Iddir funerary insurance as uncaptured civil society

Abstract

This chapter addresses the history and development of the iddir funerary insurance association and its spread and transfor-mation in Ethiopia through several regimes from the early twentieth century till the present. This form of association is now-adays so ubiquitous throughout the country that it is commonly assumed to be an age-old institution with rural roots. How-ever, I provide evidence that in fact it is an institution that emerged in a context of urbanization, migration, and monetization of the economy, specifically in Addis Ababa, and only gradually spread to rural areas. I further suggest that a major rationale for its increasingly rapid spread, throughout most of the country, was as a form of social capital that was organised voluntar-ily by individuals independently of state structures, and therefore was built on localised trust in a context of growing suspi-cion of state control. Whereas iddirs have at times sought to extend their roles beyond merely funerary functions to become involved in wider development activities, whenever the state has sought to organise them and interfere in their activities, they have retracted to their original burial and insurance roles.