NATIONALISM IN AFRICA: AN ATTEMPT, AT PREDICTION

George M. Foster

The anthropologist, like every other scientist, searches for regulari-
ties in his data that can be expressed as hypotheses, which can be confirmed,

modified, or rejected through further observations or tests.  The, propositions
that survive are what make possible prediction which should be a goal of

anthropology as much as of any other science. Unfortunately, except in experi-
mental situations far removed from reality, socio-cultural phenomena involve so
many variables that the isolation of the effect of each is extremely difficult.
;Consequently, anthropologists are reluctant to predict-human behavior, except

in the broadest sense.

In this paper I suggest that a good many things can be foretold about
the rise and development of nationalism in Africa. The predictions are based
upon aspects of acculturation theory, and upon the previous patterns of

nationalistic development in other parts of the world. The immediate stimulus
-to this paper was a statement by Professor M. J. Herskovits to the effect that,
to date, African native languages. have not become symbols of nationalism, and
that in the foreseeable future they are not likely to become so . 2 There is

logic behind this argument:  in -most of the emerging African nations so many
distinct idioms are represented that no one -language represents a majority.

Nevertheless, I suspect time will prove Professor Herskovits wrong. A national
language, or at least an "official" language, appears to be one of the cultural
imperatiives of developing nationalism. There is a relatively limited number of
additional imperatives, all symbolic., and it is with- these that this paper is
concerned. They will be discussed within the framework of the sequence pat-

tern that characterizes the contact between a dominant and a subordinate socie-
ty. This pattern was outlined by Elkin more than twenty years ago.3 More

recently, i4argaret Read, speaking of Europan education in Africa, describes the
Sa   series of phenomena in seven stages.U  In both cases the pattern is essen-
tially the same, and can be outlined briefly as follows:

In the initial phase of contact the subordinate people are antagonistic
to changes suggested or imposed by the outsiders, other than in the field of

material goods of obvious utility.  Adults are fearful of the innovations they
realize, will come.

Subsequently there is increasing acceptance of the outsider' s ways,

particularly by the younger generation, and a desire to learm more. This leads
to rejection of a great deal of native culture, of scorn for traditional ways,

an4 for disregard of the advice of elders.  In Africa traditional songs, dances,
and folklore were put aside-, and hymns, drill, and school treaders" took their
place. As a param unt chief told Dr. Rtead, "The wh'ite teachers taught us to

despise our past,"  and for-a time educated Africans were only too happy to do
this. In this phase there is usually strong enthusiasm for the culture of the
outsider, and a wish to become like him.

. r   ,   ,   -                     .~~~~~~~~

But then it begins to become apparent to the native that, however

much he admires western culture, he can never enter fully into it. In this
period disillusionment sets in. In some cases depopulation may follow but

more often, among primitives, nativistic movements occur. Among the cultur-

ally more vigorous (and more numerous) peoples there is a renewed interest in
traditional culture; the values inherent in ancient ways are again recognized,
and attempts are made to restore and perpetuate them. Read points out how, in
African education, those who led the return to an appreciation of traditional

elements were usually those who had achieved a high level of educational parity
with Europeans. "They had gone furthest in the studies in the dominant cul-

ture, they had proved their ability to benefit by them, and they were therefore
free from the fear of being helg back if they looked back to their own past and
their own traditional culture."t

Ultimately a subordinate culture must in some manner come to terms with
the dominant culture.  On the national level in the modern world this means
political independence, and a cultural synthesis of western and traditional
elements.

What I am doing is reiterating the generally accepted fact that nation-
alism in its contemporary form can to a surprising degree be equated with

nativistic movements among simpler peoples, and that it represents a particular
point in time in the series of stages which follow first contact and domination
by outside people. Nationalism is a political phenomenon, but it is equally a
cultural phenomenon, and if the cultural imperatives cannot be fulfilled, the
political prospects are bleak indeed.

Political nationalism, to be successful, must be accompanied by a cul-

tural ideology. Fallers recently has suggested that in Africa "the ideologists
of nationalism have two major sources to draw upon: on the one hand, tradi-

tional African cultures and on the other, the many and diverse elements of   7
value and belief which may be imported from modern Europe, Asia and America.7
I would suggest that, for ideological purposes, an emerging nation has only
one source upon which to draw: its own culture and its own past. Precisely
Ecause they are foreign, elements from Europe, Asia and America can be of no

use unless they can be recast and reinterpreted so as to appear to have been a
part of the local culture all the time.

Ideologically, a nationalistic movement represents a group of people
in search of an ethos. It is a response to the disillusionment that follows
recognition that the ways and values of the outsider will not fully serve.

There is only one place to which one may turn, and that is inward. When peo-
ples begin to ask, who am I, from whence have I come, and what is my culture,
nationalism is well under way.

Simmons, in describing the creole culture of coastal Peru, has in fact
given us a very good description of a nationalistic group in search of its
ethos. He speaks of a "cultural outlook" to which the members of the group

are oriented. 'The essence of this outlook,' he says, "is its explicit af irm-
ation of the uniqueness and originality of the [in Peru] mestizo culture."   In
the case of an emerging African nation the essence of the outlook Is the

uniqueness and originality of African culture or cultures. One searches for a

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"spirit," a "way of life," or a collective "soul."  What is necessary is that
the emergent culture and its personality be marked by a peculiar identity and
integrity all its own. In Peru "Criollisno is the mestizo's answer to the

painful question of who and what he is, his assertion that his 'way of life,'
is a positive creation of his own rather than a casual European-indigenous

mixture."9 I believe that Simmons' model for Peruvian creole culture serves

very well as a model for an understanding of the cultural side of all nation-
alistic movements.

Identification of a way of life as peculiarly one's own, and as a

positive creation of the local group--an essential for successful nationalism--
is accomplished by symbolic means. These symbols must have a high degree of

visibility, and they must stem or be thought to stem from the traditional cul-
ture. They are focal points around which people rally, both to be convinced
of and to reaffirm their faith in the vitality and uniqueness of their own

culture. A good deal has been made of the fact that in Africa, unlike Asia,

the relative lack of past civilization places an extra handicap on the devel-
opment of cultural nationalism. This i s, it seems to me, at most a very

temporary handicap.  The important thing is not so much the quality of past
civilization as it is the ability to believe in a past civilization. Mhile
it is true that you cannot have a nation without ancestors, there are few
problems involved in creating the necessary ancestors.

It is interesting to note that the symbols of nationalism that re-

appear time after time, in Latin America, in Africa, in India and in southeast
Asia have very little to do with the real presence or absence of past high
civilizations. They are pretty much the same from one country to the next,
an indication of the fact that their utility is more a matter of their form
than of specific histories. Without attempting a definitive list, I suggest
the important ones fall in the following categories:

1). Language. Nothing can be more uniquely one's own than verbal
and written commnication not shared with other nations. Not only is it a
symbol of an ethos, but it is the vehicle by which this ethos is built and

described and spread. The attempt to develop a national language usually is
based on emotion rather than logic.  In the face of the obvious utility of
English in the Philippines, India, and Ireland, the emphasis on Tagalog,

Hindi, and Gaelic is little short of ludicrous, and in the first two countries
at -least more problems will be created than will be solved. Nevertheless,

when a vigorous local language prevails, even though spoken by a minority of
the population, the odds are very good that it will be raised to the status
of a national tongue. It is hard to believe that in Africa, as certain tri-

bal groups attain political preeminence, they will not also attempt to impose
their idiom on their countrymen in the same fashion that Tagalog and Hindi
are being used in the Philippines and India, often over the protests of
speakers of other languages.

2). Dietary patterns. The emotional attitudes expressed in food
habits can scarcely be over emphasized. Like politics and sex, this is a

subject of high sensitivity. The role of food in establishing the solidarity
of the group, and in the reaffirmation of friendship bonds, is too well

known to anthropologists to need reiteration. It is not surprising, therefore,

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that food and drink, and the mode of taking them, invariably become one of the
basic symbols around which a national ethos is built. Whether it is a Thanks-
giving turkey in the United States, the festive turkey mole of Mexico, the use
of hot peppers in Peru, or the drinking of palm wine in West Africa, the sym-

bolism is constant. The mode of eating likewise is important. Since the fork,
as diffused in the modern world, is of European origin, we can expect rejection
of the knife-fork-spoon pattern of the western table on ceremonial occasions in
favor of whatever local eating patterns are traditional. In Mexico this means
a generous supply of tortillas in lieu of table implements; in Arab countries

it means dipping into a common bowl with the fingers; in India it means sitting
on carpets and cushions on the ground, outdoors, under awnings.  I do not know

the correspondirng forms in African countries, but they must exist, and they will
become increasingly important as expressions of the national ethos.

3). Costume. This, too, has the necessary qualifications of high

visibility and cultural uniqueness. Hodgkin points out how, increasingly in
Africa "educated Africans abandon shorts and shirts and return to traditional
clothes--for parties and ceremonies, if not for everyday use."10  Gandhi's

emphasis on homespuns and the dhotl reflect the same feeling, as does the Mexi-
can's ceremonial use of charro costume, with broad-brimmed hat and Saltillo
serapeO

4). Fiesta celebrations. A whole series of interrelated traits, such
as music, dance, and recreation patterns--not to mention food and costume--

appear here.  In Peru the highly stylized song and dance form, the marinera,
and the vals criollo, the European waltz recast in creole mold may be noted.

In Mexico the mariachi orchestra and the huapango are the music-dance symbols
of national culture. In Spain it is the flamenco dancer, and in Scotland the

bagpipe. Poor is the country which cannot express its uniqueness in music and
dance. These patterns already exist in Africa, and it may be expected they

will become increasingly well known in the western world as nationalism contin-
ues its development. The anthropologist might hazard a guess that drumming, in
particular, will take on an extra value in Africa.

5). Archaeology and folklore. These aspects of anthropology, more

than social studies, play an enormously significant role in the development of
nationalism. Archaeology is the device by which a nation may know its past

greatness; it is particularly useful for nations with short historical periods.
Grahame Clark points out the relationship between nationalism and archaeology
when he speaks of the latter's ability to foster sentiments needful to the

stability and existence of society. Archaeology "multiplies and strengthens

the links which bind us to the past, and provides innumerable material symbols
of social development through the ages, symbols all the more effective because
visible and tangible."ll Generally with the development of nationalistic feel-
ings, governments put increasing amounts of money into museums, and into

archaeological excavations and the restoration of prehistoric and historic
monuments.

Folklore studies have a similar value in bringing back the past folk-
life to contemporary peoples0  The study of folklore not only supplies needed
information on other symnbols such as music, dance, costume, and popular arwt,
but it also, in an almost mxystic sense, affords people insight into their

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collective souls. Generally if we look at the dates of the founding of

national and regional folklore societies, we find that they correspond in
surprising degree with an upsurge in nationalistic feelings.

6). Art forms. A national art, particularly one based on motifs

stemming from traditional popular arts, is an important nationalistic symbol.
This has already become one of the important symbols in Africa, and it can be
expected that its vaue.will continue to grow. Western recognition of the

artistic quality. of African woodcarving and bronze working places a special
premium on the development of these activities.

7). Humor. .$immoris lists belief in a profound sense of humor char-
acterized by "7a quiclk and brilliant mentality, a facile creative talent," a
one of the important elements in the Peruvian creole's picture of himself

In Mexico a similar phenomenon exists, personified by the wit and picaresque
temperament of Cantinflas. The nature and forms of national humors have

received little attentitin from anthropologists.  Nevertheless, I suspect that
every country believes its Jokes' cannot be fully appreciated by foreigners,
and that its humor i$ more sophisticated and subtle than that of any other

nation. I recall res4ing nothing of African wit and humor, but it is reason-
able to assume it will become an increasingly important symbol of local
nationalities.

8). Folk medicinr. The nationalistic implications of this subject

are little explored.  There are, however, indications that traditional medical
practices will be increasingly dignified with the stamp of approval of local
scientifically trained physicians. Already we read that Communist Chinese

doctors have rediscovered merit in the ancient acupuncture, and in a recent

mimeographed paper a western-trained Vietnamese physician discusses the tradi-
tional medicine of his country as a different but in no way inferior way of
treating the sick.13  I do not know what specific forms this will take in

Afr ica, but it seems probable that scientific med icine will have to accommo-

date in some degree to nationalistically-inspired competition from folk prac-
tices.

Other nationalistic symbols which for lack of time I do not discuss
are religion and sports.  Warfare is a puzzling item. Professor Herskovits,

in the aforementioned seminar, suggested that Africans are basically peaceful
as compared to Europeans.  Yet, in view of the militaristic activrities of at

least some tribes in pre-European periods, it is hard to believe that a resur-
gence of militarism will not occur in much of the continent.  After all,

national virility and masculinity are better expressed in mi litary power than
in any other way, and it does not seem likely that Africans will prove more

immine to this virus than are the citizens of many other countries. This pre-
diction is not based on the tssumption that all peoples are by nature warlike;
it is based on the probability that the past military exploits of many African
groups will prove irresistible to them as sources for nationalistic symbols.

To summarize, I suggest that nationalism can be looked upon as a cul-
tural manifestation characteristic of a recognizable point on a time continuum
of contact between peoples, and that its forms follow a near-univrersal pattern
that is not contingent, in broad outline, upon local cultural exp3ressions and

past histories. Nationalism expresses itself culturally as the search for an
ethos, a unique mystic form which comes to be symbolized by means of a limited
number of elements of high visibility which serve as rallying points for

national ardor. To the extent that the symbols discussed here have not already
appeared in Africa, I predict that they will appear, and those that are present
will take on added significance.

ENDNOTES

(1) Read at Fourth Annual Meeting of the Kroeber Anthropological Society,

Berkeley, May 21, 1960.

(2) Seminar on Africa, Department of Anthropology, University of California,

Berkeley, March 23, 1960.

(3) A. P. Elkin, "The reaction of primitive races to the white man's culture:

*a study in culture-contact," The Hibbert Journal 35:537-545, 1936-37.

(4) Margaret Read, "Cultural contacts in education,' in Education and Social

Change in Tropical Areas. Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., Lorion, Edinburgh,
Paris, Melbourne, Toronto, New York, pp. 96-111, 1955.
(5)  Ibid., p. 108.
(6)  Ibid., p. 110.

(7) L. A. Fallers, "Ideology and culture in Uganda nationalism,3 mimeographed

paper, April 29, 1959.

(8) Ozzie G. Simmons, "The criollo outlook in the mestizo culture of coastal

Peru," American Anthropologist 57: 107-117, 1955.
(9)  Ibid.., p  109.

(10) Thomas Hodgkin, Nationalism in colonial Africa. Frederick Muller Ltd.,

London, 1956, p. 177.

(11) Grahame Clark,  2rchaeology and societ.   Second Edition, Revised. Methuen

& Co. Ltd., London, 1947, p. 191.
(12) Ibid., p.. 110.

(13) Dang Ngoc Trong. "Traditional Vietnamese Medicine," mimeographed, [ca.

1954]-

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