7. Regality Theory Applied to Ancient Cultures

In this chapter we will look at a number of ancient, non-industrial civilizations and see whether the predictions of regality theory fit these cultures. A statistical study of the results follows in chapter 8, but the discussions of each of these cultures can also be read as interesting and illustrative examples in themselves.

In chapter 3.1, we saw how the ecology and the environment can determine the level of violent conflict between groups or determine whether war is possible at all. Conflicts are likely if multiple groups are competing for the same ecological niche, according to the competitive exclusion principle, while conflicts are less likely for groups that have adapted to their own unique niche. Using the distinction between contest competition and scramble competition, we found that conflicts are more likely where food or other valuable resources are concentrated in patches that can be monopolized and defended, while conflicts will be rare where food is sparsely distributed. Logistic factors such as weapon technology, ease of travel, efficient food production, and storage and transportation of food must also be taken into account.

To summarize, we can predict that the level of violent intergroup conflict in a non-modern culture will be high when the following factors are present:

• An ecology and technology that enables a high food production per unit area and thus a high population density.
• Food and other important resources are concentrated in patches that can be monopolized and defended by the group rather than sparsely distributed.
• Neighbor groups with similar ecology are competing for the same resources.
• Efficient means for transportation of warriors to enemy territory are available.
• Efficient means of communication over distance are available.
• Efficient means of food storage and transportation are available.
• Efficient weapons are available.
• The climate is favorable.

In contrast, intergroup conflict is likely to be impeded or prevented when these factors are reversed, specifically when

• Food is sparsely distributed and the population density is low.
• Geographical barriers or logistic problems make travel difficult.
• A group has specialized in a unique niche that neighbor groups are unable to exploit.
• Extreme climate conditions make work and fighting more difficult.

It must be noted that these assumptions do not hold in modern industrial societies, where international economic interdependence or third party intervention can prevent war.

The next step in our prediction is that a culture will be regal when intergroup conflicts are frequent and severe, while we will expect to find a kungic culture where the level of intergroup conflict is low. We will predict an intermediate level on the regality scale when some factors point in one direction and other factors point in the opposite direction. Other environmental factors that threaten a sociocultural group, such as natural disasters and unpredictable food shortages, may also have an influence in the regal direction. The level of regality will be reflected in a number of social, political, and cultural indicators, as discussed in chapter 2.6.

The relevant predictions of regality theory can be summarized as follows:

• People will show a preference for a strong leader and a social structure with strict discipline in cases of a high level of intergroup conflict or other collective danger. They will show a preference for an egalitarian social structure in the absence of collective danger.
• These individual preferences will influence the social and cultural structure in the directions called regal and kungic, respectively, as reflected in the indicators listed in table 1 (chapter 2.6).
• A society with a high level of intergroup conflict will use both reward and punishment of its members to enhance its military strength (see chapter 2.2).
• Individual danger and intragroup conflict will not have the same effect on social structure as collective danger and intergroup conflict have. However, both kinds of danger will have the same effect on fertility.
• The level of intergroup conflict will depend on the geographic environment, the ecology, and the available technology, as described above.

We will now study a number of non-modern and non-industrial cultures to see how well they fit these predictions. Each of these cultures can be seen as an interesting case study illustrating the application of ecological theory and regality theory.

The methods used for theory testing in the social sciences can roughly be divided into two categories: (1) statistical testing on a large number of cases, and (2) comparative historical analysis where a small number of cases are compared and analyzed in more detail.

In the statistical method, you look at the input variables and the output variables, but rarely at what happens inside the ‘black box’ causing the input to affect the output. In the comparative historical method, you open the black box and look at the chain of events that is responsible for the causal relationship. The comparative historical analysis allows methods such as studying whether events are happening in the temporal order predicted by the theory, and looks for events that should or should not happen according to the a priori theory but not according to alternative theories.1

A combination of statistical testing and comparative historical analysis is the best method we have to test a causal theory of social phenomena. The political scientist Evan Lieberman recommends a method that starts with a correlational analysis on a large number of cases and then studies a few cases in more detail.2 However, a correlational analysis can only confirm a relationship between variables that are already known to be relevant—it is unlikely to lead to the discovery of new interesting variables or relationships. Therefore, the present study uses case studies before statistical analysis. A number of ancient and non-industrial societies are analyzed below. A statistical summary and discussion of the results is provided in chapter 8.3. These cultures are selected according to a number of predefined criteria, explained in chapter 8.3, in order to avoid selection bias.

7.1. Andamanese

The Andamans is a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal, totaling 6,400 km2. The islands are volcanic mountains with dense vegetation. The temperature is between 17°C and 36°C all year round. At the time of the first anthropological studies, the islands were populated by twelve tribes of Negritos speaking different languages. They lived from hunting, fishing, and gathering and had sufficient food at all times. Their only vehicles of transportation were canoes, which were used for fishing and traveling along the coasts of the islands. The canoes were unable to sail in open sea. The Andaman Islands had very little contact with the surrounding world until the mid-nineteenth century.3 The Andamanese are one of the oldest and most isolated human populations outside of Africa.4

Based on the geographic variables, we would expect the Andamanese culture to be moderately kungic. The mountains and dense jungle make traveling on land very difficult, and the available means of transportation by sea were insufficient for large-scale war. The natives had no knowledge of any people living more than 32 km away. The favorable climate and abundance of food can be expected to allow a moderately high population density, which would weigh in the regal direction. The possibility of natural disasters, such as cyclones, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes, might also have a limited regal influence, but the mountains would offer some protection, at least against the cyclones.

The frequency of warfare is listed in the standard cross-cultural sample as continual or once every one to two years. However, this listing is very misleading due to a vague definition of war. There is no evidence that large scale fighting has ever taken place on the Andaman Islands. The literature agrees that the only evidence of fights is of ‘brief and far from bloody skirmishes’ where ‘only a handful of warriors were engaged on each side and rarely more than one or two were killed’. These skirmishes were usually feuds between neighbor groups, belonging to the same or different tribes. The feuds may be ended after some time with a peace-making ceremony. No weapons of war have been found other than the bows and arrows used for hunting.5

While no evidence of large-scale war has been found, some inferences can be made. The many different tribes living in close proximity would quite possibly lead to conflicts over territory. One of the tribes, the Jarawa, who live on the South Andaman Island, are believed to be invaders from Little Andaman Island, because their language is similar to that spoken on Little Andaman. It is possible that the Jarawa took territory from the original inhabitants in a more serious conflict in a long forgotten past. The Jarawa are in constant conflict with their neighbors.

It is remarkable that so many tribes were able to coexist in a small area for as long as it took to develop different languages. This is indirect evidence that traveling was limited and that the Andaman tribes were willing to maintain peace and respect territorial boundaries, with the exception of the Jarawa.

The Andamanese were hostile to foreigners and have systematically killed all shipwrecked sailors who entered their land. In particular, the Jarawa were so hostile to foreigners that it has been impossible to study them. The Jarawa have survived for the very same reason, while most of the other tribes have perished after contact with modern settlers.6

Figure 13. Andamanese hunting turtles, ca. 1900. Photo by Bourne & Shepherd photographic studio. Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives.7

The Andamanese had no political organization above the local group. There were influential older men and women but no leaders with authority. There was no penal system, and neither children nor adults were punished for wrongdoing.8

Religious beliefs were fluid, flexible, and incongruent. The Andamanese believed in spirits and other supernatural beings who control diseases, weather, and other natural phenomena. E. H. Man found several similarities with Christian beliefs,9 but these were convincingly refuted by Alfred Radcliffe-Brown as projections of Man’s own faith.10 All other observers agree that no supernatural beings ruled the Andamanese or punished their misdeeds in life or in the afterlife.11

The relationships between neighbor tribes were friendly, except in times of feuds and except with respect to the Jarawa. Intermarriages occurred, as well as adoption of children across tribes.

Fertility was low, possibly because children were breastfed for three to four years. There was no birth control or infanticide. Mortality was high, and nobody lived longer than fifty years. Suicide was unknown. Children started to help their parents with various work from about the age of ten. Children as well as adults played many games.12

The marrying age was approximately 16 to 20 for women and 18 to 22 for men. Betrothals in childhood occurred, but in most cases young people were free to choose their spouses. There was no polygamy. Divorce was very rare. Sexual morals were lax. Premarital sex was almost universal, and adultery was frequent. Syphilis has spread fast.13

Men and women had almost equal status and influence. Children were named before birth, and the same names were used for boys and girls. The most important of their gods was described as female more often than as male.

Their art was simple. They adorned themselves with necklaces, body paint, and scars. The body painting consisted of simple patterns such as parallel lines or zigzag lines, with variations due to individual taste or changing fashions. The same adornments were used for men and women. Tools and canoes were decorated with similar painting or cuttings. Singing and dancing occurred on many occasions, often for ceremonial reasons. The songs were about everyday activities, not religion. Each singer had his own songs, while dancing was communal.14

The conclusion for the Andamanese is that most observations fit the expectations for a kungic culture. The observations regarding political organization, discipline, religion, fertility, sexual morals, marrying age, length of childhood, art, and music are in agreement with a kungic culture. The absence of suicide, the absence of divorce, and especially the hostility towards strangers point more in the regal direction.

One explanation for the xenophobia of the Andamanese is their belief that dangerous spirits have a lighter skin color than themselves. They regard all light-skinned strangers as dangerous spirits.15 However, this is just a proximate explanation with little theoretical value. The belief in dangerous light-skinned spirits is likely to have a historical origin in encounters with foreigners with firearms. Indeed, history gives the Andamanese ample reason to fear foreigners. Malay and Arab slave traders, shipwrecked sailors, and European and Indian settlers have all treated the Andamanese with deadly violence;16 and the latest reports indicate that violent confrontations with the Andamanese have continued until the present time.17 They were friendly to foreigners in previous times, according to some reports.18

The frequent feuds between neighbor groups, whether they belonged to the same or to different tribes, are easily explained by the absence of any political system for resolving conflicts. The fact that the Jarawa appear to be more hostile than the other Andaman tribes has no immediate explanation, since almost nothing is known about their history.

7.2. Arrernte

The Arrernte (Aranda, Arunta) tribe of Australian aborigines were a semi-nomadic people living in the desert-like areas near Alice Springs in Central Australia. They had no means of transportation other than walking naked and barefoot. The few navigable rivers sometimes dried out, and there was no timber suitable for making boats. The relatively flat land with sparse vegetation did not constitute any serious barrier to traveling, but the lack of efficient means for carrying water made it impossible to travel too far away from water sources except in occasional wet periods. The climate is dry with large variations in temperature. Day temperature can exceed 40 °C, and night temperature can go below freezing point. They lived as hunters and gatherers and had no metals, no pottery, and no efficient means for food storage.19

Based on this information, we can expect the culture to be fairly kungic, because the population density must be low and because mass traveling was limited by lack of drinking water for the Arrernte as well as for the neighboring tribes. However, the droughts that appeared at unpredictable intervals constituted a significant collective danger that occasionally killed significant parts of the population. This may have pushed the culture somewhat in the regal direction.

Figure 14. Arrernte rain ceremony, ca. 1900. Photo by W. B. Spencer and F. J. Gillen.20

Large-scale war was absent at the time of the first studies, but war was reportedly more common in earlier days before the spread of European diseases decimated the population. Deadly clashes could occur when droughts forced people to migrate into enemy territory. The political structure was very simple. Decisions were taken by deliberation among the old men. Some men had leadership status, but none had absolute power. There was no leader at the level of the whole tribe.21

Men often beat their wives. Physical punishment was common, and the death penalty was prescribed for several offences, including some rather trivial ones. The literature is not clear on how often the death penalty was actually executed in practice. Vendettas were very common.

Beliefs in life after death were weak or absent. Women became pregnant and gave birth as a result of totemic ancestors entering their body. The father played little or no role in this process, according to Arrernte beliefs. There was no supreme being ruling over the humans. Sickness, death, and misfortune were blamed on taboo violations, evil spirits, and, most commonly, on magic performed by enemies. Witch doctors had some political influence but no strong power. There were many painful rituals. Many religious traditions and objects were monopolized by men and kept hidden from women and children.22

People’s identity was defined in terms of totem group and a complicated system of marriage classes. Tribal unity was not a strong factor. Foreigners were not allowed into their territory unless they had a peaceful purpose such as negotiation or barter. However, there were often friendly relations between neighbor tribes, and intertribal marriages were common.23

Fertility was sufficiently low to keep the population size stable. Abortion was known and infanticide was common. Twins were always killed at birth. Suicide was unknown. Children were breastfed for several years.24

The Arrernte had little or no idea of biological fatherhood and consequently no notion of illegitimate children. A man might therefore lend his wife to other men for a number of reasons, with or without her consent. There were plenty of rituals and traditions that allowed, or even prescribed, extramarital sexual contacts in certain situations. Premarital sex, however, was generally not tolerated. Homosexuality has been reported for both men and women. Girls married around puberty, boys much later. Promises of marriage were often made for the expected future daughters of a woman, even before she got pregnant. Polygamy was common. Divorce occurred.25

Children were treated kindly, and much time was devoted to them. Punishment of children is not mentioned in the literature.26

Artistic expression was simple. Religious objects were embellished with lines, dots, and circles. Body adornments included necklaces, nose piercing, scarification, etc. Objects adorned with feathers and paintings were used in ceremonies. There were songs and dances for many occasions, but only few and very simple music instruments. Marriage ceremonies were rather simple, while initiation ceremonies were more elaborate, especially for young men.27

The conclusion for the Arrernte is that most observations fit the expectations for a kungic culture. The political organization, religion, group identity, fertility, sexual behavior, treatment of children, and art are all as expected for a kungic culture. The possible occurrence of severe punishment, intolerance of strangers, absence of suicide, and the strong male dominance point more in the regal direction. The marrying age is low for girls but high for boys. The amount of war before the spread of European diseases is difficult to estimate.

7.3. Babylonians

The alluvial plains along the rivers Tigris and Euphrates in what is now Iraq were the seat of many city-states and empires that waxed and waned over many thousands of years. We are considering only the period before the advent of monotheism, with the main focus on the era of King Hammurabi. The climate was dry and hot in the summer months, and the temperature went below freezing point in the winter. The fertile river plains were surrounded by desert. Boats of various sizes were available for transportation of goods and people along the rivers and the many canals that were dug. For transportation on land, the Babylonians had donkeys, camels, horses, and wheeled vehicles. Cuneiform writing was used for communication over long distances. The Babylonians practiced intensive agriculture with a well-organized irrigation system. They had metals for tools and weapons.28

There are strong regal factors here. Nothing hindered the mobility of the people. They had means for storing and transporting food and water, and they could travel far by land as well as on the rivers. The intensive agriculture could sustain a high population density, and the area that could be traveled was large enough for including multiple states that could wage war against each other with efficient weapons. The only kungic factors we can find are the hot climate in the summer and the low population density in the surrounding desert. Since the regal factors are much stronger than the kungic factors, we can expect to find a rather regal culture here.

The political system was a monarchy where the king was the supreme ruler, though the priests also had a considerable influence. The religion was polytheistic, with a high number of gods and demons. Humans were created by gods for the sole purpose of doing service to these gods. Humans were thus servants of the gods, represented by the king. Humans were punished by the gods for their sins.29

Figure 15. Babylonian cylinder seal showing the king making an animal offering to the Sun God Shamash. Hjaltland Collection.30

War was frequent and the army was one of the most important institutions in Babylon. Armies numbered thousands of men, probably more than a hundred thousand, and war casualties were high.31

Slavery and slave trade were widespread. A man could be reduced to slavery if unable to pay a debt. Political and economic matters, as well as marriage and divorce, were regulated by a detailed set of laws written by the king. Discipline was harsh. The law prescribed the death penalty or mutilation for many common crimes. It is unknown whether legal practice followed the laws or whether law-breakers could get away with paying a fine. It is certain, however, that slaves and prisoners of war could be treated harshly, and there is ample evidence of torture.32

The cuneiform scripts and other archaeological sources tell us little about the life of children. Children were set to work and subjected to strict discipline, but the presence of toys indicates that there was also time for play. Children could be lent out as slaves for three years, perhaps longer, in order to pay their father’s debt.33

Little is known about the fertility of the Babylonians. On average, between two and four children per family survived into adulthood. The marrying age has been estimated at 14 to 20 for women and 26 to 32 for men, though these estimates are uncertain. The sexual morals gave men more freedom than women. Girls were supposed to marry as virgins. Adultery between a married woman and a man was punished by drowning both, according to the law, while a man was free to have concubines and to visit prostitutes. Prostitution was widespread and regulated by law and by religion. Homosexuality was tolerated.34

Babylon had a large production of art, mainly under the patronage of the state and the priesthood. The numerous temples and palaces were highly embellished with bas-relief and monuments glorifying gods and kings. Favorite motifs were royal hunting scenes and battle scenes, supplemented with stylized religious symbols. Geometric patterns reflecting a horror vacui tendency were common embellishments. Likewise, song, poetry, and literature often glorified gods and kings.35

The conclusion for the Babylonian culture is that the political organization, the discipline, the religion, the treatment of children, and the art all show typical regal characteristics. The sexual morals are ambiguous. We have insufficient information about the fertility.

7.4. Chiricahua Apache

The Chiricahua Apache Indians originally lived in Southern Arizona and New Mexico. They belong to the Na-Dene language group, having migrated from the Beringia later than the Amerind speakers.36 The Apache had been displaced to reservations at the time of the anthropological studies. What is known about their original lifestyle is therefore based mainly on the recollections of elderly informants.37

The environment included semiarid plains and mountains. The Indians lived a seminomadic lifestyle and they were able to travel far, especially since the acquisition of horses in the seventeenth century.

We would expect a plains culture to be more regal than a mountain culture. The Apache culture is a mixture of these two.38 The access to easy traveling on the plains and the possibility of simple communication by smoke signals makes war possible and likely. However, the relative scarcity of food sets a limit to the population density and to the scale of war. The maximal possible size of a war party was limited by the availability of food rather than by political factors.39 We can therefore expect the culture to be moderately regal, though the scale of war is limited by the sparseness of food.

The tribe was divided into four autonomous bands at peace with each other. The bands were divided into camps, and each camp might include several families. There were leaders at the camp level and the band level, but there was no leader of the whole tribe. Leadership was based on common recognition. While the position of leader was often inherited from father to son, it was not necessarily so. The leader was generally obeyed, especially in times of war, but his power was not absolute. An unpopular leader could always be replaced without violence.40

Discipline was strict, especially for children. Young children were strapped to a cradleboard where they could hardly move. Older children were taught obedience, and they might be subjected to physical punishment, including whipping, if their wrongdoing was severe. Adults were occasionally punished harshly, especially for such crimes as marital infidelity or murder. Deviants were often accused of witchcraft. Suspected witches might be tortured until they confessed, and then killed.41

Religious practices and shamanism were based on individual revelations with no orthodox teaching. Everybody could have supernatural powers and perform magic rituals. People could specialize in different rituals for different purposes. There were many supernatural beings, but none of these had a supreme position. The supernatural beings were much involved in human affairs. They gave power and were prayed to, and they could punish people with sickness and misfortune, but there was no punishment in the afterlife.

The most important ceremony was the girls’ puberty rite. This was a very elaborate and expensive ceremony lasting for four days, where neighbors were invited for dancing and feasting. The initiation rite for boys was very different. The boy had to go as a novice on four raids or war expeditions before he was considered a man. He was trained to endure all kinds of hardship.42

Raiding and war was an integrated part of Apache life. They went on raiding expeditions to enemy tribes several times a year for the purpose of stealing horses and cattle or for avenging the deaths of lost warriors. They might take prisoners of war, who were tortured and killed. Captured boys might be adopted and raised to become warriors. Women were not captured.43

Girls married at age 18 or 19, boys a little older. Marriages were arranged, but in most cases in agreement with the wishes of the young people. Sororal polygyny was practiced. Children were breastfed for three years. No information is available on the fertility or birth rate. Birth control was practiced by supernatural means and occasionally by abortion or infanticide. Suicide occurred.

Sexual morals were strict. Social contact between the sexes was limited. Nudity was not allowed, even when no members of the opposite sex were present. Masturbation was unknown. Girls were guarded for chastity. There was more sexual freedom for divorced women and widows than for married women and unmarried girls.

Art was elaborate. Clothing and utensils were decorated with colorful patterns or figures. Music and dance was used for ceremony as well as for social gatherings. It was the girls who chose their partners at social dances.44

The conclusion for the Chiricahua Apache is that this culture shows a mixture of regal and kungic signs. The cultural importance of war, the strict discipline, and the strict sexual morals are definitely regal signs. However, the political system was less hierarchic and dictatorial than one would expect for a regal culture. The low population density made it impossible to incorporate a large number of people under a single leader. Political leaders did not have absolute power, and there were no religious authorities either. The realm of supernatural beings also lacked a supreme ruler. It seems, nevertheless, that religion had a disciplining function in the sense that people feared supernatural punishment and witchcraft accusations.

There is no reliable information about fertility or family size, but the fact that birth control was practiced or attempted seems to indicate that the population size was controlled by the availability of food as much as by war. On the other hand, the practice of capturing young boys from enemy tribes indicates a clear desire to raise as many warriors as possible.

Art, body adornment, and ceremonial paraphernalia were elaborate, embellished, and so expensive that this may be interpreted as a moderately regal sign.45

Conflicts with white settlers and the availability of horses since the seventeenth century has no doubt increased the possibilities for war and raids, but the earliest available historical sources seem to indicate that the Apache had frequent conflicts with other tribes before the arrival of Europeans.46

7.5. Copper Inuit (Eskimo)

The Inuit, previously called Eskimo, are a nomadic people living in the Arctic regions. The focus in the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample is on the group that anthropologists have called Central Eskimo or Copper Eskimo, who live north of the tree line in Canada in the area around Coronation Gulf and Victoria Island. The environment is arctic tundra covered with snow most of the year and with very little vegetation. There are polar nights in the winter. The natives eat mainly fish, seals, and caribou, but hardly any vegetable food. Fuel is scarce and meat is often eaten raw. The native copper is hammered with stones to make tools such as spearheads, fishing hooks, and knives. Iron is sometimes found on shipwrecks or obtained by trade. People live in tents made of caribou skins in the summer. In the winter, they live on the ice in snow houses. People can travel far, but quite slowly, using dog sleighs.47

We can expect the culture to be kungic because food is sparse with no defendable resources (scramble competition) and because of the extreme climate. It is possible to travel very far, but people have to stop often and hunt for food during the travel, and this would make war difficult.

The concept of organized warfare is completely unknown to the Copper Inuit. There is no organized system of justice. Most crimes go unpunished. Murder may be revenged by the relatives of the victim, and this often leads to feuds unless the offender flees to another district. Theft is rare. There is no chief and no political system beyond the family unit.48

Figure 16. An Inuit family, 1917. Photo by George R. King.49

The fertility is low. Children are breastfed for at least two years and sometimes even up to six or seven years.50 Infanticide is common. The total population in the area has probably remained at a stable level of below a thousand individuals for centuries. There is high mortality due to occasional famines and harsh living conditions. Infectious diseases were rare prior to European contact. Suicide is allowed and accepted, including assisted suicide.51

The population had no name for their own tribe until foreigners gave them the name Eskimo (of uncertain origin), or Inuit, which simply means ‘human’ in their language. Subgroups are named according to their home area, but an individual can belong to more than one home area. People have little interest in their own ancestry.52

The religion is animist, with many taboos that vary from place to place. Shamanistic séances are used for divination and for influencing the weather and hunting luck. Animals have souls just like human beings, and a shaman may just as well be possessed by the spirit of an animal as by the ‘shadow’ of a dead person. People are uncertain about what happens in the afterlife.53

The sexual morals are lax. Polygyny and polyandry occur. Temporary wife swapping is a common way of building alliances, and it is not uncommon for a visiting man to be offered a woman for the night. Marriage appears to be based more on practical considerations than on love, with no elaborate ceremony to consolidate it. There are no love songs or other expressions of romanticism. Divorce is easy. Girls marry at the age of 14 to 16, boys somewhat later.54

The sex roles are not rigid. While hunting is the job of men and sewing is the job of women, it is not shameful to do a task that belongs to the opposite sex. There is no distinction between boys’ names and girls’ names.55

Children are treated with affection: they have toys, they are never punished severely, and they do not have to work hard.56

The most important form of art is singing and dancing. The only music instrument is a drum. People take turns singing and dancing, while the remaining people sit or stand in a circle around the dancer. Often, each person has his or her own songs and dancing style. The song texts are mostly about everyday occurrences and hunting events.57

People have tattoos identifying their home area. Tools and clothes are sometimes embellished with simple patterns.58

We can now conclude that all the cultural markers of the Copper Inuit fit the predictions for a kungic culture, except for the low marrying age.

7.6. E De (Rhadé)

The E De are one of several tribes that live in the highlands of southern Vietnam. The present study will focus mainly on the time before colonization. The mountain environment consisted of forests, dense bush and grasslands. They grew rice and other crops using slash and burn and shifting cultivation. Irrigation of rice fields was used only where the environment was favorable. They were herding buffaloes and several other animals, including a limited number of horses and elephants. They had tools of iron and other metals.59

The environment presented many obstacles to travel but, given the availability of horses and elephants, we would expect the E De people to travel far. An efficient means of travel combined with efficient food production makes us predict a regal culture.

The E De people lived in villages consisting of several longhouses. Each longhouse was the home of a matrilineal group of up to 300 people. The level of political integration varied considerably. The villages were often partially or fully autonomous under the leadership of a village chief. In some cases, a group of several villages formed a mini-state. In one period, the E De paid tribute to the closely related Jarai tribe. The E De were part of the Champa kingdom and paid tribute to the Champa king for a period of possibly several hundred years, although the Champa influence appears to have been very limited. Intervillage raids and wars were common.60

The E De society was highly stratified. The village chief and other rich people were very powerful, while up to two-thirds of the population lived in slavery or debt dependence.61

The justice system was based on a large set of orally transmitted laws. Prescribed punishments ranged from payment of fines and religious offerings to enslavement and (rarely) death. The animist religion supported the social stratification and the socially unequal justice system by the beliefs that wealth was sanctioned by the spirits and that misdeeds must be expiated by expensive offerings to the spirits. Unable to pay for these offerings, many people ended up in the possibly lifelong slavery-like conditions of debt dependence.62

Families typically had five to six children, and the population appears to have been growing. Infanticide was not allowed. Boys were married at age 16 or older, girls perhaps younger. Child marriage had been practiced in the past. Premarital sex was tolerated if the couple entered a secret marriage. The wedding ceremony was very simple. Extramarital sex might have been punished but was often tolerated as long as it did not have economic consequences. Polygyny was rare. Divorce was disapproved of. Children started helping their parents from age 7 to 8 and working in the fields from age 10 to 13.63

Little has been published about old E De art and music. Buildings and woven clothes sometimes had rich ornamentation. Rich people collected jewelry, decorated gongs, and other prestige items.64

Though the available data for precolonial E De are sparse, we can conclude that the cultural indicators are in accordance with a moderately regal culture, though not quite as regal as expected.

7.7. Ganda

The Ganda or Baganda are a Bantu people still living in the kingdom of Buganda, which comprises 50,000 km2 of land to the north and west of lake Victoria in East Africa. Buganda is now part of the state of Uganda. The environment consists of flat hills, savanna, swamps, rivers, lakes, and forests at an elevation of 1,000 to 1,400 meters above sea level. The position on the equator provides a climate with only small seasonal variations. The average day temperature is between 25 °C and 28 °C all year round. There are two rainy seasons a year and no completely dry season.

The area of Buganda is very fertile and more suited for agriculture than the neighboring areas. The staple food is bananas or plantains, which are harvested all year round. Other crops are harvested twice a year. The diet is supplemented with protein from domestic animals, hunted game, fish, and insects.65

The traditional Baganda had good roads that were traveled by foot. They had no wheeled vehicles, and they did not use animals for work or transport. They had canoes for sailing the lakes and those of the rivers that were navigable. They used iron for making spearheads, hoes, and other tools.66

Based on these facts, we can expect the culture to be regal. The population density was high, due to the fact that they had plenty of food all year round. They were able to travel far through the savannah and grassy hills as well as on rivers and lakes. Their range of movement, however, was limited by their inability to build bridges across large swamps and rivers.67

Buganda was the strongest military power in the region. Their power is generally attributed to the efficient production of plantains and to the availability of iron. They attacked and plundered the neighboring peoples on regular raids where they captured cattle, women, and slaves and killed as many men as they could.68

The political system was a highly hierarchical system of chiefs headed by the all-powerful king. The king ordered large numbers of men to be killed. Some were killed for minor offenses, some were sacrificed to the gods, and some were killed to honor the ancestor kings; but most of all, the king killed men just to confirm his power to kill.

All crimes and signs of disloyalty were severely punished. Theft, disobedience, adultery, and other crimes were punished by death, by cutting off a limb, or by heavy fines. The fines were to be paid in bark cloth, goats, cows, and women. The culprit might enslave himself or his relatives to pay the penalty. The question of guilt could be tried by a system of courts that might hear testimony and use divination, ordeals, or torture to reach a verdict.69

The Baganda worshipped various gods, most of whom were spirits of men who had served previous kings well while they were alive. Dead kings were worshipped in almost the same way as gods, but the living king did not have god status, and he could be killed and overthrown by rival princes. Anthropologists have discussed who was most powerful, the king or the gods. The king, and nobody else, could punish the gods by killing their priests and plundering their temples. The gods, in turn, could punish the king with disease and misfortune. There appears to be no clear winner in this contest of power. Most of the time, however, the king made rich sacrifices to the gods, and the gods in turn supported the king and gave him advice through mediums.

The gods did not punish undetected sins, but some sins led to automatic punishment. For example, a child would die if its father committed adultery during the breastfeeding period. There was no punishment in the afterlife, except for the belief that a person who had had a limb cut off as punishment would continue to be maimed in his afterlife or next incarnation.70

The members of the kingdom were generally loyal and willingly sacrificed their lives in the frequent wars against neighboring peoples. In some cases, hostility towards strangers was an obstacle to trade, but for the most part they welcomed Arab traders.71

Polygamy was widespread. The later kings had hundreds, perhaps thousands, of wives and concubines. High-ranking chiefs had many wives as well. Such a degree of polygamy was possible because of a sex ratio of three women to one man. The surplus of women was due to the loss of men in war, the king’s mass killings of men, and the capture of women in war. No fertility data are available for the period prior to the introduction of Christianity and the abandonment of polygamy in the late nineteenth century. By the mid-twentieth century, the birth rate was three to four children per mother. The common opinion of the natives is that fertility was higher in the old times, and this is in accordance with the few individual genealogies that have been reconstructed.72 Suicide was probably rare. The only reports of suicide refer to the motive of shame.73

Girls married at age 13 or later, boys at 15 to 16. The marrying age increased after the introduction of Christianity. A man had the right to beat his wife and could even kill her with impunity. Divorce was relatively common, especially in connection with polygamy. Women were guarded carefully to preserve their chastity. It brought great shame on a girl to become pregnant before marriage. The punishment for adultery was severe, but even the risk of the death penalty was apparently not sufficient to completely deter this crime.74

Babies were sometimes nursed by maids so that their mothers were free to work. Children were often placed with relatives or chiefs so that they could receive a stricter upbringing. Children were taught politeness, etiquette, and cleanliness. Boys had time to play while they were herding animals, whereas girls spent their time making mats and baskets.75

The Ganda had very little material culture. All that people needed was a grass hut to live in, bark cloth for clothing, and a few tools for harvesting and cooking. The early kings did not even have chairs to sit on. Palaces, temples, and shrines were built of reed.

Figure 17. Kasubi Tomb, Uganda, nineteenth century. Royal buildings were large, but not as embellished as might be expected. Photo by Agner Fog, 2007.

Ganda art was more decorative than representational. High-ranking persons had some decoration and pomp to signify their status, and religious artifacts were embellished. These decorations were typically made of plant material, cowry shells, ivory, and bird feathers. Such embellishments may have impressed the natives, but they were quite simple compared to other cultures. The Ganda had many different musical instruments, but we do not have sufficient information to evaluate the degree of embellishment in Ganda music and dance.76

The conclusion for the Ganda is that the observations regarding their political system, discipline, religion, fertility, marriage, sexual morals, and length of childhood are in agreement with a highly regal culture.

The prediction fails, however, on the question of art. Regal cultures typically make impressive pieces of art and architecture of durable materials. The Ganda culture has none of this. No royal or religious buildings, monuments, or sculptures were made of stone, brick, or metal. The fact that the art was non-naturalistic and the architecture perfectionist is in accordance with the theory, but it did not have the degree of embellishment that other regal cultures have. The low sophistication of their material art may be connected with the low sophistication of their material culture in general. There appears to have been very little impetus to technological innovation, because food was available everywhere for a minimum of work.

The lack of highly embellished art makes one suspect that the extremely regal political system was not fully internalized in the psychology of the people. While most of the cultural indicators are relatively regal, they are not fully on the same level as the political system. There were songs about military events, but no systematic glorification of kings, heroes, or gods in Ganda music and art. The religion supported the king by sanctioning the mass killings that his power depended on, but the disciplining function of the religion was less effective than we have seen in other regal cultures.77 It is worth noting that sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by kungic cultures because of the dense vegetation that impedes traveling and a climate that is too hot for hard work. As a regal enclave, the Ganda culture may not have been able to evolve a cultural ethos that was too different from the surrounding cultures. We can thus observe a mixture of typically African traits with typically regal traits. We may speculate that the king had to compensate for this slight discrepancy in his culture by consolidating his power with mass killings of his own men.

7.8. Gilyak

The Gilyak lived in east Siberia along the river Amur and on the island of Sakhalin. Their main means of subsistence was fishing. The climate was very cold in winter. The vegetation was primarily taiga (primeval forest), which was difficult to penetrate. The means of transportation were limited to dog sleighs and snowshoes in the winter and rowing boats in the summer. The boats were unable to sail on the open sea.78

We can expect to find a kungic culture based on the facts that the means of transportation were too inefficient to make war likely and that the environment could not sustain a high population density.

The Gilyak culture had a moderately high level of internal conflict but no external wars. The Gilyak did not keep records of their own history and had no memories of any war. According to one source, there had probably been a conflict between the Gilyak that lived along Amur and those that lived on Sakhalin, as well as a conflict with the Russians. However, no solid information about these conflicts is available. Internal conflicts were relatively common. The main reason for such conflicts was rivalry over women.79

The Gilyak had no political system beyond the family or clan. There was no chief or ruler. Common decisions and resolution of disputes, if necessary, were made through deliberations where the most respected men had the most influence. Sources of respect were age and experience, as well as wealth and bravery. Crime was rare, and there was no formal system of policing. Punishments for wrongdoing were generally mild. Corporal punishment and capital punishment occurred only rarely.80

The religion was mainly based on beliefs in spirits and animals. There was no orthodox teaching, and not even the shamans were able to explain their beliefs to the level of detail that the explorers expected. The prophecies and teachings of the shamans were readily disputed or doubted. The Gilyak had a weak concept of a good god that they may have learned from Buddhists or Christians, but they did not pray, and this belief was completely void of influence on their daily life. There was no opposition to other religions. Some Gilyak even worshiped a few church bells that they had found as well as the ruin of an old Buddhist temple.81

The Gilyak had no word for their own tribe other than the word for humans. The name Gilyak is used only when talking with foreigners. They had regular barter trade with the Chinese, Japanese, and Russians. The Gilyak were highly tolerant of foreigners and readily mixed with the neighbor tribes.

The fertility rate was consistently described as low, but there are no accurate accounts beyond the observation that there were no child-rich families. Children were breastfed for two to five years. Suicide is often mentioned in the literature on the Gilyak. No specific rates can be inferred, but at least it seems safe to conclude that the suicide rate was not low.82

The literature contains discrepant accounts of the sexual morals of the Gilyak. Leopold von Schrenck characterizes the sexual morals as strict, while Nicolas Seeland describes them as fairly lax, and L. Sternberg reports that the Gilyak were quite promiscuous.83 We must recognize that sexual behavior is particularly difficult to study. There may be considerable differences between what people say and what they do. Sternberg’s accounts are quite detailed and appear to be the most reliable. Schrenck mentions sexual morals only briefly and is more concerned with describing physical objects. Apparently, Schrenck was unable to penetrate through the initial facade of modesty that Sternberg described. It seems safe, therefore, to conclude that the sexual morals of the Gilyak were quite lax. The marrying age was variable. Bachelors aged 23 to 25 were commonly seen, but child marriages were also reported. Divorce was easy.

The Gilyak produced very little art. The most common products of art were small religious figures carved in wood. These wooden figures were quite simple and could be made by any member of the tribe. Women’s clothes were often embellished with small brass plates and other adornments. Knives and other tools were sometimes embellished with inlaid pieces of brass, copper, or silver. These adornments were used as signs of wealth. Musical instruments were very primitive. Songs were simple and often improvised. It was quite common for each singer to have his own song. Dance was not observed, except for shamanic acts.84

The conclusion for the Gilyak is that the culture was quite kungic, in accordance with the geography, climate, and means of transportation. The predictions for a kungic culture are in excellent agreement with the observations of level of external conflict, political system, discipline, religion, tribal identification, tolerance of foreigners, fertility rate, suicide rate, sexual morals, art, and music. The occurrence of child marriages is in disagreement with the expectation of a high marrying age. The amount of adornment on clothes and tools is somewhat higher than expected. This adornment served the need to display wealth, which was an important source of political influence.

Figure 18. Gilyak wooden figures. From Schrenck (1881).85

Figure 19. Gilyak decorated tools. From Schrenck (1881).86

7.9. Hausa

The Hausa are a sedentary people living south of the Sahara in northern Nigeria and south-eastern Niger. The climate is hot and dry half of the year with a rainy season from May to September. The environment is mostly savannah, with patches of scrub and wooded watercourses infested by tsetse flies. Occasional droughts, famines, and epidemics have limited the population.87

The Hausa grow sorghum, millet, and several other grains and vegetables in the rainy season and store them for the dry season. They have various domestic animals, including horses and donkeys. The dry season is used for practicing many different crafts, including ironwork and long distance trade.88

Based on this information, we can expect the Hausa to be quite regal. Intensive agriculture in defendable fields, food storage, no geographical obstacles to travel, horses and donkeys for transportation, and iron for making weapons are all factors that point in the regal direction. The only kungic influence is that shortage of water and intense heat may impede traveling armies.

For more than 1,500 years, the Hausa have lived in seven states, united by a common language. In early times, these states were ruled by kings or queens. Islam reached Hausaland in the mid-fourteenth century, and the kingdoms gradually became emirates. The Fulani, a pastoral people, waged jihad (holy war) on the Hausa from 1804 to 1810 for the purpose of purifying Islam in the population. Since then, most of the ruling class have been Fulani, though the majority of the population were Hausa. The population includes several other ethnic minorities. Slavery was common until Nigeria was colonized by England in the early twentieth century.89

There has been war more often than peace in the region from the earliest times and until the English colonization. Each kingdom or emirate was independent in some periods, at other times paying tribute to another state or empire. The majority of the population lived in cities surrounded by walls for protection.90

The political system was hierarchical and bureaucratic. A well-organized legal system suppressed internal conflicts. After Islamization, punishments were determined by Islamic law. Serious crimes were punished by death, theft and robbery by cutting off a hand. Suspected criminals might be whipped until they confessed. It is difficult to determine to what degree these severe punishments were actually carried out, because the old literature rarely mentions specific cases of punishment.91 Many folktales tell of tricksters who got away with immoral behavior or who received lenient treatment.92

The literature is full of references to prostitution and other extramarital sexual affairs. Punishment for sexual crimes is rarely mentioned in the literature. Girls were supposed to be virgins at their first marriage, but premarital petting was often tolerated as long as pregnancy was avoided. Girls were married at the age of 13 to 14 (some say 18), boys at around 20 to 21. The first marriage was preferably between cousins, but these marriages rarely lasted. There were certain customs of avoidance and formalized speech between husband and wife. These customs also contributed to making marriages unstable and encouraging husbands to seek intimacy with prostitutes. It was normal for women to be divorced and remarried several times through their lives. Polygamy was widespread and desired. Rich men preferred to hold their wives in seclusion in their homes (purdah). Eunuchs served the ruler. No statistics for fertility before colonization are available, but many families mentioned in the literature were child-rich. The firstborn child was normally given away for adoption after weaning at the age of two, and there was formalized avoidance between parents and the firstborn child. This sometimes applied to subsequent children as well. Boys were circumcised and girls clitoridectomized.93

Children were expected to work, but they also had plenty of time for play. Some children earned money for themselves by selling things at the market.94

Suicide is not mentioned in the literature, except for a few cases where the reason was shame rather than anomie.95

The urban population was mostly Muslim, while some of the rural population preserved their indigenous religion and engaged in rituals of spirit possession. However, both groups were characterized by syncretism. The spirits in the ‘pagan’ beliefs were regarded as identical to the jinn (genies) mentioned in the Quran, and Allah was their king. The supernatural world of the urban Muslims was hierarchical, while the pagan spirits were organized around clans, where each clan worshipped their own local spirits. The spirits were responsible for disease and misfortune, but they were not perceived as agents of moral punishment. The Muslims believed in supernatural punishment—at least in theory—but apparently they did not fear hellfire much.96

Individual feelings of identity were a mixture of clan membership, ethnicity, membership of a kingdom or emirate, and the general Hausa identity. Each of the ethnic groups was mostly endogamous.97

The most important form of art was praise singing. Formalized speeches and songs of praise were required at all major religious and political events. There were several different kinds of praise singers extolling artisans as well as the nobility. The oral tradition with pre-Islamic heritage is bombastic, boastful, and highly formalized, and it usually follows regular schemes for meter and rhyme. Written poetry follows Islamic tradition with mandatory doxologies.98 The art of embroidery was also developed to perfection. Various objects were decorated with fine geometric patterns. Architecture was less developed. Royal palaces and mosques were beautiful and impressive, but their decoration lacked precision.99

Figure 20. Old Hausa building in traditional Tubali style. Photo by Dan Lundberg, 1997.100

We can conclude that the Hausa were regal, but perhaps not quite as regal as expected. In particular, the sexual morals were more permissive than expected. This may be due to the custom of avoidance between husband and wife that made the man seek warmth and intimacy elsewhere. The seclusion of women, clitoridectomy, and the use of eunuchs, however, point in the direction of strict sexual morality.

7.10. Inca

The Inca Empire had its center in the town of Cuzco in the Andes. During the hundred years prior to the Spanish conquest in 1533, the empire grew fast to reach the size of several million km2, stretching from present Ecuador to Chile and part of Argentina. This vast area covered a wide variety of environments, including coastal areas, mountain plateaus, deserts, and rain forest. The day temperature in the Cuzco area was 21–22 °C all year round, while night temperature occasionally fell below freezing point. There are plenty of rivers running down the mountains, but these are not navigable.101 Transportation by boat was possible only along the coast and in the lakes. The territory was connected by an elaborate system of roads totaling at least 23,000 km and probably more. Relay runners were placed along major roads for fast communication. The Incas had llamas for transportation of goods, but no animals capable of carrying humans were available. Wheeled vehicles were not available.102 Agriculture and animal husbandry have been practiced in the mountain plains and basins for 3,000 to 4,000 years. Terraces and large irrigation systems were built to intensify agricultural production.103

Based on the geography alone, we would not expect to find a very regal culture in the Andes because of the many barriers to travel. However, knowing that water for irrigation, efficient food production technology, and communication technology were available, the prediction is a different one. The main crops—quinoa, potatoes, maize, and beans—provided highly nutritious and storable food in high yields. The environment and available technology therefore provided all the factors necessary for developing a highly regal culture: efficient food production for sustaining a high population density, a concentration of food production in defendable irrigated areas, efficient transportation and communication, a climate that was suitable for hard work, and highly different environments leading to trade and wars between different cultures and different lifestyles.

The political system of the Inca Empire was highly centralized. Everything was planned and controlled by a large bureaucratic system. People had hardly any choice about where to live and what kind of work to do. At the same time, the administration took great care to make sure everybody had what they needed. Discipline was strict and punishment was severe. The worst crimes were punished by the death not only of the culprit but also of his entire village.104 The religion justified the dictatorial rule by making the emperor a direct descendant of the sun. Rich sacrifices were made to the gods, occasionally including the sacrifice of humans.105 Sinners were punished in the afterlife in a hell. Suspected witches might be tortured to confession and killed. Religious ceremonies were plentiful and more pompous than puberty rites, marriages, or burials.106

The Inca rule did not enforce total cultural uniformity, but they moved conquered people around to prevent rebellion. The different groups were allowed to maintain some of their cultural characteristics.107

Large families were desired, but infant mortality was high. Abortion was known but illegal; other means of birth control were unknown. Infants were strapped to a cradle day and night and were breastfed only three times a day for one or two years. They were never held in the arms or on the laps of their mothers but were breastfed by their mothers bending over them. Larger children were confined to a hole dug in the ground. Children were required to contribute to household and agricultural work as soon as they were able to do so.108

Girls married at age 16 to 20 and boys in their mid-twenties. Some girls were selected for a religious life in celibacy or were given as rewards to high-ranking men. Most boys were probably able to choose their wife, but staying unmarried was not an option.109 Polygamy was common among the nobility. Divorce from the first or principal wife was impossible, while divorce from secondary wives or concubines was easy. Trial marriages were possible in some areas, and the marriage ceremony made a distinction based on whether the bride was a virgin. Except for the institution of trial marriages, fornication and all other sexual sins were severely punished.110

Elaborate art was common. The Inca made large and impressive stone buildings, such as the famous Machu Picchu. Festive and ceremonial clothes were finely woven and richly decorated. The decorations on cloth and pottery were typically highly repetitive, with geometric patterns or stylized figures. Immense riches of gold and silver added to the glory of the empire.111

Figure 21. Inca carved gold leaf wall coating. Photo by Manuel González Olaechea, 2007.112

The conclusion for the Inca Empire is that the observations regarding political system, discipline, religion, fertility, sexual morals, length of childhood, and art are in agreement with a highly regal culture. There is no mention of suicide in the literature except in connection with war. The marrying age did not differ markedly from that in kungic cultures.

The observation that the Inca Empire could grow only because of the elaborate road system and the intensive agriculture raises a question: was the empire built because they had good roads and efficient food production, or did they build roads and irrigation systems because the power of the empire enabled them to do so? The answer is, of course, that the causality went both ways in a self-amplifying process. The area is more suited for a sedentary life than for nomadism, and the population had sufficient time to develop an advanced agriculture and a relatively high population density. The availability of water for irrigation and efficient crops such as potatoes and maize were also important factors. The first regal developments may have taken place in the coastal areas where the ocean provided ample food and means of transportation, or it may have taken place in fertile areas near rivers. There was trade as well as frequent wars between the coastal people and the mountain people for centuries. Numerous chiefdoms and kingdoms had waxed and waned at the coast as well as in the mountains for more than a thousand years before the Inca Empire flourished.113 Our theory predicts that empires will collapse when they have reached the maximum manageable size, which is indeed what appears to have happened several times in this area. Each new empire may have grown bigger than the previous ones due to improved technology or political skills. The Inca Empire, too, was probably on the verge of collapsing at the time of the Spanish conquest.114

7.11. !Kung

The !Kung bushmen, also called San, have lived in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa for many thousands of years, representing one of the oldest living human races.115 They speak an old language containing click sounds; the ‘!’ in their name is a click sound.

The Kalahari Desert is dry for long periods of the year. The !Kung depended during the dry season on a few permanent water holes and on water-containing roots and melons. They traveled long distances on foot and had no more possessions than they could carry. No other means of transportation were part of !Kung tradition.

Our theory predicts that the !Kung culture must be kungic because the low population density, lack of water, and lack of efficient means of transportation make war impossible. The neighboring tribes had no desire to conquer their land because it was unsuitable for herding and agriculture. The !Kung adapted to the dry climate and were able survive the frequent droughts without starving. At the time of the first studies in the 1950s and 60s, they were happily unaware that their entire culture was threatened and that bushmen in more fertile areas had been exterminated. The !Kung were not refugees expelled from other territories.116 Had they been refugees, they might have been more regal.

Figure 22. A !Kung bushman sucks up underground water through a straw and stores it in an ostrich eggshell. Photo by Jens Bjerre, 1958.117

The !Kung never engaged in war. They would usually run away and hide if foreigners entered their territory. The traditional means of subsistence was hunting and gathering. At the time of the studies, some !Kung had started to work for neighboring black farmers who treated them well. Others worked for white farmers under slave-like conditions.118

The political organization of the !Kung is consistently described as fiercely egalitarian. There was no political unit beyond the individual settlements with fluid membership. Various observers disagree on whether settlements had chiefs. There was obviously some degree of leadership based on kinship, age, experience, and personal qualities.119

Sharing was very important in !Kung life. Anybody who had food was required to share with others. Hunting tools, clothes, and other possessions circulated widely through systematic gift exchange. Any attempt at boasting, self-promotion, or accumulation of wealth was despised and effectively prevented through social pressure.

There was no formal system of justice and punishment. Even the worst cases of wrongdoing could go unpunished, for children as well as for adults. Theft did not occur. Murder was occasionally revenged—in most cases as an outburst of rage, but in a few cases in a planned way. Severe conflicts were more likely to result in the social group splitting up than in any kind of disciplining. The most severe punishment described by the observers was that somebody sang a song about the misdeeds of the culprit. The need for social acceptance was sufficient to keep people in line. When the first schools were set up in the area, the !Kung did not accept the fact that corporal punishment was practiced in the schools.120

The !Kung beliefs were fluid, ambiguous, and incoherent. They had no clear distinction between natural and supernatural, between human and divine, or between human and animal. Their legends included traces of Bantu religion, Christianity, and even European fairy tales. Several observers have equated the most powerful of their mythological characters, the creator of everything, with the Christian God. But this god had few similarities with this monotheistic God. He was, in a mythological past, a vulgar trickster displaying all the immoral behaviors that humans abhor. The gods and spirits interacted with humans in good and bad ways but were not concerned with upholding human morality. Rather, they manipulated humans for their own obscure purposes. The religious beliefs were used in storytelling, in the use of oracle discs, and in trance dances and healing. The exercise of these rituals was not monopolized by any religious authorities, although some people were obviously better healers than others.121

Anthropologists disagree on what to call the !Kung because they themselves had no clear name for their tribe or race. They did not recognize as tribe fellows other people that spoke the same language. They readily mingled with and worked for neighboring people of different races. Mixed marriages were common.122

The fertility of the hunting and gathering !Kung was so low that overpopulation was avoided and the natural resources were not overexploited.123 Children were breastfed for three to four years, and birth spacing was three to five years. Infanticide occurred at a reported rate of 1–2%. No other means of birth control were used. Children did not work but were free to play all day. The average marrying age was 14 to 17 for women and 22 to 30 for men, according to some observers, but child marriages are also reported to have been common. Polygamy occurred, and a single case of polyandry was reported in a neighbor tribe. Divorce was easy. Suicide was rare.124

The frequency of premarital and extramarital sex is difficult to estimate. Lorna Marshall reports that illegitimate sex was rare because it was impossible to hide, but she also notes that spouse swapping was allowed. M. G. Guenther notes that their marriages were ‘loose’. I. Eibl-Eibesfeldt writes that they were fairly liberal in sexual matters, but open promiscuity was not tolerated. G. Silberbauer reports for a neighbor tribe that people often could get away with adultery. R. Lee reports that gonorrhea was spreading fast. Rape was rare.125

The !Kung rarely produced pictorial art, because it didn’t fit into their nomadic lifestyle. The main art forms were song, dance, and storytelling. Women and girls decorated themselves lavishly with strings of beads. Men were tattooed as an element of hunting magic. They used bows as musical instruments. Other simple musical instruments were introduced during the twentieth century. They appreciated individual inventiveness in art and readily borrowed elements of art from neighbor cultures. There were no big ceremonies, not even at marriage or burial. The most important socially unifying ceremony was the frequent trance dance.126

Figure 23. !Kung bushmen telling stories around the fire. Photo by Jens Bjerre, 1958.127

The conclusions for the !Kung are that the culture was very kungic, in accordance with the geography, lack of efficient transportation means, and niche specialization that prevented territorial conflicts with neighbor tribes during the times of early observations. The predictions for a kungic culture are in excellent agreement with the observations of a low level of conflict, an egalitarian political system, lax discipline, non-authoritarian religion, low degree of group identification, tolerance of foreigners, low fertility rate, long childhood, and flexible art and music. The expected high suicide rate has not been found. The sexual morals appear to be fairly liberal for a people without birth control.

Fertility has recently been increasing and egalitarian ideals decreasing for those !Kung who have changed to a settled lifestyle based on herding or farming, as can be expected from our theory.128

Previous literature uses the word ‘kalyptic’ for the opposite of regal.129 As this word sounds somewhat awkward and may be misinterpreted as an abbreviation of ‘apocalyptic’, it was decided to replace it with the new term kungic in commemoration of the !Kung culture. There is no circular reasoning in the observation that !Kung culture is kungic, as the decision to use this term was made ex post facto.

7.12. Maasai

The Maasai are a seminomadic pastoral people living on the semiarid plains and plateaus of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya and Tanzania. They have migrated from the north since the fifteenth century and displaced other tribes as they expanded. Their territory reached its maximum size in the mid-nineteenth century. The population was decimated in the late nineteenth century due to rinderpest and other epidemics among their livestock, as well as smallpox and drought.130

They have large herds of cattle and goats and a smaller number of donkeys used as pack animals. Their diet consists almost entirely of milk, meat, blood, and honey. They avoid meat from wild animals. They have metal-headed spears which they use in warfare.131

To make a prediction for the Maasai, we first note that the ease of travel on the plains makes war possible. Their donkeys are useful for transport of material but not for war. The population density must be relatively low, due to the limited and periodic rainfall and frequent droughts. However, the use of cattle as a food source allows groups of several hundred people to live together. Scramble competition for grazing land points in the kungic direction, while contest competition for important water sources points in the regal direction. We will predict a moderately regal culture, since there are more regal than kungic factors in their environment and ecology.

The social and political organization of the Maasai is based on a peculiar age set system. When an age group of boys reach maturity, they are collectively circumcised and soon afterwards included in the class of warriors (moran). This event also initiates them into the age set system. A new age set is formed every fifteen years, while the members of the preceding age set mature and get married and a new group of warriors is formed. The cohort of men belonging to the same age set forms a lifelong political unit with its own leaders and spokesmen. The fifteen-year age span allows the warrior group to be big enough to form a strong military force.132

Figure 24. Maasai warriors. The patterns on their shields indicate their group and age set. Photo by Walther Dobbertin, 1906–1918. Bundesarchiv, Bild 105-DOA0556.133

The Maasai have no paramount chief. The political power above the division into age sets resides with leaders selected among the elders. A particularly powerful man is the medicine man and diviner, the laibon, who has many wives. Nobody can go to war or make other important decisions without first asking the laibon for ritual directions.134

The non-migratory ironsmiths form a separate caste, despised by the pastoralists.135

The entire life of the pastoral Maasai revolves around the accumulation of wealth in the form of livestock. The warriors make regular raids against neighboring tribes in order to steal livestock. Indeed, this is the main occupation and the raison d’être of the warrior group. Raids and wars against other Maasai sometimes occur. The Maasai have a strong sense of tribal identity and they despise all other tribes.136

There is a well-defined system for punishment of crimes against other Maasai. Most crimes, including murder, are punished by the payment of fines in the form of livestock. Revenge killing occurs, but is mostly prevented. Children work from an early age, and they can be punished with beating if they fail to do their work properly.137

The religion of the Maasai is monotheistic. Their god, Engai, is identified with the sun, rain, and other natural phenomena. Nobody knows or speculates about what Engai looks like. The Maasai believe that they are Engai’s chosen people. Engai has given livestock to them and nobody else, and this gives them the right to attack other tribes and steal their livestock.138

The Maasai have little or no beliefs in spirits or an afterlife. Dead people are rarely buried—they are just left in the wild to be eaten by scavengers.139 Ritual curses are used as a means of disciplining people. A person who breaks a curse by misbehaving or by failing to fulfill a duty will be punished by misfortune.140

The sexual morals of the Maasai are lax. Premarital and extramarital sex is allowed and considered normal as long as certain rules are obeyed.141 This is unexpected for a moderately regal culture and requires an explanation. The social organization of the Maasai into age sets serves the function of generating a large group of young unmarried warriors with high prestige who can devote their time to warfare and raids without having to care about family life and children. It is unlikely that these powerful young men can be disciplined into spending the most virile years of their lives without access to women. This would have undermined any strict sexual morals that may have existed in a distant past.142

Men do not marry until they advance into the group of elders, while girls marry at a much younger age. Girls cannot marry before they have been clitoridectomized, which is a rite of passage analogous to the circumcision of boys.143

Most men will acquire additional wives as they grow older, if they can afford it. One may suspect that the economic aspects of marriage are more important than the romantic aspect. The society is patriarchal, and inheritance is patrilineal. The children that a woman bears belong to her husband, regardless of who the biological father is. Divorce is rare and difficult for a woman who has children. Due to the age difference between husband and wife, there are many widows, and widows rarely remarry although they may continue to have children. It is even possible to marry a dead childless man in order to give him a son that can inherit his property.144

Figure 25. Young married Maasai woman wearing iron spirals and other ornaments. Photographer unknown, ca. 1900. From Hollis (1905).145

The Maasai desire to have many children, and the fertility is high. They have a strong taboo against mentioning the name of a dead person. For this reason, it is very difficult to gather information about the occurrence of infanticide and suicide, though these are known to occur. The casualties of war are high.146

The conclusion for the Maasai is that most of the cultural markers fit the predictions for a moderately regal culture, with the exceptions of the political structure, which is less hierarchical than expected, the sexual morals, which are unusually permissive, and the late marrying age for men. The Maasai have developed a unique sociopolitical structure that has brought them military success, despite being different from the highly hierarchical and centralized political structures of other militarily strong societies.

7.13. Mbuti

Mbuti is a name for several groups of pygmies who lived in the Ituri forest, a tropical rain forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near the equator. The average day temperature was around 27 °C all year round. It was possible to pass through most parts of the forest on foot because of limited undergrowth. Rivers and swamps formed barriers to the movement of the Mbuti, who did not make boats. The Mbuti were nomads with a peculiar lifestyle alternating between two different cultures. For periods of several months, they lived in the forest, where hunting and gathering formed their subsistence. At certain times of the year, they lived near villages at the edge of the forest, where they traded meat for vegetables and tools with slash and burn agriculturalists of Bantu and Sudanese origins. The villagers had bound the Mbuti into a kind of serfdom, which was inherited on both sides—at least in the imagination of the villagers. However, the Mbuti could easily escape and change their allegiance, because the villagers were afraid to enter the forest. The relationship between Mbuti and agriculturalists has lasted for so long that the Mbuti have lost their original language but not their genetic uniqueness.147 The only evidence that the pygmies ever lived independently in the forest is archaeological.148

Figure 26. Mbuti men hunting with net. Photo by Paul Schebesta, n. d. Bildarchiv Austria, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Nr. 10819171.149

To make a regality prediction for the Mbuti, we first note that the population density in the forest was low. Walking through the forest was slow, and there were rivers that the Mbuti could not cross. The environment was healthy and dangers were few. The forest provided good protection from the villagers, who would never pursue the Mbuti into the forest. These are factors that point in the kungic direction. Other factors point in the regal direction. The nomadic lifestyle could lead to territorial conflicts. The territory of the Mbuti was shrinking as forest was converted to agricultural land. Furthermore, the Mbuti were heavily influenced by the village culture, which we would expect to be more regal than the forest culture. Nevertheless, we will expect the kungic factors to dominate, because the Mbuti could escape any conflict with the villagers, who were unable to penetrate their niche. Consequently, the prediction is that the Mbuti culture would be moderately kungic.

The Mbuti had very little political organization. Some people, mostly older men, took leading roles in the camps, but egalitarian principles were held in high regard and everybody had a say in discussions. Conflicts were handled collectively. Everybody in a camp was responsible for avoiding or stopping conflicts between camp members. Young bachelors sometimes played a key role in handling conflicts between the older married people by means of mockery and ridicule. Conflicts were often diverted or dissolved into ridicule rather than settled with a formal decision. Retaliation for wrongdoing was common, but organized punishment was very rare. Serious wrongdoing could lead to the flight or ostracism of the perpetrator, but the banished person might return after a few days of hiding in the forest, where somebody had secretly brought him food. No case of permanent banishment is known.150

The Mbuti abhorred physical violence. They have been engaged by the villagers as scouts in wars with other tribes, but there is no evidence that the Mbuti have ever themselves taken any part in war beyond killing a few trespassers.151

The religious beliefs of the Mbuti varied considerably and lacked precision and dogmas. Different observers disagree on even the most fundamental aspects of Mbuti beliefs, such as the names and nature of their supernatural beings, whether they prayed and sacrificed, whether they performed witchcraft, and whether they believed in an afterlife. The villagers involved the Mbuti in their rites of passage in an attempt to exercise supernatural control over them. The Mbuti willingly participated in these rituals and pretended to share the beliefs of the villagers, which they could use to their own advantage. The villagers believed that the forest was full of malevolent spirits, and the Mbuti actively worked to reinforce such beliefs among the villagers in order to keep them out of the forest. When no villager was watching them, the Mbuti would ridicule the beliefs of the villagers and deliberately violate the religious taboos of their villager hosts. When in the forest, the Mbuti had few religious rituals. It is uncertain whether the Mbuti honestly believed in any form of supernatural punishment, but we can say with reasonable confidence that religion was not a strong disciplining force in Mbuti life.152

Different Pygmy groups considered themselves as belonging to the same tribe, even if they spoke different languages (the languages of their respective village hosts). They did not allow trespassers. They were fearful of foreigners but also friendly toward them, and they were open to foreign cultural influences. They regarded the villages as hunting grounds and saw the villagers as ‘animals’ to exploit for their own advantage.153

Sexual morals were liberal among the Mbuti. Premarital intercourse was sanctioned in certain puberty rituals. Marital infidelity was not a rare occurrence, and divorce was easy. Polygamy occurred. They married after puberty with little or no ceremony. The average age of first marriage was 18 for boys, 16 for girls. A marriage was not considered fully established until the first child was born.154

Children were breastfed for at least one to three years. Birth spacing was three to four years. Birth control was obtained by a postpartum sex taboo and probably by other, unknown means. Abortion was known but rare. Infanticide was practiced after twin births. The fertility was low according to some accounts, higher according to others, but the total population size was stable. Suicide occurred.155

Children were treated with affection. They had considerable freedom, were rarely punished, and did not have to do hard work.156

The most important art forms were singing and dancing. The singing of the Mbuti and related Pygmy tribes is characterized as polyphonic. Everybody could join in or contribute in turns with possibly improvised harmonies in no predefined order and with no apparent hierarchy of voices. The result was a rich complexity of different voices to a common rhythm. The dances often formed mimicry of daily events. Erotic dances were also common. There was no graphic art other than simple body painting, body adornment, and decoration of clothes.157

We can conclude that Mbuti culture was even more kungic than expected. All the cultural indicators point in the kungic direction. The further away they were from village influence, the more peaceful and egalitarian was their behavior.

7.14. Somali

The Somali live in the north-east of Africa at the Gulf of Aden. The climate is dry with temperatures ranging from below freezing point to above 40 °C. Droughts occur at irregular intervals. The environment is mostly semiarid plains and plateaus with little vegetation. Most of the population lived as nomads and herders, and milk was the staple food. There are only two permanent rivers in Somaliland. Agriculture with irrigation was practiced near the rivers. The coastal population lived off fishing, trade, and crafts. There was extensive trade with Arabia and with other parts of Africa.

The Somalis traveled around with camels and donkeys as pack animals. Lack of water was no big obstacle to traveling, because the camels could go long distances without water, and because the herders could drink camel milk on their travels. The sparse grazing resources for the animals set a limit to the size of troops that could travel together. The most important weapons were iron-headed spears. Horses were used in battle if available, but there were only few horses.158

Based on this information, we can expect the culture of the Somalis to be moderately regal. The relative ease of travel and the availability of metal weapons are factors that point in the regal direction. The occurrence of droughts at unpredictable intervals may also be a regal factor. However, the population density must necessarily be low, except near the coast and the rivers. This points in the kungic direction. The low-density nomadic population could not easily be incorporated into a larger political or military organization. The hot and dry climate also limited the fighting ability of the population.

Prior to European colonization, the political organization of the Somalis was fluid and ever changing. The political leader of a family, clan, or tribe was chosen partly by majority decisions of the adult men, partly by inheritance, and partly by power, influence, and age. Higher-level political structures were either absent or unstable. City-states and small sultanates were formed from time to time, but they often disintegrated again after some time. The political leader and the religious leader were seldom the same person. Arab immigrants had high prestige and considerable political and religious influence. Slavery was very common. However, slaves were reportedly treated well and many slaves were freed.159

War, feuds, raids, and plundering were frequent occurrences. The wars were of a relatively low scale with at most a few hundred deaths, but it is assumed that the territorial boundaries were ultimately defined by military strength.160

The religious belief of the Somalis was dominated by Islam due to a strong Arabic influence. The religion was a strong power, especially in moral and judicial matters. Legal matters were governed mainly by Islamic sharia law. Crimes were punished by the payment of a fine, for example 100 camels for homicide, which was paid partly by the offender and partly by his group. Other forms of punishment were rare.161

The literature gives no reliable information on fertility and population growth. Children were breastfed for two years, but were also given other food. Child mortality was high. Children were set to work from an early age. Children were well disciplined, but there are no reports about punishment of children. The marrying age varied from 12 to 20 for girls and 17 to 25 for boys. Child betrothal and forced marriages occurred but were not common. Men who could afford it practiced polygamy. The sexual morals were strict, except for the divorce rate, which was very high. Girls were infibulated to ensure chastity. Social contact between boys and girls was limited.162

Pictorial art was not very important because of the nomadic lifestyle of the majority of the population. Clothing and body adornment was simple, without excessive embellishments. Tools and objects were sometimes embellished with woodcarvings, showing simple figures and often repetitive geometric patterns. Dances were relatively simple, sometimes with a war theme. The most important art form was poetry, which was highly stylized and rule bound.163

The conclusion for the Somali is that the political organization is intermediate, whereas the justice system and the relatively mild punishments can be characterized as kungic. The religion, the sexual morals, and the widespread slavery are more on the regal side. The artistic expressions show mixed characteristics: the poetry in particular shows regal tendencies, while the clothing and body adornment look more kungic.

7.15. Warao

The Warao Indians lived mainly in the large delta of the Orinoco River in Venezuela, an area of approximately 18,000 km2. The environment was swamps, mangroves, tropical rain forest, and a labyrinthine system of rivers. The staple food was the sago-like pith of the Moriche palm, supplemented by fish and small animals. Food was plentiful but seasonal. Food storing was practiced where necessary. In later times, the Warao built their huts on stilts for protection against floods. They went everywhere by canoe. Their canoes were capable of sailing along the coast of Venezuela and to the nearby island of Trinidad, where they went for trading. Traveling over land was virtually impossible due to the dense forests, lack of dry ground, and many rivers. They had no pottery and no metal tools, except in later times where modern tools were obtained by trade.164

Warao culture was adapted to a very specialized niche. No foreign tribe had the necessary skills to navigate the swampy delta, and much less to gather food and survive there. This gave the Warao good protection. Whenever the Warao were attacked by neighbor tribes, they found protection in the swamps and dense forests.

We would expect the Warao to be able to attack neighbor tribes because of the ability to travel far in their canoes, although they lacked efficient weapons and the population density was low. However, they would have little incentive to leave the area that fitted their specialized niche, and outsiders would have little reason to attack them. Hence, we can predict that the niche specialization gave the Warao a moderately kungic culture.

The Warao were peaceful people who detested physical aggression. They were rarely involved in war, but there is evidence that they were at war with neighbor Carib, who allegedly cannibalized the Warao or sold them as slaves. There was no war between Warao subtribes. Internal conflicts were dealt with by public hearings or ritualized competitions, and territorial transgressions were prevented by threats of black magic.165

The Warao were divided into subtribes. Each subtribe consisted of a number of bands, which were led by an elite of elders, patriarchs, or chiefs, possibly including women. Shamans belonged to the elite, and chiefs were often shamans. There was only a loose organization of the subtribe and no political organization above the level of the subtribe.166

The political leaders had little power to discipline or coerce people. Shamans did, however, have considerable power because of their contact with spirits who could cause fortune or misfortune. The Warao believed in a supernatural world populated by spirits or deified ancestors. People were rewarded in the afterlife if they had been skillful at their work. There was no dogmatic system of beliefs.167

The Warao traditionally avoided contact with other tribes, except for trade of necessary products. In modern times, however, they intermarried with foreigners, adopted Spanish names, migrated, and accepted foreign culture elements quite quickly.168

The fertility was very high. A woman who survived into old age would have almost nine children on average. It must be mentioned, however, that this fertility rate was measured at a time when modern medicine had reduced the—previously very high—mortality, and where a large fraction of the population had settled into an agricultural lifestyle. It is possible that infectious diseases stabilized the population size in earlier times. Children were breastfed for three to four years. Infanticide was practiced.169

Girls were usually married in their teens or early twenties; boys were a few years older when they married. A few girls were married as children. Polygyny occurred. Most marriages were within the same subtribe. Promiscuity was common in connection with certain rituals and dances. A man could have sex with the unmarried sister of his wife. Premarital trial unions were common. Divorce was rare for couples with several children.170

Children were treated well, and parents made toys for their children. Children spent most of their time playing, but they also helped with light work. Children were rarely scolded, and teenagers were not well disciplined.171

Some religious artifacts were decorated, while tools, canoes, and huts were rarely so. People wore necklaces and other adornment. The main forms of art were songs, dances, and narratives. Singers had much freedom for variation and improvisation. Typical narratives were fables, stories about magical transformations, and stories about the supernatural world. There were no narratives or songs exalting powerful leaders, gods, or battles, but there were tales about past invasions and a few fables told about jaguars that symbolized the enemy Carib. The main occasions for large social gatherings were religious ceremonies. Ceremonies for marriages and other rites of passage were not very elaborate.172

The conclusion for the Warao is that the level of war, political system, discipline, treatment of children, sexual behavior, and art are all in agreement with the predictions for a kungic culture. The religion was relatively kungic, though it did have a disciplining function. The fertility was atypically high.

7.16. Yahgan

This section concerns the canoe Indians who lived in the southernmost part of South America, Tierra del Fuego, with the main focus on the Yahgan tribe. The climate was harsh and cold, with frequent storms. The territory of the canoe Indians was an archipelago of islands with high mountains and dense forests. The land was difficult to penetrate and provided only very little vegetable food. Therefore, the Indians lived as nomads traveling in bark canoes, eating mainly seafood. Their tools were made mainly of wood, bone, and shells. They had no metals and no pottery. As they had very few clothes, they always kept a fire for warmth.173

Figure 27. Yahgans 1896. Photo by Otto Nordenskjöld. From Nordenskjöld (1898).174

Fishing in this environment could sustain only a low population density. The Indians could travel in their bark canoes from island to island but not in open sea. Large-scale war was probably impossible because of the low population density and because the bark canoes were too small and fragile. Small-scale clashes were more likely to have taken place. If we have to make a prediction based on the geography and technology alone, we will expect the Yahgan culture to be moderately kungic. The niche culture, harsh climate, low population density, and absence of technology suitable for war are factors that point in the kungic direction. The ability to travel far and the risk of territorial conflict that come with a nomadic lifestyle are factors that point in the regal direction.

The Yahgan had no social organization beyond the family. Several families might live together, or meet for social and ceremonial occasions or to feast on a stranded whale, but there was no common leadership and no group organization. War was unknown, but small-scale conflicts and feuds were common. Revenge was not always deadly. There were no weapons other than the usual hunting tools. There was no organized policing. Punishment occurred in the form of revenge from the wronged party assisted by his or her family, for example beating for marital infidelity. In most cases, however, public condemnation was sufficient to deter undesired behavior.175

They had few religious activities other than rites of passage and a few ceremonies. Some sources say that they believed in a high god,176 but other sources deny this.177 Medicine men worked to cure diseases by means of self-induced trance or dreams, but they had little or no religious paraphernalia; they did not sacrifice, and they did not believe that supernatural beings could be influenced by prayer. They believed that diseases and death were punishments for wrongdoing. For this reason, we can say that the religion had at least some disciplining function.178

There were several tribes of canoe Indians with distinct tribal identities. They feared the neighboring Selk’nam, who lived on land rather than in canoes. They were surprisingly tolerant of Whites, considering that they had been treated very brutally by white seafarers, gold diggers, and settlers in the past.179

There are no reliable data on the fertility of the Yahgan, and the sources do not fully agree. Some sources tell that they had many children, but the mortality was also high. The population size may have been stable for hundreds or thousands of years. The population became extinct after contact with Whites, mainly due to infectious diseases. Abortion and infanticide were known. Suicide was unknown.180

There are conflicting accounts of the sexual morals of the Yahgan. They tried to keep boys and girls apart from each other, but premarital sex was nevertheless common. Extramarital sex occurred. The marrying age was reportedly around 17 to 19 for boys and 15 to 16 for girls, but these figures may be inaccurate since they did not count their ages. Polygamy was rare in some areas, perhaps common in other areas. Authors disagree on whether divorce was frequent or rare.181

Children were treated with devotion. Weaning age was 3 years or older. Children were given miniature tools to play and practice with. Small children were never punished. Children were obedient and helped their parents with daily chores, but they were never forced to do hard work.182

Yahgan art was extremely simple. Body painting consisted of simple lines and dots without precision. There was little or no tattooing and body mutilation. Music consisted of just a few notes, sometimes only a single repeated note. There were no musical instruments other than percussion. Dances were imitations of animals. Legends were mostly fables, myths about culture heroes, and a few stories about revenge.183

The conclusion for the Yahgan is that the level of war, political system, discipline, treatment of children, and art are all in agreement with the predictions for a kungic culture. The religion was kungic, though it did have a disciplining function. The fertility was high.

7.17. Yanomamo

The Yanomamo lived in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and Venezuela. They resided mainly in semi-permanent villages with 20 to 400 inhabitants. Slash and burn agriculture was their main source of food. They were capable of living a nomadic life as hunters and gatherers, and it is speculated that they might have done so in pre-Columbian times, since their main crop—plantains—was brought to the Americas by Europeans. They traveled almost exclusively on foot on narrow paths that were almost invisible to foreigners. Many trails were impassable in the wet season. They went barefoot and almost naked. They had little or no means for sailing on the rivers, and they could cross big rivers only with difficulty. They had no domestic animals besides dogs. Their main weapons were clubs and bows and arrows. Arrow tips were mostly made of wood or bone, poisoned with curare. Metal tools were obtained by barter.184

The cultivation of high-yield crops made room for large village populations, but the dependence on hunting for acquiring protein made it necessary that each village had sufficient hunting territory. This makes us predict that wars were likely, and the wars would be aggravated by the availability of strong arrow poison. On the other hand, the difficulty of traveling through the rain forest and the low overall population density are factors that reduced the opportunities for war. Considering these opposing factors, we will predict an intermediate level of regality.

Figure 28. Yanomami. Unknown photographer, 2007.185

The Yanomamo have a reputation for fierceness in war, but there has been considerable controversy among anthropologists over how fierce the Yanomamo actually were, why they fought, and whether their raids can be classified as war. It is undisputed, however, that violence was a frequent cause of death in some areas. The level of fighting was much higher in the lowlands, where villages had more inhabitants, than in the highlands.186

In their own understanding, the Yanomamo conducted raids against other villages for purposes of retaliation and to capture women. They were well aware that the enemy might move away as a consequence of a conflict, but they rarely mentioned the desire to make the enemy move away as a motivation for attack.187 An ethologist has suggested that we make a distinction between the proximate cause of Yanomamo warfare, which is the personal motivation, and the ultimate cause of the warfare, which is connected to the evolutionary function of securing a sufficiently large hunting territory.188 Since Yanomamo conflicts had territorial consequences, we will classify them with regard to regality theory as wars.

The Yanomamo had no political organization above the level of the village, and the village headman had very little authority. There was no organized system of justice and punishment other than retaliation. Even rape and murder could go unpunished if there were no relatives to retaliate on behalf of the victim. Personal conflicts were handled by fighting duels. These duels were formalized and rule-governed. Afterwards, the issue was regarded as settled, regardless of the outcome of the duel. However, a duel might sometimes escalate into collective fighting or even war, especially if somebody died.189

The religious beliefs of the Yanomamo involved a close connection with animals and spirits. Many men were shamans. They took strong hallucinogenic drugs in order to get in contact with, or even become, spirits. They manipulated the spirits for purposes of curing diseases and harming their enemies. They had no supernatural rulers and only weak concepts of supernatural punishment after death.190

The fertility was controlled by breastfeeding, abortion, infanticide, and magical anticonception means. Birth spacing was two to five years. The overall fertility was four to eight children per woman. Extramarital sex occurred when detection could be avoided. It was common for a man to share his wife with his brothers. Rape was common.191

Most girls married soon after puberty. Girls might be married before puberty, but they did not live with their husbands until after first menstruation. Men married at age 18 to 30. They often married for economic and strategic reasons rather than romantic reasons. Girls had little self-determination about whom to marry. Polygyny and polyandry occurred. There was no marriage ceremony. Wife beating was normal. Divorce was common.192

Children were rarely disciplined, but boys were taught to be fierce and to retaliate. Children were given miniature tools and other toys. Girls were obliged to do work from a much younger age than boys.193

The Yanomamo produced little art. Body painting was made as much for magical reasons as for decoration. Different colors and patterns were used for war paint, hunting, and shamanism. Some patterns symbolized or imitated various animals. Piercings in ears, lips, and the nasal septum were decorated with long sticks or feathers. Arrow tips were often decorated, while clay pots were not. Dancing and singing were common. There were few or no music instruments. Myths and stories did not glorify war.194

The conclusion for the Yanomamo is that the level of war is intermediate, while the political organization, justice, discipline, religion, sexuality, and art all tend in the kungic direction. The strong male dominance may be interpreted as a regal indicator.

7.18. Yi (Lolo, Nuosu)

The Yi people live in the large mountainous region of southwestern China. The present study is focused mainly on the subgroup living in the Liangshan area and the period prior to the rise of communism in China.

The climate is temperate, but winters are hard. The subsistence was based mainly on slash and burn agriculture and animal husbandry. Transportation was difficult because of the steep mountains. There were no roads except narrow footpaths. Roads built by Han Chinese invaders were systematically destroyed to prevent invasion. The Yi used horses for transportation and in war, but many paths were difficult or impossible to travel on horseback. Most traveling was done by walking barefoot. There were many rivers, but few were navigable. The weapons included bows and arrows, iron-headed spears and tridents, and, in later times, primitive firearms.195

Attempting to predict a regality level based on this information, we get a somewhat mixed result. The rivers produce fertile valleys between the mountains and, although the agriculture was not intensive, it could sustain a considerable population. The efficient food production, the possibility of storing and transporting food, the large territory, and the availability of horses and metal weapons are all factors that make war likely. On the other hand, the harsh environment and the difficulty of traveling are factors that point in the kungic direction. The fertile valleys are separated by large mountains, steep cliffs, and torrential rivers, so that the average population density was low. The overall expectation is that the regality level will be intermediate.

The Yi in the Liangshan area had a persistent caste system. The ruling caste, known as the Black Yi, constituted about 10% of the population. The rest of the population belonged to the slave caste, known as the White Yi. The White Yi were of mainly Han Chinese descent, while the Black Yi were related to the Tibetans. These two castes were further subdivided into social classes. Newly captured slaves were lowest in rank. Over the generations, slaves could work their way up the hierarchy and become partly independent and even own slaves themselves. But the line between Black and White could never be crossed. Interbreeding between the two castes was prevented by all means. The caste system was dissolved centuries ago among other Yi groups living in areas with a stronger Han Chinese influence.196

The political organization of the Yi was not as regal as one might expect for a society based on slavery. Most decisions were taken by public deliberation in which even members of the slave caste had a say, and the leaders of villages and clans were chosen based partly on heritage and partly on merit. In some periods and in some areas, there were political leaders above the clan level, but these had limited influence in times of peace. For centuries or even millennia, the Chinese dynasties tried to control the Yi territory and used Yi chiefs as suzerains. But the Yi successfully rebelled time and again, so that, in effect, the Yi were mainly autonomous until the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.197

Political organization above the clan level—if any—was not strong enough to prevent the almost incessant feuds, raids, and attacks between enemy clans or ethnic groups. The inter-clan conflicts were, however, of a relatively low scale: certain rules were obeyed, and the opposing parties generally agreed to end a battle episode after a few hours when a winner had been found. Battles with more distant enemies, and in particular with the Han Chinese, were much more violent and merciless. Strangers who entered Yi territory without protection were habitually killed or enslaved.198

The available literature contains very little evidence of policing or punishment. Most crimes were punished by requiring that the offender pay compensation to the victim. Newly captured slaves were brutally tortured, but there is no other evidence of corporal punishment. Serious crimes were dealt with by persuading the offender to commit suicide. If he refused to do so, he would be banished but rarely killed.199

Religious rituals, linked to animism and ancestor worship, were controlled by priests and shamans. The priests (bimo) always belonged to the White slave caste. Their skills were transmitted mainly from father to son. Major political and judicial decisions required consultation of a priest and performance of certain rituals. The disciplining function of religion was probably limited. A few sources talk about supernatural punishments, but there is no agreement between the different sources regarding the kind of punishments or even whether they took place before or after death. Beliefs in supernatural punishments, if any, may be due to Chinese influence or Christian missionaries.200

The Yi had a written language, which was mastered by the priests and only rarely by anybody else. Writing was used only for preserving religious rituals and formulas, not for trade or political administration.201 We can assume that the priests had considerable influence. Whether they used this influence mostly in the interest of their own caste or mostly in the interest of the Black leaders, we do not know.

There is no reliable information about the fertility or birth rate of the Yi. Children were breastfed for four to five years, but they were also given other food.202 Suicide was customarily committed for different reasons relating to war, conflict, peacemaking, crime, infectious diseases, and love.203

The marrying age ranged usually from 9 to 21 for both girls and boys, though children as young as 4 or 5 could be married. Married girls stayed home with their parents until their first pregnancy. During this period, they were free to have sexual relations with anybody they liked. For this reason, the firstborn child often had a father who was not the woman’s husband, but the latter had to accept the child as his own. Divorce was more common in the period before first pregnancy than after. Polygamy was rare.204

The sources tell us very little about the life of children and nothing about the disciplining of children. Children were treated well, and boys were taught to be brave. Parents did not make toys for their children, but various games are known. Girls helped spinning hemp from age 4 and boys helped tending animals from age 7 to 8.205

Clothing, tools, and houses were often embellished. The Yi were fond of colorful clothes as well as gold and silver. Before firearms made face-to-face battle superfluous, the inter-clan feuds were not only contests of strength, but also opportunities to compete on fancy clothing or flute playing. The sources show no evidence of the highly repetitive geometric patterns typical of regal art. Singing and dancing was common. Song texts were mostly about everyday topics, but there were also war songs.206

Evaluating the Yi culture, it is surprising how a slave system could persist for centuries when the political and religious means of disciplining the population were so weak. The caste system that allowed slavery may have been supported by ideology or religion, but the religion was managed by priests belonging to the slave caste. No slave rebellion has been reported. The agricultural production was also fully in the hands of the slave caste.207

The caste system and the pervasive slavery are the strongest indicators of regality in the Yi culture. The full-scale wars with the Han Chinese are also regal indicators, while the frequent inter-clan feuds and raids with limited casualties can hardly be considered regal indicators.

The political administration, the discipline, the religion, and the sexual morals appear to be mostly kungic. The use of body adornment in conflicts is a regal sign, but the adornment is hardly more elaborate than in other cultures. The almost complete absence of praise for gods or rulers in art and songs is an indication of a fairly kungic art.

Conclusion

We have now looked at eighteen very different societies of the past and compared their levels of internal and external conflict, their political systems, systems of justice and punishment, religions, group identities, fertility, occurrence of suicide, sexual morals, marrying ages, frequency of divorce, attitudes toward child labor, and art styles with predictions based on regality theory. The principles behind the predictions were explained in the beginning of this chapter. A statistical analysis of the results follows in chapter 8.3.

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