Describe the social structure of a chiefdom. What were the specific social rankings and how were these determined - Essay Example There is a variance of simplicity and complexity in different chiefdoms occasioned by reasons such as scale of development, financial capability and the orientation to a person or groups. An example of a chiefdom with a simple scale of development is one with low population rate that is led by a single level of hierarchy. This kind of a chiefdom is usually group-oriented while its source of finance being staple finance. On the other hand, a complex chiefdom has a high population rate under a minimum of two levels of hierarchy (Scupin, 2012). According to the societal structure of chiefdoms, they mainly comprise of clans, lineages, and other important groups. The ranking is principally in strata and it depends on the relationship to a chiefly family unit. In the stratification of clans, the hereditary status of a person and their relationship with other people in a clan stratifies their status (Scupin, 2012). The marriages in these clans are usually infused in endogamy within a specific stratum and they are based on patriarchy. This implies that senior men often are in dominance in chiefdoms. Importantly, there is an upper and a lower stratum, where the upper one is usually polygynous and most respected. Moreover, chiefdoms maintain primogeniture, implying that the firstborn children of the chiefs inherit the leadership upon the chief’s death (Scupin, 2012). In the matter of tribes, chiefdom is attained by predominantly by checking into a person’s achievements. This implies that a chief in a particular tribe is chosen on the merit of primogeniture but after analyzing his achievements. Chiefdoms remain the most complex of political systems occasioned by the different groups in an individual community. However, in clans, a chief is chosen basing on a person’s relationship to a chiefly family; whereas in a tribe, a chief is chosen based on their personal achievements. The constant factor for the attainment of the chief
0 Comments
There should be restrictions on SNAP (foodstamps) benefits - Essay Example This important aspect of development serves a large population of the United States, who are in dire need. However, while some people are in support of the program for its usefulness, I feel that the benefits should be limited. A number of people enrolling for the program do not need it, which surges the national expenditure. This creates a proportional surge in taxes to cater for the program, which is a burden to other taxpayers. To begin with, some people feel that the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program is not of great help to the low-income people. For example, traditionally, there are three basic needs in a human life. These include food, clothing, and shelter. Apparently, people consider education as a basic need for human living. Consequentially, the government only provides foodstuff in the SNAP program, whereas it should also be providing other basic needs like education. Therefore, the government should be considerate to the low-income families, since they do not have the sufficient resources for the stated basic needs. Owing to this, the government should initiate another approach, where the situation can be corrected in the shortest time possible. It is stated that the life expectancy rate and standards of life improve when people have access to quality education, high quality healthcare and a low cost of living. Apparently, giving the low-income families SNAP is not enhancing their entire life as it is only solving part of their problems. As such, many of the low-income families do not afford education for their children. This leads to low literacy rates in the low-income families, which in turn leads to a large disparity between the rich and the poor people in the society. Therefore, the program is not of much help to the low-income families, especially when looking at the other basic needs. On the contrary, Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program caters for
|