Sorry, one more comparitive example from North Africa

Posted by Inby from ppp68.nwnetwork.net on September 21, 2000 at 21:09:49:

In Reply to: While you're at it... (not for the faint-hearted) posted by Inby on September 21, 2000 at 20:55:46:

In a recent book entitled "Nuer Dilemmas", the author (I forget her name, Susan something, I think) revisits E.E. Evans-Pritchard's 1940s-era Nuer research and reports on these Sudanese agro-pastoralists as they live today.
Tragically, Sudan's civil and other wars have heavily influenced Nuer life, and she describes how young boys are shaped into warriors as part of adolescent coming-of-age rituals.
HOWEVER, whereas in decades previous, the boys would engage in ritual combat using spears, the civil war has made automatic weapons a fact of life in this society. Ritualized combat now includes guns and many more children are killed and maimed than earlier times.
These weapons are STILL viewed as essential tools of growing-up ceremonies, though. Young boys are given tattoos of guns... Even pre-WW2 legends explaining things like the origin of atmospheric lightning now incorporate guns.
It's truly a sad depiction of a relatively remote traditional culture radically transformed by modern technology, weapons, and international geo-politics.
Could be a good contemporary example of the many forms that ritualized violence may take.
Good luck.

Follow Ups:

Good work, Inby! graml 21:26:17 9/21/2000 (2)
- Mais oui, mon ami (from one bookworm/dashing adventurer to another). By the way, author of Nuer tome is SHARON Hutchinson. (nm) Inby stickler for accuracy Jones 00:45:46 9/22/2000 (1)
  - Hey, thanks a lot, man! I owe you one! (nim) bud-arc 12:42:10 9/22/2000 (0)

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: In a recent book entitled "Nuer Dilemmas", the author (I forget her name, Susan something, I think) revisits E.E. Evans-Pritchard's 1940s-era Nuer research and reports on these Sudanese agro-pastoralists as they live today.
: Tragically, Sudan's civil and other wars have heavily influenced Nuer life, and she describes how young boys are shaped into warriors as part of adolescent coming-of-age rituals.
: HOWEVER, whereas in decades previous, the boys would engage in ritual combat using spears, the civil war has made automatic weapons a fact of life in this society.  Ritualized combat now includes guns and many more children are killed and maimed than earlier times.
: These weapons are STILL viewed as essential tools of growing-up ceremonies, though.  Young boys are given tattoos of guns...  Even pre-WW2 legends explaining things like the origin of atmospheric lightning now incorporate guns.
: It's truly a sad depiction of a relatively remote traditional culture radically transformed by modern technology, weapons, and international geo-politics.
: Could be a good contemporary example of the many forms that ritualized violence may take.
: Good luck.

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