This article summarizes some findings of research on plant names and plant use of the Suri people (more widely known by outsiders as "Surma"), a relatively isolated group of agro-pastoralists in... Show moreThis article summarizes some findings of research on plant names and plant use of the Suri people (more widely known by outsiders as "Surma"), a relatively isolated group of agro-pastoralists in the border area of Southwest Ethiopia and Sudan. The research was carried out as part of a long-term anthropological study on the Suri in the years 1992-1999. The most prevalent health problems of the Suri are intestinal and stomach diseases, parasites, malaria, infections and burns. For several of these afflictions the Suri have indigenous medicine and surgery. However, they are now beginning to demand modern medicine (tablets, ointments, injections) when they see that it is available. The traditional ethno-medicinal knowledge is uncritically replaced. This is not to say that all Suri traditional knowledge was healthy and effective. But the transition to "modern medicine" is made without a proper testing and investigation of the workings and the potential of the Suri plants and medical practices in use until now. Bibliogr., notes Show less
The relation of pastoral societies with the 'outside world' has proved to be one of structural deterioration. This poses questions as to the political space remaining for these societies within... Show moreThe relation of pastoral societies with the 'outside world' has proved to be one of structural deterioration. This poses questions as to the political space remaining for these societies within the State arenas to which they nominally belong and the nature of their ethnoreligious identities. The pastoral societies of East Africa, while varied in nature and social organization, still show some common characteristics with regard to religion and political system. The author argues that the principles of clan segmentation, age-group structure, the ritual-cyclical ordering of community life, and decentralized, regionally exercised power will remain more important organizing elements for pastoral societies than purely ideological-religious factors. This is a result of certain macroconditions such as their necessary confinement to marginal areas, their geographical mobility, and their lack of integration into the wider State society in terms of literacy, economic surplus extraction, social mobility, or political representation. The author looks at the 'strategies' of various agropastoral groups in terms of religious response and political action within these macroconditions. He uses the examples of the Boran in Ethiopia and Kenya, the Nuer in Sudan and Ethiopia, and the Surma of southern Ethiopia. Show less
Although the Ethiopian Transitional Government has been attempting since 1991 to set up new national and regional structures of administration and cooperation that may eventually lead to some form... Show moreAlthough the Ethiopian Transitional Government has been attempting since 1991 to set up new national and regional structures of administration and cooperation that may eventually lead to some form of locally entrenched, ethnic-based democracy, these are not yet fully in place in K„fa region in southern Ethiopia. This paper analyses the possibilities and constraints of the Ethiopian model by highlighting the increasing ethno-political tensions in this 'marginal' area, notably between the Dizi and the Suri in the Maji area. It examines the political and ecological factors which played a role in the recent upsurge of violence, and discusses the prospects for intervention and change. The paper is based on fieldwork carried out in the area during 1992 and 1993. Notes, ref Show less
