PhD thesis Title Page Final _Richard Juma - Victoria University ...

groups. 87 The poor have in general few assets from which political capital
can be drawn.
4.8.6 Social capital.
As already described in Chapter One, social capital is one of the social
resources upon which people draw when pursuing different livelihood
strategies that require coordinated actions (DFID 1994; Scoones 1998;
Ellis 2000). Social capital mediates resource flows that are often critical to
household livelihood, consumption, health, and status. In Turkana, social
capital is important for sustainability of livelihoods, and is the focus of this
study. The most critical social activities that influence local people’s
livelihoods in the Turkana District are family affairs and friendship. 88
Family affairs: In the context of Turkana society, family affairs mean
arranging marriages and divorces and managing widowhood.
Marriage: According to key informants, marriage in Turkana society is a
social institution which not only connects a couple, but also extends
beyond the nuclear family to encompass the clan. Marriage is a passage
into manhood and womanhood; it legitimizes children, and expands
peoples’ social networks. Turkana people can only marry inside or outside
of their section membership, but must marry outside their clan. The main
reason for the prohibition of marriage between clan members, as told by
informants, is that clan members are considered brothers and sisters
concerning reciprocal obligations and rights, and incest is, therefore
unacceptable. Other reasons include the desire to avoid problems within
87 See Chapter 6 for a thorough discussion of the importance of social networks during
the 2005-2006 drought and famine crises.
88 By friendships, I mean the relationship between families, clans, territorial sections, agesets,
and stock associates. Friendships are bonded through exchange and reciprocity.
This will be the core of discussion in Chapters 5 and 6.
130