ABSTRACT
Although this chapter examines ethnic and nonethnic behaviors sequentially, contemporary societies in urban Africa are characterized by syncretistic combinations of ethnic and nonethnic perspectives and practices. Among the many nonethnic structures that help a town-dweller cope with urban life, two of the more important are residential clusters and associations. The emotional strength of nonethnic interests is demonstrated when residents resist having coethnic neighbors. In some African towns, nonethnic associations may equal or outnumber their ethnic counterparts, although data on this point are not generally available. Both nonethnic and ethnic associations are products of change as well as instruments of further change. An important difference between the ethnic and nonethnic associations relates to the membership’s degree of urban acculturation and assimilation. The noneconomic functions of nonethnic associations are increasingly important to African townsmen. One of the most important functions performed by labor unions is socialization to the new ways of urban life.
