ABSTRACT
So far Tio society has been described during a short moment in time. Our conclusions concerning the existence of a closed small society and of overarching structures as two distinct parts of the society can be cross-checked by using an historical approach. The understanding gained so far can be increased by showing exactly how the different institutions and structures described had evolved and interacted in the past before Iloo’s reign. To achieve this it is not necessary to go through a detailed examination of each historical question connected with the Tio past. A sketch showing the major events and the general evolution will show how the society as a whole evolved. Hence also an approach which narrates the changes within the structures, rather than a chronological order which could obscure institutional development. Therefore sections on the origins and first growth of the political system and on migrations are followed by discussions of the evolution of the commercial economy and the political system after which changes in the neighbourhood structures—subsistence economics, kinship structures, and the few data available about religion, are presented. Next the concluding chapter will probe the questions raised by looking at the other end of the historical continuum. What change and how much social change has occurred since 1892? How did change affect the various structures and how do these data affect our analysis of Tio society in Iloo’s times? At the same time this investigation will show what the gross impact of the colonial period on the Tio has been.
