Age grade
Encyclopedia
In sociology
and anthropology
, an age grade or age class is a form of social organization based on age, within a series of such categories, through which individuals pass over the course of their lives.
This is in contrast to an age set
, to which individuals remain permanently attached as the set itself becomes progressively more senior.
The number of age classes, the determining ages and the terminology vary significantly between traditions. Even within a single society, a person may belong to several overlapping grades in different spheres of life, e.g. per year a different school class and yet for several years on end a child, then an adolescent, finally an adult.
In tribal
societies
entry into an age grade -generally gender-separated- is often marked by an initiation rite, which may be the crowning of a long and complex preparation, sometimes in retreat. After a period of some years, during which they often perform certain common activities, alone or under senior guidance, members may be initiated either collectively or individually into a more senior age grade. This progression is often accompanied by the revelation of secret knowledge. In most cultures, age grade systems, as with age sets, are the preserve of men, and it is the older men who control a society's secret knowledge, collectively or restricted to a council of elders and/or specific positions such as shaman entrusted with the preparation of initiants.
Closely related age-grade systems are common among East African Cushitic communities. Particularly, the Oromo
, a trans-national nation living in Ethiopia
and Kenya
, have a well-developed age-grade system known as the Gadaa
System. Gadaa through history came to organize social life around the series of five generation grades which assign obligations as well as rights to members of the society. Through Gadaa, many socio-political functions were carried out. For example, the system operated as an educational institution by providing periods of training and skill development in each grade and by casting all those YUBA [who had finished the full cycle consisting of five-grades] in the role of teachers and advisors. The system operated as a judicial institution by assigning a Chief Justice, jurors at the national level and making all LUBA wherever they were into arbitrators and councilors ready to defend the national law.http://www.gumii.org/gada/understd.html
Many male age grade systems are associated with patrilineal kinship systems, see B. Bernardi.1985. Age Class Systems: Social Institutions and Polities Based on Age. Cambridge University Press. Male age grade systems associated with matrilineal kinship systems are found among the Austronesian populations of Taiwan, see J. R. Shepherd. 1995. Marriage and Mandatory Abortion among the 17th-century Siraya. American Anthropological Association.
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, an age grade or age class is a form of social organization based on age, within a series of such categories, through which individuals pass over the course of their lives.
This is in contrast to an age set
Age set
In anthropology, an age set is a social category or corporate social group, consisting of people of similar age, who have a common identity, maintain close ties over a prolonged period, and together pass through a series of age-related statuses...
, to which individuals remain permanently attached as the set itself becomes progressively more senior.
The number of age classes, the determining ages and the terminology vary significantly between traditions. Even within a single society, a person may belong to several overlapping grades in different spheres of life, e.g. per year a different school class and yet for several years on end a child, then an adolescent, finally an adult.
In tribal
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
societies
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
entry into an age grade -generally gender-separated- is often marked by an initiation rite, which may be the crowning of a long and complex preparation, sometimes in retreat. After a period of some years, during which they often perform certain common activities, alone or under senior guidance, members may be initiated either collectively or individually into a more senior age grade. This progression is often accompanied by the revelation of secret knowledge. In most cultures, age grade systems, as with age sets, are the preserve of men, and it is the older men who control a society's secret knowledge, collectively or restricted to a council of elders and/or specific positions such as shaman entrusted with the preparation of initiants.
Closely related age-grade systems are common among East African Cushitic communities. Particularly, the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
, a trans-national nation living in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, have a well-developed age-grade system known as the Gadaa
Gadaa
Gadaa is the traditional social stratification system of Oromo males in Ethiopia and northern Kenya; it is also practiced by the Gedeo people of southern Ethiopia. Each class, or luba, consists of all of the sons of the men in another particular class...
System. Gadaa through history came to organize social life around the series of five generation grades which assign obligations as well as rights to members of the society. Through Gadaa, many socio-political functions were carried out. For example, the system operated as an educational institution by providing periods of training and skill development in each grade and by casting all those YUBA [who had finished the full cycle consisting of five-grades] in the role of teachers and advisors. The system operated as a judicial institution by assigning a Chief Justice, jurors at the national level and making all LUBA wherever they were into arbitrators and councilors ready to defend the national law.http://www.gumii.org/gada/understd.html
Many male age grade systems are associated with patrilineal kinship systems, see B. Bernardi.1985. Age Class Systems: Social Institutions and Polities Based on Age. Cambridge University Press. Male age grade systems associated with matrilineal kinship systems are found among the Austronesian populations of Taiwan, see J. R. Shepherd. 1995. Marriage and Mandatory Abortion among the 17th-century Siraya. American Anthropological Association.