CHARACTERISTICS OF CASTE RELATIONS IN WESTERN AFRICA

Abstract

In western Africa castes appeared in the early Middle Ages as a specific form of social labour division. They are distinguished from other layers of free people by their rules of endogamy and occupational specialization. The position and status of caste members depend on the social surroundings they live in and upon the caste itself. T            here also exists a well-defined and pronounced stratification of members belonging to different castes. Thus the highest status is assigned to blacksmiths, while the castes of musicians and griote narrators occupy the lowest ranks. The specific feature of African caste system derives from the fact that they are economic categories, the creation of which was induced by the necessity of social labour division.