Did you know: "The Trouble with Tribe"

Today in my history class, I was reminded by my professor of something I was warned against very early in my pursuit and interest in Africa and African Studies: the use of the word tribe. Being that this is an important issue for African scholars and is often a problem in the Western world, I thought I would share it and educate those who have not studied African culture.

The word tribe has been seen as problematic in regards to Africa because it often carries with it ideas of primitive African cultures and peoples, when in fact it is often used by Africans to specify ethnicity or identity. It may seem like a double standard that Africans can use the word and westerners cannot, but just think about all of the images that come to mind when we think of tribe: living in the bush, hunting their own food, "tribal" symbols, etc. While realities linked to these ideas may still exist some places in Africa today, the use of the word tribe to describe African society is incredibly misleading and promotes stereotypes of Africa that just are not true. So just for future reference, try to avoid the word tribe in reference to African culture. I have often been encouraged to use ethnicity, identity, or ethnic identity instead.  I don't necessarily think people become offended by "tribe", but I certainly think it shows a lack of understanding and a naive, stereotypical perspective when westerners use it to describe Africans.

So now you know! (or maybe you already did!)

Here is a link to a website I found that can articulate this issue much better than I can, and also where I stole the name of this post from:
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-19-spring-2001/trouble-tribe