article

Cosmology, practice, and social organization among the Kadara and Kagoro

Ethnology21 (1) • Published In 1982 • Pages: 1-20

By: Smith, M. G. (Michael Garfield).

Abstract
This is a comparison of Kagoro and Kadara (FF34) religion and social organization. Both groups are organized into exogamous, localized patrilineages with only a village-level political organization, and practice polygamy, serial polyandry, and wife-abduction. Major differences in social organization are the presence of moieties among the Kagoro and age-sets among the Kadara. With respect to religion, both groups share similar practices and beliefs including: the calendrical [n]ci[/n] rites that organized the seasonal round of agriculture and other subsistence activities; the Obwai and head-hunting cults; the dual religious and political role of priests; a creator god identified with the sun; and witchcraft. A stark difference is that the Kagoro do not believe in an after-life or ancestral spirits.
Subjects
Marriage
Localized kin groups
Sorcery
Cult of the dead
Religious beliefs
Ecclesiastical organization
culture
Katab
HRAF PubDate
2015
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Western Africa
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard; 2012
Field Date
1950
Coverage Date
1950
Coverage Place
north-central Nigeria
Notes
M. G. Smith
Includes bibliographical references (p. 20)
LCCN
64005713
LCSH
Katab (African people)