This article examines the oral history of the Kiroba people of Tanzania and how it defines and shapes current social relationships, provides a sense of identity, and establishes moral values that contribute to the maintenance of social capital. The authors examine a history provided by several different elders from different clans among the Kiroba. Textual analysis provides insight into the organizing principles and structure of the Kiroba, and their relations with other ethnic groups in the region. The chief goal of the elders in relating the history of the Kiroba people to younger generations is to reaffirm the Kiroba people as a social unit, and to pass on the moral values of the tribe. The author begins by placing the Kiroba in the historical context of the Mara region of Tanzania. Relations and conflicts with other tribes in the region are discussed. The historical narrative of the elders documents how the Kiroba and other groups in the area maintained a sense of corporate identity while developing mechanisms for incorporating strangers and aliens into the tribe. Migration and maintenance of kin ties resulted in a complex network of relationships in the region based on trade and reciprocity. The chief idiom structuring social relations in the region is that of patrilineal descent. These kinship groups represent the building blocks of local social structure. They are somewhat flexible in definition and can be linked, pulled apart, added to or subtracted from in mutually understood ways. Norms for the adoption of outsiders into a kinship network and the way these networks govern the relationships between the Kiroba and other tribes are presented in detail. Although patrilinear kinship is the most important lens through which social organization can be viewed, other important organizing factors exist. Political identity in the form of alliances formed for the purpose of warfare is another important organizing principle. Identification with a prophet leader and participation in ritual ceremonies also influences social organization. Age and generation sets are another form of social organization. These sets create horizontal links among members of a given generation, determine rules regarding the selection of mates for marriage, and establish positions of power within the tribe. All of these traditional linkages - common morals, kinship groups, political identification, religious ceremonies, and generation sets - help define Kiroba identity. They are reinforced through the tradition of oral history, and created social capital among the Kiroba people which have enabled it to retain a sense of identity in a changing atmosphere.
Bibliography: 1995 69-112 The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 28 No. 1
