Dagu as a Cultural Regulator among the Afar People: The Communication Aspect
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Date
2010-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This paper aims at investigating Dagu, the traditional and indigenous communication
system of the Afar, as a central subject of inquiry. Previous studies on Dagu tend to
overlook its dynamism and only peripherally treat it as a means to other communication
ends. However, this study looks into Dagu as a cultural communication entity as opposed
to a mere oral, interpersonal communication. It examines Dagu as a traditional
communication performance while looking at its unique attributes that can make it
different from a simple interpersonal communication. To this end, convenience sampling
method was used to select places; and purposive sampling technique to select informants
for the study. Ethnographic and qualitative data collection methods of observation, focus
group and individual in-depth interviews were employed. Hence, Dagu is found to be a
ritualistic exchange of information which requires distinctive cultural discipline in the
reception and transmission of communally important information in the Afar community.
A Dagu ritual comprises three phases where the first is the ritual prologue and the
second phase is the mainstream Dagu, which includes the exchange of current
information, while the third phase winds up the ritual. It is also found that the
information in the first and second phases are reportable while anything exchanged in
the third phase, pleasantries and personal chats, are not reportable. The third phase,
which is the ritual conclusion, is also described to be a phase where extraneous
information from non-Afar sources can be exchanged but not reported. Therefore, it can
be seen that Dagu insulates exogenous information and the claim, as emphasized in local
related studies, that Dagu can be synergized with the modern mass media is found to be a
bold one. The findings of the study also show that Dagu is protected from falsehood and
inaccurate information through its cultural mechanisms, and that it is very much related
to issues of identity, security and communal welfare beyond communication.
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Cultural Regulator among the Afar People