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You make an excellent point. Sometimes we use words out of habit. That is how she always refers to herself. Now that you bring it up and I have to consciously t

You make an excellent point. Sometimes we use words out of habit. That is how she always refers to herself. Now that you bring it up and I have to consciously think about it, I wonder what the term really means in this context? Really, that she came from an un-Westernized part of the country and lived without the modern technology found in the cities at the time? That cannot be the whole story because I've heard her mention railways from her childhood.

dismantlethesun 5y ago
You can see my other comment in the thread for more, but all people in Ghana are “tribal”. Your tribal lineage is recorded in the national ID, needed to open a bank account, and the tribes are represented in the Federal government (I.e. like how the UK has a House of Lords). All states are divided on tribal lines. Tribes have cities. Kumasi is the 3rd largest city in Ghana and the capital of the Ashanti. Heck, even today there’s a movement for the Ewe to break off into their own nation[1]. (Funny what finding oil in your soil will do to you.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Togoland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Togoland
- prmph 5y ago
  This is muddying up the issue under discussion. The question is not about whether Ghanaians think of themselves as belonging to a tribe. The point is that the distinction between terms such as nation, clan, and tribe is arbitrary, in a sense. We condemn “tribalism” and yet extol nationalism, although they spring from the same attitudes and worldviews.
  - dismantlethesun 5y ago
    Well if you say they're arbitrary, I can't disagree with you. The distinction between all words is obituary, especially when it comes to sociological concepts. But if in truth there's no reason to condemn “tribalism” and yet extol nationalism, then I think we ought to be proud of the original and most commonly used term "Tribe" and look down upon its usage.

dismantlethesun 5y ago

You can see my other comment in the thread for more, but all people in Ghana are “tribal”. Your tribal lineage is recorded in the national ID, needed to open a bank account, and the tribes are represented in the Federal government (I.e. like how the UK has a House of Lords). All states are divided on tribal lines. Tribes have cities. Kumasi is the 3rd largest city in Ghana and the capital of the Ashanti. Heck, even today there’s a movement for the Ewe to break off into their own nation[1]. (Funny what finding oil in your soil will do to you.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Togoland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Togoland

prmph 5y ago
This is muddying up the issue under discussion. The question is not about whether Ghanaians think of themselves as belonging to a tribe. The point is that the distinction between terms such as nation, clan, and tribe is arbitrary, in a sense. We condemn “tribalism” and yet extol nationalism, although they spring from the same attitudes and worldviews.
- dismantlethesun 5y ago
  Well if you say they're arbitrary, I can't disagree with you. The distinction between all words is obituary, especially when it comes to sociological concepts. But if in truth there's no reason to condemn “tribalism” and yet extol nationalism, then I think we ought to be proud of the original and most commonly used term "Tribe" and look down upon its usage.