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Essay on War

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Essay on war

War has been a part of human culture since it's birth. It has led to a great many massacres and has shown us the evil that exists within the souls of humanity. Some have even gone as far as saying that war is human nature. To better understand the reasons behind war and how it affects others, I've examined several different societies and cultures so as to better understand the necessity of war and see the cause of their external war attitude. To do so, different variables from two topics (military institutions and external war attitude) were matched up and crossed so as to look into the answers to these questions. The variables were then calculated and through these graphs, I was able to find different societies in which …show more content…

Warfare to the Somalis was seen as a division of labor that was the principal means of acquiring cattle. In times of war, peasants would be taken from /their/his/ home/s/ for months at a time. Warfare was organized by the chiefs on behalf of the kin and it was the duty of every able bodied man to take part in it (pg 133 Philip)." In order for one to become wealthy within a society, they must earn it through the privilege of authority. This comes from the reward of conduct pleasing to one's superiors. For the most part, the wealth of a man comes from the exercise of poetical virtues, obedience to authority, wisdom in council, and courage in war.

During battle, leadership among the Somalis is led by a general who the king feels will be the right one only after having a consultation with the appropriate spirits. He also selected the people of certain sazas "to guard the king." These people did so simply by staying home. The leaders of the armies were forceful during wartime. "Every able bodied man was expected to turn out, but though the penalty for cowardice in the field was instant death by burning, people who simply stayed at home were merely fined on their chief's return (P. 193 Philips)."

The generals were important as a moral rallying-point. It is said that the army would lose heart if their general is killed in battle , but as soon as his successor is found, their courage would return. The decision to engage in war was made mainly by the king and his orders

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