Band society

The band [ Bänd ]; Majority bands, is a term from the English language and refers to a small group of about thirty to fifty people, most of which are related by birth or marriage. It frequently consists of several related extended families, who live in a community of purpose and take care of the livelihood, security, religious rituals and the care and treatment of children and the elderly. The power structure is often poorly developed, and the guide is generally in the hands of the older band members. Decisions are made generally by consensus. There are no written laws and ruling in the band's customs and traditions are almost always transmitted orally.

The term band has some antecedents in European languages ​​and was initially used to represent a group of people held together by a common bond. Among anthropologists, geographers and explorers of the 19th century, the belt company was viewed as an initial stage of cultural development and used to describe hunting and gathering way of life.

The strain differs from the band due to the larger number of members and families and has more social institutions, such as one or more chiefs and a tribal council. Before there were tribes, large parts of the continents were populated by loosely assembled ethnic groups or bands whose common identity is summoned by rituals. The existence of bands in several continents and climate zones, preferably in sparsely populated areas is historically documented. Due to the proliferation of modern states in the world today, there are only very few band societies (most of them probably isolated). Among the historical examples include the Shoshone and Paiute in the Great Basin and the Apache in the southwestern United States, the Bushmen of southern Africa, the Pygmies in the African rainforest and some Aboriginal groups in Australia.