the ambiguities Of colonialism; it has restored our people's selfhrespect and given them a sense of identification with the new nation" (Kaunda 1966:52). "Humanism preserves selected values from the past, embodies convictions which grew up during the nationalist struggle and adapts these principles to the problems of the present in 105 order to give direction for the future" (Kandeke 1977:212). Zambian Humanism does not return to traditional customs and beliefs to imitate or copy them, but to help find solutions which corres- pond to the 'spirit' of the people; they are inspirations for the strategies to be implemented in order that the nation may success- fully face new challenges: "Culturally we are rich and now we must revive what we have inherited from the past and with our political mould adapt it as part of our general planning" (Kaunda 1967:30). "... this is not, repeat not, to glorify the past but rather to humbly try to learn from it for the good of the present and the future" (Kaunda 1967:8). "Zambian Humanism's interest in traditional way of life is not merely for historical purposes. It is rather for utilising the best elements of traditional way of life for future development of the Nation... The emphasis on the preservation Of tradition is related only to such cultural traits or customs that res- pond favourably to the practical realities of contemporary Zams bia" (Kandeke 1977:57). It would appear that referring to traditional worldviews and values would be the best way to assure that the present which changes rap- idly will be in accordance with the specific beliefs of the Zambians. (Cf. Meebelo 1973:12; Kaunda 1966:24; 1973:16—18; 56-58; Zulu 1970: 9 and 20; Kandeke 1977:172). 3. The essential theme of Zambian Humanism is twofold; first, it states that the tribal groups were Man-centred and that the Zambian society of to-day must be Man-centred also, which means that all the works and products of everyone are for the benefit of all; and sec- ond, the present society, like the communities of old, must be ac- cepting, inclusive and based on mutual aid, where everybody shares his joys, pains and work with everybody else, where egotistic comp petition is condemned, and where everyone is accepted and appre- ciated for what he or she is and not only for what he or she can do: "Whatever changes take place in our society, whatever sacrifices are made or are urged on individuals to make, by the Party and 106 Government, in our task of fighting to preserve the Man—centred society, we must remember that it is people above ideology; Man above institutions. We must continuously refuse to slavishly tie men to anything. Society is there because of Man“ (Kaunda 1967: 4). "We all believe in a co-operative way of life, but we misunder- standthe past if we think that a co-operative approach to life is new to our peOple. To be blunt, a mutual aid society, that is, one which from the cradle to the grave is based not on a profit motive, but service to each other as human beings, is quite honestly more and more creative than anything we can think of now” (Kaunda 1967:34). "It is this equitable distribution of the products of Man's la- bour which is the basis of a Man-centred society. The task of Zambian Humanism is to see that people, regardless of their so- cial positions, enjoy the fruits of their interdependent labour activities as members of one social being. They all share the nature of belonging to a common humanness. This is the most vital characteristic of Zambian Humanism as a Philosophical ideology for building a Man-centred society" (Kandeke 1977:38). (Cf. Kaunda 1967:17; 1973:104-106; Meebelo 1978:108). 4. Zambian Humanism is prOposed, spread and preached because it is believed that its acceptance and general practice will bring a bet- ter life: "In all this that we are discussing now, we are aiming at organ- ising ourselves politically, economically, socially, scientific- ally and culturally to such a point that we will make it possible for every person in Zambia to live a fuller and happier life" (Kandeke 1967:33). "It (Zambian Humanism) is really an interpretation of the road to a fuller life in economic and social terms, as well as a way of life itself, which the common man is to live once the goal is achieved... The goal itself is a society in which a man is able to develop his ability in an atmosphere of co-Operation between one member of society and another "(Kaunda 1968, quoted in Meebelo 1973:28). That Man-centred, mutual-aid society which evolved from traditional practices and as a reaction to the exploitative nature of colonialism is the core of Zambian Humanism which is seen here as Operating in the ideal-spiritual-normative: "Humanism Operates on the boundary between religion and politics as a channel for the best gifts of all true faith: compassion, ser- vice, and love-to be lavished on the nation's people" (Kaunda 1973:23). 107 To reach deeper into its content and messages, a more de- tailed study of Zambian Humanism is necessary and will comprise six content areas which will be used later in the thematic classifi- cation of proverbs. They are: (l) the supra-natural, (2) family life, (3) social life, (4) economic life, (5) political life and (6) moral values and traditional thoughts. 1. The Supra-Natural President Kaunda describes himself as a Christian humanist: "I must be a Christian humanist! By Christian humanism, I mean that we discover all that is worth knowing about God through our fellow men and unconditional service of our fellow men is the purest form of the service of God. I believe that Man must be the servant of a vision which is bigger than himself" (Kaun- da 1966:39). Zambian Humanism calls itself religious and theistic; it is based on the idea that Man is the centre of the creation: "The basic premise in Zambian Humanism is that man is the centre of God's creation on earth; in the Christian tradition and indeed in that Of other faiths, man is regarded as the highest expres- sion of God's image and likeness" (Kaunda in Foreword in Meebelo 1973:“) e "Man in traditional society regarded himself as the highest being on earth created by a Higher Being-God. Indeed, religion, which made man see himself as having the status of highest being in God's creationn-hence his importance-permeated the entire traditional African society" (Meebelo 1973:11; also p. 21). Humanism calls upon believers Of all faiths to come together and coor- dinate their efforts to realise the aims of serving Man and improving his condition: "So Zambian Humanism which makes the welfare of Man the central aim of national policy invites all religious believers to har- ness the power inherent in their faith for socially desirable ends" (Kaunda 1973:23). In his latest book, Kaunda emphasises the spiritual and religious perspective in the ideology of Humanism. Nearly every aspect of Humanism is connected in some manner to religious beliefs and prac- tices. (Cf. Kaunda 1974:xi, xvi, 2, 15, 16, 19, 21, 33, 53-55, 67-70, 74, 82, 104, 117-125, 127-129). 108 2., Family Life. The principle enunciated by Kaunda that "our Humanism must be understood against the background of what we know to have been the way of life enjoyed by our forefathers" (1967:5) is probably best applied in the efforts made to continue the obligations, services, and attitudes practised in the traditional extended family, into the customs of the actual urban families. ‘As it is well known, the old family was not only the nuclear family, but a community of relatives with many ties and reciprocal, if unequal, rights and duties. (Cf. Kaunda 1963. Africa Report of May 1963:20 as quoted in Meebelo 1973: 7). President Kaunda describes those traditional features: "The traditional community was a mutual aid society. It was or- ganised to satisfy the basic human needs of all its members and therefore, individualism was discouraged... If, for example, a villager required a new hut, all the men would turn to forests and fetch poles to erect the frame and bring grass for thatching. The women might be responsible for making the mud-plaster for the walls and two or three of them would undoubtedly brew some beer so that all the workers would be refreshed after a hot but sat- isfying day's work. In the same spirit, the able-bodied would accept responsibility for tending and harvesting the gardens of th. 3101! and infirm... In traditional societies, Old peOple are venerated and it is re- garded as a privilege to look after them. Their counsel is sought on many matters and, however infirm they might be, they have a valued and constructive role to play in teaching and instructing their grandchildren... We cannot do enough to repay them for all they have done for us. They are the embodiment of wisdom: living symbols of our continuity with the past... No child in a traditional society is likely to be orphaned. Should his literal parents die then others automatically assume the responsibility for his upbringing" (Kaunda 1967:5,6 and 7). The purpose of describing local values is to participate into their continued application and effectiveness: "The principle of mutual aid is, indeed the basis of the extended family, whose members share their wealth, sorrow, afflictions, successes and joys. In the extended family, no one is supposed to be very poor or wretched, while his kinsmen are affluent; no one is supposed to be indolent while the rest of the family are hard-working and selfbreliant; each one cares for everybody else. This mutual aid, this inclusiveness must, in Zambian hu- manist thought, extend to the whole of the Zambian society" (Meebelo 1973:37). 109 There are instances where customs encouraged in the extended family and continued at present may run counter to Western customs regard- ing nepotism: "... there is a longstanding tradition in many tribes that showb ing partiality towards one's relatives is in no way to be con- demned as favouritism. It is one of those privileges which is the other coin to the network of obligations into which one enters as a member of the extended family" (Kaunda 1973:95). If traditional society can consider the treatment of the old as a sign of high civilisation, it is because the elderly people were not judged by their actual material performance, but by the simple fact that they were human beings (Kaunda 1967:6); however, modern urban conditions with fixed salary and stricter housing capacity strain the concept of the extended family and the tenets of Hu- manism: "We have witnessed some of our otherwise promising young men and women denying their Own parents, close relatives or indeed friends, the opportunity of staying with them in their homes because these humble people were 'uncivilised'" (Kaunda 1974: 113). Zambian Humanism demands that the reciprocal obligations of the ex- tended family be transposed at the level of the village, the town and even the whole country. Zambia should become one large extend- ed family where all people are true relatives with the duties and obligations of kinship. (Cf. Kaunda 1973:118-119). 3. Social Life Included here are the activities, beliefs and customs which re- late individuals, families and clans to each other. Social life deals with the roles of ancestors, the duties of leaders and other people in authority, cooperation and hospitality. The chiefs and traditional leaders had authority and power; they could "adjudicate between conflicting parties, admonish the quarrelsome and anti-social and take whatever action necessary to strengthen the fabric of social life" (Kaunda 1967:5). This power, now in the hands of the state, is regarded as absolute. (Cf. Kaunda 1973:70-71; 1966:86-87). 110 Generosity, sharing and hospitality are often evoked as practices which were fundamental in tribal life and must be transferred in a humanistic society: "Generosity or hospitality was, however, never a one-sided social transaction. Fer, if it were, the traditional society would have become fertile ground for indolence, social parasiticism and all other forms of exploitation of one man by another-vices which were always condemned by a society which put a high premium on selfbreliance and hard-work. But selfbreliance did not mean selfb ishness, fer hospitality and generosity were part of a wider web of reciprocal or mutual-aid social relations and were instrumen- tal in the promotion of an egalitarian society"_(ueebelo 1973:8). Zambians are constantly warned about the danger Of egotism, of one group of people, either because of their favourable location on the line-ofbrail (Kaunda 1968:13) or because Of their jobs as mine workers (Kaunda 1969:46 and 47). Zambia could be divided into two classes: "Here in Zambia we also face the danger of creating two nations within one. But not along the capitalist pattern... But between the urban and rural areas" (Kaunda 1969:44). "Not only have the economic and social gaps between the urban and rural areas been widened over the past four years, but the dis- tribution Of personal wealth have exhibited an alarming trend" (Kaunda 1974:109). The traditional has no capacity to institute a class society: "Since no individual or group of individuals had an exclusive right to the means of livelihood, it was not possible for one person to exploit the labour of another, and the traditional society was classless, although it accommodated the concept of rank and status" (Meebelo 1973:6). This is no longer the case and there are many instances of egotism and selfbinterest: "We have allowed the capitalist system to influence us so much that a tiny minority of us centres along the line Of rail and in beter-paid jobs continue to demand more and more, apparently un- concerned about the lot of the masses of our fellowhmen both in urban and rural areas" (Kaunda 1974:113). Elsewhere, Kaunda (1974:98) refers to some "arrogant elitists" and "those who have placed themselves in upper and middle classes" in spite of the often repeated goals of Humanism: "Humanism seeks to create an egalitarian societyb-that is, a society in which there is equal Opportunity for self-development 111 for all. Equal Opportunity cannot come about without society organising itself on a humanist basis. Unfortunately the human personality has certain weaknesses that manifest themselves in many forms... The greedy plan their lives in such a way that they begin to use their talents not for the benefit of all mem- bers Of the society to which they belong, but fer themselves alone" (Kaunda 1974:xiii and xiv). Zambian Humanism discusses many other subjects like the love of con- versation, the Obligation of greeting and asking about relatives (Cf. Kaunda 1966:32; 1973:46-48 and 115), the duties of hospitality (Cf. Meebelo 1973:7-9) and the care and reverence for old people al- ready mentioned (p. 103). (or. Kaunda 1966:26; 1969:15). The society of old was "a society in which people worked cooper- atively without losing the identity of the individual for whose ben- efit and in whose name all was done" (Kaunda 1967:3). WOrk and rec- reation, rejoicing and mournixg were done in a spirit Of solidarity and sharing which made the village a community of friends and part- ners. Zambian Humanism proposes to make the whole nation a large village where Man's suspicions and fears are alleviated by the to- getherness of community living: "In a village where a state of advanced harmony between indivi- duals is reached, the village citizens ... Operate individually as well as collectively, as a teamp-as members of one familyb- the 'Human Family'. What the world needs is to see how this type of harmony between individuals can be realised at the city- state level as well as at the nation-state level..." (Kaunda 1974:15; cf. pp. 14 and 10). 4e monouc 1012.0 With the one-man-one-vote elections and Independence, came political freedom and equality; however "political emancipation is not in any way synonymous with industrial emancipation" (Kaunda 1974: 97). Moreover, Zambians are well aware that the economy is primordial in the advancement of the people: "As is well known, the present-day ideological differences are based on certain economic and political theories and practices. Putting it very simply, one could say it was a question of who owned or controlled the means of creating and distributing wealth in any given nation" (Kaunda 1967:3). 112 At every step of development or lack of develOpment, Zambia is faced with the same dilemma which is both ideological and economical: "How does an individual in Zambia today remain mutual aid society- minded and at the same time function in a society that is emerging from a so-called modern economy which has been born out Of capi- talism? On the other hand, how does he meet this challenge without going to the excesses of the ultra-left where Manis equally 'de- humanised'-and remains as an instrument rather than the master of institutions? (Kaunda 1967:12). There is no doubt at all that the mutual aid society way Of life is peculiarly African both in origin and pattern. Be this as it may, it borders on the one hand on capitalism, and on the other on communism. Just to recap, our ancestors worked collectively and co-Operatively from start to finish. One might say this was a communist way of doing things and yet these gardens remained strongly the prOperty of individuals. One might say here that this was capitalism. Col- lectively and co-Operatively they harvested but when it came to storing and selling their produce they became strongly individ- ualistic. They did not finish at that. When it came to sharing the fruits Of their labour like meals, for instance, they shared them communally. Indeed, one is compelled to say a strange mix- ture of nineteenth-century capitalism with communism. Yet, as is said above, this was original and the pattern essentially African. This is what makes us realise the importance attached to Man in that society. All was done for the good of Man as a Person. It could be done collectively, it could be held individuallyh-Man was central. Hence the strange mixture which gives the present gener- ation the right to claim that our socialism is humanism" (Kaunda 1967:12 and 13). (Cf. Meebelo 1973:39; Kaunda 1970 in Meebelo p.73). That last sentence which is often quoted represents the core of the ideal-normative content of Humanism about the economic life. As pointed out before (p. 103) in several publications, there are practical ap- plications concerning agriculture, the industrial and commercial sec- tors, village regreuping, fights against starvation, the need for good houses, decent clothes and sufficient fOOd, decentralisation, State-own- ership, public ownership, industrial participatory democracy which are treated with some modifications according to time and the needs of the people. (Of. Kaunda 1967:16-18; 35-40; 45-49; 1969:6-10; 26-36; 1974: 33-42; 43-50; 51-66; 73-95; Kandeke 1977:63-136. However, the ideal- spiritual-normative content is the same; what is important is not main- ly' material and technological development; it is the betterment of 113 Man, the absence Of exploitation. Zambians must be self-reliant, they must work hard and co-Operatively; lazy persons and profiteers must be eliminated; Man does not live Of bread alone. These are the permanent ideas behind the practical applications and explications. (or. Kaunda 1974:8 and 117). Self-sufficiency means primarily that rural people can feed them- selves and must become better farmers to produce a surplus which would liberate them from Government subsidies, at least to some extent: "If the Zambian Humanist Revolution is to succeed it must find an answer to the development problems of the small producer. This is one reason why each district needs to upgrade the agricul- tural activities of its small farmers to a point at least where each district is self-sufficient in the production of its basic foodstuffs" (Kaunda 1974:64). "Even so, localised self-sufficiency must be regarded as only a a primary Objective. From there we need to encourage the prO- duction of a surplus, however modest, which each district can dispose of in wider markets" (Kaunda 1974:65). (Cf..Kaunda 1967: 23; 1968:42 and 43). The way to achieve self-reliance is through hard work, perseverance and sacrifice: "To reach our cherished goal there will be need for total dedi- cation and hard work. New sacrifices will have to be made. Suc- cess, Of course, will also depend on the contribution which each one of the four million people in Zambia is prepared to make" (Kaunda 1967 :27) e "Workers themselves must take up the challenge and spend at least ten hours a day working and thinking. They should not be con- tented to work one hour a day or three months a year and call that participation. Workers must drastically change their at- titudes towards work" (Kaunda 1974:108). Laziness as a form of exploitation is repeatedly condemned: "Very often it is not realised that a lazy person is an exploiter and should not be tolerated anywhere in any decent society. It is this sort of fellow who tries to find an easy way of life and very often takes to begging and stealing from some other peOple. He is exploiting the hard work of a decent fellow man. He is just as much a post as a stalk-borer. The only reason why he is not given the stalk-borer treatment is that he is human" (Kaunda 1967:50; 1974:xiv and 80, 75, 106, 108 and 129; 1969:46 and 47; 1968:42; Zulu 1970:15 and 16; Meebelo 1973:104-108). 114 Another important point, is the need to establish co-operatives. In traditional life, the society was based on cooperation and mutual aid, with work performed cooperatively and collectively with the products possessed individually and shared in time of need. (Cf. Kaunda 1967:5 and 13). In fact, the success, or failure, of co-Operatives could be a determinant in the general acceptance of Humanism: "While dealing with the issue of co-operatives it should be pointed out that in many ways the development of humanism in Zam- bia will depend on how successful we are in organising people's co-operatives. We must avoid the pitfalls into which others have fallen. We must never allow co-operatives to grow into just another group of exploiters. Co-Operators have got to work themselves and not to employ other people" (Kaunda 1967:17). Co-operation is a fundamental principle which is repeated in every pub- lication, not only to curb individualistic and egotistic tendencies, but to impress in all the obligations to work hard, help and share with fellow human beings as humanists should: "We all believe in a co-Operative way Of life, but we misun- derstand the past if we think that a co-Operative approach to, life is new to our peOple. To be blunt, a mutual aid society, that is, one which from the cradle to the grave is based not on a profit motive, but service to each other as human beings, is quite honestly more and more creative than anything we can think of now " (Kaunda 1967:34; cf. 17, 25, 23, and 28; 1968:49; 1969:25-26; 1974:66; Meebelo 1973:91-93; Kandeke 5. Political Life. Among the pricipal aspects Of politics prepounded in the ideol- ogy of Zamhmm.Humanism are the transition from tribe to nation, par- ticipatory democracy, the one-party State and the elimination of all forms of segregation. In fermer times,even if the position of chief was hereditary, that is, chosen from a certain clan or among certain families, the actual selection was done democratically and deposition was possible because of injustices or general antagonism: "In thaurresearches modern social scientists have established that politically our peOple enjoyed what was essentially a democratic way of life in that either the people themselves 115 were allowed to choose their Chief or they chose the Elders who, in turn, chose their Chief. In most tribal groups these Elders controlled the Chief and if he misbehaved then he was displaced. There were, of course, many qualities which our people looked for in their rulers-courage, determination, brav- ery, discipline and self-discipline, to mention but a few. This is something of which we may well be proud and indeed is some- thing which we should emulate" (Kaunda 1967:28 and 29). "All that has happened is that we have a money economy, the na- tional identity has grown and now we are a nation. Instead of a tribe considering itself to a certain extent as a nation, now we have the whole of Zambia as a state and a nation. This is the only difference" (Kaunda 1968 in Zambia Mail, quoted in Meebelo 1973:45). Officially, everybody can and must play an active r61e in the political life of the nation, whether on the village, section, prov- incial or national level. The term 'participatory democracy‘ means that everybody can and should get involved not only in the selection ' of Officials and leaders, but also in the making of decisions and their implementation; moreover, all have the duty to keep an eye on leaders and their actions. Participatory democracy does not consist merely in electing representatives who should grant benefits; it also demands regular attendance at meetings, cooperation from the mem- bers who should bring proposals and suggestions: "Humanists believe that political stability can only come about if there is a full and unfettered system of participatory democ- racy both in theory as well as in practice" (Kaunda 1974:xv). "Having attained independence, the people, through their Party, have proclaimed participatory democracy as the only political system that could safeguard it" (Kaunda 1974:9). "We have therefore decided to have the type of democracy in which citizens participate not only through their freely elected repre- sentatives but also by their own direct involvement in the deci- sion-making process. As a consequence of this historic decision, the Party has begun to decentralise all political institutions. This is why we are now organising the village as the most impor- tant and effective unit for self-expression by the people and for the people" (Kaunda 1974:10). "Participatory democracy postulates respect for human dignity, Observance of individual liberties, equality‘of all citizens and affOrds equal opportunity for each citizen to develop his potential to the full. It postulates free elections at .116 village/hection, ward as well as at district and national levels; postulates government in accordance with the will of the people with a corollary that a government can be removed from power if it loses the support of the country" (Meebelo 1973:47 and 48). (Of. Kaunda 1971, quoted in Mbebelo 1973: 50; Kaunda 1974:23, 25, 106 to 108; Kandeke 1977:111, 139, and 188). Zambia inherited at Independence two parties which vied for the support of the people; those parties divided the country geo- graphically and ethnically much more than ideologically. It soon became evident that the constructive work had only started and that the support of all was needed to unite the nation; there was no place for an institutionalised Opposition. Zambian Humanism claims that traditionally, there could be only one party, that is, one set of beliefs, customs and laws, one chieftainship and one clan system. People could be Opposed to a chief, but they could not form an of- ficial Opposition whose main duty was to criticise, attack and try to displace the leader to take his/her place, which is the princi- pal function and goal of the Opposition in the British system of parliament and government: "Although there is nothing written about Parties in the past, it must be clear to all of us that every King, or Paramount Chief, had what you might call today for lack of a better defi- nition, a one-Party State, which was organised through the sub- chiefs, village headmen and their supportenr'(Kaunda 1968b:13). "The idea of an institutional Opposition is foreign to the Af- rican tradition. In our original society we Operated by con- sensus. An issue was talked out in solemn conclave until such time as general agreement could be achieved. The decision was then binding upon all the parties and it was a major sin against society for any of those who were privy to the decision to continue their agitation against it" (Kaunda 1966:108). Zambia could not afford the luxury of a group of people whose main function was to Oppose and often divide the country. At stake was the building of a unified nation where the common person could partici- pate, criticise and Oppose, but not form factions whose duty was to destroy. (Cf. Meebelo 1973:50-55; Kandeke 1977:202-207). Another political aim of Zambian Humanism was and is to root out 117 religious, racial and tribal discrimination: "To abolish all forms of discrimination and segregation based on colour, tribe, clan and creed and to maintain, protect and promote understanding and unity among the people of Zambia by removing individualism, tribalism and provincialism" (Kaunda 1967:11). "With some seventy-three ethnic or sub-ethnic indigenous groups speaking about thirty dialects, in addition to several immigrant racial communities, Zambia has experienced a history of racial and tribal incidents... The Zambian humanist view, is that such pre- Judices will finally disappear-once 'One Zambia, One Nation' is truly achieved-when all the people, regardless of race or tribe, receive and are seen to receive rights and opportunities in equal measure" (Meebelo 1973:58 and 59; cf. Kandeke 1977:168-170). There are occasional practical applications of Zambian Humanism concerning politics like the descriptions of the Central Government, the District Administration, and the Provicial Development committees (Kaunda 1974:35-41; 1967:41-43). However, the basic argumentation is ideological, as the following quotation indicates: "We are merely reminding ourselves that State control of the economy, socialism or common ownership, are all very important phases in our long march towards the creation of a humanist so- ciety. The heart of the matter is, therefore, not that the people have elected the various levels of their Government, which have rightly taken over control of the economy on their behalf. Rather it is that when the machinery of government has been transcended by Man's reaching the stage of perfection, then the economy, like anything else, is being run through the forces of love. In other words, the State and all its bureau- cratic institutions will not be transcended until the stage is reached in Man's development when he is loving the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and is also loving his neighbour as he loves himself and is doing unto others as he would have them do unto him" (Kaunda 1974:53). 6. Moral Values and Traditional Thoughts It is often repeated that Man cannot live by bread alone (Kaun- da 1974:8 and 117; Berger 1974:43); morality and spirituality have a place in people's lives: "Materialism has taken over control to such an extent that reli- gion is being strangled, as it were,and is now gasping for a breath of fresh air. The Party cannot, therefore, continue to think in terms of material development only, leaving moral and spiritual development to religious leaders alone" (Kaunda 1974: 119). 118 Zambian Humanism should be a way of being and existing, where the goal is "a society in which a man is able to develop his ability in an atmosphere of co-operation between one member of society and another" (Kaunda 1968; Zambia Mail of Jan. the 5th; quote in Meebelo 1973:28). One of the basic principles of Humanism is that man is the "centre of God's creation on earth" and "the highest expression of God's image and likeness" (Kaunda 1969; After Mulungushi; Foreword:vi). All the efforts of the State are directed towards the selfhrealisation of Man in a community based on sharing (Kaunda 1967:3-5) and on his spiritual well-being: "The tragedy of the twentieth century is that in the blind race for development and higher standards of material well-being, moral values and the riches of spirituality have been forgotten. We in Zambia still have time to turn our quest for development into a positive good if we recognise the need for our own per- sonal moral and spiritual responsibility through Humanism. Man is not Just a machine nor is he Just a higher animal. Man was created by God in His own image and likeness. So Man has a hunur destiny than Just living well. Man pursues that higher destiny best when he is guided by spiritual values. Humanism can provide that spiritual need in Zambia" (Kaunda 1974:12‘ and 125). Kaunda mentions "many qualities which our people looked for in their rulers, courage, deurmination, bravery, discipline and self-disci- pline" (Kaunda 1967:28). During Humanism week, slogans are printed in newspapers, read over the radio and on television; they are in the form of moral sentences like 'be a humanist', 'be polite', 'a humanist is kind', a humanist works hard', 'a humanist is honest‘, etc. Zulu summarises the moral values of Humanism: "It is far from being a simple or comfortable task to crystallise into everyday functional relevance something as unquantifiable as Humanism. Since we live in a world of classification of human experience, it may suffice to give Humanism one breakdown. A sample list of the essential characteristics of the humanist would probably go like this: magnanimity; an inclusive vision of life; sympathy; goodwill; remembering the underprivileged; a sense of tragedy; kindness and love; integrity; social Justice; an in- tense sense of human purpose. The 'realist‘ may dismiss these as ideal qualities, never perfectly realisable by any one. The cynic may find the ideal and preoccupation with Humanism depressing and pointless" (1970:? and 8). 119 Other moral qualities, which are supposed to be based on tra- ditional life, are praised and recommended: the mutual-aid society with sharing and cooperation (Kaunda 1966:24; 1967:3, 5, 7, 28-29; Heebelo 1973:101-102); the accepting society respectful and care- ful towards all, especially the weak, the old, the orphans and the sick (Kaunda 1966325; 1967:6); the inclusive society in which mem- bers share mutual responsibility based on the extended family (Kaun- da 1966:24; Meebelo 1973:4 and 35); selfhhelp and hard work (Kaun- da 1967:84; 1974:108, 128 and 129); sacrifice and devotion (Kaun- da 1974:110); hospitality and generosity (Meebelo 1973:7); res- pect for authority and elders (Meebelo 1973:9). Kaunda adds a few other attributes like patience, availability for communal work and help, forgiveness and optimism (Kaunda 1966:38-36). The love of conversation and personal communication is said to be inherent in the African value system (Kaunda 1966:32-33; 1973:45-49). Zambian Humanism deals with the quality of life and the spir- itual realisations of Man not gauged by wealth and physical pos- sessions (Cf. Zulu 1970:6-9). Basic needs like food, shelter, clothes, education, medical services and Jobs can be fulfilled without incessant craving for and constant pursuit of material wealth (Kaunda 1967:26-38). For instance, co-operatives in farm- ing, fishing and transport are started in view of fostering the togetherness and mutual-aid so important for all: "Zambian Hu- manism... does not countenance unhumanistic sacrifice that devel- oped countries make in the name of science but at the disadvantage of Man" (Heebelo 1973:96). A humanist society of the Zambian model wants to consider all the members as important persons, the successful and the unsuc- cessful, the strong and the weak, because the obJective is "to ensure easier and better life for all without distinction" (Kaunda 1969:38; 1974:l). That better life is not necessarily a more abundant or more glamorous one, but a life where people are truly important, with sharing and caring as essential traits. Above 120 all, equality among members will remain a preoccupation of the leaders of a humanist Zambia, until it has been satisfactorily achieved: ' "Humanism seeks to create an egalitarian society-that is a society in which there is equal opportunity for selfbdevelOp- ment for all. Equal opportunity cannot come about without society organising itself on a humanist basis" (Kaunda 1974: xiii). In fact, the traditional family life is supposed to be trans- planted to the whole nation, where everyone is a parent, a rela- tive, a friend or a stranger who is offered hospitality. It is an ideal community similar to those which existed in some Monas- teries and persists in some Hutterite colonies; it is propounded as an ideal to unite the country and provide the people with moral and spiritual strength to improve their conditions. B. CRITIQUE OF ZAMBIAN HUMANISM This section contains (a) a review of the material and phys- ical problems being faced personally and socially in Zambia, (b) suggestions and alternatives to solve them and alleviate the hardship and privation endured by the people, and (c) a presen- tation of the aims and roles of the Zambian ideology with their extent and limitations. a. Problems Practical issues such as equality, the emergent social elite, the middle class workers and bureaucrats looking for higher wages are referred to in humanistic publications and speeches and can be examined. Then,there are questions surrounding agriculture, indus- trialisation, urbanisation, develOpment and growth, underdevelop- ment and stagnation, dependence on multi-nationals, shortages of food, clothes and houses, greed, and exploitation which affect every Zambian and are, as such, obJects of study and analysis for 121 social scientists. Observers may attribute the material plight of the peeple to the official ideology, they may neglect the value of its spiritual-normative elements, or they may try to compare the material situations with the spiritual doctrine and explain their relationships. Several social scientists have been interested in focusing on both politics and economics to deal with African situations. (Cf. Arrighi and Saul 1973: Gutkind and Wallerstein 1976; Shaw 1976a and 1976b; Copans 1975). In Zambia, as in other countries, po- litical independence did not always bring about economic inde- pendence (Benet I, 1975:5-86). The dynamic forces for development are enmeshed in local conditions, in institutions put in place by the colonial power, and in economic links with foreign countries and multisnatnnwia. It is difficult to have an integrated picture of a situation likemmderdevelopment which has global implications. Isolated elements cannot provide adequate explanations of the si- tuation as Cecconi affirms: "Sans prétendre 1e moins du monde contester l'utilité et la valeur des analyses d'esprit technique, empirique ou écono- mique, i1 nous parait cependant impossible d'élaborer une ve- ritable théorie scientifique des situations de sous-develop- pement sans la determination préalable des coordonnées socio- politiques internationales, puis nationales, dans leurs comp plexes rapports de dominations, et cette base d'analyse est Justement 1a seule qui puisse permettre aux techniques écono- miques, et autres, de signifier et de valoir" (1975:256). The complexity of these conditions helps understand the different theoretical attempts to explain the problems of new African nations. Copans (1974) and other French Anthropologists (Godelier 1974: Meillassoux 1964; Rey 1971; Terray 1969) favour a marxian approach to explicate the politico-economic situations of African countries: "... les caractéristiques prepres a la situation du néo-colo- nialisme conduisent a rechercher 1es racines économiques de l'exploitation et les solutions politiques et revolutionnaires du renversement de l'exploitation, donc a adopter explicitement une perspective marxiste" (1974:101). The argument would develOp as follows: many former colonies are still very poor and demonstrate very little growth, at least in 122 comparison with Western countries; their poverty and stagnation are mainly the result of exploitation by foreign countries, large com- panies and multi-nationals which profit by cheap labour and raw materials; that exploitation is the life blood of capitalism and nee-colonialism; but Marxism shows how to supplant capitalism and replace it with socialism to reduce or eliminate exploitation and poverty. However, Copans does not delineate the relationships between a marxist perspective of analysis and the effective termi- nation of exploitation which is not adequately defined. The ar- gumentation falls short of a serious description of all the problems facing a developing country and ignores some universal human ten- dencies like competitiveness and unequivocal greed which have never been solved by materialistic programmes. Other analyses describe the material problems in Zambia (Shaw 1976a and 1976b; Sklar 1975; Pettman 1974). The same themes are repeated: underdevelopment exists in Zambia because of her de- pendence on multi-nationals, her one export product, copper, the lack of diversification in industry, the reliance on experts and eXpatriates; moreover, there are problems like stratification, urbanisation, a profiteering local elite with links with inter- national elites, the indifference towards the national ideology, a materialistic ethos, greed, poor agricultural planning, underpaid workers and the army of unemployed. (Cf. Shaw 1976a:4, 9, 14, 20; Tordoff 1974:8, 35-36; Sklar 1975:179-216). Rarely do these authors attempt to evaluate how useful or detrimental supra-nationals and their subsidiaries are in Zambia. For instance, it would be pos- sible to specify the roles of a company like Procter and Gamble and detail its exploitative methods towards Zambians; if items like toilet soaps, detergents and tooth-paste should be banned, some kind of soap may be useful on occasion. Similarly, a company like The Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia produces nitrogenous fer- tilisers which are essentials for the Zambian soils; should it be declared exploitative and under which criteria? does it prevent the use of compost and local selfbsufficiency? It seems that some 123 multi-nationals and large companies are in Zambia to stay and, as is the case all over the world, most companies which are effective are competitive, and to be competitive they are often exploitative. Moreover, questions such as work ethic, lack of interest and moti- vation, family obligations, religious beliefs which may slow pro- ductivity and cause stagnation are ignored. Analytical economic theories cannot deal effectively with such causes; they are the obJect of ideological studies (Time, August 7, 1978:44). Finally, practical suggestions and solutions are often absent from obser- vers' writing. If a situation is so bad that it deserves so many long statements, it is because something is not going well; if so, realistic changes, improvements and precisions about their costs, spiritual and material, should be presented, keeping in mind Berger's remark about human suffering: "But there are two facets of 'cost accounting' that, we would contend, have been neglected in the largely 'technical' anal- yses of development policies. One is the facet of human sufb fering: How much sacrifice, and by whom, does a particular development model presume to either inflict or accept? The other is the facet of values: Human beings do not live by bread alone-how much destruction of the values by which men must live does a particular development model imply? And further: What new values does the model have to offer in exchange for those it is about to destroy? (Berger 1974: 131; cf. Papworth 1973:5, 8 and 31). Some of those problems affect the Zambians so directly and pro- foundly, that they must be surveyed in a study on Zambia; they are development-underdevelopment, the multi-nationals and agri- culture. These topics are touched only briefly, mainly because of their complexity which encompasses not only the political and economic but the historical and cultural. (Cf. Cecconi 1975: Frank 1970; Rey 1971). These issues can be viewed as the nor- mal conditions inherent in post-colonial African nations, as Davidson suggests: "This is because what already exists, in the sense of socio- economic system or articulated national structure, is not cap pable of develOpment, cannot become a viable means of general progress, offers no reliable foundation for a better future. 124 "Since independence, African governments have been able to reduce the rate of dividend export, and begin the accumulation of cap- ital for develOpment, as well as greatly enlarging their social services... They have begun to educate their peoples, cut down the flow of profits overseas, acquire possession or part-pos- session of their natural resources. Yet even the most effective of these governments is still enmeshed, through no fault of its own, in the constricting economic relationships taken over from the past. They remain dependent on world markets in which they have little or no say on prices; and the terms of trade have continued (with some exceptions) to move against them" (1974:4 1. Development-Underdevelopment; Dependence-Independence; Growth and Modernization. With independence, Zambians expected to improve their total life, not only politically, but economically and culturally. Po- litically, they were officially in charge in a short time; cultur- ally, there have been more and more art productions, performances by dance groups and choirs, publications of newspapers and books in several language. (Cf. Zulu 1970:32 and 56). Even economically, steps were taken to make the country not only independent but rich- 2 er. Efforts were made to help the farmers, to build new roads and bridges, to open clinics and to diversify commercial production and markets. There were attempts to zambianise the economic sectors with more Zambians in managerial Jobs, as summarised by Tordoff: "There was rapid economic expansion... The most rapidly growb ing sector was manufacturing, which almost doubled its output in the same period (1964-1970)... Average annual earnings of Africans rose 97% between 1964 and 1968, while the consumer price index rose only 37 per cent. Another maJor achievement has been the expansion of the country's economic infrastruc- ture; an oil pipe-line was completed... coal deposits mined... self-sufficiency in electric power achieved... roads tarred... the Tanzam railway completed... Another important development in the economic sphere has been the localisation of manpower... In the long term the most significant economic changes have been in the field of ownership... the second leg of the econom- ic reforms has been a series of measures to increase partic- ipation of Zambians in the remaining private sector" (1974: 363-366; cf. Martin 1974:222-251; Bates 1974:30). Terms like growth, development and modernisation exist in states of relationships; growth, develOpment and modernity, in comparison 125 to what, to whom and at what period of time? How much do people need and how much can they bear? Lefebvre writes that for Marx (no reference given) growth and development are double aspects of matter and time: growth would be quantitative, continuous and measurable; development would be qual- itative, discontinued and evaluated only in its diversities (1974: 26-27). Growth is described by Apter as the "increasing of the net contributions Of society that give people the ability to enJoy more choices and alternatives and so improve the conditions of their lives (1977:456). For Berger, develOpment is "the process by which a poor country is to become richer" and includes "a general improve- ment in the well-being of the population" (1974:10 and 34-35). As can be observed, both development and growth imply improvement in the living conditions of the people as well as more production. It would be more precise to reserve the use of the term 'economic growth' to refer to "modern technological production", "primacy of industrial- ization" and "a rise in the per capita output" (Berger 1974:34-36). DevelOpment would mean the general improvement in the well-being of the population, with better services, diversity in food and clothes and more Opportunity in the choices Of Jobs, professions and places to live and work. Economic growth which would cause more inequali- ties, less personal liberty and more coercion might raise the eco- nomic output of a country, but would not be called development. Gutkind and wallerstein see the lack of both growth and devel- opment as the consequences of capitalism: "A condition resulting from externally imposed capitalist eco- nomic development strategies which seek to freeze, as it were, traditional forms Of production and technology" (1976:24; 26-27). Apter concurs and adds that "developmentalism produces a fundamental (though ironic) contradiction, namely, its converse, underdevelOp- ment"; because growth in recently independent nations is usually ex- 'ternally provoked and sustained by foreign aids: the more aid given, the greater growth (at times) and the stronger dependency, so that overseas aid becomes "as a way to promote hegemony of the powerful industrial metrOpole over the weak periphery, maintaining dependence 126 rather than encouraging interdependence" (Apter 1977:491). Fer Dumont, growth and development are linked with progress, in what he calls "obJective progress" which includes a greater production Of goods and services and more variation in choices (1969:110). Progress, like development, should not be reckoned in figures and statistics alone, since human liberties and values cannot be measured quantitatively, an ideal which Balandnm'expresses by alluding to "Gross National Happiness" instead of the more famil- iar "Gross National Product" (1974:243). The concept of modernisation and its obJective modernity are Often found in conJunction with growth and development. It would be the condition of advanced economy and technology where human choices and possibilities are varied and numerous. Modernisation is a move- ment forward, a process towards the betterment of human conditions, with realisations concerning the quality of life, ecological claims, equal treatment for all and equal opportunities (Balandier 1974:252). Berger defines the three terms develOpment, growth and modernisation as follows: "Growth will be understood as an economic category only, in accordance with the conventional usage of economists. Modernp ization will be understood as the institutional and cultural accompaniment of growth, again following a widespread conven- tion among social scientists... Development, on the other hand, will be understood as a political category, and thus as not value-free. Development will then refer to such instances (actual or proJected) of economic growth and sociocultural modernization as are deemed desirable in the contexts Of moral Judgment and public policy" (1974:35). Turning to the situation in Zambia, Sklar indicates that the peeple have expectations which would bring about development: "Development, itself, is a value-laden idea, connoting prog- ress toward the achievement of desired goals. Zambian opin- ion does appear to reflect a fairly wide agreement on the values of develOpment, to wit, improvement in the quality of life, max- imized equality of opportunity, progress toward substantive social equality, and a high degree of democratic or popular participation in the conduct of public affairs" (1975:179). Kaunda, as late as 1974, admits that the practical steps towards any form of development must include minimal growth and the 127 satisfaction Of basic needs: "If society is going to afford its citizens an Opportunity to think clearly about things that really matter, then the Party programme through societya-individually or/and collectively- must see tO it that every Zambian has adequate food, clothing and shelter. This means we must defeat poverty, hunger, igno- rance, disease, crime and the exploitation of man by man sys- tematically. One cannot expect a half-starved, ignorant, un- der-privileged and exploited person to have the physical or mental stamina to concentrate on important spiritual matters" (Kaunda 1974:11; cf. pp. 5 and 128). Whatever the formula and programmes, from basic improvements in living standards to the revamping of industrial and commercial enterprises, the question will remain: how can growth and dev- elopment be achieved, at what speed, and at what cost? How much force, coercion, propaganda, motivation, inequity and suffering can and should be imposed to realise rapid modernisation? Is it possible to maximise growth with equity and balance individual needs with the collective good? Kaunda is very much aware of the dilemma: "We are not so much concerned here with the speed of develop- ment, important though it is, as with its direction. Far too much so-called development in post-independent Zambia has been taking us not towards full economic independence and hu- manist equality, but towards greater dependence on foreign capital, imports of foreign goods, and above all, imports of foreign skills and expertise, as well as greater inequality. There is little point in worrying about the speed of progress if one is going in the wrong direction" (1974:59). (Cf. Apter 1977:526 and Berger 1974:36). There seems to be no proven efficient theoretical and practical solution which would allow rapid economic growth and modernisa- tion, along with development, that is freedom Of choice, mobility, equality, the well-being of individuals and the good of the col- lectivity. (Cf. Apter 1977:455-461; Balandier 1974:243-263). 2. Supra-Nationals and Parastatals Zambian Humanism reJects Capitalism which "breeds seeds of suspicion, fear, dissension, hatred, and violence; it is devoid of the human touch-the need of love for humanity" (Kaunda 1974: 128 1041. Zambia is supposed to have moved towards a "mixed economy from an entirely private-enterprise one" (Kaunda 1974:87). But, "our system of management and administration has been extremely tardy"... and "we have not yet done away with management in the traditional sense“ (Kaunda 1974:88). In its movement away from Capitalism, Zam- bia has adopted a state-controlled economy with a total or partial state ownership of industries, factories and other financial ins- titutions. But it is only one intermediate step towards a socialist state with a "common ownership economy" (Kaunda 1974:52-53). The terminology is vague and pompous: state controlled enterprises, state controlled private mining Operations, state Capitalism, maximisation of profits; the fact remains that multi-nationals and parastatals industries are very important in Zambia. In two articles, Shaw describe the dominance and control Of the supra-nationals which create international relationships with bureaucratic elites who pile up privileges and neglect the urgent problems of the country (1976a:4-8; 15-18). It would seem that some unholy alliance exists between leaders, the elites and some foreign economic powers: "The relationship between an African ruling class and the multi- national corporation usually occurs within parastatal institu- tions and is legitimized by reference to 'African socialism'. There are, of course, several varieties of state capitalism; in Zambia, for example, the ideology of Humanism has facili- tated the development of a dominant state sector which large- ly consists of collaborative agreements between the interests Of the state and of foreign capital" (1976a:6). "Parastatals still apply orthodox profitability criteria to their performance; at best they have some welfare concerns, but they are in no sense operated along socialist lines" (1976a:16). ”The dominant symbiotic relationship between the state and multi-nationals has been attacked by the radical critics of a permissive and traditionalist interpretation of Humanism. Instead they advocate a socialist definition of the national ideology" (1976a:17). Sklar adds a consequential comments: "Among the distinctive institutions Of international capi- talism, the multinational corporation is preeminently signif- icant as a repository Of values and interests that might transcend the existing political order of sovereign states... 129 It is also concerned with the capability Of transnational business groups to alter the ideological configurations of newly developing countries in accordance with the long term interests of such groups" (1974:viii; cf. Apter 1973:204: 1977:499-500; Benet 1975:79; Gutkind and Wallerstein 1976: 12). Parastatals are organisations or agencies "wholly or mainly fi- nanced or owned by the Government" (Sklar 1975:194) more or less like Crown Corporationsin Canada; their roles and power are com- plex and relatively unknown (Shaw 1976b:lO). Indeed, they may serve the interests of both the multi-nationals and Zambia at the same time. Arrighi and Saul explain that while the parastatals re- quire more responsibilitiy from the leaders of the Government, they liberate the suprapnationals from the obligation to make unpopular decisions, political or economic (1973:51). Martin points out that some para-statals which grow from small organisations to large state corporations satisfy the nationalistic appetite fer 'national' comp panies with Zambian names and Zambian directors and managers. These corporations are not business firms whose existence is determined by efficiency and profits; at the same time, they are not directly responsible to the country, because they are created to be profit- able. Often, they are both indifferent to the people's needs and inefficient (Martin 1973:216). Kaunda affirms that Zambia needs para-statals in that intermediate period of development and growth: "The para-statal bodies must be regarded in many respects as interim structures. Zambia at present is desperately short of skilled entrepreneurial managers, accountants and other trained executives. Yet, there is a pressing need to go ahead with dif- ferent schemes for economic development and at present, to ac- complish this, there is a need to concentrate the services Of those trained executives we have where their work can be most effective in meeting our current needs" (1974:66). Whatever the ideological explanation, most Observers conclude that, in the present development of Zambia, the Government relations with multi-nationals and the state controlled parastatals provide a sat- isfactory arrangement which safeguards the nationalistic sentiments, maintains some possibility of control, and ensures efficiency and profit making (most of the time in favour of the multi-nationals). (or. Sklar 1975:208-209; Meebelo 1973:65-81; Kandeke 1977:230—233). 130 3. Agriculture. It is now common to speak of the failures in planning and the lack of concern in the agricultural sector: "The biggest domestic disappointment has been rural develop- ment, especially in the five provinces Off the line Of rail. With the exception only of cotton, sugar and poultry, most agricultural production has stagnated or fallen... Specific strategies to raise output failed... The tens of millions of kwacha distributed annually to villagers in the form of Cred- it Organisation 1oans have by and large not been repaid, nor have they had any impact on agricultural output... The result is that the cash incomes of Zambia's rural pOpulation today are probably no larger than they were at independence, and the average farmer is probably only half as well off in 1973 in relation to the urban worker as he‘was in 1964" (Tordoff 1974: 377; cf. Martin 1972:240, Damont 1980:56-77), . It is laborious to try to explain Zambia's going from exporting some 1.5 million bags of maize in 1963, to having to import the same amount in 1971 and more since (Martin 1972, footnote of p. 239; Bates 1974:37-47). The fact that most of the exported grain was subsidisedcbes not give a full account of the situation. There are several factors which can explain the shortcomings in the develOpment of agriculture. First, there are the blunders and mismanagement of NAMBOARD (National Agricultural Marketing Board, the fusion of two previous companies: The Agricultural Ru- ral Marketing Board and The Grain Marketing Board). There are reports of seeds arriving too late for sowing, fertilisers dis- tributed when the grains were two feet high, ground-nuts rotting in villages for lack of transport and market coordination: "some co-Operatives had their potato crop rot in their hands for lack of markets, even though there had been at the same time a country- wide shortage Of potatoes" (Zulu 1970:43). There were all those cOOperators who Joined cooperatives for the gamma only; people could sign for the K30 to clear out one acre of land on sandy patches, because of lack of supervision. Several people among the managers of NAMBOARD had very little knowledge of agriculture; 131 others were not interested in agriculture. Many Zambians were not preoccupied by that aspect of economic growth; copper was king. Second, peOple in the rural areas were not convinced that their efforts would be rewarded; too Often their products had remained unsold. Many did not anticipate to have to work that hard to make a few kwacha. They expected to be like those Ministers and Admin- istrators being chauffeured around in big cars doing little more than the Whites had done. Loans were never understood as including an obligation of return; it was 'their' money in the first place. Moreover, agriculture has little promise Of advancement; if one wants to climb in the social ladder, one must live at the mines or become a politician. There is widespread belief that you cannot make it in the bush as a farmer; you stay there if you are uned- ucated and without ambition. Third, there are real environmental constraints: there is enough rain but its distribution varies a lot from place to place and from year to year. The soils need plen- ty Of nitrogen which used to be provided in the 'citemene' system and must be supplied now by industrial fertilisers, till the people learn to make and use compost. The cost of transportation is also prohibitive during the rainy season. However, these problems might be remedied as they have been in neighbouring Malawi which has a prosperous agricultural middle-class and exports food. Most observers recommend the establishment of a strong agri- cultural basis as the first measure towards growth and develop- ment in countries like Zambia (Dumont-Mazoyer 1969:18; Benet II, 1976:6). If Zambia could feed in excess of 10,000,000 people, as members of Dumont's team Of experts are reported to have said, the leaders and politicians have serious questions to answer about their administration. (Cf. Dumont-Mazoyer 1969:113-132). Zambian Humanism as egalitarian and socialist must provide equal- ity of Opportunities and services to all segments of the population. This has not been the case at all; if classes existed in any or- ganised manner, the 'peasants' would be the proletarians. Except for the urban unemployed (Seidman in Shaw 1976b:26), the poorest 132 person in Zambia is the peasant woman who works hard at all times, having and caring for children, fetching water, getting fire-wood, gathering roots and other feeds, pounding grain, cooking, washing, caring for the sick and Old, cleaning the house and court-yard, pre- paring the fields, fishing and performing other chores. She is the true proletarian. Whatever can be said about poor town workers, reflexion must be directed towards the rural woman who is the most forgetten person in a society which is supposed to be a Man-WOman- centred society. (Cf. Dumont 1980:58-61; 111). In Zambian Humanism, there are several general prescriptions to solve the question of the poor agricultural performances (Kaunda: 1967:14-26; l968b:33-34; 1974:19 and 46). Kaunda goes from the hOpe of being self-sufficium to the dream of being a world grana- ry: "If the Zambian Humanist Revolution is to succeed it must find an answer to the development problems of the small producer. This is one reason why each district needs to upgrade the agri- cultural activities Of its small farmers to a point at least where each district is self-sufficient in the production of its own basic foodstuffs. This is not a difficult task... The fact remains that it has not yet been accomplished... Even so, localised self-sufficiency must be regarded as only a primary obJective. From there we need to encourage the pro- duction of a surplus, however modest, which each district can dispose of in wider markets. Conditions in Zambia are such that this country could well become, in time, an important gna- nary internationally... "(1974:64-65). Rene Dumont had observed in 1967 that "Zambia was the only country he knew where the Government's agriculture budget exceeded the total value Of farm out-put produced by Africans and sold for cash" (Mar- tin l972:240). The Government is trying to do something, helping in many ways with tools, seeds, fertilisers, courses, loans and en- couragement. Problems are mismanagement, corruption and ignorance, caused by greed, the lack of interest in agricultural labour and the absence Of motivation in that kind Of occupation. Zulu declares that agricultural labour is "both an occupation and a way of life"; "farming is not merely a profession, it is also a calling" (1970: 133 41 and 44); in the present conditions in Zambia, few are called to that way of life which has deteriorated in comparison to all other occupations and employments, including the often scorned 'boy's' work. At the bottom of the problem lies a lack Of motivation and a lack of interest in agricultural chores among many Zambians: "Despite enthusiastic utterances, a revolutionary zeal has not yet appeared when scarce resources are distributed... In the reluctance to improve radically the farmers'terms of trade vis-a-vis the urban sector, and in the increasing social dis- tance between the rural and urban populations, one senses a lack of resolve, perhaps of necessary fanaticism, to solve almost insoluble problems. Agricultural revolutions do not happen: they are created" (Roberts and Elliott 1971:297). 4. Urbanisation Agriculture is in a worse state that it would need to be, be- cause of the number of young men and women leaving the rural areas to go find work in towns. Many explanations are given for the ex- odus. The first reason, historically, is the imposition of the poll- tax, also called hut-tax, head tax, or simply chitupa from the card indicating the payments. The head-tax was first decreed to alleviate the labor shortage of the British South Africa Company; people were forced to work for salaries which existed in the mines. It was an effective way to Obtain 'voluntary' mine workers and servants. From 1909 to 1928, the number Of Northern Rhodesians working in the mines of Southern Rhodesia increased from 7,000 to 23,000. With the advent of cepper profitability, many Northern Rhodesians migrated to the Copperbelt and the mining towns of Katanga (now Shaba). (Cf. Gann 1958:76-81; Hall 1967:97, 112; Bates 1974:17; Heisler 1976:6). Colonial Administrators have contended that the Africans alwa loved to travel, and that going to work in towns for four O six months was no trouble at all, more like a pleasure-trip or a sort Of initiation rite into adulthood. It may be true that some Africans like to travel, but this does not explain the working conditions which included tiny and dirty huts, prohibition of marriage for many years and low salaries. Still, urbanisation was rapid in 134 Zambia; the population of ten urban centres was 22.3% of the pop- pulation in 1963 and about 40% in 1980. In spite of plans tO prevent the flow of rural people to the towns, they still leave the bush for the mines. If there is a good carpenter, cook, gardener in a village, he/she will leave for the mines sooner or later. The reasons given for the migration are many: money for a bride-price, new clothes, tools, a bicycle or a power engine; as escape from the monotony of village life; reunion with a husband or other relatives; adventure and preference; hepes of advancement. There is the myth of the bright life in towns where there are good houses, Jobs, plenty of food, cars, cinema-houses, hospitals, good roads, beer-halls, foot- ball teams, and many peOple. The dream of many is to have a Job with a monthly salary or at least some cash for clothes, canned foods, gifts and an occasional beer with friends. Bates explains the problem Of urbanisation in Zambia mainly in economic terms: "Proto-migrants decide whether to move on the basis of earnings differentials. Investments in the industrial and manufacturing areas have increased both the number of Jobs and the level of wages in the urban sector. Both effects can only have enhanced the attractiveness of the urban sector to those who were con- templating the prospects of departing from their villages" (1975:45; also pp. 30-31). According to Heisler, rural poverty becomes unbearable and drives people away with the following consequences: (1) many cannot find Jobs in towns and Join the unemployed; (2) the rural exodus makes rural poverty worse; (3) some'parasites'go back to their rural vil- lages but, having done nothing in terms Of producing food, they be- come other mouths to feed (1974:4). Zambian Humanism which gets much of its inspiration from rural life has been unsuccessful in re-transmitting those values to its creators and original possessors. It is a serious problem acknowl- edged by Kaunda: "The attraction of town life, especially where large industries set social patterns, have been such that urban areas continue to grow at the expense of rural areas. The time has come to deliberately put a brake on this growth of urban areas so that the rural areas can have their fair share of national amenities. 135 This is a serious matter, and one poised like a dagger at the heart of the entire Zambian Revolution. It is the exploitation of man by man that we fought to eliminate and replace by an order in which the masses of our people controlled all impor- tant commanding heights of the economy. We must proceed now to change the situation for time is not on our side" (Kaunda 1974:115; cf. p. 44). The idealisation of rural life with its independence and self-suf- ficiency, the beauty of tilling the soil and the abundance of food stuff, has a long way to go. At present, there are few choices and few hepes in the village compared to town life. If there is a short- age of any kind, from cooking oil to beer, it is felt first and last in rural areas. Where are the impassable roads? Where do peOple die for lack of medical care? The solutions to the growing problems of urbanisation will come with genuine improvements in the material conditions in rural areas which will diminish the discrepancy between town life and village life, and with the diversification of industries and their geographical distribution. (Cf. Dumont 1980:72-74; 80-82). 5. Stratification This paragraph deals with a cluster of issues like the emergence Of classes, rural backwardness, unequal distribution of wealth and lack of Jobs as presented by Sklar: "Kaunda's humanism is bound to create ideological strain within the bourgeoisie. But it is not incompatible with the developa ment of that class under existing conditions; moreover, it is directly relevant to the great national problem of rural retar- dation, which threatens to undermine the emergent social order. Kaunda has said that "humanism in Zambia is a decision in fa- vor of rural areas" (1969:14). In practice, this implies a re- distribution of national wealth away from urban areas to the needier rural districts. Thus far, the redistributive poli- cies of the Zambian government have appeared to make far great- er demands upon the wage earning class than the bourgeoisie. The urban workers may wonder why they alone (from their view point) should be called upon to sacrifice for the sake of ru- ral development, while the bourgeoisie appears to be enriching itself" (1975:211-212). The problem of stratification is compounded by the divergent state- ment concerning the existence of classes. Gutkind, Wallerstein, 136 Jackson and Chotax do not recognise the presence of classes in new- ly independent states of sub-Saharan Africa, while Tordoff and Shaw do so, or at least they do for Zambia.' Fer instance: "Class is a real actor only to the extent that it becomes class- conscious, which means to the extent that it is organized as a political actor" (Wallerstein 1973:377). "Explicit class divisions among the elites, the bourgeoisie, the proletariat, and the peasantry, have yet to reveal them- selves, and when they do they might well take different forms from that we may daringly predict" (Gutkind and Wallerstein 1976:13). "For this purpose a system of social stratification must be more than a mere ranking of groups according to some exter- nally imposed criterion such as, for instance, the possession of wealth. In the tropical African case, the great disparity between urban and rural incomes cannot be taken to signify class differences unless they are so recognized by the pop- ulations themselves... "(Jackson 1973:381-382; cf. Chotax 1973:406). "Nevertheless, classes obviously do exist in Zambia, both ob- Jectively and as subJectively conscious groups" (Tordoff 1973: 394). "Internal and international inequalities are interrelated; domestic class formation is one result of Zambia's status as a part of the periphery of the world capitalist economy..." "... in addition to ethnic, regional and spatial distinctions, class distinctions, class divisions are an integral part of Zambian society and politics" (Shaw 1976a:4 and 12). These authors do not specify sufficiently what they mean by class, by internal and international elites, by economic and political powers and their respective privileges. (Cf. Augé 1979:16-18; Ba- landier 1969:92-116; 1974:118-122). Furthermore, particular Af- rican stratifications may exist, according to Balandier: "Des stratifications propres aux sociétés dites traditionnelles se maintiennent, et s'articulent aux stratifications cons- truites durant la période de dependance et a celles qui se forment sous la conduite modernisante de nouveaux gouverne- ments (1974:122). Technical and ideological descriptions and specifications about class would not be very useful here. The concern is with the Ob- servation and analysis of differences and inequalities (Balandier 1974:118). SO, class, sector and stratification will signify that 137 there are segments of the population which are markedly differen- tiated by their standards of living; in Zambia, there are people and groups of people who do not share equally in the benefits and services of the country, whether physical (roads, bridges, elec- tricity, running vater, availability of certain foods, etc), social (medical care, schools), or cultural-recreational (beer-halls, cin- ema houses and Sports facilities). In other words, there are in- dividuals who can be grouped because of differences and lack Of Opportunities; there are inequalities which are regional, spatial and economic; there are distinctions in access to Jobs, houses and social privileges. There are groups of Zambians like most mine- workers who enJoy a relatively good living standard; then, there are the urban unemployed who are poor. Jackson argues that the inequal- ities are more ethnic than economic: "Ethnicity, expressed both in ethnocentrism and ethnic conflict has been a primary theme in African politics. In the struggle for political advantage rich and poor 'tribesmen' are usually more cohesive than the poor or the rich among two or more eth- nic groups" (1973:384). It is certain that there are ethnic links which are strong and last- ing; politicians and leaders depend on their own people's support for their election, stay in power and re-election. However, a Lozi bank manager living in Ndola belongs to a group of people enJoying a life that the relatives in Mongu cannot dream to experience unless they obtain a similar position in a similar town. Jackson brings another dimension to the question of stratification with the rela- tionship between town and rural village: "True 'proletarians' with only their labour to exchange for income and security are still practically unknown in tropical Africa. Most wage-earners are not solely dependent upon the demand for labour but maintain a hedge against unemployment and insecurity by retaining strong kinship links with both urban and rural relatives in their rights to land in the countryside" (1973:387). This may be true for no more than half of the population of the towns in Zambia. People were already settling in the mines by 1931; their children have been born there (Heisler 1974:15-16). Those who went to the mines recently could have maintained ties 138 with their original villages, if they kept on writing and sending gifts to their parents and relatives. If they have not done so, it is probable that they will not have the courage to face their rela- tives; while they had 'plenty', they did not share. In Zambia, it would be possible to speak of six important groups according to salaries, kind of houses, possibility Of choices and Op- portunities, influence and power (Shaw 1976b:7-9; Sklar 1975:22-27): l. the ruling elite: political and bureaucratic elites made up Of ministers, members Of Parliament, senior civil servants, man- agers and directors of state corporations, a few commercial farmers, professionals, owners of large businesses. 2. the labour aristocracy: workers in skilled Jobs or in crucial sectors like technical engineers, highly trained mechanics, senior miners. 3. middle class salaried workers: mine workers, teachers, store managers, soldiers, policemen, etc. 4. poorly paid salaried workers: cooks and gardeners; unskilled public workers. 5. subsistence farmers. 6. urban unemployed living on their own. Although this is a rather crude classification, I believe it would be understood in Zambia. It is not comprehensive nor exclusive, be- cause differences exist in the same group and many people are not included in any segment. Fbr instance, chiefs differ greatly; some are hardly better off than subsistence farmers; others could be as- similated to the labour aristocracy. In every village, there are some farmers who do well and could be considered middle class; they have good houses, bicycles, a sewing machines and produce surplus maize, millet, ground-nuts, etc. Their success can be attributed to their being helped by relatives at the mines, to their own money saved while working in towns, to having more relatives, or simply to better health, luck, effort and motivation. 'Parasites' and '1oafers' are not listed here because the terms attribute an economic situation to the character of the person; 'parasites' are usually urban 139 unemployed scrounging around the periphery of towns and living in shanties; 'loafers' are people who seem to be doing nothing, hang around beer-halls, schools, foot-ball fields, and sit by the wayside. These peJorative labels are used nearly exclusively for men, may-be because women seem to be always working. (Cf. Dumont 1980:89-92). Zambian Humanism recognises the existence, danger and evil of a powerful elite which is greedy and which profits from some human- istic reforms of the economy and is in league with international experts: "... These trends signal the rapid emergence of a powerful Zambian elite whose thoughts and actions are couched in terms of the very rapine system which Humanism in Zambia was meant to combat. What makes this develOpment so dangerous is the fact that this new class has the means, and is, by its very nature determined, to prevent Humanism from becoming that force which will decisively shape the pattern of the nation's policies and institutions. It is ironical that some of our economic reforms, intended to further the cause Of Humanism, have pro- vided the basis for the entrenchment of an elitist/bapitalist at titudae e O ... The reforms have created a form of State capitalism where tremendous power is thus concentrated in the hands of a small managerial group who have their hands on the important switches and whose elitist attitudes set social patterns far beyond their immediate realm of command... ... The power which these technicians hold (international ex- perts) especially since they and the Zambian elite mutually reinforce each other, can scarcely be over-estimated. The relationship is that of an invading army to its bridgehead" (Kaunda 1974:110 and 111). Kaunda refers directly to classes in relation to the rich and the poor: "Little has also been said or heard of the haves-that is, the upper and middle classes-—putting a halt to their claims for more and more, so that the gap between themselves and the have-nets can be bridged" (1974:19; also pp. 21 and 44). Humanism may acknowledge the existence Of privileged classes, es- pecially the managerial elite; it does not condone the situation which is in direct Opposition to the ideal of equality: “Humanism seeks to create an egalitarian societya-that is, a society in which there is equal opportunity for self-develop- ment for all" (Kaunda 1974:xiii; also pp. xiv and 21). 140 Zambian Humanism is very harsh with people who are called 'lazy': "It is not right in any way at all for some lazy person who has a good brain but is unwilling to exert himself, to sit far away in some foreign city, or indeed in some Zambian city, to get easy money which he has not worked for" (Kaunda 1974: 75; cf. pp. 76, 80, 106-108; 1967:50). 'Lazy' means a person who does not work,and rarely refers to a per- son who is slow, indolent, fearful of any effort and rests before starting work and during work. Reasons and excuses concerning the absence of work are not welcome. In Zambia, you can call 'lazy' anybody (except the infirm) who is not working in some capacity somewhere. That person, usually a man, could, or so it is believed, go to the fields, return to the bush, cultivate, clear the land, prepare a garden, etc. It is the general belief that anyone who wants to work can do so at least by tilling the soil; and there is plenty of soil. Laziness is blamed on the lack of initiative Of the individual, never on the government and the State. 6. Tribalism In many countries, especially formerly colonised nations, in- equalities and differences may stem from economic, ethnical and re- gional causes. Tribalism in Zambia would refer to strong affil- liation to a language and a region. Sub-tribes like the Nghumbo, Chishinga, Aushi and Kabende may bicker among themselves; they will unite and Join in with the Bemba, and possibly with the Lunda of Ka- zembe, to form a larger and stronger group bound together by related dialects and two provinces. People of the Eastern Province, like the Tumbuka, Senga, Nsenga, Chewa, Ngoni and others, may or may not speak a NyanJa or Chewa language, but will make common cause to de— mand strong representation in the Government, with a few ministers and a certain number of directors of important corporations. If all the tribes and all the regions enJoyed similar economic and social conditions, the sources of competition and rivalry might dry out or at least diminish, because, as Sklar explains, "these conflicts are frequently manifested in 'tribalist' ferns, although 141 their root causes are really embedded in the dismal conditions of underdevelopment rather than ethnic diversity" (1975:22). But Mar- tin contends that "the president faced an increasingly tough fight against tribalism;... the tasks of development seemed likely to be hampered by a growing factionalism and unproductive bickering" (1972: 112 and 114). "Tribalism was endemic and historically inevitable" says Hall (quoted in Pettman 1974354) while Rotberg affirms that there was "no history of tribal conflict in Zambia" (1967:40), es- pecially between tribes like the Lozi and Bemba who were hardly ever in contact. There were, however, tribal clashes between Bombs and Ngoni, and between Bemba and smaller tribes like the Mambwe. Some tribal conflicts arose from recent events. For instance, the Lozi of Barotseland are accused of having done nothing during the 'rev- Olution' (cha cha cha) leading to independence, while Bemba speakers Of the Lwapula and Northern Provinces were burning Government build- ings and being killed for it. The Lozi were going to university and prospering. For instance, Ar’thur Wina was studying in California and came back Just in time to be given a ministerial position. On the other hand, the 'Ngoni' of the Eastern Province are regarded as the new Basungg (Europeans) because they occupy many key Jobs in govern- ment and business administration. There were more and better schools in their area and it was easier for them to study at Munali's, the first secondary school in Northern Rhodesia. Nearly everyone in the country will accuse Bemba speakers, and more so the Bemba of Chiti- mukulu, of being political manipulators, trouble makers, and to tap it all, very lazy, expecting gifts and privileges instead of working for them. In the political arena, ethnic groups will make alliances unpredictably to avoid isolation or to Obtain a maJority; the Bemba will form a coalition with the Valley Tonga in the hope of control- ling the government. One should not conclude that tribes or ethnic groups are mono- lithic; there have been splits among Bemba speakers at the occasion of the Lumpa Church revolt, about Nkumbula's leadership and during Hapwepwe's defection from U.N.I.P. It is a complex situation 142 summarised by Pettman: "Tribal alliances shift, not simply on the basis of cultural identity, but also on the basis of regional, economic, and personal interests. While these interests may exploit tribal loyalty and use local channels of communication, the causes of intra-UNIP conflicts are more complicated" (1974:54-55). It might be more accurate to describe the problem Of tribalism Of being one Of self-care and welfare; that is, every group is for it- self and not so much against others; every group wants more Jobs, roads, schools and hospitals; if there is running water and elec- tricity in all Tonga villages, the Unga want them also, not because they hate the Tonga, but because it is 'One Zambia, One Nation't Tribal differences may also be an asset: "to this day, eth- nicity continues to serve as a useful and meaningful principle of social organization for dealing with such problems as employment, housing, recreation and other welfare matters arising in the urban context" (Jackson 1973:385). Tribal links are essential, especially for newcomers to the mines as well as in cases of sickness, unem- ployment, house location, etc. Tribal diversity can be of some ben- efit to a country with cultural pluralism, variety, vitality, pos- sible exchanges and also tensions which may encourage creativity and excellence. Kaunda sums up the question as follows: "There are good and bad aspects of tribalism and when the des- tructive and divisive aspects of tribalism are reduced we can expect a renaissance of those aspects which constitute such an important feature of our cultural identity. In this way Zambia will move away from the artificial unity based on a precarious uniformity and move towards a real unity based on a frank and positive acceptance of the diversity of its peoples" (1974:40; cf. HountondJi 1977:233-237). However, to contend that the forces of regionalism and tribalism are positive or have disappeared would be a pretense; they are still at work and possibly dangerous as examplified by the election of U.N.I.P. officials in 1967: "... We have canvassed so strongly and indeed, viciously, along tribal, racial and provincial lines, that one wonders whether we really have national or tribal and provincial leadership. I must admit publicly that I have never experienced in the life of this young nation, such a spate of hate, based en- tirely on tribe, province, race, colour and religion, which 143 is the negation of all that we stand for in this Party and Government" (Kaunda 1967:52; Mulungushi Conference; cf. Rotberg 1967:29-35). The dangers are echoed by Kandeke (1977:54-55) and Meebelo (1973) 58-61). One of the goals of Zambian Humanism is "to unite tribes and other sections in the tolerance for common interests, common values, common attitudes and common reactions" (1977:55); it will not be attained without effort and much good will. 7. Materialistic Ethos and Greed Several authors stress the materialist ethos and greed of Zam- bians who are accused of being very egotistic. Material well-being would be an obsession: "Materialism is everywhere, from members of parliament to miners" (Hatch 1976:213); "the prevalence of the cap- italist and consumer ethic" (Shaw 1976a:20); for Zambians, "prin- ciple and profit coincide" (Shaw 1976b:15); "the problem of insti- tutionalising Humanism is compounded by the fact that its values run counter to the dominant values in Zambian society. Among all classes materialism is more firmly entrenched than ever before as the supreme ethic" (Tordoff 1974:395). Kaunda is quoted as lashing out at the "luxuriousness, lavishness... found in today's Zambia...; society is sick and the Zambian economy cannot be more sick than the people who run it" (1975, Zambia Daily Mail, July lst, quoted in Shaw 1976b: 49). It is no secret that Zambia has had her share of cases of cor- ruption, thefts, peddling of interest and bribes. Kaunda could ad- monish about the tendency to amass wealth and exploit others: "Unfortunately the human personality has certain weaknesses that manifest themselves in many forms. There is, for example, greed for wealth; the desire to accumulate more and more. The greedy plan their lives in such a way that they begin to use their talents not for the benefit of all members of the soci- ety to which they belong, but for themselves alone... Greed, selfishness and laziness must all constantly be checked and fought if we are going to attain a humanist society" (1974: xiii-xiv; cf. pp. 13, 14, 20, 23, 31). 144 The desire to satisfy needs is universal; however, human needs, except for basic needs of survival like food, water, and shelter, are not easily enumerated. What is a need for some, may be luxury for others. Running water is probably a basic need in large cities, but luxury in arctic settlements. The craving for material goods may have been spurred by the abundance of possessions that every White (or so it appeared to Zambians) used to have and still has in most cases. Zambians want more and may be tempted to use devious ways to acquire material items. Furthermore, comparing the greed and materialistic values of Zambians with those of Western experts, po- litical scientists and economists might be revealing. The material- istic comfort Of the so-called middle-class miners with an average salary of K1,500 a year (about 82,200 0.5.) is somewhat distorted. Europeans could try to survive in the copperbelt on a 83,000 a year budget for six to fifteen members. Still, it is true that these miners are well-off compared with most rural peasants and want more. The materialistic greed exists mainly among politicians, corporation directors and managers who have succeeded the Whites and expect to emulate their standard Of living. But those Whites were not supposed to know about or follow Zambian Humanism; they never publicised egalitarian policies and sharing as their official philosophy. (Cf. Kaunda 1974:111, 119 and 124). 8. Hard Work and Cheap Labour "Humanists declare that a willingness to work hard is of prime importance. Without it nothing can be done anywhere" (Kaunda 1974: 80). Zambian Humanism requires Zambians to work hard in order to produce more. But, what is hard work? (Cf. Apter 1977:467). Kaun- da suggests long days: "WOrkers themselves must take up the chal- lenge and spend at least ten hours a day working and thinking" (Kaunda 1974:108). May-be that would mean five hours of working and five of thinking. What kind Of Jobs would be regarded as hard? 145 For instance, for men around Lake Bangweulu, chopping down branches, clearing the bush, building mounds, making bricks, making canoes and making a new road are called hard work; fishing, hunting, and new Jobs such as teaching, working in an office and being a politician are considered light and easy. Most women’s tasks like fetching water and fire-wood, pounding cassava roots, plastering walls are considered arduous, while washing and feeding children, caring for the sick, sweeping and cooking are light chores. There is no con- sensus as to the length of time in relation to hard work; is it working long hours or a couple of hours strenuously? The problem is that in many cases people do not know what to do and how much hard work will be needed to obtain a certain reward. As already mentioned, there is the common belief that anyone could work and work hard in Zambia simply by going back to the village of origin and starting a new field of maize or cassava. If it is true that the bush is nearly limitless, such is not the case for transport facilities and markets; too many farmers have had bad experiences that few will exert themselves without the vision of a certain reward. The point to be made here is that people who do not work hard either have no work to do, or are not assured of a reward. Go- delier suggests that in many societies, people could work harder and produce more surplus but do not do so because the goal of their production is simply their needs and not a profit; that sur-work to bring about a surplus is not perceived as necessary at all (1971:215). Surpluses were produced in case Of hardship, for family receptions, feasts, offerings and tributes, but not for the sake of producing more, because there was no reward attached to that effort (Godelier: 1974:225-227). What Humanism preaches is in fact initiative to find work and the courage to accept Jobs which are not very pleasant and interesting and do the best one can, even if it means going back to one's village and start a garden. The term 'cheap labour' is often employed to describe low sal- aries Of workers in underdeveloped countries in relation to the value of their labour. Shaw contends that the multi-nationals use Zambia 146 because of the availability Of a large contingent of cheap labour; a willing labor force is waiting to be tapped (Shaw 1976b:19-22). Kay disagrees and asserts that "in terms of value it is more than likely that wages in the developed countries are lower than those in the underdeveloped countries" (1975:116). The contradiction may arise from the different perspective Of looking at what salaries can buy in relation to the needs of the people, that is what salaries can do in different cultural conditions. Arrighi and Saul concur with Kay; for them "the exploitation of cheap labor overseas has lost much of its significance; instead, the factor of overwhelming contemporary importance is the existence of a relatively developed and rap- idly expanding industrial structure,... a favorable political climate, and possibility to export profits... (1973:46). The question of the multi-nationals using cheap labour to exploit the people, make huge profits and control a country must be exam- ined very closely, in relation with the possibility Of being without work at all. (Of. Dumont 1980:85). Lastly, there is the issue of the one export product, copper, which has brought wealth and development to some people and some sec- tors, and also poverty and dependence to others: "... it is dangerous for any single industry to grow so power- ful as to lord itself over all sections of our economy. In Zam- bia such a situation prevails. The copper industry dominates all other sections of our economic endeavour. Obviously this sit- uation is unhealthy from many points of view" (Kaunda 1974:45) Kaunda explains that copper, in spite of the immense benefits it brought to the country as a whole, occasioned, directly or indirect- ly, dependence on multi-nationals and foreign markets, urbanisation, the neglect of rural areas and agriculture, the spirit of capitalism, indifference towards new ventures in industry and commerce, in general a false state of somnolent reliance on an economically unstable prod- uct (1974:45-46). To replace dependence on copper, there are propo- sals for 'decentralisation' of industrial and commercial power with the instauration Of a much broader infra-structure with primary con- cerns about small business and industries. (Cf. Kaunda 1974:43-50; 87-95; Kandeke 1977:79-102). 147 b. Suggestions and Alternatives With a review of the problems facing Zambia, it becomes evident that there are no easy and immediate remedies to the difficulties. Even if alternatives for change are suggested, it does not mean that they are valid and would be successful. When some realistic solu- tions are discovered, their application and pursuit will require hard work, courage, and motivation which will need the support and encour- agement of clear and strong ideological prepositions and doctrinal directions. With independence, Zambia has tried to re-possess and re-or- ganise a few national institutions and some agencies to serve the needs of the people better, which is the primary duty of any newly independent country. However, the process of change was laborious, too slow and too limited for many. (Cf. Martin 1972:3-17; Sklar 1974:29). Describing the problems of Zambia is not too difficult; for instance, the situations described by Shaw (1976a and b) have been recognised by Kaunda (1974). But Observers must try to expli- cate the conditions and develop a critique. A critique can be sug- gested only in relation to points of comparison, theoretical and prac- tical. Social scientists have a lot of experience, knowledge and information on the development and modernisation Of the West; this may be transposed to Africa, but there is very little theory On the process of growth and development in Africa, and the comparisons and relationshis exist in two different realities, one as historic event, and the other as projected possibility. There is also the temptation of telling Zambians what to do, from models which influence the Observers and experts: more work- ers' control; revolution; more small industries; more big business and corporations; state commercial farms; only huge state farms; capitalist development from the base with competitive entrepreneurs; more fereign aid; no more aid and no more experts; break all ties 148 with multi-nationals, etc. All these suggestions are entwined with theoretical and ideological premisses. It is difficult to find, in the history of mankind, so many instances of experts knowing what others should know and dO, forgetting that "every human being knows his own world better than any outsider (including the expert who makes policy)" (Berger 1974:xii). Since, so many 'experts' have been Judging and gauging Zambia and Zambian Humanism, it is inter- esting to report what Zambia thinks of 'experts': "But with each of these 'tools' (machinery, patterns of admin- istration, of education, of medical services, etc.) something else is being imported like a hidden virus, namely, the whole set Of attitudes which are born in and sustain the rapine sys- tems from which they have evolved. (The new modern missionary, i.e. the international 'expert', sees to it that the lesson is being learnt in the quickest possible time.) While it brings in a profit for the developed countries, this exercise aims primarily at selling to the poorer countries a technology which economically and otherwise keeps them dependent on their former masters. What is often misunderstood as aid towards self-reliance on the receiving end is in fact an instrument for further enslavement" (Kaunda 1974:112). Puthermore, since that dissertation is fundamentally related to de- velopment, it must be remembered that whatever form of growth and modernisation may be explicated and demonstrated, the first and last word will be left to the people of Zambia themselves who not only participate but decide; "Development is not what the economic and other experts pro- claim it to be, no matter how elegant their language. Devel- Opment is not something to be decided by experts, simply be- cause there are no experts on the desirable goals of human life. Development is the desirable course to be taken by hu- man beings in a particular situation. As far as possible, therefOre, they ought to participate in the fundamental choices to be made, choices that hinge not on technical expertise but on moral Judgments" (Berger 1974:56; cf. pp. 57 and 119). The paucity of positive and realistic suggestions not tied with ideological theory is discouragins. For instance, Shaw identi- fies the problems of Zambia in descriptions which would fit also Chili and Quebec. Similar difficulties are repeated: inequities inherited from the conquest and the colonial past; the one- 149 product economy; bureaucratic and political profiteering elite; aristocratic workers; dependence on foreign capital and multi- nationals; over-urbanisation; regional differences; consumer's materialistic ethic; dependence on expatriates and experts. Shaw seems to suggest some kind of revolution whereby the whole system would be drastically renovated to allow a new team of Zambians to run their own affairs and live according to their means based on agriculture and small local industries. But, the amount of violence, confrontation and coercion is not predicted: "The underdevelopment of Zambia will continue, therefore, until domestic inequalities compel a revolution in both Zambia's inter- nal and international relationships. Because the class struc- ture of Zambia is largely a function of its subordinate r61e in the global economy, any progress towards socialism and self- reliance would necessitate confronting both internal and ex- ternal inequalities" (Shaw 1976a:5). In the same vein, Benot states that the minimal requirements for political and economic improvements in Third World countries of Africa, include nationalisation and a total struggle against impe- rialist monopoly; the final moment would come with the overtaking of the government by the exploited workers, which is the essence of a true socialist revolution (Benot II 1975:90). It is possible to envisage some form of revolution in Zambia brought about by the great discrepancies in standards of living between people and regions, or by different ideolog1es. For instance, underpaid workers could Join the unemployed and the rural peasants in a national gee-cha cha cha. (Cf. Ake 1976:205-210). Zambia might be influenced by neighbours like Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and their marxist ideologies. However, up to the present, revolutions in Africa have not produced the desired results and quite often, what began with good reasons and exoellent intentions desintegrated into little more than the 're-emergence' of the same deposed elite (if they survived) in shifted responsibilities. "A revolution which is not more tech- nically proficient and more effective than the regime which it sup- plants is lost" (Revel 1971:13). Important and drastic changes in economics, administration and moral values would have to accompany 150 the revolution. Martin argues that drastic overhaul in the copper mines and other large corporations is "at best irrelevant and at worst pernicious" (1972:219). His solutions would be "rapid rural develOpment, ... compulsory return of the urban unemployed to the land and very rigorous wage restraint for the fortunate few in paid employment" (1972:220). Short of a violent revolution, there could be 'mini-revolutions' in many fields to improve Zambia's predicament. Reformation of the elite, diversification of industries and markets, and re-organisa- tion of agriculture would be preliminary and fundamental accomplish- ments in the domain of the material-physical, while further explic- itation, individual acceptance and actual living Of the principles of Zambian Humanism (or correspondant ideological directions) would constitute elementary preparations in the sphere of the ideal-spir- itual. (Cf. Dumont 1980:98-101; 104-106). 1. Reformation of the Ruling and Bureaucratic Elites The transmission of political power in October 1964 meant the transfer of good Jobs from Whites to Zambians with concomitant sal- aries, houses, secretaries, and numerous prerogatives. Many Zambians accepted the transition as a succession which included the emulation of privileges and profits to insure power and status. Independence was not a rebirth, but a substitution where the material frills were preconditions for moral and social responsibilities. Zambian leaders, in general, were not adequately prepared to deal with foreign exec- utives, company representatives and lobbyists who were ready to compro- mise fer further considerations. There were also those many poor rel- atives who kept visiting or writing. The temptation to be influenced in decision.making by immediate advantages was overpowering. The elites must place the rights and interest of the people before their _ own and the benefits of foreign missions and enterprises: "Zambia is likely to confront its dependence and to construct a national economy only when the ruling class places the in- terests of its internal constituency above those Of its external 151 associations" (Shaw 1976a:16). The whole process is really a 're-formation', a changing of form, a metamorphosis of mind and heart and consequently a 'correction' of attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. Welch gives, as one reason of the successful modernisation of Japan in the last century, the commitment and devotion of the bureaucratic class which decided to abandon its privileges to become totally dedicated to the country, the leaders and the people. (1967:51). The political and economic climates of Zambia will be altered and improved when the leaders forsake their own well- being and become servants of the people, ‘and accept the tenets Of Humanism to become hard workers,willing to share their wealth and benefits in an egalitarian society. 2. Diversification of Industries and Markets As long as Zambia remains tied to the export of one product and its price fluctuation, the country will vacillate. The introduction of new measures to assure more control over all corporations was the beginning of serious efforts to diversify and stabilise the economy. But, that must be pursued to reach the desired goals: "However, the actual, concrete financial results will depend upon the long-term Operational effectiveness of the new system, invol- ving such factors as the expansion of mine capacity, the stabi- lisation of copper prices, the efficiency of marketing methods, and the establishment Of cOpper-related industries" (Sklar 1975:29-30). Mostly, the Government must encourage small businesses with their programme of decentralisation and the creation of localised commu- nities with a new type of village and sector economic structure based on local production and consumption. (Cf. Papworth 1973:76 and 108). To give a rather sad example, there must be something very wrong with the basic economy of a country, when villages which used to produce hundreds of bags of ground-nuts have to import pea- nut butter and cooking oil. The problem of the dependence on cOpper, the emerging and thriving elites and the neglect of small industries and local development by lack of decentralisation have been iden- tified correctly: 152 "In terms of strict adherence to the Philosophy of Humanism this has been, in the main, a false start. It is a false start in the sense that we have been unable to establish our own standards and our own values and tastes, largely because of the powerful influ- ence of the giant mining industry on Zambian life... Not only have the economic and social gaps between the urban and rural areas been widened over the past four years, but the dis- tribution of personal wealth has exhibited an alarming trend. A sizeable proportion of personal wealth is concentrated more and more in the hands of a relatively small group, another large slice goes to the emerging middle class, and what is left over finds its way in small fragments to the maJority, i.e. to the masses of our people... It rather lies in the fact that these trends signal the rapid emer- gence Of a powerful Zambian elite whose thoughts and actions are couched in terms of the very rapine system which Humanism in Zam- bia was meant to combat... By the same token, there is always strong resistance to the imple- mentation Of the national policy for the location of industry which is based on decentralisation" (Kaunda 1974:109-111). 3. Agriculture Dumont after his study of agriculture in Zambia in 1967 (which he was asked not to publish; Dumont et Mazoyer 1969:127) concluded that a completely revamped organisation was needed with: (l) educa- tion, instruction and demonstration (teams going around showing bet- ter methods of planting, harvesting new crops, the use of_fertilisers, etc.), (2) the surfacing of roads to make them all season roads, and (3) the establishment of small industries all over the rural areas~ (Dumont et Mazoyer 1969:118-127). New and different programmes of production of export crops and crops for home consumption must be devised for the large scale commercial farmers, the emergent far- mers and the subsistence farmers. The latter should receive cons- tant help and advice, and little success should be expected until they have received and put into practice educational and technical in- formation. (Cf. Roberts 1971:275-297). Above all, emergent and sub- sistence farmers will require motivation not only to start a new garden or a field, but to persevere for a few years without imme- diate rewards. Cooperatives put together with loans and free ma- chinery proved to be unsuccessful. (Cf. Dumontand Mazoyer 1969: 117-119; Hatch 1976:218). Zambians are Often immersed in grandiose 153 achievements, probably from the presence Of huge smelters at the mines and powerful tractors on commercial farms. The development of local agriculture by the rural peasants must be accomplished in humble beginnings and pursued in modest 'continuations' with the acceptance of realistic rewards. (Cf. Kaunda 1966:33). 4. Values and Meanings It is easier to point out failures and contradictions than of- fer alternatives and choices for change. Moreover, suggestions and plans are only probabilities, often untried under concrete circum- stances. The limitations on drastic innovations come from all sides: lack of resources and manpower, rising popular demands for more ser- vices, pressure from regions and tribes, demands by civil service employees, party organisers and elites. Few would be ready to risk a "thoroughgoing revolution" (Apter 1976:210). Probably, it would be more of the same, not only new wine in Old bottles but 'Old wine in Old bottles: "they circulate the elites, change the ideological symbols and recreate the Old system in a new image. Few developing coun- tries in Africa have the inner resources, human or material, for such drastic overhaul of the community" (Apter 1973:134). It becomes easier to recognise the need for some principles of men- tal and affective organisation framed in an ideology. People have simply lost the values "that used to give meaning to life" (Berger 1974:11). This does not deny the urgency and necessity of obJec- tive appraisals Of the situation and realistic descriptions Of ap- plications Of programmes. But determinate policies for concrete situations are not enough for people. There must be some recognition of themselves, their belonging to a new nation, the comprehension of the descriptions of who they are, what they are doing and why. They must participate in values which give meaning to themselves and their world: "The need for meaning is almost certainly grounded in the cons- titution of man. Man is the animal that proJects meaning into the universe. Man names things, attaches values to them, and constructs vastorders of significance (languages, symbol sys- tems, institutions) that serve as the indispensable guideposts for his existence... 154 The need for meaning has both cognitive and normative dimen- sions. Put differently, human beings must know both what is and what ought to be. Every society thus provides for its members both a 'cognitive map' of reality and an applicable morality... The right to meaning thus necessarily extends to 'philosophy' as well as morality-peOple have a right to live in a world 'as they see it to be'. Respect for the 'con- science' of others necessarily implies respect for their 'def- inition of reality'" (Berger 1974:166-167). Kaunda's appraisal of Zambia and the lack Of meaning Of Zambians coincide with Berger's views: "Fer in spite of various important reforms, something basic seems to have gone wrong. Irrespective of socially significant changes, Zambia today is in a state of acute unease. were the causes of this unease merely such technical problems as fiscal difficulties or a shortage of foreign exchange, there would not be too much reason for worry. Serious as these are, such matters are of transitory nature and can usually be handled by the application of the right kind Of expertise, as indeed is being done. The unease in Zambia has much deeper roots. It revolves on a crisis of meaning. Even the most sympathetic observers cannot but ask whether Humanism is indeed the driv- ing and directing force in Zambia's development" (1974:2-3). It might have been more precise to admit that there has been little development and blame the situation on the fact that Zambian Hu- manism, as representation of the beliefs and values Of the people, has been accepted only but not interiorised, not lived: "Indeed few of us now disagree with the need fer a Humanistic approach to our problems. But many of us still only pay lip-service to the philosophy" (Kaunda 1974:130). People may have in front of their eyes limpid programmes of develOpment and rich rewards; if they do not understand the relationships between themselves and those ac- tivities, if their own values do not dictate the desirability of those actions, nothing will be done. In other words: "Man does not live by bread alone. He also needs the life-giving and meaning- giving sustenance that no 'materialist' view of the world can pro- vide" (Berger 1974:43; cf. p. 53); "a humanist believes that it is impossible for Man to live by bread alone" (Kaunda 1974:8; cf. p. 117; also Tordoff 1974:396; Roberts 1971:279; Pettman 1974: 69- 70; Martin 1972:108-111). But people do not live by 'meaning' alone; they need 'bread'; 155 the union Of 'meaning' and 'bread' is not a symbiosis of two dis- tinguishable elements, buta mcnophysitic union of the spiritual and the material which negates the existence Of both parts in the ab- sence of one. It may be asked whether Zambian Humanism and its im- plementation will succeed in solving the problems of Zambia by pro- paganda, explication, motivation, renewed pride and identity, pro- grammes of actions and rewards, or if physical coercion will be re- quired. Some believe that force should be used to reduce the ben- efits and profits Of the elite, to curb the power of foreign cor- poration and to compel villagers to stay where they are and force the unemployed in towns either to return to rural areas or be en- rolled in forced work camps: "Because of the prevalence of the capitalist and consumer ethic in Zambia, it is unlikely that the institutionalization of a socialist Humanism can be achieved single-handed by the President; a greater degree of political education and coer- cion may be necessary" (Shaw 1976a:20). "We are forced to the conclusion that Humanism cannot be taken much further unless the level of coercion is increased. Hu- manism involves a revolution in the values of Zambian society and, therefbre, a frontal attack on the interests of the mid- dle class" (Tordoff 1974:398). These authors do not mention how much coercion and under what form. Kaunda admits that force would be used only as a last resort, after education and persuasion and only for the people's good and "if the very existence Of the nation is threatened; if there is real danger of national unity fragmenting into tribal and regional anarchy" (1973: 82-83). This is, of course, what every politician says; even Tru- deau of Canada proclaimed those 'high ideas' during the Quebec crisis of October 1970. Still, Humanism condoms all forms of exploitation by thieves, able-bodied beggars, lazy people and 'parasites' (Haun- da 1967:50 and 35; 1968a:7; 1974:xiv, 13 and 80). It is certainly possible to classify profiteering elite with thieves and punish them according to their evil deeds, especially when these peOple, who have received an education financed by the people, refuse to share their talents, benefits and privileges with their fellow country-men. 156 In spite of efforts at control and regulation, there is an indolent attitude of laissez-faire which cannot last indefinitely; some changes of mind and heart should occur before physical reaction, coercion or force under any form appear in an attempt to establish what Humanism propagates which is egalitarianism, sharing and the end of all exploitation. c. Zambian Humanism as Ideology. Extent and Limitation Several African leaders have felt the necessity of formulating or adapting some form of ideology; they include Nkrumah, Senghor, Touré, Mobutu Sese-Seko, Nyerere and Kaunda among others. It is dif- ficult to assess the place the different ideologies play as realities of the African world. In the theoretical approach of several obser- vers, ideologies are mirrors, images and representations; but the mirror exists before the reflection and the image has an existence in potentiality. If ideologies can be described as romantic idealism, grandiose dreams or pious reflections, their frequency must be ex- plained as well as their r61e and utility. It is true to assert that it will take more than Humanism to solve Zambia's problems; it will also take much more than economic plans, especially programmes drawn from European and American models. The urgency of ideologies may be increased by the pressure Of satisfying certain needs. In third World countries, people are faced with the possibility of being unable to fulfil basic necessities for survival, a cause of anxiety and despair. Needs can be graded as essential, necessary, important, useful, superfluous and luxurious according to their relation to survival and the comfort of human life. water is essential, while 'clean' water is necessary or es- sential in some cases; then, there can be well water and running water with different degrees of necessity, usefulness and super- fluity according to circumstances. When a North American middle class woman declares that she badly need a new pair of shoes, it 157 might not be at all because her only other pair is worn—out; in- stead, it could be that she has no shoes to match her new dress. Westerners, in general, would have difficulty to imagine the per- petual state of hand-to-mouth existence, because most of our es- sential needs are amply satisfied. Our consumer's ethic and the well orchestrated prepaganda which sustains it, create many ar- tificial needs for more comfort or the demonstrated obligation to conform to mass standards of consumption. But people in periods of crisis, whether it be unemployment or a serious disease, will need more specific direction to give meaning to their existence. Some nations seem to be in'a state of continual crisis. A newly inde- pendent state composed of Juxtaposed groups of people, without nap tional identity, with flagrant inequalities in standards of living, opportunities and choices, with a general stifling impression of hapelessness, may need some ideas and ideals, some organisations and directions which offer a new comprehension and vision of them- selves and the world, with the hope of better days ahead. Africans construct ideologies which fundamentally concern the essential and necessary needs of the people. The ideologies of Western countries are interested in the obtention of more goods, more energy and more technical inventions to insure the comfort of the peeple and main- tain their high standards of living. It is not surprising to see that several African nations are not impressed either by Capitalism or Marxism as practised in Socialist democracies. Both systems abuse people in some ways, either as tools for the aggrandisement of the state or for the benefit of the few. New systems are needed and proposed, resting on humanitarian principles, on the company of Man. "Let the west have its Technology and Asia its Mysticism! Africa's gift to world culture must be in the realm of Human Rela- tionships" (Kaunda 1966:22). Or in more ideological terms: "The tragedy of the twentieth century is that in the blind race for development and higher standards of material wall-being, moral values and the riches of spirituality have been for- gotten. We in Zambia still have time to turn our quest for develOpment into a positive good if we recognise the need for 158 our own personal moral and spiritual responsibility through Humanism" (Kaunda 1974:124-125). Berber expresses the same ideas: "Whatever else may be said about the contents of 'Indian so- cialism', 'African socialism', or 'Arab socialism', they have in common an explicit, often virulent rejection of the 'mate- rialism' of both the capitalist and the Soviet models of de- velopment. These ideologies have been dismissed (not least by Western Marxists) as intellectually vague and unsophisticated. Such dismissal side-steps the crucial point that they express a profound search for alternatives to the theoretical assump- tions and practical consequences of the myth of growth" (1974:62). Zambian Humanism, like several other African ideologies, fulfils mostly intellectual, moral and psychological functions which can be grouped as follows: national unity and solidarity, selfbde- termination, equality, rejection of the colonial past and expe- rience, rehabilitation of the personality with a new identity, re- turn to the traditional past. 1. National Unity. Solidarity. Zambia is really an agglomerate of distinct ethnic and sub- ethnic groups speaking some ten languages and another twenty diap lects (Meebelo 1973:58-59). The first task of a national ideology is to give a sense of belonging and cohesion which will promote national unity. Zambians are Zambians mostly because of external factors like the British conquest and decisions made in Europe, and not because of some intrinsic characteristics like cognate languages, common origin or related customs and beliefs. The merging of the Zambian peoples was imposed by colonial rule and intensified lately under the pressure of the struggle for independence. A national ideology has as primary r61e to 'make' Zambians and unite them. As Benot contends, national unity is the fundamental element of the African ideological thought: "Done et en dépit de leurs prétentions déclarées, 1es ideologies ne sent-elles pas d'abord des instruments pour l'édification de la nation, avant d'étre un instrument du socialisme scientifique 159 cu africain, ou de l'humanisme... Ainsi, la nation, l'unité nationals, sont la hantise premiere derriere toute pensée politique africaine" (I, 1975:81-82). The responsibility of articulating ideals which will aid in achieving national unity rests with the leaders. Politicians, as members of the same colonised group as the rest of the people, have shared the same experiences. They are responsible for abstracting guidelines from the past, adapting them to present conditions and needs, and presenting them in forms acceptable for the people: "So it was resolved that certain ideological guidelines were essential to provide... a concept of national identity (which) would be promoted and a cultural frame-work as a co-ordinating factor... (Kandeke 1977:10). Politicians may appear like the creators or innovators of ideol- ogies; but, as involved citizens, they have endured like the others, and may have sensed more acutely the injustices and the destruction of their culture and the need for some collective representations. The leaders of Zambia are responsible for the renewed and continued existence of their people like the prophets of ancient Israel who were the keepers and proselytisers of the faith and culture, espe- cially in times of crisis: "For it was the prophets and the cult that preserved and carried the national identity, and by doing so provided the basis for popular unity and collective response in times of crisis” (Salz- man 1978:618). Zambian politicians and other leaders share the same traditions and aspirations of all citizens and should translate them in ideological statements and directives; however, it is conceivable that certain leaders would formulate ideologies which would be more the products of their own imagination and personal idealisation than the inter- pretation of the collective thought and will. In that case, the ideological doctrine would be imposed on the people who could ac- cept or reject it. (Of. Saul 1973:153-155). The aim of such ideol- ogy would still be "to establish solidarity for society and iden- tity for individuals within it" (Apter 1964:36; cf. p. 44; Davide son 1974:159; Martin l972:llz; Dresang 1975:189; Pettman 1974:70). 160 2. Self-Determination Colonised and dominated people can hardly express and develop values and purposes outside the limitation imposed by the colo- nialists who control, direct and decide. One of the prime func- tions of independent countries is to establish new priorities and designs "which do not lie within the reach of the inherited situa- tion, but which turn away in new directions" (Davidson 1974:154). The ideology should develop and introduce new behaviours and objec- tives like selfbsufficiency, perseverant work, sharing, cooperative efforts, control of the land, new balance between the urban and rural sectors, leadership code, etc. (Martin 1972:108-111). The colonialists had previously decided and implemented every avenue of expression and every programme of activities. The leaders must now determine and prescribe what they want the nation to become and the methods to reach their goals. (Cf. Ake 1976:202-204; Apter 1973:210-212). 3. Equality "As humanists we accept the equality of Man before God our Creator as well as before the law of the land. In many walks of life we have planned our society in such a way as to intro- duce equality both in theory and in practice" (Kaunda 1974:21). "To ensure acceptance of the principles of equal opportunity fer all races in all aspects of life including wages of workers, social and educational facilities and to protect trade union rights" (Kaunda 1967:10). "To abolish all forms of discrimination and segregation based on colour, tribe, clan and creed and to maintain, protect and promote understanding and unity among the people of Zambia by removing individualism, tribalism and provincialism" (Kaunda 1957:11)e From liberal democracy and the philosophical ideals of Great Britain and other European countries, came the theory of the dignity of Man, the 'persona' with inalienable rights. This 'nobility' of Man and the belief that all men are 'created equal' lead to the supremacy 161 of Man as the centre of the universe and the centre of all human efforts (Mazrui 1967:121; Ake 1976:204). Unfortunately, the 'col- ony' was a perfect example of discrepancy between theory and prac- tice with human inequalities entrenched and defended. The ideal of the newly independent country is as much a reaction against the hy- pocrisy and abuses of the former government as it is a determined intent to treat all persons as equal. 4. Rejection of the Colonial Past. Colonialism had the effect of magnifying the efficacy and va- lidity of imposed foreign values and institutions while slowly elimp inating traditional systems, religious and moral beliefs and local economic organisations. The process of de-colonisation can be a long and arduous one: "The colonial hangover which beset a lot of our developments in the last five years should be removed and eliminated as we Zambianise posts and institutions as well as procedures and practices in the period up to 1980" (Kaunda 1968b:43). "Over ten years ago we succeeded as a people in removing a co- lonialist and Oppressive government... We now have to use this power... to bring about a new social order-an order based on the noble principle of egalitarianism" (Kaunda 1974:x). In fact, the formation and formulation of many ideologies is a pro- found improvement on the principles according to which people were treated following segregated laws, different opportunities and in- justices. Or, as Benot explains: "Il reste que le soubassement des ideologies... est bien : rechercher du cate des consequences du colonialisme direct. Elles se sont constituées avant meme les independances, comme une reaction en esprit a la négation coloniale de l'histoire africains, a la negation des cultures africaines, a la néga- tion des capacités humaines de l‘Afrique qui a été la regle au temps du colonialisme direct" (I, 1975:49). 5. Rehabilitation of the Personality It is impossible to evaluate the damage done to personalities 162 by invasion, conquest, occupation and forced imposition of foreign rules and systems of beliefs; the personality of the exploited becomes like the one of a battered child or of a defeated compet- itor who can be either submissive and servile, or rebellious and revengeful. Some studies indicate that most people with low goal- achievement have been from conquered or dominated groups; "for them neither the goals of the traditional or the new culture are meaning- ful" (Spindler 1968:329; cf. McLelland 1968:362 and LeVine 1966:13). An ideology must present specific purposes and new motivations to at- tain these goals, new attitudes towards fellowbmen and society with the restoration or establishement of a particular and "unique way of viewing, sorting, and synthesizing the things and events be- lieved to exist in the world" (Spindler 1968:338). The ideology must give directions to reestablish cognitive and emotional controls without which humans cannot understand, plan, choose, live and love. "The attempt to establish and maintain cognitive control is a uni- versal and constant process in human life" (Spindler 1968:341); it is also an important function of any ideology as Apter observes: "Confronted with a desintegration of the old authority sys- tems, both traditional and colonial, developing man is in a state of conceptual confusion. Ideology provides a map to help him evaluate and perceive the meaning of complex, un- familiar changes" (1973:191). Zambian Humanism must shape the Zambian personality by "condition- ing people's thinking and moulding their value system" (Kaunda 1969: 62), in an effort to regain "personal integrity, autonomy and dig- nity" (Okonji 1974:39). 6. Traditional values, Adopted and Adapted Kaunda in his first official presentation of 'Humanism in Zambia' devoted several pages to establish unequivocally the de- pendence of the Zambian ideology on the traditional community. As the local society was based on mutual aid, acceptance of all people as persons, and inclusivity, so would the modern humanistic community (1967:5-9). Recalling and reviving the past does not 163 entail a regression or a blind imitation of the old days; it is not an idealisation of vestiges; it is the recognition that things were done differently before colonisation and what made that society work can be revived and adapted to conform to the constraints of the pres- ent time. (Cf. Ange 1979:19l-193). As Kandeke commented: "Past tradition is like a car's rear-view mirror. A Nation that keeps its mind fixed on past traditional ways of life without looking 'in front' is committing a crime against 'prog- ress' and is more than likely to end up in a 'crash'... Zambian Humanism's interest in traditional way of life is not merely for historical purposes. It is rather for utilising the best elements of traditional way of life for the future develOpment of the Nation" (1977:56-57; cf. Kaunda 1967:8). Newly independent nations shape their ideologies in a 'mélange' of old and new, borrowed ideas and new creations: "L'étude des processus de modernisation opérant en Afrique de- puis la decolonisation révéle—-apres une courts periods d'im- portation des modeles d'organisation-une reprise d'initiative et le recours a des modeles 'autochtones'. La tradition in- tervient dans le faconnage du present, elle contribue a la realisation des nouvelles combinatoires sociales et culturelles. Ce qui conduit a constater que toute modernité fait apparaitre des configurations associant des 'traits' modernes st tradi- tionnels; la relation entre ceux-oi n'est pas dichotomique, mais dialectique" (Balandier 1974:210). For Kandeke, the traditional values which should be revived and adapted concern the "respect for Man, the centrality of Man in a society based on co-operative labour and mutual-aid living"... "The emphasis of Zambian Humanism on the traditional way of life... involves the notion of continuity, gives people a feeling of national pride,... dispels the feeling of inferiority,... provides a refuge against the onslaught of adverse foreign cultures,... and provides a common cognitive orientation" (1977:29; cf. pp. 30-34). Zambian Humanism is attempting to achieve a new socialisation through motivation, with convincing explanation and exhortation to affect and direct personal conduct. Humanistic values must be spread, discussed and improved upon to fashion the Zambian who must be pre- pare for hard work, cooperation and sacrifice. In short, based on traditional values, Zambian Humanism is presented as possessing the 164 solutions to the problems, and is expressed in arguments to con- vince and motivate in order to build a new and strong nation. (Cf. Pouillon 1978:10). Martin sums up how Zambian Humanism is perceived and appraised: "Regarded as an economic blueprint, humanism mensd few sign- posts other than those already implicit in the notion of eco- nomic nationalism along moderately socialist lines with some allowance for moderate capitalism. Regarded as an attempt to reconcile traditional African values with the demands of a rapidly changing and modernizing economy, it served some pur- pose in fecusing attention on the dangers of social disruption that might result from the wholesale abandonment of old family and communal institutions and their replacement by an ethic of individual selfbadvancement" (1972:111; cf. Pettman 1974:40; Tordoff 1974:24; Sklar 1975:20). d. Zambian Humanism: must not be Capitalism; should be Socialism; could be Humanism Martin in a chapter entitled "State Capitalism: Hyena or Hy- brid?" (1972:203-221) tries to bring light on the economic philos- ophy of Zambian Humanism; for him, the difficulty lies in the fact that it does not concord with the usual unambiguous Western cate- gories. First, Humanism rejects all forms of exploitation of man by man, all forms of profit for personal aims, and all competition between people for the sake of exclusive advantages, social and ma- terial. At the same time, Zambian Humanism encourages profits made for the group, self-reliance, hard work and initiative. The Zambian ideology defines Capitalism as "the exploitation of one by another... making selfbinterest the driving force of one's life at whatever costs to others" (Kaunda 1974:13); the accumula- tion of capital comes from this exploitation: "Our Humanism will not allow us to use our superior skills to exploit the less-endowed by organising them into a labour force which does not get a fair return for its work. A humanist ac- cepts that capital must be rewarded, but capital alone, without labour, land and management, cannot produce anything. And since such capital is barren without these factors it must be treated accordingly" (Kaunda 1974:77). 165 It seems that it is not the profit motive and the accumulation of wealth which are condemned, but the excess in both; "a profit mo- tive in the interest of society" is correct; but a "profit motive in the interest of an individual" is unacceptable in a humanist so- ciety (Kaunda 1974:77). Moreover, hard work is everywhere extolled as basic to Humanism (Kaunda 1967:17 and 27; 1974:48, 80-83, 108, 119, 128-129). But hard work produces material results and more hard work will produce more goods; it must be more work 'in society': "The accumulated property, whether in the form of houses, food- stuffs, cattls, goats, pigs, etc. through the framework of a mutual aid organisation was completely Man-centred. Today, however, we need to extend this field further because of the introduction of a money economy. Humanism in Zambia welcomes ownership of property. In other words, there is nothing wrong for a man to own a house, a car, or anything else that will bring security and stability to his mind, home or family... The question is how does one accumulate that prOperty? Does it come through exploiting one's fellow men or by being de- ceitful? Either way, a humanitarian approach to life does not condone this. In fact, it condemns this completely" (Kaunda 1967:49). Consequently, Humanism accepts 'social' profits and controlled pri- vate enterprise. "Capitalism is regarded as objectionable by Zamp bian Humanism mainly because it is so individualistic that it be- comes money-centred and not man-centred as Zambia's philosophy is" (Meebelo 1973:77). Martin argues that this distinction is nothing less than an excuse or a spurious device to harmonise doctrine with facts: "(Controlled enterprises are) devices for reconciling the eco- nomic nationalism of Zambia, its political wish to have more control over the forces that determine its wealth, with the realities of business life and the necessity of maintaining efficiency" (1972:212). Some commentators have used the expression 'State Capitalism' to describe the economic system of Zambia (Meebelo 1973:66-71), but "if it is capitalistic, it certainly is not all that unsocialistic or unhumanistic" (Meebelo 1973:68); the chosen terms are 'State Participation' and 'mixed economy': "Our present situation is one where the public sector is quite strong and where the private 166 sector survives-in some areas-it is also quite strong" (Kaunda 1974:87; also 88-95). In other words: "State participation in industry, state land-ownership, co- operatives and price control are, it must by now be clear, important instruments for preventing incipient capitalism and exploitation in Zambian humanism" (Meebelo 1973:95). After this short discussion, it is evident that (l) the word Ca- pitalism must be banned and (2) that the uncontrolled accumulation of wealth in the hands of one individual is condemned. Moreover, Humanism being an ideology, it describes situations as they should be. There is a multiplicity of exploiters from the lazy people, the thieves, the drunkards, the able-bodied beggars, the greedy materialists, the unscrupulous self-seekers, the pluaderous elites, the managers with the capitalist attitude (Kaunda 1974:xiii-xv; l-6;.13, 44, 47, 52, 55, 73-76, 98, 104, 106, 108). The system may be strewn with abuses and failures but "we must stand together to fight against the animal in Man so that we can establish a better society-that is in keeping with the philosophy we prepound" (Kaunda 1974:116). If it seems that the terminology used by the proponents of Zambian Humanism is little more than semantic map noeuvre, in real Zambian life, the disparate elements arrange them! selves in orderly symmetry which represents the apparent contra. dictions. For instance, a person may work hard and accumulate, possess a large house, cattle, a store, a car, even a motor boat; that person may get some voluntary help from relatives and friends, but must share by feeding relatives, friends and helping them in every occasion; the key to the situation is sharing: how much, with whom and when. That person may become rich, be rich with several others, and quite often, does not remain rich for very long. Either that person will be ostracised with his/her wealth, or the goods and well-being will be shared. What appears confused and con- confusing in the combination of theoretically opposite elements, becomes a simple amalgam of concrete situations under the force of local customs and beliefs. But, the conditions are different and far more complicated in urban areas with the erosion of the extended 167 family in favour of the nuclear family, where the choice of goods and their accumulation are nearly limitless, then the state has to articulate policies even with apparent or real contradictions. (Cf. Benot I 1975:66-72; Tordoff 1974:388-389; Berger 1974:58, 61-63) . Zambian Humanism should be Socialism, like most ideologies in Africa attempt to be: "Ideology... is defined by three political components of our liberation movement-namely, Pan-Africanism, Na- tionalism and Socialism (Ochieng 1973:68). As integral parts of their ideologies, Africans include the unity of the nation, values like cohesion, cOOperation and sharing, and ideals like "democracy, equality and the dignity of man" (Ake 1976:204). The nations must not grow only in economic production but must develop according to social and family needs and obligations and with respect to moral values and customs. Adrain sums up the main characteristics of African Socialism: "African society embodies the humanistic essence of socialism- community welfare, concern for the peOple's needs, respect for human dignity, equality, and social justice. The economic as- pects of African socialism include various forms, although there is a widespread preference for a mixed system of public and private sectors. All leaders reject the class struggle, which is relevant to Europe, and total nationalization, which characterized the Soviet Union's economy" (1964:198). Under its economic aspects, Socialism is conventionally defined as "a system in which the basic means of production are under public ownership and administration... The basic means of production are not in the hands of private enterprise" (Berger 1974:73). At the same time, Socialism can exist with so many forms that a great deal of tolerance must be exercised in labeling the different types: "Il n'existe aucune ferme privilégiée du socialisme" (Du- mont-Mazoyer 1969:81). "L'exigence de plusieurs voies socialiStes, au depart d'une meme situation, de plus en plus divergentes, entre lesquelles aucun critere rigoureusement scientifique ne permet de choisir la meilleure, était un phenomene inéluctable" (Dumont-Mazoyer 1969: 58) e 168 The temptation of copying or imposing one form of Socialism prac- tised under one particular model without taking into account his- torical and geographical conditions can be very strong and should be avoided. All models are historical, known a posteriori and 'éve- nementiel'; if certain regularities are found, they are embedded in local, geographical and temporal circumstances which are often entangled with ideological theories and material concerns of local interest. Zambian Humanism is said to be Socialism because (1) it is against the accumulation of wealth and the exploitation of Man by Man, (2) it has a mixed economy, that is state controlled and par- tially private and (3) it is against workers' alienation and tends towards workers' participation and ownership (Kaunda 1974:1-3, 52- 53, 87, 128). Moreover, like Socialism, Humanism fights all cap- italist influences, rejects the emergence of classes, the differ- ences of wealth and the control of power in the hands of a few priv- ileged people (Kaunda 1974:109-117; also 1967:10-12, 19; Meebelo 1973:72, 78-80 and 116-118; Kandeke 1977323, 213 and 221). Still, Zambian Humanism could be both Communism and Capitalism by its aspects of working and sharing collectively while storing and selling privately: "Indeed, one in compelled to say a strange mixh ture of nineteenth-century capitalism with communism" (Kaunda 1967: 13). Nevertheless, Zambian Humanism rejects both Capitalism and orthodox Socialism: "Zambia‘s destination is neither capitalism nor orthodox socialism... we are an independent country and we do not have to make a choice between one or the other " (Kaunda 1969:49); or as Meebelo explains: "It is in defence of this principle of man-centredness that Zambian humanism rejects capitalism, because in the latter system there is organised exploitation of man by man, rele- gating man to a mere apparatus. Similarly, Zambian humanism deprecates communism or so-called orthodox socialism, because in a communist society ideology is not a servant of man but his master. Society, therefore, does not exist for man but man for society" (1973:39; cf. pp. 73 and 117). However, it is not enough to condemn Capitalism and Communism 169 to establish a socialist society; Sklar doubts that Humanism can bring about Socialism: "Experience elsewhere teaches that a non-doctrinaire strategy of development, which relies upon a combination of private, cooperative, and state enterprise, under the auspices of a man- agerial bourgeoisie and in partnership with multinational cor- poration, is unlikely to build socialism" (1975:213; cf. Be- not I, 1975:63—65). In fact, the Zambian ideology wantsto be nothing else but Humanism: "There is no doubt at all that the mutual aid society way of life is peculiarly African both in origin and pattern. Be this as it may, it borders on the one hand on capitalism, and on the other on communism... This is what makes us realise the importance attached to Man in that society. All was done for the good of Man as a Person. It could be done collectively, it could be held individuallyh-Man was central. Hence the strange mixture which gives the present generation the right to claim that our socialism is humanism" (Kaunda 1967:12-13). The essence of Humanism can be reproduced most precisely by a sum- mary of the main statements of the book of Kaunda, Humanism in Zambia of 1974: 1. Humanism is a charter for the common Man, who is the centre of the universe and society; Man should never be used as a means to achieve social and economic goals; Man is appreciated for him- self, because he is a human being, and not on account of success, efficiency, merit and status (pp. 1 and 3). 2. Humanism is a radical revolutionary programme to liberate Man from external domination and from internal abuse due to the animal nature of Man; Humanism tries to eliminate the 'parasites', the lazy, the greedy and the powerful elites (pp. xiii, 3, 5, 13, 15, 28, 31, 108, 113, 115). 3. Humanism combats external enemies like capitalism, imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, fascism and racism. It also attacks internal problems like ignorance, poverty, hunger, disease, crime and the possible divisive aspects of tribalism (pp. 5, 11, 20, 40, 48, 80, 128-129). 4. In its first stage of develOpment, Humanism is similar to 170 Socialism: it promotes a mixed economy with the private and public sectors under government control; it condemns all forms of exploi- tation; it establishes an egalitarian society (pp. xiii, 7, 15, 21, 52-55, 87). In a second phase, Humanism will be fully realised with the people's participation in and control of all political, so- cial and economic institutions, with society being one large family and the actual practice of the mottos "do unto others as you want them to do unto you" and "love thy neighbour as thyself" (pp. 15-16). 5. Since Man is the centre of society, ideology is only a servant, although the first servant in importance for the success of Humanism (pp. 5, 8, l7, and 35). 6. Humanism constructs a political system which is a participatory democracy and a one party state in which everybody contributes; it is not a dictatorship since it is from and by the people; it encour- ages decentralisation of all sectors with emphasis on village life (pp. 8-10, 14-16, 23, 79, 97, 104, 106, 111). 7. Economic and material achievements are not the primary objectives, since the goal and end of Humanism is the betterment of Man who cannot live with bread alone (pp. 8, 52, ll7-118). Man works and produces, but for the commonwealth (20). All must work hard to be self-sufficient (pp. 41, 65, 83, 108). The state controlled econ- omy or the common ownership will be transformed into a workers' con- trolled economy (pp. 52-53). 8. The goal of Humanism is perfection and the total liberation of Man. At the moment, it is only the beginning in a long march towards the attainment of God's Grand Design for Man (pp. 5, 52-54 and 128). "Humanism is looking at Man in global terms. Universally Man wants to love, to be loved, to seek truth and to create; he also wants peace, stability and progress, which translated into reality means, among other things, good food, good shel- ter, clean clothes and clean water, and he wants these things on the basis of freedom and justice" (Kaunda 1974:xii). "In other words, the State and all its bureaucratic institu- tions will not be transcended until the stage is reached in Man's development when he is loving the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and is also loving his neighbour as he loves himself and is doing unto others as he would have them do unto him. Then the teaching or prephesy 171 that 'Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven' will have been fulfilled. All institutions, including the State which binds Man, are transcended" (Kaunda 1974:53). Most commentators' critiques centre upon the inhability of Humanism to solve practical and physical problems. In such critiques, Humanism is not examined as an ideal-spiritual-normative ideology with moral and psychological goals and only incidental applications, as the last two pages confirm. Only a moral and spiritual pers- pective will allow a correct evaluation of the statements, intents and purposes of Zambian Humanism. CHAPTER IV BEMBA PROVERBS CLASSIFIED AND EXPLAINED The proverbs contained in the present chapter have been col- lected over a period of about fifteen years (of. pp. 4-6). Out of a personal collection of some 2,200 proverbs, 510 were retained, mainly bscuse they are used more frequently, and not at all in view of trying to prove a point. I am convinced that these proverbial expressions represent correctly and adequately the attitudes, be- liefs and values of the Bemba speakers as expressed in their prov- erbs. The content classification should help to understand the gen- eral message of a proverb; it is not intented to demonstrate def- initively the exclusive meaning and usage of an expression in par- ticular. There are seven categories which are in turn sub-divided into more specific tapics. These general subjects cover most of the themes discussed in cultural Anthropology; they are (A) the spiritual life, (B) the family life, (C) the social life, (D) the economic life, (E) the political life, (F) moral values and (G) traditional expressions. It might be useful to refer to pages 51 to 53 for the mechanics of quoting, translating and explicing which functions as follows: (a) word by word translation; (b) literal translation; (c) some explanations; (d) lexical and grammatical explanations; (d) references as SM to Mpashi's book, Icibemba cesu na mane ya ciko, and as W? to The White Fathers' Bemba English Dictionary. A. THE SPIRITUAL LIFE. From the proverbs and sayings, one cannot elaborate a Bemba theology. All that can be said is that proverbs refer to a knowl- edge of and belief in Lesa, a superior or supreme being, force or 172 173 principle which has made humans, care for them and will judge them. The same word is used by the mmbo (Stefaniszyn 1964:134-136) and the Plateau Tonga (Colson 1954:60). As far as is known, there is no official national, regional or sten familial cult to L395. There is no mention of personal ceremonies in honour of £252” but there are personal 'invocations' or recoursss in instances like grave acci- dents, diseases and death. The word lg§§_means also 'thunder‘ and signifies the actual noise produced in the sky. Thunder was seen as a direct effect of nggfs power and an evident manifestation of supreme might. Catholic missionaries fearing the god-thunder meton- ymy adopted the word mulungg for Supreme Being, God, heping to isolate the word lggg,with one meaning only, thunder. Mulungg never meant a supreme principle or one powerful transcendent being, but signifies divinities linked with natural phenomena. Mulungg is used as Supreme God in Nyanja (Ci Cewa) and under the form of Mungg,in Swahili. Intermediary gods, divinities or spirits have different terms: milungg (sing. mulungu) are either divinities with myste- rious origins or spirits of famous ancestors and chiefs incarnated in natural phenomena and forces like epidemics, scourges, falls, etc.; 25312 are spirits of chiefs and kings incarnated in trees, hills, rivers, etc. not far from their burial mounds; and mipashi (sing. mupgshi) are manes or spirits of recently departed people and may be floating around former residences and fields. Mipashi are also protecting spirits inhabiting people. §g§g|is good for all, cares for every life and will judge with absolute justice because he/she knows every human heart. Lg§g_is not associated directly in the unfolding of human events and actions; these are the domains of the mipashi, ngulg,and milungg. Since every event and action was or could be linked with some supernatural power or influence, there was place for several clas- ses of religious specialists. The bashimapepo (sing. shimapepo) are called in English 'priests'; etymologically, they are the 'fa- there of worship'; they were performing for the chiefs and offering to the Milungu for important occasions and scourges. The bakasesema 174 (sing. kasessma) can be called 'prophets' because they predict, de- nounce and threaten. They mumble words which are interpreted as val- uable information coming from the spirits who possess them. The Egg- mu sha mipgshi are persons temporarily possessed who communicate some information or simply utter sounds which are unintelligible; still, everybody listens attentively in case some names of evil-doers would be recognised. The bashinghanga (sing. shinggnga) or nghanga can be described as the medicine men who deal with all forms or ailments with or without recourse to spirits. They are consulted for all sorts of reasons like accidents, human failures and deaths. The term shinghgg- 55 can also be used for 'priest', meaning anyone associated with the supernatural; he is the religious specialist for all occasions. Even if there are no sanctuaries properly speaking, there are places of worship built in honor of divinities and spirits, espe- cially the 3531!; those small huts or elevations are called mfuba (sing. lufuba). People will deposit offerings like flour to placate the spirits. (Cf. Labrecque 1946). There is no indication of gender in the word Lesa, except that it belongs to the first class which contains nouns related to per- sons as a rule. For instance, it is Lesa Mukulu, Lesa great or supreme; the pronoun 'it' is used to refer to neuter rather than to a thing. This section includes only proverbs about Lesa and spir- its; moral values are discussed in sections H and I. 1. Apgtebeta Lesa: tapaffika cushi. a. There/book God: not/there/rise smoke. b. Where God cooks: no smoke rises. c. God is like a fire without smoke, and therefore cannot be seen. God‘s works and ways are hidden and unknown; so it is impossible to know what God is preparing for people. God acts without warning. e. SM:9. WF:l42-ggghi. 2. 3e 4. 5. b. be do be Ge be 175 Icipg Lesa: tacishibwa. 0r: Igikupg Lesa: teti ushishibg. That/give God: not/it/be-known. 0r: That/you/kive God: it-is-impossible you/mey-know. What God gives cannot be known. The future cannot be predicted and one never can be sure of what is in store for oneself. wr: 204-9332. In bwito bwe 251a g; kws Lgsa: e kupgila gilandu zogsg. At end of baldness it/is at God: it/is to-end cases all. The last tribunal is at God's where all cases end. God's tribunal is the last one. Whatever happens to cases here, at last one just settlement will take place in front of God. There is always a final judgment in front of God whatever happens to human decisions and conde-nations. glito bwe 251a. End of baldness; a court of justice in appeal. nggggg old age manifested by baldness. 3 71-h E1t0 e W- God it/you/hay-unmake. May God unmake you. May God who has made you, destroy you. (A malediction and a form of cursing). "3 588‘We sa ushin a : us tuka. God bow-string my: which/hot/is-broken. God is my bow-string which is not broken. God is my defense and never breaks down. God is my constant protector and does not fail in time of needs. "3 388‘Me 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. ‘e be be d. ‘e be ‘e be ‘e be 176 Less mufushi: tafulila 232. God blacksmith: not/it/forge-for one. God is the blacksmith who does not forge for only one. God is the powerful worker and deer who works and cares for all. God cares for all without exception. SM: 35. st: “hm. esa:- mu bwe m tu. God: the-one/is-covered with dry-leaves. God is like a person covered with dry leaves. God is hidden and cannot be seen but its presence is no less true. nobody can see God who is not seen and even if near- by is hidden to human eyes. mm. mm: m 1...... Lesa a; gglzgtgla: e ukangyotwgla. God it-is avenger: it-is who/hill/he/avenge-for. God is the avenger who will avenge me. Whatever happens now, here on earth, God will avenge me and rectify every wrong done to me. (Expression often used as a curse). smas. WF:403-g§z_o_t_olg. sa: abs c e. God: not/it/forget which/is-standing up. God does not forget what stands up. God helps those who help themselves. As long as a person does something, God will do its share and help. SM:35. ”$23-93”. W0 God: not/it/destroy thing/its. God does not destroy its own. 12. 13. 14. ‘e be Ce b. d. b. 6e 177 God does not destroy what it made and is its. God conser- ves what it has done. SM:35. Ir:323-;gggp ea bo: m t ebe e. God: full-of-riches: heart let/it/tell/to. God is rich and independent and does what it likes with it. God is the possessor of everything and does what it_likes with it. Nobody tells God how to dispose of its riches. SM:35. :323-333:, H; Lesa tfila: uwatdlile ggloggglogda egg alipgtgikg. It-is God help: it/hho/has-helped wasp when it/iould- have-been-burst. It is God the helper who helped the wasp which would have burst. God is the helper who helps all creatures. God cares even for a little wasp and certainly far more for men. W