History and the redefinition of custom on Kilimanjaro

bibliographic database
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Book chapter

Title:	History and the redefinition of custom on Kilimanjaro
Author:	Moore, S. Falk
Book title:	History and power in the study of law: new directions in legal anthropology
Year:	1989
Pages:	277-301
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Tanzania
Subjects:	Chaga customary law land law
Abstract:	'Customary rules' are not survivals of a traditional past, but are continually renegotiated as conditions change. Certain aspects of customary forms may appear enduring, such as the concept of 'customary law' itself, but the content of customary rules reflects the political and economic circumstances in which the rules are invoked, challenged and restated. Two case histories of land disputes from the late 1960s among the Chagga of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, and a highly condensed description of the process of economic transformation amongst the Chagga over the past century, a process parallelled by the colonial government's reorganization and administrative consolidation of the chiefdoms and the creation of a judicial hierarchy, indicate that what is now considered 'customary law' on Kilimanjaro has undergone many metamorphoses. Today, 'customary law' on Kilimanjaro is as much a creature of the present State and the present economy as it is a link with a past cultural heritage. Bibliogr., notes, ref.