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Courtesy: http://rosswarner.comregards himself as a Sukuma or not, according to theadvantages of tracing patrilineal, matrilineal or affinalconnections or just inventing an ancestral one.These people do not appear to have any concept ofhome other than a vague sense of ancestralneighbourhood because they have regularly moved tocope with field fertility and the needs of their cattle aswell as the sensible pattern of dispersing their herdsand rotating their crops.In the 1950s, a Sukuma customary law manual wasproduced (Cory 1953) which showed that they had asense of tribal identity but in practice such a book createda system of law rather than Sukuma custom throughwhich each case was settled according to particular localcircumstancesThe Sukuma cultureOld Maasai woman with her grandchildThis has none of the obvious material elements thatcontribute so much to tribal identifications such asthat of the Kachins and many other rich Asian cultures.They do not look different nor make any efforts to doso and the small facial markings that used to denotesocial group affiliations such as the Bugika and Bugaruare no longer made. They have no material art and thezigzag markings on their woven baskets are probablynow only to be seen in ethnographic collections. Theyclaim no tribal connection with the crude rock paintingand lithographic designs that are to be seen on manyrock faces.What is perhaps extraordinary is that if one can setaside that they are an East African people, their socialcharacteristics and culture are remarkably similar tothat of contemporary Europeans. Their attention tokinship is minimal as most families are well dispersedand their social life is confined to neighbourhoods andnetworks of reciprocities. Indeed, they mistrust anyform of authority that is not subject to reciprocalcontrols and they have yet to see any value in macrodemocraticsystems of voting.They have no regular religious rituals other than thewearing of amulets and a variety of personal taboos.Despite the presence of Muslim traders and Christianmissionaries for well over a century, only smallnumbers have joined these faiths. They have no tribalinitiation rituals but their cross-community associationsdo let them demonstrate their exclusivities. Thecostume of men is almost entirely of western designwhile their women combine the former with duallengths of highly coloured cloth of Swahili origin fromthe coast.They do not wish to live near anyone else if it can beavoided, although they did once live in closecommunities as a defence against Maasai raiding. Theirlives are very much based on quite accurate profit andloss balances in which it is sensible to live near theirfields. They do not see any particular value to living intowns where food has to be paid for and prefer tocome and go from their rural homes.This is not to suggest that they do not have a culturalidentity, which is now more prominent than it was incolonial times. Their tribal museum and cultural centreat Bujora near Mwanza is a matter of pride. It is hardto see in what ways there is a Sukuma culture since somuch is shared with surrounding tribal communitiesexcept possibly in their language with its complicatedtenses and its song and poetic forms. In the historicpast, there may not have been any corporate tribalidentity but it has been created, without overmuchtension, by the makers of administrative boundariesand by the rituals of voting. At the crudely materiallevel, they are no different to millions of others ineastern Africa.Some reflections on the nature of tribal culturesModern governments of large states like tribal cultureswhile being hostile to tribalism. Tribal costumes are tobe seen worn by contingents in Myanmar and Indiannational day parades, and representatives wear theirtribal costumes in meetings of the national assemblyof the Chinese Communist Party. The British Queen’srecent jubilee celebrations showed many forms ofBritish and Commonwealth tribal cultures in theirmodernised forms. Tribal costumes frequently appearon national stamps and in musical groups. To someextent, the Indonesian government subsidises andsupports the flamboyant public celebrations of BalineseHinduism that brings in much tourist money. At thesame time, governments suppress demands for tribalindependence in West Irian and Assam. So, tribalcultures testify to the range of national citizenship andliberalism; they are a modern, political ‘good’ and thusare often subsidised unless they go too far and claimseparation.20 INDIAN FOLKLIFE VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3 JANUARY - MARCH 2003