By Addisu
A tribe is a group of people, often who live together sharing the same language, culture and history, especially those who do not live in towns or cities. (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 3rd edn.)
According to me, in relation to modernization and social integration of global society, tribal sentiment is a backward idea that can vanish in the process of civilization.
Look at the above definition of tribe which says “Tribe is … those who do not live in towns or cities.” For those who live in rural villages in their tribe, their tribe matters a lot than – their nationhood – because their tribe is their world. It would be an amazing question to a ‘White Man’ (a European or North American) if you ask them what is their tribe. This is not because they never had a tribe but they passed the tribal stage of human evolution and abandoned their tribe long, long ago through civilization and urbanization to the extent that this question surprises them. Today, they (western civilized societies) do not have a tribe but a race of civilized people, and that is where the global society is heading to.
Civilization coupled with digital technology has speeded up the global social integration of peoples of different cultures. We are a global community who share languages, cultures, values, etc.
If we look at the origin of conflicts especially in Africa, they often have an ethnic dimension and are deeply rooted in tribal divisions. The decades-long conflict in South Sudan is one good example.
Tribalism is a precursor of racism; and a tribalist is a racist in a broader view. If we are tribalist, why should we blame others for being racist?
If we use our tribe to discriminate against, marginalize, and/or to promote hatred against others who are not our tribesmen, then do not ask me my tribe. I HATE MY TRIBE.