Tera askebari are people who maintain order among minibus taxis and passengers at the minibus terminals in Addis Ababa. From 2011, tera askebari, who had been working informally for decades, started registering for a micro and small enterprises (MSEs) development program. However, affiliation with a government institution did not coerce tera askebari to comply with formality; rather, it enabled them to exhibit both formality and informality. This article aims to examine the dynamics of in/formality by observing the public transport management activities of tera askebari at terminal X. The findings of the study demonstrate that tera askeabri actively participate in the process of creating complex forms of informality. In a situation that MSEs program permitted tera askeabri to run their business autonomously, the legalized tera askebari (de jure) strategically utilized formality as well as informality through their operations. Meanwhile, the management activities of employed tera askebari (de facto) showed an informal aspect that was influenced by weak state control. The result illustrates that “informality” is not a static concept defined by particular characteristic, but a formulating process through which participants constantly negotiate and reproduce through their interactions with the formal configuration.

In Southwest-Ethiopian Kafa society, the widely practised belief in eqo, a form of worship of the god Yeero, was conducted through the alamo (diviner), a medium who was believed to communicate with the spirits. This tradition was inseparable from the politics, economy, and society of the Kafa Kingdom, which prospered from the mid-14th century to 1897. Following its conquest by and incorporation into the Ethiopian Empire, the Kafa society was introduced to Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and many converted to the faith. Nonetheless, the deeply rooted belief in eqo continued to exert a great influence on the Kafa people, who would visit the alamo while also visiting the church. However, under the Derg regime, all religious activities were regulated, and it was difficult to openly practise the eqo traditions and Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. In 1991, with the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front assuming power, people began visiting the alamo again, though the belief in eqo had weakened. This paper discusses the historical changes in the nature of the eqo tradition in the Kafa Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Regional State in Ethiopia, and examines why the Kafa people are now moving away from the tradition.

This study examines the housekeeping strategies in Samburu households in North Central Kenya during the mid-1990s to clarify their pastoral mode of consumption. This mode, prominent in Samburu society at the time, is a combination of subsistence and market economies. The study analysed housekeeping strategy data from 1995 to 1996 for a rich and a poor household (Household A and Household B, respectively). This study found that both households spent most of their income on purchasing livestock and adopted the strategy of using cash to prevent the loss of livestock. In Household A, in keeping with Samburu culture’s interest in food, the market was constantly used for food consumption. However, in Household B, market food consumption was sporadic and susceptible to rainfall fluctuations. Whereas Household A adopted a housekeeping expansion strategy, Household B’s strategy included bank deposits and commerce activities. In summary, the Samburu housekeeping strategy prioritised frugality, and the strategy of investment in livestock while curbing cash spending was socially appreciated.

Thus, the Samburu household economy during the mid-1990s emphasised livestock based on the eternally delayed-return system. This pastoral mode of consumption is said to have ceased complete dependence on the market economy at the time.