Ethiopia

Rural Networking

Kinship is especially important in rural areas, where socially supportive villages often form on the basis of kinship ties. Male kinship ties are emphasized over female ties. Elders serve an important social function as intermediaries in kin or clan disputes. A person is judged through their participation in extended social kinship networks and their maintenance of family honor and loyalty, which come before individual considerations and achievements. Recent droughts have disrupted traditional social networks as the government relocated close to 1.5 million people out of drought-prone areas.

A rural urban divide has developed with the rise of urbanization and the isolation of rural areas due to a poor transportation infrastructure. Social networks also have strong correlations with business networks, with both interactions governed by social rules of etiquette and protocol. One key example is the sharing of the national drink of coffee, grown in the Kaffa province, an often-lengthy ceremonial social networking experience. The urban community maintains a strong social network with Ethiopian expatriates living around the globe, which is increasingly facilitated through slowly rising rates of Internet use.

Religious affiliation is a key component of social identity and networking. The dominant religion in Ethiopia is Orthodox Christianity, but others include Islam, Judaism, and traditional indigenous religions. Although there is little open religious conflict, Ethiopian Jews, known as Beta Israel, live in Israel to avoid persecution. Religious funeral rites are important social and religious ceremonies in Ethiopian society, where death is treated as a communal matter. Burial societies known as iddirs are important social networks based on neighborhood, occupation, age, or gender and traditionally covered members' funeral expenses through regular member contributions. Many burial societies are now extending their coverage to care for the ill as the HIV/AIDS epidemic decimates Ethiopia's population. Those who cannot afford such societies are often forced to abandon traditional rituals due to their expense. The psychotropic plant chat is chewed socially as a bonding experience among social network members.

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