A test of the concept of backwardness: A case study of Digo Society in Kenya

Abstract

The concept of backwardness is explored in both its theoretical dimensions and its empirical applications to Digo society in Kenya. As an idea, backwardness is shown to be associated with the historical development of Western notions of progress and change which have produced a dichotomy between tradition and modernity. As a condition, backwardness is identified in a number of theoretical models which variously locate the sources of backwardness in history, natural laws, and tradition. It is shown that there is a predominant tendency to link tradition and backwardness with resistance to change in these models. In separate chapters, the role of history and tradition are explored as potential explanations for the image of Digo backwardness followed by an analysis of the Digo economy and a discussion of Kenya's rural development policies as expressed in the Swynnerton Plan and the Special Rural Development Program. It is argued that the role of history lies in the structure and quality of intergroup relations as much as in culture contact, diffusion and external events. The role of tradition, discussed in terms of Digo cultural values and attitudes as well as structural features that