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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The Changing Meaning of Small Arms in Nuer Society |
Authors: | Skedsmo, Arild Danhier, Kwong Luak, Hoth Gor |
Year: | 2003 |
Periodical: | African Security Review |
Volume: | 12 |
Issue: | 4 |
Pages: | 57-67 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Sudan |
Subjects: | social change Nuer small arms Military, Defense and Arms Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) |
External link: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10246029.2003.9627251 |
Abstract: | The economic value, social status and symbolic meaning of small arms are particular and temporal in nature. This is demonstrated through a historical account of the dynamics of cultural change and adaptation in Nuer society (South Sudan). Specifically, the article shows how attitudes towards small arms shifted over time from a positive valuation of guns as prestigious objects, to ambivalence between the need for protection and the experience of increased local lawlessness and violence. More generally, it demonstrates how weapon-related activities can only be fully understood when seen against a specific cultural background. Even if the display, use and circulation of weapons appear to carry cross-cultural references, typically as expressions of power and masculine identity, the meaning is always primarily local. Therefore, strategies to reduce the destructive impact of small arms through demand-side programmes, based on voluntary participation, can only be carried out successfully if built on an in-depth understanding of a particular cultural context. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract] |