TITLE:
The Soninke Civilization: The Societal Organization and Its Flaws
AUTHORS:
Issa Gadjigo
KEYWORDS:
Soninke, Society, xabiilo, laadani, Societal, Organization, Inequalities, Functions, Clan, Hierarchal, Rank
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Anthropology,
Vol.12 No.2,
May
31,
2022
ABSTRACT: This article studies the contemporary Soninke societal organization and its
flaws. The Soninke families called xabiilo(clans) are stratified
hieratically, but profoundly characterized
by some social inequalities. According to the societal classification,
each xabiila
(clan) is in charge of a social
function that must be ensured religiously and continuously. Thus it is in a societal dynamic characterized by some social
inequalities (difference between people and endogamy) that the xabiilo maintain some
reciprocal relationships through the laadani (customs). In spite of being thought to be the
backbone of the Soninke societal
organization, that stratification is biased by some social inequalities.