Coming To Terms With Our Tribal Minds

Human beings have tribal predispositions. Arguably, tribal instincts are wired into our minds and perhaps into our DNAs. Whether Ghanaian, Nigerian, black, white, brown, or whatever identity label or color we may use to describe ourselves, none of us can disentangle ourselves completely from tribal tentacles. Yet we may be tempted to reject entirely the notion that tribal tendencies are sewn into our minds and brains.

Thus, it may not be unusual to hear some folks proclaiming their altruistic impulses and unconditional love they have for people of all diverse backgrounds. Accordingly, some people may argue that it is ridiculous to assert that humans are tribally-inclined. Empirical researches have shown that even people with altruistic bents are susceptible to subtleties in differences toward their experiences. So, before making any attempt to dismiss the existence of our tribal minds in their entirety, just pause for a minute and try to come to terms with the concept by understanding what constitutes contemporary definition of tribalism on one hand, and how our tribal minds actually manifest themselves—on the other.

It is worthy to emphasize here that tribalism will not be defined solely on the basis of sharing of lineage of descent from a common ancestor with its attendant cluster of customs, traditions, languages, and the like. Indeed, based on scientific studies by neuroscientists, psychologists, anthropologists and other experts, tribalism or tribal inclinations we show from time-to-time, if not on daily basis, far extend beyond the confines of just sharing common ancestry, custom, or language with some group of people. Believe or not, we all have tribal emotions; and, they are the result of how human mind is wired and thus responds to different events, people we know or don't know, like or dislike, and what have you.

Which is to say, a favorable display of tribal feelings toward a given group of people or an individual by virtue of a shared racial, ethnic, linguistic, nationalistic, or cultural backgrounds, do not tell us everything about why humans exhibit tribal thoughts in their day-to-day lives. From a broad perspective, we display tribal sentiments in the realms of interracial marriage/relationship, professional, educational, religious, political, fraternal, and in many other people-to-people encounters.

This may explain why, for instance, two women—one black and one white—on the verge of drowning while the white woman's black husband happens to be on the scene of the accident will not hesitate to save his wife first before thinking about the black woman. Certainly, everyone in that situation will rescue his or her immediate family first regardless of whether or not the wife is a white British and the husband a black Ghanaian.

From the preceding example, shared race, ethnicity, or one's traditional culture, becomes irrelevant in that the white woman and the black man are tribally bonded through marriage; and, the man's tribal instincts instantly recognize the familiar codes and the special bonds he has with his wife more than anything else. Similarly, imagine a job recruiter looking to hire about five highly qualified people in a pool of ten potential applicants to work for a reputable firm. Assuming all the ten people are equally well-qualified but three of the candidates went to the same college and belong to the same fraternal association as the job recruiter; what will be the most likely scenario in these circumstances? Your guess here will be as good as mine.

Consciously or on subconscious level, the recruiter's tribal mind will kick into a full gear and begins cruising favorably toward the directions of the three “fraternal old boys or girls.” After all, these three job candidates are all well-qualified too; and, more importantly, this particular recruiter also shares some “tribal lineages” with the three job seekers as a result of schooling as well as their sorority advantage. We all remember the popular mantra that “it is not what you know but who you know.” This concept takes its roots from our tribal proclivities.

As suggested earlier, there is a growing body of scientific studies pertaining to human mind and our brain in an effort to explain why and how all people across cultures show some form of tribal sentiments under certain scenarios. These recent studies are not an attempt to condone negative tribalism or to say that all tribal feelings are bad. In fact, aside from constituting an intrinsic part of human condition, we all have ability to channel tribal energies for better or for worse purposes. Suffice to say, a government that refuses or gives low priority to developmental initiatives in a given geographical area on the basis that the electorates there voted massively in favor of the regime's opponents maybe using tribal sentiments in negative ways. On the other hand, if we were to resist fiercely an overture from a violent gang member urging us to join the group, our resistance will be a clear exhibition of using our tribal mind positively.

Understanding our tribal minds is one of the most significant efforts toward unlocking the age-old conundrum of why humans struggle hard to get along with each other. Thus, coming to grips with our tribal minds open the windows for us to see across the parapet why nations fight against others. Even within particular countries, the reasons behind civil wars and genocide, such as the one unfolded in Rwanda in the 1990s can be visible to us via the sharp lens of our tribal minds.

For ages, humans have embraced fundamental philosophy that holds people or symbols as part of “Us” and others as “Them” and all can be traced back to the workings of our tribal minds. Because of our tribal minds, we tend to put people or things we don't like or not affiliated with in categories as Us versus Them. Maybe now you understand why the NDC and NPP or Kotoko supporters and Hearts' fans alike will never like each other sincerely? Showing tribal tendencies is not only about race, ethnicity, gender, or the fact that we all come from Kumasi or Kpando. Tribalism also empties its clean or polluted waters into the people we went to school with, marry, work with, or affiliate with ideologically and so on.

Bernard Asubonteng is a blogger and geopolitical analyst based in Atlanta, GA. He can be reached at: [email protected]