Unspoken: African Dialogues

Addressing the use of the word “tribe”

Historically, groups in African countries have been referred to in the West as “tribes”.  This has often been associated with views that tribes are primitive and underdeveloped people.  The term tribe was used by anthropologists as a way to categorise and analyse groups.  The continuation of using the word perpetuates the notion that the people in question are still underdeveloped and have made very little change over the centuries.  This perception of African tribes was used as a justification from European nations to colonise African countries, with the view that they would be making the people in these tribes more civilised.  The term tribe is a generic term that does not consider the different forms and structures that exist among the range of groups that exist in each African country.  There are approximately 3,000 groups across the African continent who each have their own distinct cultural identity.

The terms that are more reflective and considerate are: 

– ethnic group

– nation

– people

– community

– chiefdom

– kin-group

– village 

While the above terms have been considered as a better way to refer to groups in African countries, it depends on each individual group how they wish to be referred to.  

In different African countries, there are some who are choosing to no longer identify themselves with a particular group.  For some, this has been motivated by warfare between different groups that have led to a fractured country and it has been a factor in why people chose to migrate.  Different states have been described as trying to remove the cultural identity of different groups because of the perceived threat they pose to the centralisation of power and control of resources.

References

Africa Policy Information Center (1997) Talking About “Tribe”, Background Paper 010

Available at: https://africanactivist.msu.edu/recordFiles/210-849-21158/Background_Paper_010_opt.pdf

Accessed: 06/11/2025

Juma, C. (2012) ‘ Viewpoint: How tribalism stunts African democracy’, BBC News

Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20465752

Accessed: 06/11/2025

Lowe, C. (2001) ‘The Trouble with Tribe: How a common word masks complex African realities’, Teaching for Tolerance, Issue 19