article

The pidginization of Luguru politics: administrative ethnography and the paradoxes of indirect rule

American ethnologist23 (4) • Published In 1996 • Pages: 738-761

By: Pels, Peter.

Abstract
This study discusses what became of the traditional Luguru system of political organization and governance as a consequence of the policy of Indirect Rule pursued early on by British colonial authorities. The analysis rebuts studies that attributed a hegemonic role to the colonial administration. In the case of the Luguru, local agents of the colonial bureaucracy exercised comparable powers by redefining the culturally-expected roles of traditional authorities—most notably lineage heads, clan elders and rainmaker magicians—as government functionaries. The author likens the net effects of such agency to the emergence of a pidginized language.
Subjects
External relations
Administrative agencies
Form and rules of government
Status, role, and prestige
Community councils
Community heads
Real property
Clans
Lineages
Political movements
Political intrigue
Acculturation and culture contact
culture
Luguru
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Eastern Africa
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Anthropologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Teferi Abate Adem; 2020
Field Date
no date given
Coverage Date
1925-1935
Coverage Place
Uluguru Mountains, Morogoro Region, Tanzania
Notes
Peter Pels
Includes bibliographical references (p. 759-761)
LCCN
74644326
LCSH
Luguru (African people)