Comparing Kelemoke's Egalitarian, Complex And Pre-State Societies

Egalitarian, complex and state societies vary in many ways. Egalitarian societies favor equality for all people in the community. A complex society is more regulated, it consists of laws and individuals are divided based on their skills and weaknesses to be placed in the job that better benefits society as a whole. Egalitarian and complex societies are considered “pre-state societies”. State societies become more complex in how individuals are treated and crimes are punished. When comparing how the three societies deal with specific crimes there are many differences and it appears that over time the punishments for these crimes become more severe. This is proven to be true for the crime of incest. When comparing how couples are treated after
committing the crime in the three different societies the punishments become noticeably harsher over time. Kelemoke committed the crime of incest in his camp which was an egalitarian society. Though at first villagers appeared very angry with him — chasing him out of the camp screaming with knives — over a short amount of time this anger begins to fade. In the beginning, it seemed as though he would have to die in the forest, no one else would ever accept him and he would not be welcomed back. However, only three days later Kelemoke attempts to make a return to the camp. At first, no one acknowledges him, but moments later he is given a bowl of food by a small child. After this things appear to return back to normal. In the complex society where Tieng resides, punishment becomes slightly harsher. After Tieng and Aang who are brother and sister commit incest their older brother beat his sister as punishment. In order to restore the village to its proper state, “the guilty must eat pig shit, dog shit… chicken… duck… human” to stop the rain from falling. In addition, if the couple is rich they must sacrifice a buffalo and pay out for three large old jars. However, if the couple is poor they must pay one pig of five spans around the neck, one jar of rice beer and two large jars. After this takes place, the rain should stop and the couple is forgiven. The state society had the most severe punishment. After police discovered what had happened between Washington and his sister he was placed in a men's jail — even though he was only 16 years old. Washington was released on a 5-year probation and his name was added to the registered sex offenders list. He had to take place in mandatory therapy groups with other sex offenders. He was also required to hand out fliers to a five-mile radius around his home to inform his community of his act. Crimes such as incest have the potential to leave an extremely negative stigma on the individuals involved.
However, this appeared untrue in Kelemoke’s egalitarian society. After the incident took place and the punishment was over he continued a normal life. Five years later he is one of the most respected men in the village. He also married and had two children. In the complex case involving Tieng and his sister Aang they were forgiven after they cleaned their community. Washington was forced to be on the registered sex offenders list for his crime for the rest of his life. The crime itself may not have caused such a negative stigma for him but sharing a spot on a list with men who raped preschoolers caused people to have a hatred towards
him. The punishment that Kelemoke received for his act did not make him view himself as a horrible person, but it did teach him that his act was horribly wrong and should not ever be done again. He now knows to never flirt with his family. Tieng was very ashamed for his crime which he committed. He attempted to leave the village after the cleansing was complete but no one would welcome them into their village. The villagers from his community found him hung from a rafter after everything was done. In the beginning, Washington tried not to let what people thought to bother him but it was very difficult. Everyone knew that he was now a sex offender. "I hated myself for a long time. I hated that I couldn't make a better decision. I hated what I did. I hated who I was.” After time passed and people began to look past what happened which helped him to rebuild his self-esteem and attempt a normal life. It is hard to understand why such a large deal is made of the crime. In fact, both individuals took part, it was completely consequential and no one was harmed. The reason Kelemoke’s camp kicked him out of the village, in the beginning, was because he committed a crime which was against what they believe in and the camp saw it as a wrong behaviour which needed to be punished. Tieng was treated in a similar way for the same reason, his act was seen as taboo and should not have ever been done. However, after the cleansing was complete he was forgiven. Washington was placed on the registered sex offenders list which is why his community treated him the way he was treated. If they knew the whole story other than the list things may have been different. All three societies have punishments for incest and it is never overlooked.
The punishments are different for each society and how the individuals are treated after the incident and punishments are completed also vary depending on the type of society. In the egalitarian and complex societies, the couples were forgiven after the punishment was completed. However, in the state society, the negative punishment followed the individuals for the rest of their life. As time goes on it appears the punishments worse for the individuals involved which cause their community to view them in a negative way and them to see themselves as bad
people.