Kielekezi - symbol, indication.
From
‘elekeza’, meaning ‘direct’. Kuelekeza means ‘to direct’. To indicate and
direct in a particular direction. Mwelekeo means 'direction'.
It
is a commonly attested fact that Indigenously-controlled African societies
never had any police nor jails yet remained internally peaceful, just, and
blameless. In Kiswahili there’s no indigenous word expressing the idea of
crime/criminal/criminality. All such words are loaned from foreign sources
depending on relations with such foreigners as shown in the paragraphs that
follow.
>Jambazi - 1. armed robber, gunman, hoodlum;
house-wrecker. 2. cheat, charlatan, rogue, ruffian.
Loaned
from Persian جانباز (jānbāz).
The same word pronunciation and meaning exists in Georgian language as ჯამბაზი (jambazi).
Loaned from Persian جانباز (jânbâz), possibly via Turkish cambaz.
Pronunciation
IPA
(key): /d͡ʒambazi/
Noun
ჯამბაზი
• (ǯambazi)
(plural ჯამბაზები)
- acrobat, conjurer, trickster, magician
Synonyms
კლოუნი - (ḳlouni, that is ‘clown’)
>Jangili - poacher, rogue. Loaned from Hindi जंगली (jaṅglī, “wild”).
In
East Africa, elephant hunting for ivory was a very prevalent Indian occupation,
with Allidina Visram being titled “king of ivory” and receiving honors from Aga
khan III Sultan Muhmmad
Shah. Small subsistence players involving themselves in the same activity were
obviously not sanctioned by the colonial system, hence rendered illegal and
labelled ‘jangili’.
>Jinai - crime: Kesi ya ~ criminal
case. Loaned from Arabic جِنَايَة (jināya); criminal - جنائي (jinayiyun)
Symbolism 1.0 – Caricatures
Caricatures
are one of the most politically charged forms of symbolism. A caricature is a
rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or
exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings. Caricatures
can be either insulting or complimentary, often serve a political purpose, and may
be drawn solely for entertainment, but often for a combination of both.
Caricatures of politicians are commonly used in editorial cartoons, while
caricatures of movie stars are often found in entertainment magazines.
In
literature, a caricature is a distorted representation of a person in a way
that exaggerates some characteristics and oversimplifies others.
Symbolism 1.1 - Physiognomy
Physiognomy
(from the Greek φύσις, 'physis', meaning "nature", and 'gnomon',
meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of
assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also
refer to the general appearance of a person, object, or terrain without
reference to its implied characteristics—as in the physiognomy of an individual
plant (plant life-form) or of a plant community (vegetation).
Physiognomy
as a practice meets the contemporary definition of pseudoscience, and it is so
regarded among academic circles because of its unsupported claims. Popular
belief in the practice of physiognomy is nonetheless still widespread and
modern advances in artificial intelligence have sparked renewed interest in that field of study.
Physiognomy
became of use in the field of Criminology through efforts made by Italian army
doctor and scientist, Cesare Lombroso. Lombroso, during the mid-1800s,
championed the notion that "criminality was inherited and that criminals
could be identified by physical attributes such as hawk-like noses and
bloodshot eyes". He believed that one could determine whether one was of
savage nature just by their physical characteristics. Based on his findings, Lombroso
proposed that the "born criminal" could be distinguished by physical
atavistic stigmata, such as:
1.
Large
jaws, forward projection of jaw
2.
Low
sloping forehead
3.
High
cheekbones
4.
Flattened
or upturned nose
5.
Handle-shaped
ears
6.
Hawk-like
noses or fleshy lips
7.
Hard
shifty eyes
8.
Scanty
beard or baldness
9.
Insensitivity
to pain
10.
Long
arms relative to lower limbs
From
only one assumption of "biological influence on criminality", Lombroso crafted an
entire treatise still applied in criminology. That is entirely unscientific.
The scientific method involves formulating various hypotheses (which are
categorized into positive, null and negative hypotheses) via induction, based
on such observations; the testability of hypotheses, experimental and the
measurement-based statistical testing of deductions drawn from the hypotheses;
and refinement (or elimination) of the hypotheses based on the experimental
findings. These are principles of the scientific method. Lombroso’s theories
and current applications of artificial intelligence in criminology are
therefore pseudoscience. They are ripe ground for manipulation by entities
interested in maintaining a status quo of injustice. They can also be used to fight for justice. It depends on motivations and direction (mwelekeo) pursued by the entities utilizing the symbols. The intricacies of the consistency and coherence of symbols in any particular side is corelated to the symbols' effectiveness. It is possible for a
criminal and a justice to have similar physical characteristics.
References
Jaeger, Bastian (2020).
"Lay beliefs in physiognomy explain overreliance on facial
impressions". PsyArXiv.
Newton, Issac (1999) [1726
(3rd ed.)]. Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica [Mathematical
Principles of Natural Philosophy]. The Principia: Mathematical Principles of
Natural Philosophy. Translated by Cohen, I. Bernard; Whitman, Anne; Budenz,
Julia.
Roy Porter (2003).
"Marginalized practices". The Cambridge History of Science:
Eighteenth-century science. The Cambridge History of Science. Vol. 4
(illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press
TUKI (2001), Kamusi Ya
Kiswahili-Kiingereza; Swahili-English Dictionary. Published by Taasisi ya
Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili (TUKI), Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
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