ABSTRACT

The idea that Kenya is made up of 42(+) tribes is widespread, but the origins, nature and consequences of any list are not well-known. This article compares ethnic classifications in all Kenyan censuses to demonstrate the origins of the ‘42’ in (only) the 1969 census, and the multiple political purposes of classifying and counting. To make sense of why the 42(+) remains significant, I argue a cultivated vagueness provides a sense of consistency, linking a national past to present and future, while providing the basis for both numbers-based competitive politics and more inclusive politics. Moreover, it avoids engaging in politically risky work of making legible sense of shifts in ethnic identities, classifications and numbers, and avoids having to resolve their relation to the nation, which benefits both state and citizens. Extending literature on the political utility of uncertainty, I theorise this cultivated vagueness as magic, backed by opaque forces, potentially dangerous or beneficent, which deters interrogation or certainty on all sides. To further clarify this awkward relationship between vagueness and certainty, I argue ethnic classifications are intelligible via the social imaginary of the 42(+), but not especially legible, contesting the literature on census practices as tools of legibility and governability.

摘要

肯尼亚由42（+）个部落组成的想法很普遍，但是任何名单的起源，性质和后果都不为人所知。本文比较了所有肯尼亚人口普查中的种族分类，以证明（仅）1969年人口普查中“ 42”的起源以及分类和计数的多重政治目的。为了弄清楚为什么42（+）仍然很重要，我认为，刻薄的模糊性提供了一种一致性感，将国家的过去与现在和未来联系在一起，同时为基于数字的竞争性政治和更具包容性的政治奠定了基础。此外，它避免从事具有政治风险的工作，以使人们清楚地意识到种族身份，类别和数字的变化，并且避免必须解决其与国家的关系，这对国家和公民都有利。在扩展有关不确定性的政治效用的文献时，我将这种模糊不清的理论作为魔术，并以不透明的力量为后盾，潜在的危险或仁慈，阻止了各方的质疑或确定性。为了进一步阐明模糊性和确定性之间的这种尴尬关系，我认为通过42（+）的社会想象力，种族分类是可以理解的，但不是特别易读，这与关于普查实践作为易读性和可管理性工具的文献形成了鲜明的对比。